The 2016 Tour Auto Rally will give the 240 participants a specially prepared route, in recognition of the event’s 25th anniversary. Scheduled for 18-24 April, this year’s event will finish for the first time in the Peter Auto era with a nighttime run on well-known rally roads in the countryside above the Côte d’Azur.
In keeping with tradition the 2016 Tour de France Auto will begin on Monday 18th April with the cars on display in the Grand Palais in Paris. The next day (Tuesday 18th April) the crews will leave the French capital at the crack of dawn to go to the official start at the Château de Courances. They will then set off on French roads to do battle in the timed events (competition or regularity) on 4 circuits (Dijon-Prenois, Bresse, Lédenon, Paul Ricard) as well as 11 special stages on closed roads.
Every year the route of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo is changed, and in 2016 it will include Beaune, Lyon and Valence after which the competitors will arrive on the Mediterranean coast as the fourth leg will end in Marseille. Then they will head for the Croisette in Cannes for the finish of the 25th Tour Auto Optic 2ooo after a journey of around 2,000 kilometers.
To make sure the 25th anniversary event remains memorable, Peter Auto added a night stage to the programme for the first time. Thus, the crews who arrive in Cannes on Saturday afternoon will still have another challenge ahead of them. After a few hours rest they will all head for the roads in the hinterland on the Côte d’Azur for a night run, punctuated by two special stages, followed by the finish on the Croisette in the night of Saturday and Sunday bringing down the curtain on the 25th Tour Auto Optic 2ooo.
2016 Tour Auto Rally – Schedule of Events
Monday, April 18, Grand Palais, Paris (Scrutineering)
Open to the public from 10:00 to 17:00
Tuesday, April 19, Paris – Beaune (463 km)
Official Start at the Château de Courances
1 special stage + Circuit de Dijon-Prenois
Finish: Palais des Congrès (Beaune)
Wednesday, April 20, Beaune – Lyon (330 km)
2 special stages + Circuit de Bresse
Finish: Palais des Sports (Lyon)
Thursday, April 21, Lyon – Valence (395 km)
3 special stages
Finish: Champ de Mars (Valence)
Friday, April 22, Valence – Marseille (399 km)
2 special stages + Circuit de Lédenon
Finish: Esplanade J4 / MUCEM (Marseille)
Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24, Marseille – Cannes (408 km)
3 special stages + Circuit Paul Ricard
Finish: Croisette (Cannes)
For more information, visit PeterAuto.com.
[Source: Peter Auto; photo: Julien Mahiels]
