1093 Dauphine, R8 and R12: the three leading engines recorded on the ‘G’ Gordini and their blue or white stripes give them away. We have gathered in Alcaniz and we rolled on its two circuits: Guadalope and Motorland. Thrilling!

Old circuit Guadalope, Alcaniz. It is just over half past noon. At that time, the city is beginning to take a break. The kids have already left schools and who more and who less stops his morning chore to lie something stomach and rest a while. Local police know that driving on the downtown streets then low intensity until three in the afternoon, when they return again to become a buzz. To cut traffic, it is the best.

Unobstructed car, the famous Cork rise, with the image in the rear of the Parador at the top of the mountain, impressive. From the curve of the barbershop, at the exit of Zaragoza Bridge, It is a stretch that was done thoroughly. Ángel Martínez has run many times in this its circuit‘Believe it or not, we must tread lightly. It is a very technical costs. You are giving full throttle and linked are several very fast: left, right and left. You have to draw the right place to deal out well. Here powerful cars, as in this case the R12 Gordini, had an advantage. ‘

At the top, a modern roundabout disrupts the left-hander Hospital, which overlooks the main straight, where the exit was. Today it is impossible to find clear of cars on the road and parked on both sides. This long straight ends at an intersection, without any reference to metal fences or signs, says nothing. Nevertheless, It was the most famous circuit curve: the Embudo. A turn of 135 degrees, narrowing included. There ended the careers of many drivers, with fully dented car.

From there, the descent becomes very fast towards the area Monegal -a curve that used to be very slidably, the first of the chicane they put in the ’90s and the bullring. Photographically, it is difficult to see where we are. It can be any street in any city. Turn left after the bridge Caspe, remount all photographic archiperres. We entered the area that runs parallel to the river Guadalope. It is the fastest part of the track, where he could advance more courageously than anything else, because you never wheel straight and side margins are houses on one side and the parapet of the river to the other. The heavy braking Zaragoza Bridge is a right angle that brings us back to the corner barbershop where we started our particular ‘lap’.

But we are in Alcaniz, and even small bottlenecks that have caused, or have bad mood we wanted think- their neighbors. Motorland sports complex is another story. More modern, safer, more comfortable for the second part of the photo shoot and test best three ‘bombs’ of Renault. Yesterday and Today: Guadalope and Motorland.

Dauphine 1093

Of the three French ‘bombs’ that did explode in Alcaniz, this was the biggest shock wave that came to my mind. The 1093 is more than a Dauphine Gordini -version Export- a ‘fat’ carburetor and a few extra horses. The processing carried out in the workshops themselves Billancourt radically change the behavior, performance and ultimately driving reminiscent of the Spanish -Dauphine, Ondine and family Gordini- proven, paradoxically, in the same locality and makes twelve years.

Andrés Ruiz says it in his comments: ‘One Dauphine it properly’. Not only he runs, brakes and has the nerve that if they had wanted the ‘dauphinistas’ Spanish of the moment; The surprising thing is that You can take it wherever you want, how you want. It is noble, obey the orders of the steering wheel, the steering is direct enough, plumbed wheel, without trace with excessive box- gently rolling and, unless the intention is sought by the driver or other blatantly go ‘desmelenao’ the ass is on your site. Does the ‘car widows’? Ha! Putting sandbags in the front luggage compartment? LOL! Weight, always and in all circumstances, is the enemy and it said Ettore Bugatti.

A firm dampers, cut springs, thicker stabilizer -12 mm- and reinforcements on the bridges was the recipe as magical as intelligent. So it eased, largely, that ‘liveliness’ of the much-criticized defense, which was no other reason than the positive fall that took the outside wheel during a turn and support that made getting inward. Of course, the tendency to oversteer persists, but better Pisa. Against a rear engine hung behind the axle and narrow tires … the laws of physics are not subject to appeal, and at best, can be predicted and try to reduce the effects, as is the case.

The 1093 born for competition and it shows not only the auxiliary lights and decor, thereafter, would identify sports Renault: two first blue ‘dirty’ like this and then white longitudinal stripes on white combined with blue France and characteristic of R8, 12 and successive. Requested by François Landon, head of the Régie competition, came to replace the 4CV 1063 laureate, winner in Monte Carlo and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, among other international races. The house engineer Fernand Picard, in collaboration with the French coach Autobleu reviewed and refined the Dauphine Gordini applying multiple improvements.

Behind the ‘G’ engraved on the cylinder head cover there is a ‘brushed’ of the cylinder head, a special Corty board, nitrided valves larger diameter and double spring each, high compression pistons, balanced crankshaft, cross cams,

distribution sprockets of larger diameter, one Solex carburetor 32 dual filter body Tecalamit air and an exhaust manifold and intake specially designed for Autobleu. In figures: 55 hp at 5,600 rpm, an engine that developed 33.5-5000

before going under the knife.

And you notice! The Dauphine became an agile and playful tourism, you can shoot comfortably above the legal limits and enjoy a great time in such a buzzard as the karting circuit of Motorland. not only can, but encourages rush a relationship after another to get the juices flowing. Change four serial relationships is enough and easy to get the hang of. Address, smooth, and we have indicated, with a very thick sport steering wheel; and seats, like those of the quietest brothers, so do not expect them superior holding …

Themselves are also graduate optimistic speedometer to about 180 km / h -the numbers simulate be painted and the supplementary cuentavueltas hand placed on the left. Rounding out the overall balance of which is copper had to leave Fiat 850 Abarth against, Mini Cooper and BMW 700, the brake system also honed during his just two years of manufacture. He began outfitting a new finned before and since October 1963 drums, discs on all four wheels.

The brothers of Burgos belongs to the first batch.

R8 Gordini

Of the three is the best known, desired at the time and which He has brought us head until we have seen over and topped. More than a year has extended its ‘second’ restoration, which began in the workshops of the French specialist Colombo and concluded a few months ago in Ángel Martínez, in Alcaniz. In Spain it arrived in 1967 and from 1969 began a career that led him to pass from hand to hand and to experience a severe transformation: uploaded to 1,296 cc engine, lowered suspension, safety cage, widening fins, Lightening up the jack support and other operations more or less linked to the manual caseras- preparations ‘Do it yourself’.

Among others, he recalled Emilio Rodriguez Zapico participated in several rallies with him: he qualified, for example, fourth 3 hours Montjuic (1969) and won the Rallye I José León de Carranza (Cádiz, 1970). Then in the nineties, held by Jaime Sornosa ‘Correcaminos’, she ran in several appointments Championship of Historic Spain.

Already in the XXI century, the first rescuer, Jerónimo Vidal, found the result to that eventful life in competition. The 8g 1300 was literally made some foxes: oxide, patches here and there, a thick layer of tar on the floor, no original parts and other shattered and thus a daunting and so on. He threw thousand hours ‘Jero’ to straighten it with their own hands and arts.

The Burgos brothers were with him a few years ago and found that, despite the first stake of ‘Jero’, had not been a hundred percent. So, crane and France, directly Colombo workshops. There is fully stripped and the shell reviewed -in especially multiple body reinforcements Gordini, fundamental aspect of this model. The joints of the uprights, the wheel arches, supports the stabilizer and steering box, the bar low-engine … are some. All cleaned up, repatriation to Alcaniz, installation and commissioning has coordinated the very young junior Ángel Martínez.

‘Et voila!’: rebirth is accomplished. The 8g again the envy of ‘renaulistas’ and saloon Amédée Gordini races and the Régie were invented as a marketing ploy. Of course the first comparison arises spontaneously with Spanish R8 TS, but unless both are Renault and paths around it single-brand drinks were created in their countries of origin, little more. Of course, they share technical concept, but the details are profound differences.

The engine 1300 hemispherical head, generously supplied by two horizontal Weber, with the oil cooler and all; box of five relationships, dual rear shock absorber provided as the Alpine A110 and said reinforcements at key points of the frame, all that and more small details make the other car 8g: cheerful, stable, easy to drive and extremely fun. Stiff enough to tenérselas under certain circumstances and tailwind, even with some powerful 911.

I found the same differences between the 1093 and the Spanish Dauphine Dauphine breed between 8g and R8 TS, only multiplied. I understand the tantrums of the ‘simquistas’ of the moment as Andrew; to the ‘ochoteesista’ in general. It is balanced -the auxiliary fuel tank 25 liters in the front trunk help-; pushes hard -in the 1,000 meters, for example, the Mini Cooper humiliated S, NSU TT and our Seat 1430 ‘Potenciado’- and it is able to reach almost 180 km / h. And all this without too much fuss: slows as it should, is carried away fine, without sacrificing their congenital querencia to give the rear, It is extremely agile and effective in buzzards paths. Oh, if envy were ringworm!

R12 Gordini

Unlike the platonic love that elicited 8g this side of the Pyrenees, the R12 Gordini, however, half and half. Here it was a little known and even less appealing model. The emergence of the ‘FU’ made us fly the nationalist flag and Spain became ‘seatista’ in the sporting arena. Truthfully, neither in France he achieved the success of its predecessor. Regardless of your sporting skills, the enemy would be home and cut his flight Renault 5 barely taking off. Still, it was what we are saying from previous: one R12 ‘as it should be’ for spirited drivers or simply a racing R12 made by the factory itself with the vain effort to do the same operation with the R8.

Like the 1093 and 8g, he also started from the base of a large series sedan, far so good. But the difference was that kind of saloon. The R12 was a passenger of more than four meters wide, can accommodate five people, good boot and … front-wheel drive. A great bourgeois family car that approached the barrier of 1,000 kilos; ie, an elephant with feet of clay.

This and yet society Amédée Gordini Renault-depth work performed and managed to dance to that proboscidio. The key piece would, of course, the engine. Italian-French engineer chose the R16 TS 1600, he endorsed two Weber 45 doubles, refined here and there and managed to come up performance to 125 hp at 6,250 rpm SAE. As comparative data, the best of FASA-the R12 TS 1.400- developed 70 hp. The rest of the process ‘gordinización’ focused on mounting a reinforced clutch, brakes and wheels ventilated -delante- 5.5 inch disks throat, lower suspensions and save weight as possible. And like most was destined for Cup circuit, the Régie and supplied them with sports seats and roll cage. Ready to run.

One of those is the Ángel Martínez. The aletines brought them apocrypha standard and has not touched anything except make the regulatory general set. Apart from the stickers that has not wanted to withdraw, the white stripes on the blue characteristic France, the Targa wheels and fog lights as standard give a touch ‘racing’. Behind closed doors, they draw attention thick tubes of the cage and three-spoke steering wheel, similar to the R8. The rest is a mondo R12 and lirondo, with additional relojitos for water and oil temperature and a speedometer that reaches marking 200 km / h.

And the fact is that, with the usual optimism of these watches, quite close to him must walk to the needle to reach that figure. Officially, the maximum speed is 185 km / h. Because R12G sounds and runs true. Ventilated brakes on the front axle to stop work miracles in distance and shape. But unlike his two oldest relatives, it does not go buzzards sections. They brings out his ‘stubbornness’ to not get clean in the corners. The front end gains prominence and must always lead the attack, ie, playing with mass transfers, balance it and throw it at the right time. Working with the steering wheel is stronger and heavier.

Fortunately, suspensions make it a fairly firm table, stable and less clumsy than I thought a priori. It shows that fast circuits like Magny Course are its habitat. However, in rallies, even the experience and hands of a specialist like Jean Ragnotti, born under the diamond mark, managed to pass the tenth fifth in the only official R12G participation in the Monte Carlo Rally.