The final stage of the Tour Auto Lissac saw snow stop play. Unusually for mid-April, snow and ice on the upper reaches of Mont Ventoux meant the cancellation of the special test on the famous seven turns, much to the disappointment of the participants. Consequently, the event results were decided at Le Castellet.

VHC: the Cobra strikes

Four AC Cobras occupied the first places on the Paul Ricard grid, firmly squashing rumours of unreliability. Throughout the Tour, they had proved themselves at ease on track but negotiated the treacherous conditions on the narrow roads of the Massif Central and the Cevennes with caution. Shaun Lynn led the general classification with his Cobra, No. 202, with Ludovic Caron looking to close the 28.5-second gap in Cobra No. 201. Caron got the jump at the start, but Lynn quickly caught and passed him. Lynn’s car then succumbed to engine failure, leaving oil on the track which literally sent Caron into a spin, to the temporary advantage of Frank Sytner in Cobra No. 200. However, Caron recovered to take first place, followed by Sytner in second. Miloe secured an excellent third place finish in the Porsche 904 GTS (No. 211), with the Jaguar E-type of Olivier Cazalières (No. 212) finishing fourth.



Group H: Alpine supremacy

If the rains in Charade acted as a wake-up call for the Alpines, the roads of the Massif Central drove home the message. Consequently, at the beginning of Avignon, the Alpines of Erik Comas, Alain Serpaggi and Jean Ragnotti were profiting from a comfortable lead. The three drivers held the lead during the first turns, until gearbox failure brought Jean Ragnotti to a halt. The Porsche 906 of Guittard/Libes (No. 265) and 911 RS of Faille/Vert (No. 255) went on to seize the first two positions, with Alain Serpaggi finishing third. Erik Comas secured fourth place which enabled him to return to Marseilles in possession of the Group H title and the informal scratch classification.



Regularity: British precision

After winning in 2006 (Alfa Giulia) and 2007 (Citroen Maserati), the husband and wife Linwood team gained a third consecutive regularity victory, this time in a Porsche 911 RS. Their less experienced compatriots, Willis/Willis, who had led in Brive, finished a commendable fifth. The Belgian crew of Haquette/Vanlanduyt took second place, followed by Ruston/Haylock (who were second in 2007).



Index of Performance

In the category which allows smaller engines to make their mark, the Logan/Hampton crew took first place at the wheel of Porsche 356, ahead of Jean Sage in his Alfa Romeo 1900 CS.

General classification:

VHC
1 CARON - PAYEN - AC Cobra
2 MILOE - MILOE - Porsche 904 GTS
3 WANTY - VAN DE WAUVER - Lotus XI

Group G
1 GUITTARD - LIBES - Porsche 906
2 DEMACHY - DEMACHY - Ford Mustang
3 DEGLISE - PILNARD - Porsche 914/6

Group H
1 COMAS - DE.SADELEER - Alpine Renault A 110
2 SERPAGGI - PREVOST - Alpine Renault A 110
3 FAILLE -VERT - Porsche 911 RSR

Regularity
1 LINWOOD - LINWOOD - Porsche RS
2 HAQUETTE - VANLANDUYT - Porsche 904 GTS
3 RUSTON - HAYLOCK - Porsche 356

Index of Performance
1 LOGAN - HAMPTON - - Porsche 356
2 SAGE - CATHIARD - Alfa Romeo 1900 CS
3 BOISSY - COULOMBS - Austin Cooper S

You can see the full entry list for each category:

Regularity

Competition

Classic Driver covered the opening stages of the Tour Auto Lissac 2008 in an earlier article.

Text: Classic Driver/Peter Auto
Photos: Patrick Payani