DRINK BEER, SMOKE FAGS, DRIVE FAST CARS

Guinness and Rizla, now that is the sort of sponsors you do not see too often today. The safety Nazis do not allow you to see such dangerous images.  

The Espiritu de Montjuic historic festival at the Circuit de Catalunya provides a glimpse of how motor racing used to be, when cars and motorcycles screamed around the old street circuit at Montjuic in Barcelona.  

The weekend meeting featured F1s, GTs, Can Ams, sportcars, touring cars and motorcycles, all hitting the tarmac in anger.

For any motor racing fan, there was the great selection of truly historic cars to spot, including my personal favourite the F1 JPS Lotus. 

 

Pretty much every famous marquee was represneted, with a particular preponderance of Minis, and, inevitably, Ferraris, old and new for the track and for the road. (Is it just me or are Ferraris beconing common and cliched?) 

For those who do not quite get the appeal of man and machine in balletic battle with opponents and physics, the paddock featured a goodly variety of distractions including classic car displays, a smal fun fair, a Beatles tribute band, stalls and the opportunity for some period posing.

Too rare these days, the pits were open for the public to go gawp and kick tyres. 

The old Montjuic circuit is too dangerous for a large scale revivial, but the Espiritu de Montjuic festival, looks set to become an annual event. It perhaps lacks the gloss and depth of some other historic racing festivals, but for easy-going openess I do not think it can be beat.

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES

Really, what are those poncy little cars doing on a grown up racing circuit?

Lamborghini’s are not for racing, they are toys for rich boys to play with. It is debatable if they are for driving at all; they work best stationary, parked up outside some overpriced pretentious restaurant or a nightclub frequented by the slutteir sort of gold-digging female.

But round and round they went and there was perhaps a brief moment of something that could perhaps be called interest towards end as the boy racers who had taken off like scalded cats and knackered their tyres were caught by the just plain slow.

With the Formula One circus off chasing the funny money in the east, the European motor-racing season is coming to the close. One of the favourite year-ending events is the International GT Open at Circuit de Catalunya, a thirty minute drive north from Barcelona.

Circuit de Catalunya is a magnificent undulating twisty racetrack with some of the best viewing areas of any European circuit. There is Green Day on the PA, stressed-out engines growing and popping in the everywhere, the smell of burning rubber and a little Castrol R in the air.

The supporting bill included the Lambos and Formula 2 and F3 single-seaters, who provided some fine displays of classy driving. A joy to behold.

The main event, the International GT Open attracts an eclectic entry of supercars, all ready for one last glorious blast before heading back to the garage for the winter. This is not your hot headed F1 wannabes, nor boys in toys, but seasoned gentleman racers in an entertaining selection of Ferrari’s, Aston Martins, Audis, Mercedes and Porsches.

The racing is fast and furious and while generally well behaved there is little quarter given, and a little paint is occasionally swapped. With such a fine variety of automotive exotica and competitive entertaining on display it is perhaps the first time I have ever seen the girls, reluctantly dragged along by petrolhead boyfriends, seem genuinely interested in motor racing.