After a three-year, Covid-19 imposed hiatus, the last weekend of June saw the Chinon Classic in business again. Temperatures in the low to mid-20s were perfect for the event – for both riders and spectators – but had it been a week earlier, when in Western France the heatwave saw temperatures rise to the low 40s and red severe weather warnings declared across the area, it would have been ‘touch and go’ whether the event took place.
Entry numbers were down, 62 this year compared to 106 in 2019. Perhaps this reflects the long shadow that Covid-19 still casts, particularly for participants for whom the description ‘vintage’ is as applicable to them as to their motorcycles. But what may have been lost in numbers, was made up for by the quality of the entries. These were divided into two classes, broadly being pre- and post-Second World War, each enjoying