Reims are over

If you are thinking of doing a few laps around the old Reims circuit this summer, don’t bother. A massive road-building programme operation is under way and the straight from Muizon to Thillois is closed. This section had been used as a diversion while the new road was constructed, but a combination of heavy lorries and heavy rain caused a section of it to collapse.

On a brighter note, although Hotel Eifeler Hof in Adenau HQ for all the big teams during the 1930s is being gutted, its frontage and the stained-glass window depicting the Nordschleife have a protection order on them. Chris Nixon