Pau Pourri

The noise! It took my breath away. A BMW M12 4-cylinder or Honda V-6 at around 10,000 rpm. Totally ear-splitting in any environment, but here, at Pau, in the Parc Beaumont, the noise bounced around between the Armco barrier and the park benches, but then was trapped under the trees and between the grass banks. It seemed to hurtle around for a few seconds but, by then, another car would pass and the sequence would start again. Several cars at a time forced most to put fingers in their ears—few had ear-protectors then!

The circuit of Pau was, and is, very special and the Parc Beaumont section is unique: “Probably the most difficult series of corners in the world,” said Stefan Johansson, while New Zealander Mike Thackwell reckoned the Parc was “the ultimate challenge.” They were talking about an esse bend lined by three-tier barrier and covered over by trees—just like a tunnel—and in 1982, it was taken flat in fourth in a Formula 2 car.