The Dijon circuit is one of the most attractive race tracks in Central Europe. It is easily accessible from both Switzerland and Germany and not too far away for the English either. The Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or, which was organized by Peter Auto from 3 to 5 June 2016, is correspondingly popular.
Despite the gloomy weather forecast, Peter proved to be more merciful than expected, it dried up noticeably and the last race of the CER2 even took place in sunshine.
Plenty of work for the multiple starters
Some of the drivers who made the journey to Dijon had registered for not just one, but several races and had brought the corresponding vehicles with them.
Hardly anyone else, however, managed six races in six cars like Christian Traber, who competed in pre-war racing cars, touring cars and prototypes, usually at the front of the field.
Exciting Formula Junior competition
In the Formula Junior, Traber put his 1960 Lola Mk2 on pole position and led the field by a narrow margin until falling oil pressure in the four-cylinder forced him to retire on the ninth lap.
Victory in the first race then went to Robin Longdon, who also drove a Lola Mk2 and finished 16 seconds behind the runner-up. In the second race, which had to take place without Christian Traber, Longdon won again, but this time only 1.3 seconds ahead of Mike Walker in a 1960 Bond FJ. The field of classified cars had shrunk to 16 cars.
Touring cars in the fight like back then
When people like Steve Soper or Frank Stippler get behind the wheel, there is always excitement on the race track. After all, these people have racing in their blood and they don't know half throttle. In Dijon, as part of the U2TC, they sat in the touring cars of the late sixties, i.e. the Ford Lotus Cortina and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, competing against touring cars such as the BMW 1800 TiSA.
In the first race, Soper/Cuff won the battle with a 7.7-second lead over Richard Shaw in the BMW, while the second race was won by Alexander Furiani and Frank Stippler in the GTA ahead of Richard Dutton, which ultimately brought them overall victory.
As if that wasn't enough, touring cars also competed in the Heritage Touring Cup, albeit slightly younger ones. The winner here was Yves Scemama in a 1971 Ford Capri 2600 RS, followed by a horde of other Fords (Escort, Mustang, Capri). Christian Traber was also at the start of this race, this time together with his son in a BMW 2002, taking a well-deserved second place in the class.
Pre-war romance with the Trophée Légende
Magnificent pre-war sports cars competed in the Trophée Légende. Bugatti 35, BMW 328, Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato, Delahaye 135 and Marserati 8CM, together with a Riley Dobbs, showed that elegance and speed did indeed go together in the pre-war era.
However, the two races were not won by the Bugatti or Alfa Romeo, but by Christian Traber, who drove two clear winners in the 1939 Talbot Lago Ex Monoplace décalée.
The beautiful Granturismos of the sixties
A really large field started in the "Sixties Endurance" race, which lasted over two hours and of course included a pit stop.
Christophe Van Riet in the 1965 Shelby Cobra 289 was unbeatable, but Georg Nolte and Frank Stippler in the 1965 Bizzarrini A3/C Grifo Competizione were not to be shaken off and crossed the finish line just four seconds behind, followed by another Shelby Cobra. 45 cars were judged, ten could not be classified. The winner in the Performance Index classification was Claude Soubise in a 1959 Lotus Elite.
A ride into the modern era with Group C
Group C is popular with the public, but hardly comparable with other historic racing series. The cars are very beautiful and naturally exude a lot of Le Mans pedigree. In terms of effort and technology, however, they are almost more comparable with modern racing cars than with the cars of the 1960s, which is particularly evident in cars such as the Peugeot 905.
14 cars lined up at the start of the first race, which was clearly won by Nathan Kinch in a 1992 Lola T92/10 ahead of Kubota in a 1990 Nissan R90 CK.
Kinch then decided not to start the second race, allowing Katsu Kubota to take a safe victory in the Nissan. The field had shrunk to 11 cars, with eight cars still eligible. The Porsche 962s could do no better than third place.
Italianità in France
The "Trofeo Nastro Rosso" brings together a diverse field of Italian sports and racing cars from the fifties and sixties. It goes without saying that there are no close races, but the beautiful lines and impressive soundscape made up for the lack of racing spectacle.
Vincent Gaye was victorious in both races in the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C. In the first race, his lead over the Maserati T60 Birdcage of Giullermo Fierro was 31 seconds, but in the second race it was only seven seconds and the Ferrari 250 GT Breadvan was also within striking distance.
Mixed like once at Le Mans
Once again, the prototypes and GT sports cars of the Classic Endurance Series started together, but split into two races. The winner of the CER1 was Philipp Brühwiler in a Chevron B19 ahead of five Lola sports cars. The fastest GT1 was Claudio Roddaro in a Porsche 911 RSR 3 Liter, but he faces disqualification due to a possibly oversized engine, which is likely to push the drivers behind him, including Christian Traber, who competed together with Peter Muelder in a similar Porsche, up the podium.
In CER2, Martin O'Connell was the fastest man in a Chevron B23 DFV, followed by a Lola T286 and a Toj SC 304. In GT2, Christian Traber was able to celebrate his third victory in a single day, together with Peter Muelder he benefited from the slowing Ferrari 512 BB/LM, the fuel pump problems and crossed the finish line as the fastest GT2 in the M1 Procar.
This brought to a close a race weekend that was exhausting but certainly satisfying for some participants in perfect weather conditions.
