Saint-Gouéno Masters: The French Hillclimb Festival Weekend

For many British and Irish hillclimbers, there is one European event that sits firmly at the top of the bucket list: the Saint-Gouéno Masters in Brittany.

More than just a hillclimb, Saint-Gouéno has become a motorsport festival. Combining world-class competition, a spectacular closed-road course, live music, food, entertainment and the famous Breton hospitality, it has earned a reputation as one of the most enjoyable weekends in European motorsport. The event is run by more than 600 volunteers and has become one of the highlights of the French hillclimbing calendar.

Located in the village of Saint-Gouéno in Brittany, the original hillclimb began in 1969 on a 2.2-kilometre course and quickly attracted many of France's leading drivers. Following a period of inactivity, the event was revived in 2003 with a historic hillclimb before competitive racing returned in 2005. The success of that revival led to the creation of the Saint-Gouéno Masters, an invitation event for competitors from the UK and Ireland that runs alongside the French Hillclimb Championship.

What makes Saint-Gouéno unique is its format. Unlike most hillclimbs, which involve returning to the paddock after each run, Saint-Gouéno operates almost like a circuit. Drivers leave the paddock in groups, travel to the start line, complete the 3.2-kilometre timed climb and then continue back to the paddock, creating an eight-kilometre loop. The system allows for an impressive amount of track action throughout the weekend.

The course itself is one of the most daunting in Europe. Winding through the Breton countryside on a narrow, tree-lined public road, it combines high-speed straights, blind crests and fast sweeping bends. Speeds of more than 230 km/h are achieved by the fastest cars, while the famous Fer à Cheval hairpin remains one of the most popular spectator viewing points. A quick run here demands absolute commitment, precision and a detailed memory of the course.

The outright course record is held by Geoffrey Schatz, who set a stunning time of 1 minute 11.990 seconds in a Nova Proto NP01-2 during the 2023 event. The Masters hill record belongs to Darren Warwick, who stopped the clocks at 1 minute 16.828 seconds in a Dallara F399 in 2016.

The Masters attracts an eclectic mix of machinery from the UK and Ireland. Single-seaters, sports racers, rally cars, historic machinery and highly modified saloon cars all tackle the same daunting ribbon of tarmac. Meanwhile, the accompanying French Championship entry features some of the quickest hillclimb cars in Europe, many arriving in professional race transporters and operated by highly experienced teams.

Away from the competition, Saint-Gouéno is famous for its atmosphere. The Festival Déjanté runs alongside the hillclimb, providing live music, food, entertainment and a social scene that has become almost as legendary as the racing itself. It is this combination of serious motorsport and community celebration that makes Saint-Gouéno unlike any other hillclimb event. Visitors often arrive for the racing and leave talking just as much about the people, the hospitality and the unique spirit of the weekend.

For competitors and spectators alike, Saint-Gouéno represents everything that is great about European hillclimbing: a spectacular road course, incredible cars, passionate volunteers and a whole community embracing motorsport. It is easy to understand why so many drivers return year after year to take on one of the most famous hills in Europe.

You can find all the updated Saint-Gouéno Masters records here.