Tour Auto Rally 2019 – Report and Photos

The Tour Auto Rally 2019 was held April 29 to May 4 on the secondary roads and race circuits of France. After the traditional start in the Grand Palais, in which the cars were displayed for thousands of eager Parisian enthusiasts, the 28th retrospective of the Tour de France Automobile followed another unique course that was a blend of closed country roads and racing tracks. The crews ended their journey in Deauville on the Normandy coast after covering 2,280 kilometers in total.

Organized by Peter Auto, the Tour Auto Rally 2019 left Paris and crossed the east of France to the roads in the Rhone-Alpes region after which it went up to the mountains in Auvergne. Then came the Loire valleys followed by the finish in Normandy alternating seaside settings and green grassy fields and hedges.

The 28th staging of the of the Tour de France Automobile retrospective highlighted cars that have marked the history of the race: BMW; Ferrari; Ford GT40; Jaguar E-Type; Lancia Stratos; Ligier JS2; Porsche; Shelby Cobra and other exceptional models produced between 1949 and 1981. Also celebrated in the 2019 Tour Auto Rally were British marques that have now disappeared, such as the AC; Austin-Healey; Frazer Nash; Healey; Jowett; MG; Morris; Sunbeam; Triumph.

The Swiss crew of Raphael Favaro and Yves Badan in their 1965 Lotus Elan 26R backed up last year’s victory with a strong win at Tour Auto Rally 2019. Another Lotus Elan 26R came in second, as the team of Damien Kohler and Sylvie Laboisne held off the 1965 Porsche 911 of Bertrand and Anne Penlae.

In the Regularity category victory went to crew Eric Hamoniau and Edouard Lotthe in their 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, followed by the 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB of Alejandro Oxenford and José Luis Celada. The Argentinean team of Tomas Hinrichsen and Solange Mayo finished third with their 1957 Maserati 200 SI, while winning the Index of Performance.

Tour Auto Rally 2019 – Competition VHC
1. Raphaël Favaro and Yves Badan – 1965 Lotus Elan 26R
2. Damien Kohler and Sylvie Laboisne – 1965 Lotus Elan 26R
3. Bertrand and Anne Penlae – 1965 Porsche 911

Tour Auto Rally 2019 – Regularity VHC
1. Eric Hamoniau and Edouard Lotthe – 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso
2. Alejandro Oxenford and José Luis Celada – 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB
3. Tomas Hinrichsen and Solange Mayo – 1957 Maserati 200 SI

The Tour Auto Rally is right near the top of our favorite events annually covered at Sports Car Digest. And simple as it sounds, it’s also an event we’d really like to participate in, which makes it much more exciting when pictures roll in from the field. This week brings our first gallery from the hyper-competitive rally staged on the back roads and race circuits of France. Similar to 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Sports Car Digest also documented the 2019 Tour Auto with the following stunning pictures that show the strong field of entrants and outstanding views of the French countryside.

Tour Auto Rally 2019 – Photo Gallery (photos: Mathieu Bonnevie, Julien Hergault)

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