The Schenk-Rimboeck Maserati s/n 2098 at speed at Magny-Cours.

Paris, the city to be. Paris, the city where it's all happening. Paris, the city with many tourist sights. Paris, the city with a marvelous and working metro. Paris, the city with lots of taxis, expensive cars but-- a city with no bicycles whatsoever. A city with millions of inhabitants and no bicycles… ah well, its Paris. I came for the Tour Auto 2002, starting on Monday with checks and scrutineering on the Trocadero, opposite the Eiffel Tower. The five-leg route would start in Paris on Tuesday for Biarritz, via Vichy, Avignon, Andorra and Toulouse. Circuits to be used this year included Magny Cours, Charade, Ledenon and Nogaro. This Tour - as it was explained to me- should be more peaceful than the previous one. The speed average was brought back to 50km per hour.

Yes, it does get cold sitting there, particularly when it snows---cockpit of s/n 2098.

By early Monday morning, the Trocadero was already full of activity. Tents were built, cars were parked and some cars were already left behind, loaded with luggage for the Tour. People met each other, pictures were taken, and all of this was watched by hundreds of spectators. The avenue in front had lots of traffic, but the sound of one of the competition cars of this Tour Auto was undeniable recognizable. It was quite exiting to see the Maserati A6 GCS (#2112) enter the Parc Fermé, nosing up to the fountains of the Trocadero, stopped by a few "Gender-merie", complete with cap, baton and whistle. The Gendarmes guided the Maserati to the proper parking place. There were four Maseratis entered; a Maserati A6 G54 Zagato from 1955 (s/n 2112), and three A6 GCS's from 1953, 1954 and 1955 with s/n 2066, 2084 and 2098 respectively. I decided to follow the adventures of s/n 2098, a barchetta driven by the German pair of Burkhard Schenk with co-driver Rimboeck.

S/n 2098 at rest in the Parc Fermè at Vichy.

A short conversation with Rimboeck convinced me that the car and drivers were in excellent condition. Von Schenk had seen eight Tour-Autos, so he has just a little experience. The first day was reserved for scrutineering and -as expected- there were no problems. Studying the road-book was of great importance. Rimboeck was afraid of the weather forecast and he assured me that it was very cold in the Maserati, in spite of the warm clothes and race-overalls. Especially when it was snowing or hailing- something they had already experienced in previous Tours. Looking at the car's stark interior, I believed him.

Year after year, the local drivers pose a real problem. They do not let the classic cars pass by, or they follow the cars too closely, which is both very irritating and sometimes dangerous.

On Tuesday very early in the morning the cars left Paris on a 300+ km drive with the first stop at the circuit of Magny Cours., where a special stage would be held. There was a stage on the circuit, lunch and some time to warm up. This very interesting first Tour-day would end after a short hill-climb in Vichy. The first car -Plateau 1 / Competition- started at 08:00 hours from the Trocadero after the briefing. The Maserati of Burkhard (von) Schenk (s/n 2098) started in Plateau 3, in competition with 30 other cars, but with only one other Maserati, the A6 GCS of Dzembowski/Frankenberg (s/n 2084). I didn't go to the start, because I wanted to wait for the first cars somewhere along the route and then go straight to Magny Cours for the special stages. My hotel is situated along the Paris "Ring" ("Périphérique") and I was afraid of the famous traffic on the "périphérique", so for me no return to the Trocadero.

S/n 2066, the third Maserati A6GCS barchetta, at speed at Magny-Cours.	Both 2098 and 2084 had suspension problems, but didn't slow them down. Says Brouwer " I was told that s/n 2084 was on the Track at Magny Cours when the driver (Dziembowski -Germany) saw his rear wheel overtake him."

My first stop was at a ticket-station of a toll-road where I took the first photos. I waited for the first car of Plateau 2 - Competition, and that happened to be a Ferrari 250 LM (s/n 6173). I snapped a few more photos and moved on to Magny Cours. The second stop was a hundred kilometers ahead in a small town. There I noticed that I overtook the first competition cars. Then I drove straight to Magny Cours, where the first competitions were driving their rounds. For a photographer at a track, you have choices to make. You can stay at the paddock, in the pit lane or somewhere along the track. This time I chose for the track, which is very interesting with very fast parts, plenty of curves, chicanes and a hairpin.

The Maserati did very well, with Burkhard Schenk at the wheel. He didn't close the co-drivers seat. Doing his rounds he noticed something wasn't just right at the left rear wheel. It was something to look at when he reached the "Parc Fermé" but first there was a hill-climb just outside Vichy, and in between there was the public road. As I mentioned, the participants had some trouble with the local traffic. A Maserati isn't a modern car with power steering, so pulling out isn't that easy. Fortunately everything went well, and of course with his acceleration overtaking wasn't any problem at all.

Tour Auto heaven: S/n 2066 on the road at Puy de Dome.

In Vichy, Rimboeck told me that the car still was in good condition, but they checked the left rear wheel. There wasn't anything they couldn't fix (like the rear suspension) so they looked forward to the next day. He hoped that the weather would be better, because they got a cloudburst just before reaching Magny Cours and in Vichy he still felt wet. It is a big job, being a co-driver, especially in an open two-seater. As long as he was sitting in it, he couldn't permit himself any mistakes. After all: von Schenk had to watch the road, but he had to watch the road and his road-book!

On Wednesday the weather was great. So I couldn't complain at all. I was in the "Parc Fermé" very... very early, because they would start at 07:00 sharp... and they did. The first cars were some Daytona's and 308 Michelotto's. After that I left to enjoy myself in following the cars (if possible) and to look for a nice place to take my last pictures along the route. I found a spot on the D90 at the Puy the Dome. When the Maseartis passed by they sounded good to me. At the end Burkhard von Schenk became 45th in his class thanks to the accuracy of his co-driver Rimboeck. At this point I left the Tour Auto and went home, a drive of approx. 9 hours. Reliving the experience during the drive made it seem shorter than that.