Driving from Austria to Croatia in 5 days with more than 20 supercar owners and car enthusiasts from all over Europe. In a nutshell that sums up GTspirit Tour 2018 but unless you attended it will be hard to understand what it was like. Now I can tell you we stayed in some very nice hotels every night and drove some fantastic roads but that still doesn’t begin to truly grasp the essence of our annual Tour. That’s why I will try to give you an idea by sharing 10 of my highlights of the tour with you. Illustrating life on the road, with friends and some very nice cars.
Shared Passion
All the participants and our team have a shared passion for cars and adventure. This connects all participants, veterans and newcomers, from day one. During the tour life-long friendships are build through shared passion and a unique experience.
Discovering new places
The GTspirit Tour is as much about discovering new places as it is about driving. Every day we visit a new place for lunch and stop at another hotel. We look for the best and most exciting places we can find providing superb hospitality and hopefully a place our participants will remember.
D-Resort, Sibenik
Plitvice National Park Waterfalls, Croatia
Monte Mulini Hotel, Rovinj
Surprise Stops
We love to add a little element of surprise to the GTspirit Tour. This year we stopped at Pagani Automobili, creator of some of the world’s most desirable cars, for an exclusive tour of their brand new factory.
Authentic & Fine Food
Adding some stops at restaurants to sample some local or speciality cuisine is a must. Wheter it is seafood at Lake Garda or this delicious Parmaham and Parmesan with home-made 30 year old balsamic vinegar. Adding a little culinary experience is part of the GTspirit Tour. My favorite restaurant this year was our lunch stop at Quercia di Rosa on the outskirts of automotive mecca Modena.
Random Fun
There is some much random fun; non-stop jokes and even during unexpected situations there is always someone there to bring out a smile.
Finding the best roads
Our biggest challenge is finding the right roads for the tour. Smooth surface is a must and little traffic very desirable. When we find exceptional new and unknown roads it feels like winning the jackpot – even better when shared with our friends on the tour.
Dealing with the unexpected
Traveling over 40,000 kilometers between our participants combined something unexpected can always happen. In this case a flat tire in the most inconvenient spot in no-mans-land near the Bosnian border stopped the Audi R8 team from continueing. While it was not the best thing that could have happened at the moment we worked out a solution and will never forget the three hours under the burning Croatian sun.
Having fun together
There are supercar rallies where it is every man for himself. At the GTspirit Tour we drive individually but regularly stop for coffee or petrol together and sometimes even swap cars when we feel like it. This year I had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari 430 Scuderia for a bit (thanks Ben!) adding yet another dimension to the tour.
Spirit of the Tour
Only one can win. The GTspirit Tour is not about who is the fastest, who drives the most expensive car or who throws the most money around in the clubs. It is about the other points mentioned here. It is about making friends, having fun and sharing a unique experience. The person that best embodies this thought wins our ‘Spirit of the Tour’ award. Congrats to Doc and special thanks to Pirelli for the awesome award!
Everything combined
Combine everything above and you have the mix that makes the GTspirit Tour to the event it is today.
Special thanks to our partners and sponsors including Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Pirelli, Akrapovic, Pass AG and RSL Fire!
