Life in the fast lane: September

I imagine that, like me, you’ve probably had enough of the big heat, the big traffic and the big tourists. We live in a marvellous part of the world but, even that can become a bit tedious by the time August reaches its conclusion.

So, now is the time to get the cars out, start planning routes and trips and enjoy all this wonderful country has to offer to motoring enthusiasts.

The Classic & Sportscar Club is no exception and, after a shutdown throughout August, the shutters are being raised and plans are in full swing to start the next part of ‘the season’.

By early September, many of the Club’s members from other countries will be winding their way back to the coast, and local members will be stirring from summer hibernation.

Every year, the Club puts it’s September events back a week to give members a little more time to return and get settled, and, as a result, the first lunch get-together will be on Tuesday, September 8, at La Sierra restaurante in Cerros del Aguila. At 2.00pm for 2.30pm, members and guests are very welcome.

Following that, on Saturday, September 12, sees the restart of the Club’s famous one-day classic & sports car tours. Always great fun and very popular, each month has a different Start point, a different route and a different Finish venue. Spectacular country, mountain and coastal routes and traffic-free roads are the norm. The Club does this very expertly and uses professional, rally-style ‘Tulip’ roadbooks which makes navigation so easy for first-timers and veterans alike.

The Run, on Saturday 12, will start and finish near Malaga, with a superb restaurant to finish off the day.

New members and guests are welcome at Club events although ‘new’ guests are permitted to participate in one monthly Run to make sure they enjoy it, and no-one has ever NOT enjoyed them, when they would be expected to join in order to enjoy future events.

Guests, though, are always welcome at the Club’s social events.

There are many advantages to Club membership. Not just the plethora of events, car runs, social activities and multi-day car Tours, but also the superb website which has a free classified section for members, a ‘trusted traders’ section for such people that members can confidently recommend, as well as DGT maps of traffic and speed cameras all over Spain.  Facilities exist for very inexpensive insurance for classic cars, a gallery pf photos from all events, and more! See www.csccspain.com One can become a member and pay subscriptions through this website.

Events in July had been very successful although many were starting to feel the effects of the rapidly rising temperatures! The Run was especially good, with a superb route that skirted the Torcal and finished with a superb lunch at La Bohemia in Coin. Thankfully, a restaurante with great air conditioning!

October sees the Club ‘come of age’ as it celebrates 18 extremely successful years and, as always, there will be celebrations, a special dinner and a special car-run to enjoy. More information will on these events will be released nearer the time.

Whilst talking of events in October, we must mention an amazing 5-day Tour that takes place between the 12th and the 16th that month. The run will feature about four of the Parques Naturales (National Parks) and will cross the Sierra Nevadas, the fabulous Alpujarras,the Cazorla park and more. Four- and five-star hotels are used and there will be dinners and lunches along the way. The events will finish with a very special lunch at the fabulous five-star Cortijo Bravo Hotel and restaurante near Velez-Malaga.

People are often surprised at how inexpensive these tours can be and this one is no exception. The Entry fee of €745 pp (assuming two sharing) includes breakfasts every day, four- and five-star hotels with secure parking, dinners on most nights with drinks and wines, etc., professional road books for easy navigation, two teams of organisers on hand to assist and a very special lunch to finish on the Friday afternoon.

There will also be a two-night stop in the fabulous City of Granada with a ‘party-dinner’ on one night and a ‘free’ night on the other to allow exploration of Granada and its amazing tapas bars where all drinks come with a decent tapa included! Heaven!

You can register for this event by going to either www.csccspain.com or to www.iberianmotoringevents.com and follow the links. One can even pay by credit card to register and secure an entry!

If you would like to know more of these events, please email csccspain@gmail.com.

Formula One

Sadly, there is not that much to write about as the circus has been shut down for most of the end of July and August.

Thankfully, the second half of the season restarted at Zandvoort in Holland last week where McLaren were really back on form and Glastonbury’s Lando Norris took the top spot.

Mercedes are right up there and the (very) young Kimi Antonelli leads the championship still, after an excellent second place behind Lando in Holland.

At long last, Ferrari are showing signs of a resurgence, and the not-so-young Lewis Hamilton has been the quickest of the team’s two drivers for most of the year so far. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before the Brit gets the top spot on the podium as he’s been quite close on a number of occasions this year. Ferrari need to get their race strategies in order, something that has been a weak spot for them although not as bad as last year!

Spain’s Carlos Sainz has been having a torrid year so far in the Williams and, despite rumours to the contrary, has signed for a further two seasons with the iconic team in the hope of something better next year. That reminds me of the same thing and the same words last year… Sainz deserves some wins, and let’s hope Williams shed a load of weight from the car and starts returning to the winning ways for which they are so admired and loved.

More on this next month!