Hi lads,
Despite living an hour and a half away, I didn't have a chance to go to Mt Ventoux since last year (see last year's thread)
Well the autumn soltsice was a kind of motivation so we left home at 6 in the morning to be on top for the sunrise. There are three roads going to the summit : the most common one is the D941 from Vaison la Romaine/Malaucene. It is first steep and narrow and then widens and gets much faster until the Col du Mt Serein where it gets narrow and steep again.
On the south side is also the D941 starting at Bedoin which used to be an hillclimb. It is much narrower and technical, stretching in the woods and then from the famous Chalet Reynard it is as wide and desolated as anyone would want. This is the road where Loeb recently tested the Pikes Peak 208. There is actually a third one, the D164 from Sault, on the east side. It was recently resurfaced and is worth trying because it is mostly empty and made of hairpins and third gear corners among the pine trees. It joins the D941 at Chalet Reynard so you still enjoy the rocky ascent on the last part.
This is the road we took this morning and it was absolutely deserted bar a group of hunters who where surprised by the noise and pace of the Clio 182. I recently fitted Ferodo DS2500 pads front and rear with RB400 fluid and the brakes much more powerfuwl and consistent. Unfortunately the front tires will soon need remplacement and were squeaking a bit in the slower corners during hard breaking. Talking of which, I'm disapointed by the Michelin PS3 compared to the Exalto's that were fitted when I bought the car. They are much more progressive in the wet but needs heating and overheat quite quickly so you have a narrow band to exploit them. And in the dry they're not as precise nor grippy as the old one.
Anyway, we arrived 10mn after the sun rise but the light was beautiful. They were just a couple of camping cars on the parking but that was it. Until we saw a pretty old car goind up, they stopped and said they were opening the road for a group of cars coming from Geneve and heading to Cannes. One hour later, after a welcome coffee, we stopped on the way down to see the cars passing by but as they were doing only 40mph something, we decided to go back to the top to take some pictures. As you can see this was a mix of oldies and goodies, from VW Beetle Cab to Ferrari Testarossa. The latter was over heating a bit and the guy checked the engine, which was the occasion to see one of the biggest engine cover up
We continued the trip in the Mt Ventoux area on a quiter pace, enjoyed some great food and went back by night through the Col des Murs which is a special stage from the Venasque rally (D4 from Venasque to Murs, check on youtube). This is an incredible road with mostly 1st and 2nd gear corners flanked by huge sidewalls, absolutely deserted too with no lights around, breathtaking action.
The Clio didn't miss a bit and is proving comfortable even with the sport chassis, which you really need on those roads to keep the wheel in contact with the ground. Just sharing those wounderful memories, I hope some of you will visit the area, definitely worth it !
Despite living an hour and a half away, I didn't have a chance to go to Mt Ventoux since last year (see last year's thread)
Well the autumn soltsice was a kind of motivation so we left home at 6 in the morning to be on top for the sunrise. There are three roads going to the summit : the most common one is the D941 from Vaison la Romaine/Malaucene. It is first steep and narrow and then widens and gets much faster until the Col du Mt Serein where it gets narrow and steep again.
On the south side is also the D941 starting at Bedoin which used to be an hillclimb. It is much narrower and technical, stretching in the woods and then from the famous Chalet Reynard it is as wide and desolated as anyone would want. This is the road where Loeb recently tested the Pikes Peak 208. There is actually a third one, the D164 from Sault, on the east side. It was recently resurfaced and is worth trying because it is mostly empty and made of hairpins and third gear corners among the pine trees. It joins the D941 at Chalet Reynard so you still enjoy the rocky ascent on the last part.
This is the road we took this morning and it was absolutely deserted bar a group of hunters who where surprised by the noise and pace of the Clio 182. I recently fitted Ferodo DS2500 pads front and rear with RB400 fluid and the brakes much more powerfuwl and consistent. Unfortunately the front tires will soon need remplacement and were squeaking a bit in the slower corners during hard breaking. Talking of which, I'm disapointed by the Michelin PS3 compared to the Exalto's that were fitted when I bought the car. They are much more progressive in the wet but needs heating and overheat quite quickly so you have a narrow band to exploit them. And in the dry they're not as precise nor grippy as the old one.
Anyway, we arrived 10mn after the sun rise but the light was beautiful. They were just a couple of camping cars on the parking but that was it. Until we saw a pretty old car goind up, they stopped and said they were opening the road for a group of cars coming from Geneve and heading to Cannes. One hour later, after a welcome coffee, we stopped on the way down to see the cars passing by but as they were doing only 40mph something, we decided to go back to the top to take some pictures. As you can see this was a mix of oldies and goodies, from VW Beetle Cab to Ferrari Testarossa. The latter was over heating a bit and the guy checked the engine, which was the occasion to see one of the biggest engine cover up
We continued the trip in the Mt Ventoux area on a quiter pace, enjoyed some great food and went back by night through the Col des Murs which is a special stage from the Venasque rally (D4 from Venasque to Murs, check on youtube). This is an incredible road with mostly 1st and 2nd gear corners flanked by huge sidewalls, absolutely deserted too with no lights around, breathtaking action.
The Clio didn't miss a bit and is proving comfortable even with the sport chassis, which you really need on those roads to keep the wheel in contact with the ground. Just sharing those wounderful memories, I hope some of you will visit the area, definitely worth it !
