Competitors for this years Tour Auto will be arriving in Paris this weekend ready for the event kick off next Tuesday. This years Tour Auto will take competitors from Paris via Magny-Cours, Vichy, Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand, Circuit d’Albi, Toulouse, Pau, Circuit de Pau-Arnos, and finishing in Biarritz.

Our very own rally guru Peter Scott will be competing on the tour navigating for Lord Irvine Laidlaw in his Ferrari 250 GTO, the car is number seven (chassis 3527GT) of 33 Series One cars produced. Together they will cover 1905 km over five wonderful days from Tue 21 to Sat 25 April in the most valuable car in the world and the Auto Addicts teams back at base wish them both the best of luck on their adventure.

Here’s how this years 5 leg event pans out:

THE GRAND PALAIS
MONDAY, APRIL 20: THE TOUR AUTO OPTIC 2000 ON DISPLAY IN THE GRAND PALAIS
The Grand Palais, inaugurated for the Exposition Universelle of 1900 Great Exhibition, is a unique monument in the heart of Paris. Its fantastic architecture of stone, glass and metal has left millions of visitors open-mouthed with admiration. It also hosted the Paris Motor Show between 1901 and 1961. This exceptional setting has been the theatre of innumerable exhibitions, so it is the appropriate setting in which to display objets d’art, fashion shows and collectors’ cars. On display in the Grand Palais will be 230 cars taking part in the 24th event with their coachwork polished to a glossy sheen and their engines fine-tuned to perfection. They are ready to set off the following morning on the roads of France to cover nearly 2000 km. They will reach Biarritz five days later.

LEG 1: PARIS – VICHY
TUESDAY, APRIL 21: PARIS – VICHY (1 SPECIAL STAGE + THE NEVERS MAGNY-COURS CIRCUIT)
Just as dawn is breaking the cars will leave the Grand Palais to go to the Château de Courances  where the official start of the 2015 event will be given. Located at forty-seven kilometres southeast of Paris in the French Gâtinais and department of Essonne, the Château de Courances was built between 1622 and 1630 by Claude Gallard and has seen many changes over the centuries. After being abandoned in the 19th century it was completely restored in 1872 by Baron Samuel Haber, rich Swiss banker looking for a large house. He took the opportunity to add important elements, including the famous horseshoe staircase, copied on the Palace of Fontainebleau, and the red brick on all façades, typical of the Louis XIII, but non-existent until late 19th. Its gardens are considered as one of the finest in France and labelled ‘remarkable garden’. After the first special stage, the first crews will reach the Magny-Cours circuit early afternoon, hotspot of motor racing, for their first confrontation on the track. After the adrenaline drop, the pack of the Tour will head to Vichy, the famous spa town, to close this first stage (the longest of the week in terms of kilometres).
LEG 2: VICHY – CLERMONT-FERRAND
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22: VICHY – CLERMONT-FERRAND (2 SPECIAL STAGES + THE CHARADE CIRCUIT)
In the aftermath of the first warm-up stage, the competitors of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo will link two special stages before the lunch break at Castle Parentignat, nicknamed the little Versaille of Auvergne. Spared at the revolution, including the house where Marechal de La Fayette lived, who played a decisive role in the US war of independence, houses one of the largest private collections of paintings by French masters of 17th and 18th centuries. Then, participants will join the highly selective Charade circuit before ending the day in Clermont-Ferrand, prefecture of Puy-de-Dôme and capital city of the Auvergne whose economy is closely linked since the mid-20th century to the French Michelin tyre factory which has strongly influenced the development of the city. The Tour competitors will be exhibited in the parking lot of the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin near the Village of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo.

LEG 3: CLERMONT-FERRAND – TOULOUSE
THURSDAY, APRIL 23: CLERMONT-FERRAND – TOULOUSE (2 SPECIAL STAGES + ALBI CIRCUIT)
From Clermont-Ferrand, competitors will cover some 463 km. It is the second longest stage of the event 2015. The roadbook will lead them on the roads of the two special stages of the day followed by lunch at Domaine de la Goudalie, historical place of the Rouergue, built in the early 19th. In the afternoon, will follow the confrontation on the historic circuit of Albi, along 3,565 meters set in 1959 in the town of Le Sequestre in the Tarn. Finally, this hearty day will end in Toulouse -known as the “Pink City” because of the colour of its traditional local building material: terracotta brick – which will host for the fourth time the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo.

LEG 4: TOULOUSE – PAU
FRIDAY, APRIL 24: TOULOUSE – PAU (2 SPECIAL STAGES)
The penultimate day will also be a piece of choice. No circuit, but two selective special stages on closed roads. After being timed first in the morning, the competitors will enjoy a lunch held at the Abbaye de l’Escaladieu (The Escaladieu – Scala Dei in Latin – meaning “scale of God”). Founded around 1140 at the confluence of the Arros and Luz, the Abbey is at the foot of the Château de Mauvezin, in a wooded valley near the two spas: Capvern and Bagneres de Bigorre. The magic of the site and the purity of the architecture are an invitation to serenity and travel. Once passed this French heritage’s site, the cars will start for the second stage of the day before joining Pau.

LEG 5: PAU – BIARRITZ
SATURDAY, APRIL 25: PAU – BIARRITZ (1 SPECIAL STAGE + PAU-ARNOS CIRCUIT)
For the final leg, the first crews will rise at dawn for the last time and start their day on the Pau-Arnos circuit for the final showdown on track. By late morning, one last special stage will close the timed games. Then, competitors will gather to enjoy a picnic at Bastide Clairence. Founded in 1314 by Louis, 1st King of Navarre and future king of France to provide an outlet to the sea, “Bastida Clarenza” is marked by the population and religion diversity due to its status. White front striped green or red, remember however that we are in the Basque Country. After snacking, the participants of the Tour Auto will gradually go down to the sea level to complete the 1 905 km of the 24th edition of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo and reach Biarritz and its Cité de l’Océan where the final finish will be judged.