Day 3 : This is definitely not castle life…

The Princesses left Contrexéville bright and early. And the 62 teams in this 10th anniversary event arrived in Divonne-les-Bains, after a grueling second day, a bit tuckered out. Although the day’s first RS in the Darney forest didn’t cause any trouble for the royal ralliers, the two new finish lines (near St Mards en Othe) made things a bit difficult, and several of our Princesses had a rather rough time. Everyone was relieved when it came time to pause for lunch at the majestic Château de Bournel in Cubry. The afternoon offered an equally copious feast… for the eyes… as we wound our way through the Hauts-Doubs and the Jura. The climax of day: the final clocked sector through the perilous Faucille Pass, a stone’s throw from the Swiss border.

White smoke at the starting line.

After having ‘pinched’ the exhaust pipe of their Volvo Amazon upon arrival in Contrexéville, Carmen Mangold and Anne Goudenege had the sorry surprise of seeing big white clouds seeping out from under their hood at the start of the day’s first RS. Clearly the result of a leaky radiator, this was the only cloud in the sky!

The little bridge, the crucifix and the town hall.

No, it’s not a fairy tale from La Fontaine, but a real enigma for several of our Princesses trying to find their way through the morning’s last RS. Among the puzzled competitors, Cindy Fabre and Chris Mayne, leaders of the Modern category, lost precious time… and points!

The Porsche blew a fuse.

Nathalie Molinier and Francine Dupin had to call for help before they could join in on the luscious luncheon. An uncooperative fuse on their Porsche 911 made it impossible for them to fire up the engine after the morning’s final RS. Their mechanics would certainly have to take a closer look during the evening stopover in Divonne-les-Bains.

Spectacular Château de Bournel.

It’s impossible not to admire such beauty. All the princesses paused to savor the moment as they stood before the Château de Bournel, where we stopped for lunch at the ‘Clubhouse du Golf’, now sprawled across the immense property of the Marquis de Moustier…

Fanfan… and the Pink Tulips.

Gérard Philippe and Vincent Perez would have certainly loved the idea: six beautiful Dutch Princesses riding in sleek Porsche 911s, sporting two pink stripes and the shared name: The Pink Tulips, not in reference to the fabulous French film, but to the flower which has become the quintessential icon of the Netherlands.

Spirou out at the 8th hole.

For their 7th rally with the Princesses, Nathalie Corbel-Gheslin and Aurélie Litzler regretably had to abandon their super Honda S800 at midday near the 8th hole of the Château de Bournel golf course. They damaged the fuel injection system of their legendary Spirou on a hole – not in the greens but on the road. The ride to Divonne-les-Bains would have to be with the help of the tow truck. And the cute little metallic grey Honda would not be able to rejoin the rally come daybreak..

Laurent Ruquier talks to the Princesses.

Valérie Benaïm and Hermine de Clermont Tonnerre were the guest stars on Laurent Ruquier’s wildly popular radio show ‘On va s’gêner!’, on Europe 1. Our two Princesses handled the spirited Q&A session with panache, on their way to Divonne-les-Bains.

Ferrari got a flat.

Bad luck for Adriana Di Salvatore and Sandrine Galerne who had to put their fabulous Ferrari 430 on hold after a flat tire stopped them in their tracks along a tiny trail through the Jura. Not to fear, rally’s official assistance team brought the beauties to Divonne-les-Bains and ordered a replacement tire from the closest garage.

In the Princesses’ own words:

Carmen Mangold (Fra/Volvo Amazon 122S): “We don’t know what’s wrong but the car’s losing lots of water. Perhaps there’s a loose gasket on the radiator. One thing’s for sure, our Volvo is sucking down more water than we are! Nearly six liters in just one day! We finished the last leg with the radiator on high. If this continues, Anne and I will have to wear our bikini’s for the rest of the rally!”

Nathalie Corbel-Gheslin (Fra/Honda 800S): “What a shame it is that Aurélie and I had this little snag, because we really were doing quite well in this second stage of the rally! But then again, since this is our 7th year participating in this terrific event, with the same wonderful car, and it’s never even needed a tune-up, it was bound to happen at some point. Luckily, a Swiss friend will hop across the border tonight with the replacement part.”

Raphaël de Bargigli (Bel/Porsche 911): “With just one penalty point all morning, we were doing great. Unfortunately, we were caught by surprise on two of the afternoon’s check points… in the same sector!”