This year, the GP Rétro at Le Puy Notre-Dame, in the Maine et Loire département of Western France, celebrated its 25th anniversary. Ten years ago, less than 50 motorcycles participated. This year, nearly three times that number took to the circuit. A decade ago, motorcycles were almost a side show to the cars. This year, they enjoyed equal billing – as well as the same number of classes and track sessions. So it’s fair to say that as the GP Rétro enters its second quarter century, two wheelers are entering their ascendancy.
Over the past 25 years, the Le Puy Notre-Dame circuit has changed little. Still it circumnavigates the walled park of the town’s long gone château, moving from the town, into the vineyards and back into the town along narrow roads. The only real change to the circuit is the elimination of the three sharp Rue d’Auchel turns, by extending the circuit to the end of the Rue du Parc and into the Rue des Ducs d’Aquitaine, before rejoining the original circuit on the Rue de la Mairie. Reflecting the fact that even a demonstration event can run safely at speed, the circuit is extensively delineated
