Since we're doing Denis Jenkinson rememberances, here's part of his report
from the 1958 Coupe des Alpes. For this event, he was driving the route of
the event in a factory-loan Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce, as a
correspondent for Motor Sport and carrying a camera operator filming a piece
for Shell oil:
"Immediately following the Selvio Pass came the Gavia, a narrow, dusty,
loose-surfaced goat track that I personally would not let my goats walk on,
let alone cross it in a car against a ticking stopwatch. Anyone who feels
that mechanisation and "the wens" are crowding the countryside so that it is
impossible to get away from building and civilisation should make a journey
across the Passo di Gavia. You can really feel lonely up there, and so out
of touch with the rest of the world that the sight of the first lonely old
peasant down the other side makes you want to go and shake his hand, like
Dr. Livingstone. If I had not been so busy lowering the Giulietta down the
steep side, winding the wheel round the corners and trying not to get into a
"dreaded sideslip" on the loose gravel, I might have had time to look over
the edge, and then I should have been very frightened...
"...On this mountain crossing [Col d'Allos] I saw the sort of driving that
made my hair stand on end just to watch and there was no possible question
of following most of the competitors, for only the cream of the entry was
left running and, on the occasions we did follow someone, it was decidedly
tricky finding somewhere to stop and pull out of the way before we were
rammed by a following car, for on this last stage the fast cars were at the
back of the entry so that the intervals between the cars were closing up.
To see Ronnie Adams stopping his Zephyr on the downward run by means of the
understeer and the front tyres and cornering with the inside rear wheel off
the ground, and Pat Moss in a 30-degree slide round blind bends in her
Austin-Healy, or Sprinzel passing a slower car with his Speedwell-tuned
Sprite on a road barely wide enough for a Mark V Jaguar, or Ballisat and
Titterington in their TR3s roaring their way along and Consten going really
hard downhill in his Zagato Alfa, all four tyres screaming to high heaven in
the early hours of the morning, amidst the peace and serenity of the great
rugged snow-capped mountains, was to savour the full splendour of the Alpine
Rally and a form of motoring that I can only describe as "sheer fantasy".
(quoted from Alfa Romeo Veloce - The Racing Giuliettas, by Hughes and da Pratto)
I had the pleasure of meeting Jenkinson briefly at one of the Watkins Glen
GPs in the early '70s and he was still just as excited about the cars and
the drivers, though he was impatient with "modern times" and safety
regulations which seemed excessive to him. He ought to visit one of today's
vintage events, though having had a fairly major encounter myself, I tend to
favor many of the "modern conveniences", especially full helmets, neck
braces, and fuel cells!
BTW, I only have _one_ copy of the "Veloce" and it's not for sale! :)
Best for the new season to all!
Jack
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Jack Rubin
jrubin@ryr.com
Carpe Diem!
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