Day 6 : Rolling out the red carpet

The ultimate post card snap shot of this 10th Princesses’ Rally featured the breathtaking Daluis Gorges.

The champions (one and all) then glided down the slopes of the Alps in Haute Provence before making an award-winning appearance on the Croisette in Cannes, across from the famous film festival ‘palace’.

The day began with one last challenge as the Princesses climbed the Cayolles Pass, wound their way through the enchanting Mercantour natural park, and carefully calculated their last Regularity Sector (charged with four different check points – all key to the final overall scores). The crowning chapter of this 2009 saga will no doubt go down in history!

A Historic victory for Alfa.

Five, four, three, two, one! There you have it: the final rankings of Nathalie Bourgitteau and Janie Juillet since they began, five years ago, as regulars in the Princesses’ Rally. It shows the dedication (and regularity) of this barefoot ‘Isadora Duncan’ driver and her ever-so-elegant co-pilot. The Historic category winners of this anniversary edition supremely mastered their pace, finishing with only a handful of penalty points and a safe, 16-point lead ahead of the runners-up.

A Lotus flower. That makes two in a row for Isabelle Guignard! Already among the winner of last year’s competition, her first in what promises to be a long and illustrious series, the driver of the Lotus Elise, defended her title with Virginie Martin as her co-pilot. This was a repeat performance by Virginie as well, though last year she was in an Audi TT.

De Bargigli is at it again. For Roland and Raphaëlle de Bargigli, year after year, they join in the fun and continue to dazzle us all. The 2008 winners of the mixed category, theis father-daughter daring duo faced their electrical challenges in the final stage on the Cayolle Pass bravely, hand in hand.

A sharp ‘pink tulip’ indeed. For their first Princesses Rally, the Dutch team of Nicole Melse and Karen Campagne made quite an impression on the rest of the gang throughout their journey from Paris to Cannes. Winners of the Serre Chevalier stage, they were poised to take home the trophy right up until the last few miles when they slipped ever so slightly into an honorable second place in the Historic cars category.

Paying hommage to Paul Frère. For Nathalie Geslin and Aurélie Litzler, this 10th anniversary Princesses Rally had special meaning. Despite a few minor troubles with their splendid Honda 800S, they wanted to dedicate their participation in this event to their dear friend Paul Frère, the renowned Belgian driver-journalist who sadly fell died of illness now over a year ago.

The Panhards on the podium. Despite playing hooky to avoid the grueling Alpine climbs, clearly too challenging for their little engines, the three Alain Mikli Panhard Juniors reached the Croisette almost right on time. No matter, the ‘gals’, inlcuding Luana Belmondo, Maurizia Purini, Hermine de Clermont Tonnerre and Valérie Hermine, still earned the right to climb the steps of the ‘Palais des Festivals’.

Cindy still awaits her crown. After an excellent performance last year, Cindy Fabre, Miss France 2005, and her teammate Chris Mayne, were once again among the finalist Princesses. But the starlets in their Mazda MX-5 had to content themselves with a third place title. Still, they can be very proud of their many impressive wins along the way. It just goes to show how that one mistake on day two cost them dearly in the overall score.

Triumphs stick out their tongues. One struggled with overheating. The other had a broken accelerator cable. Two of the four Triumphs on the winners’ podium this year almost didn’t make to Cannes at all! Luckily the organizers’ assistance team was able to rescue the Norwegians Grete Keyser and Thea Sundt as well as the Dutch Mirjam Wolters and Aline De Jager, so they could enjoy their due reward on the Croisette in style.

In the Princesses’ own words:

Nathalie Bourgitteau (Fra/Alfa Roméo GTV 2000 Bertone): “What a wonderful edition of this truly unique event! Best of all – we’re the big winners. Over the past five years we’ve consistently placed among the top 5, without ever reaching the number one spot. Now we’ve done it! Mostly thanks to my teammate Janie who once again demonstrated her amazing even headedness and incredible efficiency.”

Isabelle Guignard (Fra/Lotus Elise): “For this, my second year, I teamed up with a competitor I met last year. We were instantly in synch. And the frosting on the cake: victory!

Raphaëlle de Bargigli (Bel/Porsche 911): “That’s twice now! Our victory was unsure all the way to the end. This time we struggled with mechanical problems. The battery wasn’t recharging during the connecting leg. My father and I were seriously afraid we’d be without any of our navigational devices. Luckily, everything was straightened out right before the real competition began and it all went smoothly after that.”

Karen Campagne (P-B/Porsche 911): “We all really enjoyed this rally. And I’m speaking on behalf of all the Dutch participants. Coming in second place my first year here is not bad at all! One thing’s for sure, we’ll be back newt year… with all our friends!”