Second Place at AvD-Histo-Tour 2024

Sunday, 11 Aug 2024

What started as a shock two weeks before the event turned into a success story! Paddy raced with his backup car to the second place and won another trophy at the AvD-Histo-Tour! Paddy raced at the Nürburgring Grand Prix race track, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit Zolder and the legendary Nordschleife.

Paddy planned to return to the rally with a modified version of Dom to improve the handling and speed through the corners. Unfortunately, Dom was not ready and with the loss of his long time companion Henry, Paddy was left without a car two weeks before the event. By an incredible stroke of luck and with the help of RPM Oldtimer Events KLG, Paddy had a plan B car ready. And what a backup car it was!

The Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 had been steeled in many hill climbs and was well equipped for the challenges ahead. It was a great pleasure to steer through the corners with such precision and accelerate out of them with such power - what a bloody brilliant car!

As every year, the three days and around 1500 kilometres were peppered with special stages in addition to the four race tracks. Of course Paddy was part of the Sanduhrklasse, where no electrical aids are allowed. Paddy led the Sanduhrklasse on day 1, but a poor performance on day 2 saw Paddy drop to third. The hunted had become the hunter. However, the run on the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was a rewarding end to day two and once again one of the highlights of the event. Things improved on day three and Paddy was able to secure second place in the end!

Paddy faced new challenges: with the necessary power, perfect grip and cornering ability, he was now able to keep up in the special stages and cross the finish line too early. In addition, the stiff suspension meant that it was not always possible to read the numbers on the instruments and charts, depending on the road conditions. There were also mistakes on the special stages that meant Paddy went the wrong way. Paddy still has room for improvement for next year. Nevertheless, Paddy must have done something right to finish second.

It was great fun to drive the Alfa and it was a brilliant experience to drive such a car on the racetracks. The Alfa has won Paddy's heart and there are many exciting roads and new adventures ahead.

All results are available on the AvD Histo Tour 2024 site, more pictures can be found here and here.