Feroz's Day Off…...

[210bhp]

Fanbloodytastic.


Regards
Mike

[yoda]

Great pictures Darren - I forgot to look and see how beautiful it was on the day sometimes. Day 4 was one of the best! I am a believer in the GoPro now, such good stills. And we haven’t even seen the video yet ( - :

[KS]

Fabulous photos, Darren! You're not just a pretty face, then.

[Lightweight_911]

My favourite thread of the year - fabulous roads, stunning scenery & (no doubt) great food - with the cars being used as intended ...

Wonderful !

[yoda]

Fabulous photos, Darren! You're not just a pretty face, then.

Charming too ....... you should have seen him in action with the lady from Eurotunnel when we were trying to get on an earlier train that was full. Putty in his hands .......

[sladey]

My favourite thread of the year - fabulous roads, stunning scenery & (no doubt) great food - with the cars being used as intended ...

Wonderful !

+1

[left4dead]

...sorry for the heavy photo content ...

Bootsy, just pick twelve random pics and there's next year's calendar sorted.

[Darren65]

Day 5 - Bormio to Bormio!......Stelvio - Umbrail - Offen - Fluela - Julia - Bernina - Livigno.....

....first time we had stayed in one place for more than a day but then Bormio is a pretty hedonistic location if you desire alpine passes....



....a pretty cool early morning view from my room and somebody was already prepping their car in anticipation....



.....no need to panic, Feroz had everything perfectly planned in advance! ....



....prior to heading out we chatted to a guy from Melbourne, here to cycle the alps, who just happened to be one of the founders of the Type 901 registry in Oz and is a friend of a guy I've had a lot of contact with in that part of the world. Small early 911 planet! ....... after a tour around the outskirts of Bormio we were on our were way climbing through cool tunnels and rounding curves....






....a photo stop part way up and I asked where we were?.....turns out we'd been driving Stelvio and I didn't even know it! ......



....a beautiful but incredibly busy pass, I'd suggest a super early start if you want to really enjoy it!....





....the summit is equally as beautiful if a little chillier.....



....downhill promised to be huge fun but again was quite slow.....



....after watching the traffic for a while we headed back up Stelvio behind a sizeable Porsche convoy....



....right turn to Umbrail for the fun to really begin......no crash barriers and a few 'parked' cars at the bottom of the ravine heightened the senses! ....



....cool tractor which I'd come back to photograph a few details I'd spotted later....



....cars now looking like they'd been on tour....







....Offen, Fluela and Julia beckoned and after lunch Feroz and I swapped cars......Feroz's car is a gloriously strong 2.8 with bags of torque, beautifully set up and a proper driver, perfect for this terraine.....eager to catch a little action of my car I took the GoPro.....difficult when hand-held, most of the footage was of the headlining in the car and of my crotch!.....this was the best I could manage!....





....the experience seemed to drain Feroz! .....



....wide open empty twisty roads and clipping apexes on our way back to Bormio.....





....nicest hotel of the tour run by a beautiful family who know how to spot a celebrity! ......and one of the best dinners on the trip, highly recommended ......



....the time was just going too quickly!

[yoda]

....Offen, Fluela and Julia beckoned and after lunch Feroz and I swapped cars......Feroz's car is a gloriously strong 2.8 with bags of torque, beautifully set up and a proper driver, perfect for this terraine.....

Thanks for that picture Darren, I look properly $ha99ed or mildly constipated!

I was lucky enough to spend time behind the wheel of all three cars on some great roads and while all different in character, they were all very obviously old skool 911

Mine - Strong engine, great gearbox and very easy to drive. Car felt good up to 8/10ths but I really noticed the difference between my road based Contis and the other two cars on Avons when pressing on. A little understeer crept in on very fast sweepers and a little more on the hairpins but nothing you couldn't sort out with your right foot. While my brakes had plenty of feel, the pedal felt too soft having driven the other two. Steering feel was excellent and finger tip stuff ..... felt like power steering compared to the other two and probably the most comfortable car of the three for fast touring. I think I'm getting Avons next time ......

Rob's RS - Beautifully balanced and with loads of torque. The brakes were just perfect - strong and full of feel with perfect pedal height for heel and toe changes. The steering was lovely and the car stayed very neutral even when pushed really very hard (sorry Rob ). A good work out and I got out with a huge smile on my face. Every bit as good as you would imagine a car like that to be and then some.

Darren's Mongrel - What a beautifully finished car. It was a pleasure just to drink in the details but it really has been built with driving in mind. The engine is bonkers with a real kick when it comes on song and then the car flies. The noise is superb and it was easily the best "tunnel" car. I had a great time driving it, very stable in fast turns and easy to pour on the power. I got out after driving one of the passes at maximum attack and I was exhausted but what a great experience.

All fantastic cars and lovely to try Rob and Darren's on such great roads. Thanks chaps

[Darren65]

Sorry trying rattle through to the end of this but keep getting wrapped up in the vids and images!

[Tp81]

Loving all of this.

[Darren65]

Day 6 - Bormio to Andermatt.....Stelvio - Umbrail - Offen - Albula - Oberlap - Susten - Gottard - Nufenen.....

....eight + passes in one day, pretty good going....leaving Bormio we waved goodbye to Andrew our Aussie Type901 friend as we headed up Stelvio....



....but this time we kept left instead of heading right to the summit for another attack at Umbrail....



.....dropping a couple of hundred feet we were soon out of the clouds....



...at the bottom there was opportunity to inspect the tractor I'd spotted yesterday....



....and what I noted it had in common with our old Porsches ....





....eventually on to what would become another firm favourite....Albula .....



....after a drive to the top the road cuts straight through the mountains, this time I took the lead.....





....but not wanting to hold the other guys up I soon passed the reins to Feroz....





....lunch stop and with weather looking poor near Andermatt we discussed staying put and maybe another run at Albula....



....although with the lure of further passes we pressed on......weather reports were indeed correct! ...



....but then a bit of rain can add to the fun and aid getting round tight corners so we pressed on to Susten....



....where the rain turned into sleet.....



....followed very quickly by snow....



....Feroz managed to get past the sideways modern...



....unfortunately I couldn't and was forced to turn around! ......



...Just as well really as conditions weren't getting any better!......still, all good fun and the shenanigans led to one of my favourite images of the tour....



....blown out at Susten we headed for another playground....



...where the weather improved considerably....



....changing GoPro batteries is trickier than you'd think....



....after playing in the clouds for another couple of hours.....



....exhausted we headed back to Andermatt after what had been one of our longest days behind the wheel yet....



.....little did I realsise that the best day was yet to come!

.....

[sladey]

Great stuff Darren - keep em coming

[DustyM]

Epic

[roadiesean]

Bloody hell it was you lot !!!! I was the cyclist on the Stelvio (on the way up and then down the Umbrail Pass (black bike, all dressed in black, orange helmet) taking endless pics and videos of you racing up and down !!!! You really put me off my stroke there !! I'll get the photos and vids onto google photo and upload them on here. It looked like you were having more fun than I was that day. I was sick as a dog !!!

And there was another DDK cyclist on the Stelvio that day ? Bugger me, that's a small world !!!