I spent this afternoon watching the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. It was an absolute cracker. Every time the cars came through Massenet and into Casino Square, I was reminded of the 2010 R Gruppe Bergmeister Tour, and the three days our ten cars spent in Monte Carlo. Watching the F1 drivers blast at 120 mph or more through sections we trickled through at 30 mph was fantastic.

Bergmeister rallyistes used the city as a base for mountain raids up around the principality, to the epic Monte Carlo Rally routes we were driving. Getting in and out of town was easy enough, but getting around was a headache. Traffic along the GP track in normal running is nigh-on stationary. It’s also quite difficult to equate TV and reality, when parts of the flowing circuit are run as one way or no left/right turn during the normal working week.

We did manage a few runs along some famous stretches, and I got told off by the police once or twice for hanging out the windows of moving 911s with a camera, but it was worth it when the pictures made a cover and a big feature in 911 & Porsche World magazine.

If you’re a diehard F1 fan and have not yet made the effort to get down there and drive the circuit, put it on your bucket list. Trust your Uncle Johnny: it is WELL worth the effort. Though it can be trashy in places, Monaco is a unique environment: a shrine to speed that will undoubtedly inspire something within.