TOUR AUTO OPTIC 2ooo (18-24 APRIL) SPECIAL 25th

TOUR AUTO OPTIC 2ooo (18-24 APRIL)
SPECIAL 25th EVENT!
The next Tour Auto Optic 2ooo – 18 - 24 April 2016 – will be a special celebration of the event’s 25th
anniversary and will be run over a new route for the 230 crews taking part: it will finish with a
night stage on famous rally roads in the Côte d’Azur hinterland. On this occasion homage will be
paid to the cars that have written the legend of the Tour like the Ferrari 250 GT Competizione, the
Jaguar 3,8 l MKII, the Ligier JS2 and the Matra MS650.
In keeping with tradition the 2016 Tour Auto Optic 2ooo will begin on Monday 18th April with the
cars on display in the Grand Palais in Paris. The next day (Tuesday 18th April) the crews will leave the
French capital at the crack of dawn to go to the official start at the Château de Courances. They will
then set off on French roads to do battle in the timed events (competition or regularity) on 4 circuits
(Dijon-Prenois, Bresse, Lédenon, Paul Ricard) as well as 11 special stages on closed roads.
Every year the route of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo is changed, and in 2016 it will include Beaune, Lyon
and Valence after which the competitors will arrive on the Mediterranean coast as the fourth leg will
end in Marseille. Then they will head for the Croisette in Cannes for the finish of the 25th Tour Auto
Optic 2ooo after a journey of around 2000 kilometers.
Two night stages
To make sure that this anniversary event remains firmly engraved in everybody’s memory, Peter
Auto has added a night stage to the programme for the first time! Thus, the crews who arrive in
Cannes on Saturday afternoon will still have another challenge ahead of them. After a few hours rest
they will all head for the roads in the hinterland on the Côte d’Azur for a night run, punctuated by
two special stages, followed by the finish on the Croisette in the night of Saturday and Sunday
bringing down the curtain on the 25th Tour Auto Optic 2ooo.
PARIS  CANNES IN 5 LEGS
Monday 18th April
GRAND PALAIS PARIS (technical and administrative checks)
Open to the public between 10h and 17h

Tuesday 19 April
1st leg
PARIS – BEAUNE (463 km)
Official start of the rally at the Château de Courances
1 special stage + Circuit de Dijon-Prenois
Finish of the leg: Palais des Congrès (Beaune)

Wednesday 20 April
2nd leg
BEAUNE – LYON (330 km)
2 special stages + Circuit de Bresse
Finish of the leg: Palais des Sports (Lyon)

Thursday 21 April
3rd leg
LYON – VALENCE (395 km)
3 special stages
Finish of the leg: Champ de Mars (Valence)

Friday 22 April
4th leg
VALENCE– MARSEILLE (399 km)
2 special stages + Circuit de Lédenon
Finish of the leg: Esplanade J4 / MUCEM (Marseille)

Saturday 23 April
Sunday 24 April
5th leg
MARSEILLE – CANNES (408 km)
3 special stages + Circuit Paul Ricard
Finish of the event: Croisette (Cannes)
THE 2016 ROUTE - SPECIAL 25th EVENT
TOP-LINE ROAD-CLOSING CAR DRIVERS
ARI VATANEN
World Rally Champion in 1981 in a Ford Escort RS 1800, four-time winner of Paris-Dakar in a
Peugeot 205 T16 Grand Raid (1987), Peugeot 405 Mi16 (1989, 1990) and Citroën ZX (1991),
Finnish driver Ari Vatanen also hit the headlines by setting a new record for the Pikes Peak
hill climb in 1988 in a Peugeot 405 T16 GR, a performance immortalized in the film, Climb
Dance. After he hung up his helmet Vatanen became involved in politics and elected to the
European parliament in 1999 and again in 2004. He is now a BMW ambassador and will be
an official road-closing car driver in an M4 coupe.
FRANÇOIS CHATRIOT
François Chatriot, nicknamed ‘The Cat’ was one of the front-runners in the French Rally
Championship in the 80s winning the title twice (1989 and 1990) in a BMW M3. He will be
another new road-closing car driver in the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo. He knows the event well
as he won it in a Renault 5 Maxi Turbo in 1986 (the year of the last Tour de France
Automobile). Chatriot also shone in ice racing clinching the Andros Trophy and victory in the
Chamonix 24 Hours in 1995 in an Opel Astra.
MONDAY 18th APRIL: THE TOUR AUTO OPTIC 2ooo ON DISPLAY IN THE GRAND PALAIS
The Grand Palais (photo), a unique monument in the heart of Paris, was
inaugurated for the Universal Exhibition in 1900. Its lavish architecture of stone,
metal and glass has won the hearts of several million visitors and numerous
organisers. It was the theatre of the very first Salon de l’Automobile in 1901,
which it continued to host up till 1961. This exceptional setting has also been
used for a raft of other exhibitions to highlight “objets d’art,” fashion parades
and collectors’ cars. More than 200 cars with glossy bodywork hiding finelytuned engines will be on display, ready to tackle the 25th event the next day
when they will set out to cover almost 2 000 kilometers to reach the finish in
Cannes five days later.
 TUESDAY 19th APRIL: PARISBEAUNE (1 special stage + Dijon-Prenois circuit)
As dawn breaks the cars will leave the Grand Palais and go to the Château de
Courances (photo) where the official start of the 2016 Tour Auto Optic 2ooo will
be given. The Château de Courances is located 47 km south-east of Paris in the
Essonne departement. It was built between 1622 and 1630 by Claude Gallard and
has undergone several changes over the years. After falling into disuse in the 19th
century it was completely restored in 1872 by Baron Samuel de Haber, a rich Swiss
banker, who was looking for an exceptional residence. Its park is considered to be
one of the most beautiful in France and has received the label ‘‘Jardin
remarquable’’. After the first special stage, the crews will have lunch in the
Fontenay Abbey. It was founded in 1118 and is the oldest preserved Cistercian
abbey in the world and part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1981. In the
early afternoon the Tour field will arrive at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, one of the
great European motor racing venues, for their first on-track battle. After the
confrontation the crews will head for Beaune, the end of the first leg (the longest
of the week in terms of distance). The town has a rich historical heritage and is
considered as the capital of Burgundy wines; it is also famous for its Hospices
auction.
 WEDNESDAY 20th APRIL: BEAUNELYON (2 special stages + Bresse circuit)
The day after the first leg to get the crews in the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo
well warmed up, they will leave Beaune for the Bresse circuit, then the
Cluny Abbey (photo), seat of a major medieval monastic order in Europe,
where they will have lunch under the high Roman vaults. Then the
participants will go to the start of the afternoon’s two special stages after
which they will end the day in Lyon, the confluence of the Rhône and the
Saône rivers. The city lies between the Massif Central to the west and the
Alps to the east so it occupies a strategic position in the north-south
circulation in Europe. Lyon was the former capital of the Gaules in the
Roman Empire and it is the third-largest city in France with almost
500 000 inhabitants. It is home to a very valuable artistic and cultural
heritage, and enjoys a great reputation as a centre of gastronomy with
numerous chefs who have achieved worldwide renown.
 THURSDAY 21st APRIL: LYONVALENCE (3 special stages)
The crews will leave Lyon to tackle a 395-km leg, one of the longest in the 2016
event. They will follow the road-book to the first two stages of the day and then
have lunch in the Château de Gourdan (photo), a cultural hotspot in the
Ardéche built in the middle of the XVIIIth century by Count Pierre de Vogüé, the
Maréchal de Villars’ nephew. In front of the main building the French-style
garden set on an artificial terrace adds to the château’s charm with its
boxwood borders and its rose and orange trees in summer. The third and last
stage of the day will take place in the afternoon. This long leg will finish in
Valence in the Rhône valley, often called the gateway to the south of France. It
has many historic monuments the majority of which are in the old town as well
as numerous canals that have criss-crossed it over more than 17 km since
Roman times.
 FRIDAY 22nd APRIL: VALENCEMARSEILLE (2 special stages + Lédenon circuit)
The second-last day will also be a major challenge with very selective special
stages on closed roads. After the first, the crews will have lunch in the Château
de Beauregard (photo). This Provencal edifice built in the XVIIth century consists
of a central building with two wings and a tower at each corner inspired by the
Renaissance style. It was left to go to rack and ruin after WWII and its new
owners have been restoring it since 2002. The drivers will have a busy
afternoon with another special stage and races on the Lédenon circuit before
setting out for Marseille where they will go to the parc fermé on the MUCEM
esplanade; the finish of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo in 2014! This very old city,
which has a rich historic and urban history, is one of the biggest towns on the
Mediterranean.
 SATURDAY 23rd APRIL/SUNDAY 24th APRIL: MARSEILLECANNES
(3 special stages + Paul-Ricard circuit)
The leading crews will again have to get up very early for the ultimate leg. They
will start the day with a special stage followed by the final on-track battles of
this anniversary event on the Paul Ricard circuit where lunch will be served.
They will then drive down the Castellet plateau to Cannes. But that’s not the
end! After a few hours rest the crews will get back into their cars and head for
the roads in the Côte d’Azur hinterland for a night run punctuated by two special
stages. The finish of the 25th Tour Auto Optic 2ooo will be celebrated in the
night of Saturday/Sunday on the famous Croisette (photo) in Cannes.
THE TOUR AUTO IN FIGURES
1951 à 1973
Period of eligibility of the cars a model of which has taken part in the Tour de France Automobile
2000
The average length in kilometers of the route of the 25th Tour Auto Optic 2ooo
230 cars in the race + 100 service vehicles & 80 for the organisation
more than 800 people follow the rally including 120 from the organisation
more than 100 000 spectators along the route
more than 600 rooms and 1700 meals per day
70 officiels and 50 people in the organisation
30 nationalities from five continents: France 50%, Great Britain 17%, Switzerland 10%,
Germany 7%, USA 5%, Italy 5%, Benelux 2%, rest of Europe 2%, rest of the world 2%
more than 250 accredited journalists and photographers (Grand Palais + Tour
Auto) representing some 10 nationalities
THE FIRST ENTRIES
103 RUE LAMARCK
75018 – PARIS
TEL : 01 42 59 73 40
[email protected]
www.tourauto.com