Kiwi Midget Alpine Tour

 

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By Paul Walbran

Having gone to the effort of getting family and cars to the other side of the world to challenge for the California Cup autotests at the MG Car Clubs Silverstone International, it seemed logical to make the most of the opportunity of having cars and family that were on that side of the world. “Family” eventually included my sister Felicity’s family, along with Paul, our Dutch exchange student of the past year.

We shipped two of my sons’ Midgets (Andrew’s K series engined beast and Cameron’s 1275) from New Zealand to enter the California Cup along with our resident UK Midget. To fit the 10 of us, we bought two more bringing the total to 5 Midgets, all suitably bedecked with kiwi logos and all but one being British racing green in colour.

Our objectives at Silverstone being very successfully achieved with both individual and team wins, we headed across the English Channel with the Nurburgring in our sights. However, it was not to be as simple as all that when on the autobahn the clutch cable on Cam’s car broke!

By the time a new cable was found, forwarded and fitted, over 8 days were to pass, during which time we covered about 2500km and more than 20 alpine passes all without a clutch. The skills of a misspent youth still come in useful! The navigator also got very fit from pushing the car to get it rolling to engage first gear.

Nurburgring!

This delay saw us arrive at the Nurburgring with only enough time to do a single lap around the 20+ km of the classic old circuit. There is only one word to describe it – brilliant! Driving through the 70-odd bends as they twist and turn their way through the Eiffel Mountains was an experience which surpassed the already high expectations we had. An absolute must for any petrolhead.

 

The Alps at last

After the long grind down from England, we at last got to the mountains. Altogether we were to cover about 6500 km in our 3 weeks in Europe, 2500 of which was through the Alps. Being constrained by our sons’ Uni holiday, we had to cover a fair amount of distance, about 300 km, each day in the mountains which made things a bit tight when there were delays (we got used to late nights).

The route took us over about 50 mountain passes, half of which were over 7000 feet (10 were over 8000 feet) and most over 5000 feet. Driving at that altitude had interesting effects on the cars, being more sluggish than normal, and we had to double the idle speed at low altitude in order to get a normal idle at the top.

Nearly all of the high passes involve climbing 4000 – 5000 feet from the valley below and then going all the way back down again on the other side, so it is quite a roller coaster. Being first car these roads can be a bit of a minesweeper job, watching for oncoming locals who use all the width of the road and radioing back to those following when there is oncoming traffic.

All along the way, we got a lot of enthusiastic reaction as we cruised through villages, particularly in Italy and France. People would wave enthusiastically when they saw the first car, then go really wild when they saw the rest following behind.

Passing through one village, some late teen girls saw the cars and excitedly waved at us. And some of our sons didn’t respond! Obviously they haven’t been brought up properly (either that or we’re not single, eh Dad?).

It happened in larger places too; even on the motorways as cars cruised past there were waves, thumbs up and quite a few cameras pointed at us. The scenery was consistently stunning, and so varied it was impossible to tire of it, while the roads were just what MG’s were made for. However, the expedition was not without its excitement.

Memorable moments

The first of these came halfway up the first high pass (Grossglockner, 8200 feet) when we encountered roadworks/single lane/bus coming at us (remember the lack of a clutch?). Thus we discovered that 5 people can indeed push a Midget up a 1 in 8 hill fast enough to get it going properly! The real challenge of all this was to get Matt back into the car without slowing down and stalling. Rising to the occasion, in great Indiana Jones style he caught up with the car and vaulted into the passengers seat.

The famous Stelvio Pass (9100 feet), a superb and thoroughly enjoyable bit of road, provided excitement of a different kind. We approached it late in the day and as there had been no traffic for sometime, we were somewhat surprised to find suddenly a number of cars coming the other way – and rather rapidly at that. New Minis and funny looking BMW’s … Camouflaged BMW’s!!, we realised and finding one full of test gear at the top of the pass seemed to confirm our suspicions about what we’d got caught up in.

Gavia Pass was another we’ll remember well, not just because we wrong slotted leaving Bormio and had to do a quick U-turn in a tunnel to save a 15km re-route! When we finally got the right road, we found it has everything: height (nearly 9000 feet), hairpins (of course), narrow road (sometimes complete with cattle on it), armco in some places (much of it well used!), nothing between you and the edge in others. Not a road for the faint hearted. It got so narrow at one point that when we met a motorbike coming up the other way the Midgets only just fitted past … the car behind us (which had been trying hard to keep up) didn’t fit and had to back up.

One highlight of the trip involved a tiny road which our plotted route showed heading direct from Susa to Finestrelle. A local truck driver enquired where we were headed and got very excited and agitated when we said where. He pointed up the mountain which rose over a mile high straight up behind us, pointed under the car and indicated with his hands that car was too low, rolled his eyes, shook his head, etc. This just made it all the more interesting!

It is indeed a neat road, the Finestre Pass. Whereas most passes head for an obvious gap through the mountains, this one went straight up it! That we couldn’t see the top for clouds further enhanced this impression. We counted over 30 very tight hairpins as the narrow little road weaved its way almost vertically skywards through the trees. Maybe this is what inspired Led Zep’s Stairway to Heaven! Eventually it leveled out for a bit…and the tarmac stopped! Woohoo!! A gravel road!

At this stage, K-Midget had got a bit tetchy and dropped to 3 cylinders most of the time, so while it had a rest and the boys kicked the ball around (yet again), I went ahead to investigate the gravel. (It was tough, but someone had to do it!) It was a superb little road, just kept on climbing. After about 20 minutes I emerged from the cloud, now well clear of vegetation so that meant over 2000 metres, and saw I was almost at the top. I thought about Cam’s dodgy charging system (an ongoing tribulation) and what the time would be by the time I returned to the others, and had to make the hard call that given the imminent dusk and how long it would take to traverse the rest of the road, it would have to remain unfinished business.

So we bailed out and took the main road into Claviere, right on the border with France, where we were staying for the night.

Route des Grande Alpes

The Route des Grande Alpes which heads south towards the coast at Menton, just east of Monaco covers a wide variety of terrain and a number of passes as it descends from the Alps to the Mediterranean, and includes the Cime de la Bonnette, at 9400 feet the highest through road in the Alps.

Though nowhere near as steep as, say, Stelvio it still dished out the vertigo, particularly with the mountainside being covered in scree and looking much less stable. Despite being windy and freezing again, we spent the time there the occasion warranted, and for good measure the young guys decided bravado was the order of the day and stripped to the waist for the team photo.

In the south of France, the landscape changed to densely wooded, steep, rugged country with near vertical rocky bluffs abounding. And the sun came out! Though not as high in absolute altitude (the passes were “only” 5000 feet) the valley floors were lower too; those with a poor head for heights would find themselves even more challenged as the narrow road weaved its way round these bluffs, mostly hewn into the rock with the odd short tunnel. Picturesque Mediterranean villages perched on promontories along the way. Spectacular, amazing, incredible … we were running out of superlatives.

We were now deep into traditional Monte Carlo territory and so a few iconic names popped up along the way. The guys honoured Col de Turini with a game of soccer on the road ….

Southern France (and it’s still sunny!)

The rugged, densely vegetated topography continued unabated. Better still, we almost had the roads to ourselves. Brilliant driving, all of this and the pretty villages just kept on turning up in all sorts of amazing places.

The Grand Canyon du Verdun presented another dimension again, with vertical rocky bluffs plunging hundreds of metres to the aqua river which winds its way between them as it follows the narrow canyon floor. That day finished (after a cooling-off swim in the lake at the canyon exit) at Moustiere St Marie, a stunningly beautiful village situated at the exit of a branch to the canyon.

The real driving comes to an end

Our finale was the Canyon des Ecouges. At the risk of over using the word, absolutely stunning! Start off by following a neat twisty road down into a rocky tree-lined gorge, cross and then run alongside the river with the sides of the gorge rising high above you on either side, and small waterfalls tumbling out of them. Then suddenly the gorge exits halfway up a mountain side, and the whole lot – river, trees (and your stomach) disappear over the edge into the wide, deep valley that has opened up far below you. For good measure, it’s another of those narrow roads cut into a vertical rock face. Once you’ve recovered your composure, stop to soak it in and try to achieve mission impossible of capturing on film

It was a great way to finish the serious driving part of the expedition. All that remained now was the long haul back up through France, most of it on terminally boring and thoroughly unpleasant motorways, with only a bit of tourism and retail therapy to break the monotony. What a contrast.

When in Rome …

Finally, an Italian classic. Along the way, we also did the odd bit of tourism, which included a day in Venice and the inevitable ritual of getting lost whist trying to find our accommodation. We were rescued by a group of interested locals who had turned up to admire the cars and chat. One spoke English very well and could also help with directions. “If you carry on that way you will get lost!” he said with much Latin expressiveness and gesturing. “I will tell you an easy way! Go down this street – sure, it is one-way and you will be going the wrong way – but never mind! This is Italia!! It is 8pm and there is nobody there, so there is no problem!” Oh well, try anything once – and as they say, when in Rome ….