In 1934, the original Alpine Trial was held and the winner was a Talbot 105 touring car. Now, 80 years later, the historic Alpine Trial is on again under teh Endurance Rally Association and the winner was.. a Talbot 105 Alpine. The car, driven by Gareth Burnett and Jeremy Haylock of Britain, took the three day rally with a clean sheet.
On an interesting side note, the original winner of the Alpine Trial, John Rushton, was co-driver with Michael Birch in another car and finished in seventh. Second place went to a 1937 Bentley Derby and third to a 1929 Ford Model A Speedster.
Taking in the breath-taking views of Monte Blanc, the classic Col De La Colombiere and the Route Des Grande Alpes, the rally was centred around the stunning Imperial Palace hotel, on the shores of Lake Annency, covering over 600 miles and including various time trials and medal sections,
Special awards went to Ludovic Bois and Julia Colman for the driving of a 1938 Peugeot 402 Legere saloon, collecting the Spirit of the Rally Award. The Against All Odds Award was presented to Peter Little and Louise Cartledge for nursing a 1926 Bentley with no clutch. James and Dawn Gately from America won the Concours for their smartly presented 1937 Cadillac 75 series.
The next Alpine Trial will take place next year, at the slightly later time of September 2015.