The 2008 Colombres Rally
Classic touring, Spanish style
March/April 2009
Ian Kerr
 |
Participants ride through one of the many picturesque villages aboard a Sanglas single, just one of the many bikes from small Spanish manufacturers at the rally.
Ian Kerr
|
For 2008, nearly a third of the 500 registered participants came from England, rolling onto a ferry in Plymouth for a 20-hour cruise to Spain’s northern province of Cantabria and the port of Santander. From there, they rode 80 miles down the coast to the small village of Colombres for four days of sun-kissed classic bike activity in mid-October — a welcome break from the appalling wet U.K. weather.
RELATED CONTENT
In 2003, a group of friends held the first Harvest Classic rally, and a new tradition was born....
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion. Bombing down the dramatic roads that twist and turn along the shor...
The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum held its 4th Annual Barber Vintage Festival Oct. 17-19, 2008,...
We’ve cast our votes in the runoffs, now it’s your turn to make the final decision in our 2008 Moto...
Twenty-one years and rolling
Now in its 21st year, the event is more than just a romp across northern Spain, with several thousand other bikers from all over Spain and Europe converging to enjoy the combined bike show and swap meet, along with the twisty hill climb on the road into the hill-top village.
The Colombres Rally is essentially four events in one: a gathering of classic enthusiasts, an eight- hour road trail over 300 miles, a hill climb and, finally, a combined show and swap meet. The show runs the last two days of the meeting, and is free to everyone enrolled in the road rally.
Each year the show adopts a theme, and for 2008 it was the Spanish manufacturer Bultaco. As a result there were some superb bikes on display representing just some of the incredible dirt bikes the firm produced, plus a sampling of road bikes to remind us Bultaco built more than just dirt bikes.
It’s easy to forget Bultaco’s road racing successes and ordinary road models, and there were quite a few taking part in the event. In addition, there were numerous road versions from other Spanish manufacturers like Montessa and Ossa, also better known outside their home country for their off-road competition machines.
As Bultaco was the featured marque for the rally this year, it was fitting that Paul Smart was in attendance. Though Paul is best known, of course, for his historic win at Imola on a Ducati as well as being a works rider for Suzuki, he was also a Bultaco rider back in the day, which resulted in him spending many a day at the Bulto house with the family. Paul is married to Maggie Sheene, whose father, Frank, was the first importer of Bultaco to the U.K. and quickly ended up with a reputation as a tuner and fettler of Bultaco race bikes. It was on a 125cc machine owned by Frank that his son Barry started racing at Brands Hatch, winning his third-ever race on one!
Although Paul opened the hill climb on the Saturday by powering up the mile climb on a modern Paul Smart replica Ducati, he spent the rest of the time on a Royal Enfield supplied by local resident and classic bike touring operator Phil Butler (see sidebar page 45), thoroughly enjoying the
laid-back atmosphere.