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With our first races behind us it’s time to start focussing on the BergMeister Tour 2012. It’s hard to describe what the BergMeister is all about, but I’ll try.

I have regularly spent time in the South of France, visiting my sister, who lives and works there and I became enamored with the landscape of the Alpes Maritimes. During day trips my wife and I would criss cross the landscape in rental cars, looking for vantage points for photo’s, and at some stage I decided we needed to take the R Gruppe down here.

I gauged the interest among friends in the USA and at R Gruppe Treffen in 2009 the BergMeister Tour was born. TwinSpark partner John Glynn was there and the pals of Zuffenhaus and Steven Harris. Although in the end out of that group onlyJohn and Steven joined us on the first Tour in 2010, but others got wind of it and we ended up with Germans, Kiwi’s, Canucks, Yanks, Brits and Dutchies. Nearly a nationality a car.

I wanted to keep the group small, so as to ensure a team feel and also not attract too much attention when running through towns, with hissing and popping 911’s. You can go back to earlier entries on this blog to read up on our impressions of that trip, but it has been described by some as their best road trip ever. And this is from a spoiled bunch. Part of the secret was the roadbook. It was sitting inside everybody’s TomTom and the focus was on driving, not finding your way around.

We took on some of the most beautiful mountain roads in France, spent a few nights in Monaco and finished at the 2010 Le Mans Classic.

This year our trip is much longer and ignores Le Mans Classic. Most of the participants are licensed historic racing drivers and visiting LMC is a tantalising experience. We prefer to drive ourselves over watching the action from the side. This feeling allowed for a much expanded program to include nearly 5.000 km of route.

The 2012 BergMeister will be an even greater test of both driver and car endurance. Our route will pass through Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Monaco, Belgium and back to Holland. There will be a great number of new Passes to explore, some of which go back to the Roman era and are famed by the Tour de France and Top Gear.

The only prize participants take home is their experience of driving some of the best switch back roads in the world in the company of some of the best friends. And this is the essence of the event. Driving in a train of chain howling early 911s with the echo bouncing off the Alpine rocks is just unforgettable. And then you arrive at the hotel and stories of exciting turns and well executed upshifts emerge over cold beer or wine.

The cultural diversity of the group ensures new stories and perspectives to be shared all the time and so there is never a dull moment. These are all highly skilled drivers, so safety is observed at all times, but the pace within legal limits on mountain roads can already be a challenge.

Stay tuned for more updates as our trip approaches.