Circuit du Grand Sambuc

Story and photos by Graham Gauld

For around twenty years I had known of the existence of a private racing circuit beside a reconstructed Chateau up in the hills behind Aix en Provence in the South of France and I had heard how it had been built by an enthusiast and used for testing.

So it came as a surprise to be invited to a Festival of Motor Sport to be held at the Domaine du Sambuc circuit on June 23. There was little advance information and so, perplexed, I arrived to find that the event proposed by Hugo Riperd and Clive Rigby, who now own the circuit and chateau, had been scaled down. This was due to the local mayor announcing they could not set up some track records but instead could only put on demonstrations. which meant the event either had to be cancelled or else go ahead on a very relaxed scale: thankfully they chose the latter as they had arranged something special.

Hugo and Clive are perhaps best known as the owners of the Macau- based model making company SPARK whose success has been based on the fact that the accuracy of their models has become legend; even manufacturers like Mercedes Benz arrive at their door requesting special models.

It was hot and Clive took me over to the track which is 2 kilometres to the lap and twists and turns with elevation and a swooping downhill straight. It is also the home of the Lotus Driving Academy and you can rent a few laps in anything from a Renault Clio Cup to a high-prepped Porsche 997 GT3 Cup.

We stopped for a while as former Le Mans winner Laurent Aiello was charging round the circuit in an IMSA-spec electric blue Toyota Lexus GT. And that was just the start.

I then bumped into my long time Scottish pal Allan McNish who, with Aiello and Stephane Ortelli drove the 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 to victory at Le Mans and the three had now been brought together again twenty years later. Whilst all the photographers rushed to take photos, the three drivers proceeded to take a “selfie”. Didn’t know racing drivers did that!

As for cars, well there was a truly wide selection of interesting and odd cars there.

Take, for example, the 1985 Golf-Prototype built for Pikes Peak. The problem for VW was to help re-promote the Golf, now named the Rabbit in the USA, by building this special that featured a pair of Oettinger 1.8 liter 16 valve engines, one in the front and one in the back. The car retained its boxy coachwork so the fans could recognize it as a Volkswagen but it did not help the aerodynamics.

Jochi Kleint from Germany drove the car and took third place in the class partly because with the atmosphere change the Golf ran out of steam near the top. Here was that same car in the middle of the mountains in the south of France.

To maintain the Pikes Peak link there was an even more interesting car, the Porsche 997 GTR3 that was prepared for and run by Romain Dumas in the 2012 running of Pikes Peak. Dumas has competed in countless Le Mans races and won Le Mans with an Audi R15 TdI in 2015 as well as running in the IMSA Championship but Pikes Peak was something special.

He won the Open class with the car and you can see his run here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdB6vuwcfc .

Two years later he went back to Pikes Peak this time with a French Norma MXX RD Limited Prototype and won the event outright.

But look over here. A fairly rare Ferrari, one of the few 660 bhp 575 GTC Evos that were built in 2005. This racing model won in its first race in Portugal but speaking personally it is the first one I have ever seen in the flesh.

Not running on the track but one of the track owner’s collection of cars was a NASCAR Mercury, this immaculate early Jaguar XK140 in USA spec, and a Formula 1 March.

It was also good to see multiple French Le Mans winner Henri Pescarolo at the track and he brought with him two Matras one of which was a Formula 3 car with a Cosworth engine. The other was one of the two Matra MS630’s that was fitted with a Ford V8 4.7 liter engine after they had changed from V8 BRM engines. Another leading French racing driver, Emanuelle Collard was there to demonstrate the Ford car on the track.

So the day proved to be a great success and the owners deserved better support than they got locally. However, if you happen to be on holiday near Aix en Provence you could always head for the Col de Sambuc on the small N11 road and rent yourself a drive in a variety of interesting track cars. Also keep a look out to see if a similar event is organized for next year.

Circuit du Grand Sambuc

Chemin départemental 11
13126 Vauvenargues
Téléphone: 04 42 66 01 66
Website: circuit@grandsambuc.com

From the introduction on the Grand Sambuc website, Google Translation:

Just 20 minutes from Aix en Provence, the Domaine du Grand Sambuc, with its castle and circuit, offers a perfect compromise between relaxation and thrills in the heart of a protected natural setting of 600 hectares.

Unique complex entirely dedicated to the automobile, communication tool of Companies as original as efficient, ideal and confidential test center for stables and builders, the field of the Grand Sambuc is an atypical place which exceeds the expectations of the passionate and Automotive professionals in all its forms.

*The official driving school of LOTUS FRANCE. The philosophy of a legendary manufacturer at the service of your learning and development of the piloting.

*Performance driving a race car or safety driving, discover our full range of courses for perfect control in all circumstances.

*Companies, clubs, stables, builders, press or audio-visual, the domain and the circuit are yours! Whatever your purpose, all our services are at your disposal.