Alain won the small class of the Boucle de l'Yonne, 5e édition - 19 et 20 septembre 1998. He finished 24th of a field of 108. Andrew Webb drove the other Imp in the up-to-1100cc class; the competition consisted of a few NSUs, some Minis, Simca 1000, Fiat 600 and 850, etc.
His Imp is a 1966 Mk 2, with a Sport 875cc engine, alternator,
front radiator, as well as the battery, 6 point roll bar, 5" alloy rims, refroidissement par moteur electrique sur le radiateur, special dashboard with seven pressure gauges, and other bits.
In May 1999, he did a rally and ended 2nd overall, a French rally for British cars only. It was won by an M.G. and a Mini came 3rd.
Boucle de l'Yonne is a regularity rally, where you have to be as close to a certain speed as possible (Between 30 and 50km/h).
The 300km route consists of three stages: two are driven on the Saturday (one during the night), and the third one on Sunday morning.
The original report of the rally is on the site of Reprise 5000.
Alain Barbou (near Paris, France). "I bought my red toy in '92 in the south of France. It was a long trip! In France, it is not so easy to find an Imp, 'cause very few were imported. I spend about one year, reading adverts, to realise my project. The reason why I love Imps is that in 68, I had a Sunbeam Chamois and since I kept the nostalgia of that small car. Actually it is prepared as a rallye car. 4 additional Cibié lamps, a 6 points rollbar, perspex windows, Spax on the rear, front king pins modified to have negative camber, alternator, front radiator, aluminium wheels with Bridgestone 175x70x12. It's a MK2 model whith a sport engine, always in 875cc but balanced. Sometimes I race in classics rallies, here in France. My last results is to have finish 29 on 97 at the start and 65 ended. You understand how happy am I. My navigator is Andrew Webb, owner of another French Sport Imp. Greetings to all Impers"
| Nº provisoire | Pilote | Voiture |
|---|---|---|
98 | Alain BARBOU Andrew WEBB | Sunbeam Imp Sport Sunbeam Imp |
| Classement général | ||||
| Ordre | Nom | Voiture | Pénalités | N° |
| 24 47 | Barbou Webb | Sunbeam Imp Sunbeam Imp | 89 172 | 40 96 |
| Classes de cylindrée : | ||
| 0-1100 cm³ | : Alain Barbou | Sunbeam IMP |
| 1100-1600 cm³ | : Bruno Ricci | Simca 1200 S |
| 1600-2000 cm³ | : Michel Blouin | Alpine Renault |
| + de 2000 cm³ | : M.Fortuné | DS 23 |
The week before the rally had been very cold and wet. During the days of the rally the weather was fine and this, together with the faultless organisation of the club Reprise 5000 made for an excellent event.
More than 100 teams were entered, of which 97 actually participated.
First stage: Ligny -Avallon (80km)
80 km attendaient les concurrents pour cette première étape disputée dans la Vallée du Serein. Départ de Ligny le Châtel sur les 'chapeaux de roue' pour les copilotes confrontés d'emblée à un itinéraire décrit à travers des cotes d'altitude. Beaucoup d'entre eux, s'attendant à du classique fléché-métré perdaient de précieuses minutes, après la ligne de départ, à recomposer les itinéraires sur la carte. Les plus habitués, Jean-Paul Siou, Gilbert Canzerini, Michel Clin et quelques autres entraient dans la ronde sans attendre et déjà, à Avallon, les écarts semblaient définitivement creusés. In the night the second stage of 160km and three special regularity stages: one of 50km The roadbook was correct, but left room for misinterpretation. A third of the teams visited a corn field. La seconde spéciale, commençait au sommet des Rochers du Saussois et permettait aux rescapés de cette longue nuit de parcourir les plateaux posés entre les vallées de l'Yonne et de la Cure. La dernière spéciale confortait la position des uns et des autres. Etape rapide, disputée sur un terrain où la vitesse était difficile à contenir dans les 44km/h demandés, cette dernière spéciale allait surtout provoquer des bouleversements dans le milieu du tableau où beaucoup de concurrents, qui avaient renoncé à toute prétention de podium, en profitaient pour rejoindre au plus vite l'arrivée laissant ainsi les plus persévérants remonter vers la première moitié du classement. Sunday 20 September had lovely weather. The last stage was one without regularity, only navigation. After a tortuous course of 28km, the participants needed the roadbook again and Après un parcours de 28 km, très sinueux et aux changements de direction très nombreux ces quelques 300 kms de pièges avec 18 points de pénalités seulement. |
80 km awaited the competitors on this first stage, contested in La Vallée du Serein. Starting in Ligny Châtel on the 'chapeaux de roue' the copilots were confronted at the start with a route defined by dimensions of altitude. Many of them, expecting traditional Tulip diagrams, lost invaluable minutes fitting the route to the map. The most experienced, Jean-Paul Siou, Gilbert Canzerini, Michel Clin and several others entered the round without delay and already, in Avallon, the differences seemed definitively set. In the night the second stage of 160km and three special regularity stages: one of 50km The roadbook was correct, but left room for misinterpretation. A third of the teams visited a corn field. The second long night special stage started at the top of the Rocks of Saussois and traversed the plateaux between the valleys of l’Yonne and De La Cure. The last special stage consolidated the positions of the leaders. It was a fast stage, over ground where it was difficult to maintain the required 44km/h, and it caused upheaval in the results table where many competitors, who had given up any claim for a podium finish, benefitted by arriving at controls as fast as possible, thus enabling the more persevering to climb into the first half of the classification. After a course of 28 km, very sinuous and with very many changes of direction, some 300 kms of traps had only 18 penalty points.
Translation: Ian Fisher |
April 2004: Belgium: rallye des légendes (l'Enfer du Marathon)
PY Hendrickx
pos.: 61 driver: BARBOU navigator: GIMAZANE comp.no. 41 car: SUNBEAM IMP year: 1966 F 16 325 31 356 1 1100 11 1111 1467
The Imp Site
Competitive Impers
Reprise5000 - a friend of Alain is the secretary of the club (the site seems gone; check the internet archive / internet archive)