The Tour Auto Rally 2014 was held April 7-12 on the secondary roads and race circuits of France. Since 1992, the retrospective of the Tour de France Automobile race followed the French secondary roads along a handpicked itinerary. Renewed each year, the route for the 2014 Tour Auto Optic 2ooo was concentrated to the east of France. After the traditional start in the Grand Palais, in which the cars were displayed for Parisian enthusiasts, the rally followed a unique course that was a blend of closed country roads and racing tracks, before the race came to an end in Marseille.
The hotly-contested battle for first place in the overall Competition category was played out between the British crew of Shaun Lynn and Kevin Kivlochan in their AC Cobra and the E-Type Jaguar driven by French duo of Jean-Pierre Lajournade and Christophe Bouchet.
The Frenchmen, who were in the lead at the end of Friday’s leg after Ludovic Caron’s (winner of 8 stages out of the 13 in the Tour Auto) off, were hit by a penalty that deprived them of victory, which went to the British drivers. Lajournade won the Colombier stage, and at Paul Ricard it was Jean-Marc Merlin in his AC Cobra who came out on top.
Roman Rocher and Jean-François Penillard in their Porsche 906 won Group G from the Ford GT40 driven by Philippe Vandromme and Frédéric Vivier. Victory in Group H went to Christophe Van Riet and Kristoffer Cartenian’s 2.7-litre 911 RS Porsche, which led home Didier and Barbara Denat’s 3-litre version. The racing classifications were completed by the triumph of Christophe Grenier and Guillaume Puget in their Group IV Ferrari 308 in Group I.
In the Regularity section victory went to the Franco-Swiss pairing of Georges-Henri Meylan and Julien Stervinou in an Alpine A110 1600 S, while the Index of Performance was won Pierre Le Gloahec and Henanff-Alexandre Brasseur in a Jaguar MkI.
The 23rd Tour Auto Optic 2ooo was again marked by the overall beauty of its innovative route, the presence of 25 nationalities and well-known drivers like Olivier Panis, Erik Comas, Emanuele Pirro (5-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours), Jürgen Barth, Armin Schwarz, Rauno Altonen, Pierre Ragues, Christian Balas and Jean-Claude Basso. An even-bigger crowd than in 2013 lined the route and flocked to the circuits to see more than 200 historic cars passing by ranging from the popular Renault 4 CV to makes like Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche prototypes among others.
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Similar to 2012 and 2013, photographer Julien Mahiels documented the 2014 Tour Auto, offering the following stunning pictures that show the strong field of entrants, in addition to the wonderful views found on the French countryside. We split up Julien’s 314 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery and rally results can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Julien, visit julienmahiels.net.
Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eight
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Nine
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Ten
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eleven
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Twelve
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Thirteen
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Fourteen
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Fifteen
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Sixteen
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seventeen
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
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Tour Auto Rally 2014 – Race Results
Overall Competition Class Results
1. 1963 AC Cobra 289, Lynn / Kivlochan
2. 1964 Jaguar E-Type, Lajournade / Bouchet
3. 1963 Jaguar E-Type, Payen / Couedel
G/H/I Competition Class Results
1. 1966 Porsche 906, Rocher / Penillard
2. 1967 Ford GT40, Vandromme / Vivier
3. 1970 Porsche 914/6 GT, Barthe / Spirgi
Regularity Class Results
1. 1970 Alpine A110 1600 S, Meylan / Stervinou
2. 1971 Alpine A110 1600 S, Ragues / Ragues
3. 1964 Porsche 356C, Plantavin / Rouge
Performance Index Class Results
1. 1959 Jaguar MkI, Le Gloahec-Henanff / Brasseur
2. 1954 Porsche 356 A 1500 Carrera GT Speedster, Tourneur / Fiat
3. 1960 Lotus Elite, Couraudon / Couraudon
[Source: Peter Auto; photos: Julien Mahiels]
Nothing short of the finest rally images I’ve ever seen. Merci, merci, merci!!
Beautiful photos. Thank you!!!
What a rally (race?), and made all the better with these beautiful photos. Kudos to all!
Very beautiful photos bravo et merci
Beautiful walk through history. They don’t make them like this anymore, Thank you-GS
Excellent photos!
Without doubt, the best presentation of some of the world’s most beautiful and desirable cars, on the road as intended, with spectacular scenery as the backdrop, artfully presented through the eyes of a talented and skilled photographer. Absolutely sensational!
The Tour Auto was a unique opportunity to watch great cars from Renault 8 Gordini to Matra 650 passing by at racing speed in a natural environment. These great pics re-create the magic. Compliment to the artist!
BEAUT PHOTO`S GUYS great location for a photo shoot, love it
Fabulous stuff !
With those somptuous pics, Julian has captured the very essence of Tour de France for both drivers and spectators. Bravo
Aaaammmmaaazzzziiiiiinnnngggg!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
Love the roads, look like driveways to farms here in the states, not public roads! Amazing views…
That’s great, beautiful morning light, wonderful landscapes etc etc
Good job !
Fantastic cars, beautiful photography, thank you so much!