Team 96 Italian Job 2017

This will be a short Report – we are both exhausted. For the first time since we left the UK we had a leisurely breakfast, because the Schlumpf Motor Museum in Mulhouse does not open until 10 am. The Schlumpf’s were two Swiss Brothers who were very wealthy following the establishment in1935 of their Textile business - they acquired extensive factories and textile production and processing plants in the Alsace region of France. One brother, Fritz, became a motor racing fanatic after buying and racing one of the early French Bugatti racing cars and, between 1961 and 63, he accumulated a massive collection of cars and racing cars which were housed in one of his unused factories and restored and maintained by a team of skilled workers. They were predominantly European cars, mostly French, and incorporated the world’s largest collection of Bugattis. In 1966 the private Museum was opened to the public, though 10 years later the Schlumpf business empire collapsed (due to the collapse in textile industries and to all the funds siphoned off to build and stock the car Museum), their textile workers went on strike and occupied the Museum, and the Schlumpfs fled to Basel and never returned to France. After many legal wrangles, the Museum and its collection of cars were taken over by the State, and it is now operated as the National Motor Museum, and was re-opened in 1982. There are now over 500 cars on display in a format of avenues that reflect the streets of Paris (the Schlumpfs had street lamps manufactured to match the ornate street lamps of Paris) and the collection has been supplemented to include a wide range of more recent competition and racing cars. For any Petrolheads, it is a must see collection. See pics in Picture Gallery.

Yes, we did reach Rheims after another cross country drive of 260 miles avoiding all the motorways, and it was a delight. Home tomorrow and the Awards Dinner at Ashford – we are not expecting to be receiving any prizes – unless it is associated with the nature of our geriatric endeavours !!