When you leave Paul Ricard bound for Austria (if you can get out of the circuit), you will soon get down to the coastal plain. You grab the A50 autoroute and head for Toulon, under which you pass in one very long tunnel. No doubt this makes the city a nicer place but it is not very scenic. Soon, however, you are speeding above ground on the other side of town, heading up through Provence, inland from the Massif des Maures range of (small) mountains, and missing out on the delightful corniche that runs between Hyères, through such pleasant spots as Le Lavandou and Le Canadel, up to Fréjus. Those who know about Formula 1 will recognise the name of one of the villages one passes: Gonfaron, once the home of Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (otherwise known as AGS) which ran in F1 between 1986 and 1991.
To continue reading, please click here.
