After 2000km and six gruelling days across the finest driving roads of the Alps and Pyrenees, HERO-ERA’s Classic Marathon ended in a photo finish.
The winning margin was just one second – far narrower than what typically decides a 90-minute Grand Prix – yet enough to hand victory to the Volkswagen Golf GTi of Paul Bloxidge and Ian Canavan after three previous near-misses by the same agonising margin.
That knife-edge conclusion was set up by the top three being covered by just 14 seconds with five regularities remaining on the final day, as Mark Godfrey and Bart den Hartog’s MGB pressed hard in second, with Dick and Harry Baines bringing their Porsche 911 home a close third.
The day opened with two regularities threading through the narrow lanes west of Pau, testing crews’ navigational skills to the limit. A dramatic hill climb then provided the final red-coded regularity before noon, where the eventual podium finishers pulled clear of the chasing field, leaving much of the pack adrift by lunchtime.
Only Vincent Hayes and Peter Rushforth managed to take time out of the podium contenders in their Renault 4 and they were later rewarded with a class victory. Back at the sharp end, Bloxidge and Canavan held on to a tight six-second advantage as Godfrey and den Hartog’s MGB moved ahead of the Baines’ 911 into second.
The leaderboard was in constant flux, with fewer than a quarter of crews ending the day where they had started. Among the standouts were Germany’s Thomas Koerner and Udo Schauss, who climbed to fifth overall and claimed a class win in their Porsche 911, just ahead of Graham Platts and Neil Ripley, whose Austin-Healey M100 also topped its class.
It was the final two regularities in the mountainous Col d’Ilrey and Pic d’Arradoy regions, however, that set the stage for the Classic Marathon’s edge-of-seat finale. Here, the Baines brothers lost 24 seconds, taking them out of winning contention but cementing a podium finish.
That left the Anglo-Dutch pairing of Godfrey and den Hartog to mount a late charge against Bloxidge and Canavan. When the leaders shed 56 seconds in the closing stages, the door looked open – but with Godfrey and den Hartog dropping 41 seconds themselves, Bloxidge and Canavan clung on to seal the narrowest of victories.
‘This win was one of the sweetest I can remember, I am absolutely over the moon,’ beamed Bloxidge after crossing the line.
‘The Classic Marathon was everything I want in an event,’ winning navigator Canavan added. ‘It was both a challenging and competitive six days across some of the very best driving roads Europe can offer. We are delighted to finally take a close win after such a tough endurance event.’
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