Merci!
Without the hard work and dedication of thousands of enthusiasts in France – many of them unpaid volunteers – the places and events described in this book would simply not exist, and this guide could never have been written. As I travelled around France to research this book, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people I met, who took me around their collections and invited me to their events. They provided me with a wealth of documents and illustrations, of which I can reproduce only a fraction here. Sadly, there is too little space to list all of them on this page, but I would especially like to thank the following people who each helped me research several places and events in the guide:
Anne Quémy (Automédon, Rétromobile and Vincennes en anciennes), Yannick Yvin (Automobile Club de l’Ouest), Julien Laurent (Circuit de Serre Chevalier), Richard Keller (Cité de l’Automobile), Marc-André Biehler & Catherine Oudoul (Citroën), Stéphane Auvrignon (Classic British Welcome), Alban Canarias (Classic Days and GT Days), Patrick Rollet (FIVA and Le Club de l’Auto), Hervé Boutelier (Le garage de mon père), Loïc Monnier (Le Manoir de l’Automobile), Colin Murrell (MG Owners’ Club), Valentin & Magaly Giron (FFVE and Musée Automobile de Vendée), Thierry Dubois (www.nationale7.com), Audrey Zachayus (Optic 2000), Henri Suzeau (Peter Auto), Christian Abed & Stéphane Giraud (Rallystory), Denis Huille & Bruno Janneau (UTAC) and Viviane Zaniroli (Zaniroli Classic Events).
The staff at the Bibliothèque nationale de France were unfailingly helpful during my research, whilst Claude Bohère and Thierry Réaubourg, both seasoned motoring journalists, were invaluable to me in reviewing my plans.
I must also express my gratitude to the many friends who provided advice and encouragement as I worked on this project, and in particular Marie Augereau, Pete Bennett, Nick & Jean Bothrone, Richard Bready, Nic & Joc Ridley and Barry Tomalin.
Finally, I am immensely grateful to the fantastic team at Veloce Publishing, especially Rod Grainger and Kevin Atkins, who took my raw material and transformed it into the book you are reading now.