Wheel meet again… Day 21 Tashkent to Samarkand

SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Jeff Robinson and Rob Blake - Dodge Tourer - Peter Banham hopes to fix their wheel problem tomorrow

After the adventures of the veteran Lancia and the crew who were turfed off the road into the undergrowth yesterday when a front wheel came adrift, it seems that the crew of Car 9, the big 1926 Dodge Tourer, decided to follow the example. They have been in trouble today with a wooden-spoked wheel collapsing.

Peter Banham has found a length of wood he plans to turn into spokes, and is confident that on our rest-day tomorrow Isobelle, as the Dodge is nick-named, will be rolling again. Prince Borghese had just this same problem while in Russia on the original 1907 event, and he too found a local wheelwright to make new spokes to fettle his Itala. Peter reckons he will be copying Prince Borghese and giving all the wheels a long soaking in water before being fitted back on the car…there is a fish-pond in the hotel gardens ideal for the job.

Today has been another warm sunny day and on mostly good quality tarmac roads, for once, and 350 kilometres were knocked off in fine fashion, skirting numerous cotton-fields, with balls of white cotton being hand-picked by an army of pickers.

The immaculate Anadol of Ahmet Ongun & Erdal Tokcan

We are now at Samarkand, city of blue mosaic domes above large mosques, clean tree-lined wide streets, a cross-roads of the Silk Route. Tomorrow’s day off will entice some crews away from their cars for a spot of sight-seeing as it would be a shame to leave Samarkand without taking a look around.

Outside the hotel, Americans Fritz James and Lang Wightman are servicing their Model A Ford Phaeton, despite the string of troubles reported on this sight by a regular bunch of competitors, Fritz and Lang point out that their virtually-standard Model A has given no trouble, and given a regular spanner check in the evenings continues to perform with utter reliability. Their only modification is a set of telescopic shockabsorbers, and they retain the original three-speed gearbox…today’s long straight roads had them wondering if the four-speeder out of the later Model B might not have been a good move, however.

The car park is surprisingly quiet this evening. Andy Drinkwater and Diana Cooper in the trouble-stricken little blue Renault 4CV have driven all the way today, hopeful that their front suspension problems are behind them, but they had the front assembly stripped down this evening with locals from a workshop being briefed on what they have to do to reinforce things for the rest of the event. Tim Scott has also driven here with his F.N. motorcycle and the bike is parked up under the trees at the back of the hotel.

David Roberts is working on the Sunbeam Talbot which now looks rather the worse for wear, he has the alloy tank out of the boot as a seam has split. A more mysterious petrol leak has hit the Rolls-Royce Phantom of Richard and Karen Auchincloss, as they lost over 90-litres of petrol coming into town tonight and there is no sign of a leak… Robert Kitchen reckons that as petrol is very scarce in Uzbekistan it might have been siphoned out. If you drive a Rolls, you are a conspicuous target, is Rob’s theory.

Talking of leaks, Arthur Freeman and Roger James in the 1936 Ford V8 Coupe, had a spot of bother today with an all-alloy radiator splitting at a seam and losing the water…had he kept the original brass and steel rad, it would have been a lot easier to repair, and being less brittle probably wouldn’t have given any trouble. The leak was plugged by Simon Ayris, but the driver is wondering if this will get him to Paris.

We are now about half-way, in terms of driving distance. With no motoring on the agenda for tomorrow, the hotel bar is already being driven hard.

Desperate Dan - Day 20 Shymkent to Tashkent

SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Daniel Ward - 'Lucky' to find his missing wheel after yet another stub axle breakage

Adventures started early this morning. Firstly, for the crew of Car 3, the 1914 Lancia Theta three-litre Veteran of Daniel Ward and David Ingleby. Confident that their Russian-made front stub axles would last all the way to Paris, they were turfed into the undergrowth at dawn today when the front right hand side snapped like a stick of barley sugar, the wheel and remains of the stub axle rolling off for some distance into long grass.

Time-keeper crew Andy Actman and Ian Langford came along minutes later and found Daniel scrabbling down a bank carrying the wooden wheel, obviously feeling pleased to find it. “This is lucky!” was Daniels first words. Andy was confounded by this… “it was not the sort of first-reaction you would normally expect to hear.”

Both crew members were covered in coffee – David had just managed to pour out two mugs of coffee from a Thermos flask when the front wheel suddenly parted company.
Driving the Impossible

Gerd Buehler and Thomas Feierabend - Lagonda LG45 - on the road to Tashkent

With a spare stub-axle on board, they were able to fettle the car into running again and made the border control before it closed for lunch. However, disaster struck again once into Uzbekistan, as the other side then decided it had suffered enough metal fatigue and snapped in half. When this happens the front of the car just suddenly drops onto the tarmac, scraping along, as the errant wheel bounds off into the boondocks.

One of the quickest Vintageants on the road most days, the Alvis Speed 20 of Rudi Friedrichs broke a steering arm in the car park leaving the hotel this morning. He too was thinking “this is lucky” as he reckoned he was glad it let go at zero-speed before turning into the road. He was able to find a garage, get it welded, and also make the border-control by lunchtime. He then came across the MG Magnette ZB of the crew from Portugal, Jose and Maria de Sousa, who suffered an under-bonnet fire as constant vibration had chafed through an earth-lead, and sparks then set fire to oil leaking from an oil-cooler pipe. Rudi was able to put out the fire and use one good oil pipe to by-pass the oil-cooler, and then wrap the battery lead with fresh insulation.

The Shooters are back with their 1930 Model A Ford, they went to the airport to collect a fresh gearbox at 1.30 am, then went to a garage lined up to do the swop, and finally got going to reach us here in Tashkent having gone through the night twice on the trot, but despite two hours sleep in the last 48 hours were elated to hand in their time-card book with the announcement: “We are back in the rally.”

They are not the only ones who have burnt midnight oil. Tim Scott was on the road before light this morning, he got into the hotel at 4.30 am, announced he was just off for a shower, and, was back on his bike and on the road again an hour later.

We motored some good roads today, with borders to negotiate – helped by the excellent Kyrgyz Concept team the day went smoothly for most.

Frederique Constant and Cohiba Cigars Launch Extraordinary Limited Edition Wristwatches at Club Macanudo in NYC

September 24, 2010—Frédérique Constant and Cohiba debuted their limited edition watch collection to leading members of the press, VIPs and cigar aficionados on Wednesday night at Club Macanudo in NYC.

More than 150 people savored Cohiba cigars while admiring the handcrafted Swiss wristwatches that will be available solely throughout authorized Frédérique Constant retailers in the United States and its territories.

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On display at the event were the steel wristwatch (limited to 188 pieces) that will sell for a suggested retail price of $1,650 and the rose gold-plated watch (limited to 188 pieces) which will carry an SRP of $1,750. The watches are housed in an elegant humidor which also contains 25 Cohiba Crystal cigars, handmade in the Dominican Republic.

Ralph Simons, US President for Frédérique Constant said, “the partnership was born out of true affinity between Cohiba and Frédérique Constant -- there are so many similarities between cigar and watchmaking, not the least of which is the level of skill required to handcraft both products."

Blair Smith, senior brand manager of Cohiba agreed, " We are delighted to be able to celebrate the heritage of the Cohiba brand with such bespoke timepieces and we look forward to future collaboration with Frédérique Constant."

Live your Passion

The Longest Day… (so far) - Day 19 Almaty to Shymkent

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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John Dickinson and Charles McGowan negotiate the horror potholes in their Bentley Tourer

It’s been the longest day so far, with 730 kilometres covered since 6.0am this morning, a necessity because of the shortage of hotels that are able to accommodate the whole rally. We have now arrived in Shymkent, in the south of Kazakhstan, and the rally is split over two hotels in the centre of town. Tomorrow is considerably shorter, at just over 200 kms, but we have to cross the border into Uzbekistan to reach Tashkent, which will no doubt prove a time-consuming hassle.

With two days of fettling during the Almaty rest-days, the majority started off today fighting fit, even Tim Scott on the 1923 FN motorcycle was chuffing well, setting out in darkness before everyone else.

Most crews have arrived very tired, but pleased with themselves, the crew of Car 6, the 14-litre La France, has had a steady run but they have had a string of suspension problems, all four springs have broken twice and one spring has broken four times. But today has proved to be a good steady run.

The route today has been all tarmac, but did include one horror section of some 20 kms of very vicious pot-holes, some eight or nine inches deep lined with very sharp edges, just the sort of thing that destroys wheel bearings if hit too hard. That has been the problem for the Bolsovers, in the Chevy, who spent the two days off trying to sort a wheel bearing problem – several cars suffered wheel-bearing problems through not being greased up before the start with water-proof grease.

Nigel Gambier and Hugo Upton were in trouble with their Lagonda, this time with spark plugs and engine-timing issues – the manifolds are lagged with asbestos tape and its only a matter of time before it follows the example of the Lagondas on the last Peking to Paris and has the manifold burnt through and full of holes due to the extreme heat of long hot days. The Lagonda of the Luns has avoided this tweak, but they are suffering with broken engine-mounts.

The ’39 Chevrolet two-seater open Special of Doug Mackinnon and Anastasia Karavaeva have had the advantage of the co-driver speaking fluent Russian, it’s been handy as the car has been in difficulties after the first day. After a broken axle, the car was in the Red Scorpion Garage in Almaty for a day of repairs but today the axle broke a second time, early on this morning, and the car now appears doomed.

Martin and Olivia Hunt in Car 63, a 1927 Bentley Le Mans, hit a lamb crossing the road, the sheep picked itself up and ran off remarkably unscathed, the car is going well but has suffered six punctures so far.

Nicholas Pryor and Lesley Stockwell in the ’62 Volvo PV544 which they were assured was prepared along the lines of the car that took Joginder Singh to victory on the Safari Rally has suffered more problems, this time more minor, however, having had to borrow some wire to lash up their exhaust… a lot of cars are now having exhaust problems through lack of flexibility, a basic rally-mod.

Hugh Bishop came into the hotel just as it was turning dark this evening feeling relieved, as the 1925 Vauxhall 30-98 has poor lights and was lost time during the day with electrical bothers, eventually sorted by Simon Ayris as nothing more tricky than a loose wire to the coil.

Marco Rollinger and Viviane Biel from Luxembourg have retired their ’27 Bentley Le Mans, and are now out of the competition, but are touring down the route to Paris having flown in their Lancia Aurelia B20.

Car 77, the Dodge of Vilnis Husko and James Kabrich has retired, and the crew are now travelling in the Subaru which has been bought by the crew of the Ford Model B, Car 33, who are are now touring down the route.

Tomorrow offers another border and another country.

Lions, Scorpions, even a Sphinx… Day 18 Almaty - Rest Day

SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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The scene of frantic repair activity in Almaty today

To the Red Scorpion Garage. Visiting this strange sounding place was a must this morning, as we heard there were over-heated arguments about service arrangements yesterday, and the workshop was littered with cars that had been totally stripped down, looking like squashed spiders.

How to get to down-town Almaty from the Intercontinental hotel? All the taxis had been taken. So Daniel Ward, driver of Car 3, the three-litre 1914 Lancia, offered to give snapper Gerard Brown and your columnist a lift. Gerard sat out on the wooden planked rear decking of the boat-tailed tourer to navigate from a map, which quickly became unreadable in the breeze as the driver cut a swathe through the undergrowth of the morning rush-hour. We swung from lane to lane, cut up the locals in fine style just as they do to us, and made sedate progress away from the standing-starts of the traffic-light Grand Prix.

Once at this odd-sounding garage, with a large red Scorpion up on the wall of the front of the building, with two six-foot tall statues of lions on either side of the main door, complete with a pair of Egyptian Sphinxes, perhaps left over from a film-set, we found ourselves stepping over a vast scattering of worn out and broken vintage and classic car parts, strewn across the floor like victims of some sort of explosion. There were broken gearboxes, snapped axle half shafts, bits of suspension… we peered inside the gearbox of a Stutz, with Mickey Gabbett confident someone can do intricate surgery that would involve getting into such tricky places of the gearbox for internal alloy welding even a dentist would blanch. We found a Bentley of Simon Hope with a million nuts and bolts spread out on the seats; the big black Austin of Car 107 in the line up awaiting repairs, rather than replace the 20-year-old alternator as part of the rally preparations, the crew brought a new one with them as a spare, but it doesn’t fit… the Chevrolet Speedster of Car 60, looking very battered and falorn, and without any under body protection at all… and Alastair Caldwell, whose latest problem involves pulling out the radiator of his Alfa.

An axle assembly is removed for repairs

The Lancia crew of Car 3 joined the line-up for attention but they are confident that the Russian made front stub-axles, machined from solid steel billets, would now see them all the way to Paris.

This workshop is just one of several that have seen nearly two days of “rest days” transforming broken mechanicals in a scene of frenzied activity in order for everyone being passed as super-fit for the 6.0am Start tomorrow morning.

We look like seeing a Start List of 91 cars… having set out from China with 98 Starters. There are warnings on the notice-board for the walking wounded, to the effect that getting across borders on trucks is going to get increasingly difficult from here on, and impossible once at the Turkmenistan border, and suggests some drivers should face up to a reality-check. However, the mood of buoyant optimism increases with the strong rumour that the worst is now over, and the roads are going to be vastly better… well, until we see the Time Trials of Iran, and the gravel tracks of northern Turkey, and, then the Acropolis roads of Greece.

Please Vote for Frederique Constant and win a watch!

At Frederique Constant we are delighted to learn that the Maxime Manufacture Automatic has been nominated for the highly respected Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Geneve!

Maxime Manufacture Automatic: ...sophisticated...

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Please vote for the Frederique Constant Maxime Manufacture Automatic on below link and you could become the lucky winner of your very own Frederique Constant timepiece!

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Car 54… Where are you? - Day 17 Almaty - Rest Day

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Wenzel Kerremans and Tony Watson - Rolls Royce 20/25

It’s been a relatively restful day for most here at the Intercontinenal in the centre of Almaty, a busy lively modern city surrounded by a ring of snow-capped mountains. A chance to catch up on the laundry, chill-out in the piano bar, or dive into town for the Red Scorpion workshop for a spot of welding and repairs.

Just about everyone has been servicing and fettling broken metal today.

We have been missing #54, the South Africans in the Rolls Royce 20/25 of Wenzel Kerremans and Tony Watson. They finally arrived here at 6.0pm this evening, having survived a solo three day drive from Belokurikha, having decided to stop to take on repairs from the local motor-club. This Russian club has impressed all round with their generous help and ability to sort just about any mechanical disaster, and as the Rolls needed a new spring made from scratch, the crew decided to stop to make a proper job of it with a whole new leaf spring rather than welded broken pieces.

Out in the car park, David and Jo Roberts have been working on their Sunbeam Talbot as the mountings between body and chassis have broken up after the pounding of the terrible roads of Mongolia.
Driving the Impossible

David and Jo Roberts - Sunbeam Talbot

The Aston Martin DB5 of Adrian Gosden and Andrew Honeychurch was having the once-immaculate under-bonnet area cleaned and dusted out, Andrew using a small brush to clean the three carburettors, while reminiscing on the punishment of Mongolia the car has endured. The Aston is in third place in the Classics Category, and Andrew regrets not spending more time on pre-rally homework getting to grips with understanding the timing system. “We dropped an hour of penalties on the first day in the Gobi Desert through silly mistakes, if we had we not copped a load of penalties we would be neck and neck with the leader now.”

The Aston and Sunbeam crews have not been alone. Bits of vintage and classic cars scattered around the hotel car park and some fairly hefty rebuilds going on all watched by the bemused regular hotel guests and supported by numerous taxi runs to the ‘Car City’ street-market, an enormous complex of motor-factors selling all manner of car parts.

From Campsite to Comfort... Day 16 Usharal to Almaty

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Bruce Selbie and Bruce Washington - Rolls Royce 20/25

It promised to be an uneventful day… all that was necessary was to drive a main-road route of some 500 kms to Almaty, and after a night of camping in a field, bask in a warm soapy bath of the Almaty Intercontinental. Nothing, however, goes to plan – it wouldn’t qualify as an adventure if it did so.

Dick Disaster, however, is a constant riding companion. Car 22, the 1922 “Bonnie and Clyde” Chevrolet Roadster of David Clements and Russell Stevenson, burst into flames yesterday. The crew jumped out but were unable to rescue their bags of personal possessions. They lost everything except their passports as they watched the car turned to a pile of ashes.

The dark red Alfa of Alastair Caldwell and Catriona Rings pulled up in front of the glass revolving doors to unload their luggage, still with two spare wheels on the plastic see-through home-made hardtop, but now looking rather the worse for wear. There are large “lumps” appearing in the alloy wings from the battering of stones – the inner wings have no protection – and the car had been mighty sick of late, first with muck in the petrol tank giving acceleration of a kangaroo quality, and then more worrying, a wheel-bearing failure provided an added headache. This was cured by drilling holes in a wheel-spinner to turn it into a hub puller in order to replace the offending item with a spare carried in the tiny boot. The driver has looked worried and totally unapproachable for days, is now cheerful again, after a spot of encouragement from Peter Banham.

Here’s a run-down of what we have heard from crews on arrival here in Almaty: Car 43, Jorg Lemberg and Rene Mueller, in a Lagonda, report a failed head-gasket, but reckon they are going to sort this themselves; Car 9, the Dodge Tourer of Jeff Robinson and Rob Blake, is to sort out a duff bearing in the generator; Car 38, the Alvis of the Wilkinson’s, has a leaky radiator and a jammed starter-motor due to too much sand; Car 70, the Dodge of Bill Shields and Daniel Day, has a broken engine mount and needs a new steering arm; Car 11, the Vauxhall of Max Stephenson and Carl Watson, reports a minor oil leak and problems with the starter-motor, “otherwise everything is happy,” and Car 76 David Smith and Anne Marie Smith, in a La Salle, have a noisy clutch release bearing; and the Hickling’s MG SA has a cracked differential, and the radiator has a fan blade stuck in it… (that’s been a common problem).
Driving the Impossible

Alex Howard and Dominic Collins - Rolls Royce Phantom II

Car 75, the Bolsover’s Chevy, needs a change of a half shaft and repairs to a cracked radiator; the La France, Car 6, is sorting a holed radiator and a broken spring; the Rolls Phantom of Alex Howard and Dominic Collins, in a Rolls Phantom, has a broken fan, slipping clutch, dodgy brakes, the running boards are falling off, and no lights; Car 101, the Holden of Frank Bird and Ross Oakman, say they have had no problems since Ulaan Bataar when they fitted a new camshaft.

All seem optimistic of running repairs as we are here for the next two days, and after a spot of fettling in the network of workshops here will be back on the road again, fighting-fit.

The Peking to Paris is surely all about the masochism of a faithful re-enactment of the kind of hardship, endurance, and test of tenacity that the pioneers of 1907 displayed on the world’s first ever inter-Continental rally, and most crews are stuck into the spirit of things, knowing that surely when it comes to the pain-threshold, nothing could get much tougher than this, and with no back-up when things go wrong. However, this column can exclusively reveal that there is another side to life on the Peking to Paris.

How about this – we understand that a private plane was chartered to enable a bunch of competitors to fly into Almaty from Semey. Our sleuth reckons the culprits, who explain themselves by the need to either get to the hotel first in order to bag the Penthouse Suite, or, ensure a workshop is lined up to work on their car before everyone else, (traditional Terry Thomas regulations being applied here), called up a private aircraft. Well, you could not make this up… a plane load of rally-crews with cars that have spent a great deal of time crossing whole countries on the back of trucks have arrived here as the rally jet-set. We are reliably informed they are crews of Cars 31, 29, 89, 99, 43, and 56, and so large was this bunch, the pilot had to be persuaded to take a few on one opening leg, and then return to pick up the rest, so twice flying what the rest have driven the hard way… Cheating? How could the rule-makers possibly have forseen such cunning initiative as this?

Yep, you couldn’t make it up. Must go… the bubble-bath is over-flowing.

In Fields of Gold... Day 15 Semey to Usharal

SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Rhys Timms and John Hastie - MG SA

Another day of bright sunshine – nobody has yet to use their windscreen wipers since leaving the Great Wall of China – and 500 kms of tarmac takes us to a vast open field of axle-high parched grass.

We are 500 kms from Almaty, the capital city of Kazakstan, and it’s here that we are camping the night. According to the rally schedule this is the final night that we have to resort to our tents. From here on, it’s hotels every night.

The run today was not without its patches of broken tar and bumpy stretches, requiring a driving technique that resorts to sweeping from side to side to incorporate both sides, made all the more interesting with the oncoming locals doing the same thing. First car to the campsite this afternoon was the bellowing exhaust of the yellow Chevy Coupe of Steve Hyde.

The day was an transport-section sort of day with four passage controls set up in local truck-stop cafes along the road, Steve is not one for hanging about, however, the temptation of burger and chips, or a bowl of potato soup and mug of coffee, is something he insists is for the end of the day. His whole approach to this event is one of “get going as soon as possible, knock off the day, and then use what daylight is left to fettle the car…. I can’t understand those who want to mess around half the morning and then want to keep stopping.”

Steve admits he is no mechanic and his routine of spanner checks and general servicing as he moves around the car is something that he says doesn’t come easy. He has a list of what to check over, tightening suspension bolts, checking for play here and there, and today he found several bolts that needed a good half-turn in the suspension, and was most concerned that the big front drum brakes of the Chevy had gone right off during the morning, and it seems that the slack needs tightening up now on a very regular basis.

Steve hacked down the hard-shoulder for most of today’s run to avoid the deep tarmac tram-lines caused by the heavy trucks pounding the road that has rippled badly under the constant baking sun. There is no doubt that leading the Vintageants Category is a pressure that is beginning to tell, and Steve looks more worried than most.
Driving the Impossible

Bill and Biddy Bolsover - Chevrolet Coupe

Clive Dunster, also in a Chevy Coupe, reports a similar problem with the front brakes, “your foot goes flat to the floor with nothing there, one moment, and then its rock hard, difficult to fathom.” He has made a steady recovery after losing his Gold-medal on day one due to a duff coil, and has set about climbing back up the leaderboard ever since.

Our campsite is just off a junction of a main road and close to three petrol stations. Toilets have been dug in the ground and set up in square canvas cubicles complete with flushing china loos. A large marquee has been erected for our dining room this evening, food is being cooked in large bowls, heated on fires glowing in trenches dug into the ground.

Mark Winkleman in the blue Plymouth Coupe was among the first to arrive this afternoon, and reports that “simply nothing has gone wrong” with his rallycar since the start. He says he considered the temptation of a four speed gearbox but decided in the end for total originality, and runs a three-speeder, with the original low axle-ratio, which he says gave him a benefit on the gravel climbs in Mongolia. He is running light, with minimal spares and equipment that fills less than half the boot which slopes over the rear axle.

William Medcalf’s four-cylinder Bentley arrived this afternoon with oil all over the rear of the car, the vibration has finally split a gallon can of Castrol 60-grade.

First of the Classic Category cars to arrive at the camp site was car 104, the Mercedes Coupe of Stephen Fitzgerald and Paddy Judge, the 280E two-door Merc is one of the lowest-riding cars of the whole rally, and Paddy Judge was in reflective mood when he pulled up this afternoon. “We had a lively discussion within the car and decided that after we cracked the exhaust manifold, and felt a lot of rocks banging and crashing under the car, that we simply had to either chuck out a load of weight, or, go back. It was a make or break type of discussion. I threw out Stephen’s five-man tent, and even his sleeping bag. It was cold at times, we borrowed some blankets off the Nomad support-crew. We even threw out three sets of springs. Others have been breaking springs, and coil springs are much harder to get made than those with snapped leaves, but we simply had to be a lot more ruthless to avoid grounding the back of the car. We have had a good run today but there is now a bit of a blow in the exhaust so it might seem that while we have had fewer issues than most – we had some electrical bothers, including a trip-meter than packed up – getting shod of a load of weight early on must have been the prudent decision.”

The leader of the Classics Category is still the Holden of Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson, who have a commanding lead now that the challenge of the VW Beetles has faded. For Garry Staples Jnr, it was his first ever timed event, and to challenge for the lead is something he says will be memories he won’t ever forget.

The leader of the Pioneers Category, Max Stephenson, was also in early this afternoon, the Vauxhall has lost its starter-motor, and it needed a push-start twice today… Max says he can get it rebuilt when we have a day off after tomorrow.

Another Country... Day 14 Belokurikha to Semey

SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Marius Winkelman and Victor Silveira da Conceicao - Plymouth PB3 Coupe

We crossed out of Russian into Kazakhstan today, with slick border-formalities thanks to the prior planning of our agents, Kyrgyz Concept, we were across the Russian exit, and through the Kazak customs and immigration formalities in a matter of minutes. An easy run on good tarmac roads for most of the day, with no timing, has ensured everyone has been able to plan their day to get into Semey by mid-afternoon.

Rally HQ is in a run-down large concrete hotel that has seen better days, a hang-over from the Communist era of some years ago, and out in the dusty car park, Scott Greenhalgh is fretting over a water leak from the bottom hose of the Alvis, but as it hasn’t actually lost any water all day co-driver Patrick Walker is minded to carry on until repairs are actually needed. Donald Howard and Andrew Collins in a Rolls Royce Phantom have a slipping clutch; the MG SA of Maurice Timms and John Hastie is running well with few problems other than broken shockabsorber mountings – his list of repairs since the start can be written on the back of a postcard, including losing rear brakes, hole in the petrol tank, severe axle oil leak, cracked chassis and the need for a new water pump…. ”we are having a brilliant time,” said the driver.
Driving the Impossible

Clive Dunster and Cecilia Agger - Chevrolet Fangio Coupe

The Alvis of Michael and Anne Wilkinson has the bonnet up receiving adjustments to the engine timing and reports only minor bothers in what has been a remarkably reliable run so far.

Saddest news of the day is that it looks like the end of the road for the BMW Coupe of David and Sarah Rayner who are retiring from the event with engine problems.

We hear that the La France is back on a truck after unsuccessful welding in Khovd, and going to Almaty, so too is the Renault 4CV of the Drinkwaters. Car 60 remains something of a mystery as we have not heard from Douglas Mackinnon and Anastasia Karavaeva for over a week but we hear that the Chevrolet Speedster had an under-bonnet engine fire at some point and was on a truck to catch up. Car 77, Vilnis Husko and James Kabrich in a Dodge D11, failed to re-start this morning and we are also awaiting news.

As some crews were arriving into the Belokurikha hotel well into the early hours, after a delayed border crossing and very long drive, it was decided to make today a relaxed transit day. It has been another day of glorious sunshine and mostly traffic-free empty roads. The Turist Hotel has no bar, and neither does the restaurant where we are having dinner later this evening, a test of initiative for thirsty travellers. However, the crew of Car 51, the Stutz M Convertible Coupe of David Berks and Robert Bradfield, has arrived with a bottle of Russian vodka presented as gesture of goodwill from a traffic-cop who had stopped the car in order to take a photograph of himself with a Peking Paris entrant. If only every roadside policeman was as generous…

Frederique Constant in New York Times T Style Magazine

One example of Frederique Constant's significant advertising campaign in leading US media. This one's from the New York Times T Style Magazine.

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Coupe des Alpes... Day 13 Border to Belokurikha

SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Border frustrations before a long drive to Belokurikha

Now for something different. We left Mongolia today, and after hassles with the borders for the exit of Mongolia, and rather longer frustrations with the entry into Russia – some cars were in border-land for most of the day, despite the prior planning with all the information customs and immigration officials could require supplied well in advance – we finally left Mongolia behind.

We were welcomed into Russia by the local motor-club, who had a roadside display of Volgas, Moskovitches, and other Russian classic cars, dating back to 1949, including a Russian 4x4 jeep powered by a pre-war Model-A engine. More important, a modern van racked out in the back with rally service items and a small trailer, and, in addition, 50-kms further up the road, a truck capable of carrying a vintage car. They have thought of everything to ensure we had full back up for our two days in Russia, and we are to enjoy this kind of support all the way to the Kazak border.

The road changes dramatically once into Russia, we found ourselves driving on smooth tarmac. The scenery was also changing fast, leaving behind the dry barren landscape of Mongolia, and now we were driving down roads lined with trees all changing into autumn colours of yellows and golds.

It could have been the Dolomites, or the Alpine Rally. Lofty craggy peaks, snow-capped mountains, mountain streams, twisty roads that climbed and dipped, it was a dramatically different day.
Driving the Impossible

A money changer swaps Mongolian notes for Russian

Alas, we were given a re-route by officialdom which added an extra 120 kms to an already long day, now making it well over 700 kms, on top of the border delays, so by the time cars reached Belokurikha, a spa resort, the chefs were having to keep the buffet heated for late-comers expected to be arriving at well past midnight.

Among the first to arrive, Max Stephenson in the Pioneer Category Vauxhall, David and Karen Ayre in the Itala, George Howitt in the Rolls Royce, and the Vauxhall of Nellie and Charles Bishop.

We heard that the last car left the Russian border at 5.0pm, but car 6, the La France, and car 60, the Chevrolet Speedster, were still in no-man’s land, playing catch up, and the crew of car 99, the Vauxhall Viva, had taken over the driving of their truck in order to get it through to the border of Russia, and were now pondering the question of how to get the Viva onto a Russian truck, and how to return the Mongolian truck back to Mongolia, all on a single-entry visa.

We saw Tim Scott for the first time in what seems like ages today – the solo motorcyclist was in good spirits, sitting in the sun on a grassy bank by the roadside, his 1923 FN Motorcycle having seized a piston due to the strain of a long mountain climb. The rider seemed unfazed, “I’ve got a spare, all I need is a workshop.” He is with friends, as it’s just the sort of job the local motorclub will relish.

So, a demanding, frustrating day, and as this is being tapped out there was even more frustrations for George Howitt, having parked his Rolls Royce he has walked into the hotel with a bottle of whisky under his arm, but no glasses can be found… so he has to drink it all on his own.

The first car is due to leave here at 7.0am tomorrow morning for the drive to the Kazakstan border – and yet another round of adventures on the long road to Paris.

Frederique Constant teams up with Actress Eva Longoria for the prestigious Par Coeur Gala 2010

Frederique Constant at Par Coeur Gala 2010 Aletta & Peter Stas offering a Frederique Constant watch Love Heart Beat to Eva Longoria

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Annual Charity Gala September 20, 2010 in Paris

Frederique Constant, one of Switzerland’s leading watch brands, is honored to be the official sponsor of the Par Coeur Gala 2010.  This Gala event, hosted by the founders of the Par Coeur Association, actress Eva Longoria and NBA star Tony Parker, was once again in Paris at the beautiful Cambon Capucines Pavillon by Potel and Chabot. The Par Coeur Association, a French foundation, seeks to bring attention to fiscally responsible charities that continuously make substantial differences in the lives of countless families and children worldwide.

This year, the gala benefits “Toutes A L’Ecoles,” a non-profit organization that operates to create schools and educational programs for young girls in developing countries, as well as “Eva’s Heroes,” a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of those with developmental challenges by creating environments in which they are free to interact, grow, learn, and love.

The annual Par Coeur Gala is meant to be a night of hope and inspiration, attended by prestigious guests and celebrities, with the sole of aim of benefiting Par Coeur Association’s charity partners.

“We are proud to be the official partner for this year’s Par Coeur Gala,” said Frederique Constant CEO Peter Stas. “We are committed to celebrate and support those passionate charitable organizations that go the extra mile to improve the lives of less fortunate people worldwide.  Thus, Frederique Constant and the Par Coeur Association form a perfect match.”

Frederique Constant’s company motto is “Live your passion” and it is true passion that made CEO Peter Stas and his wife Aletta Bax evolve from lovers of fine watches into the reputable founders of one of the main success stories within the Swiss watch industry.

“Each year, the gala gains more and more attention and attendees, and we are so honored to have Frederique Constant participate as our official sponsor,” said Eva Longoria.  “This year’s Par Coeur Gala will bring together individuals who are dedicated to making a contribution to improving the lives of young girls.”

Live your Passion

Click on the pictures to enlarge

Farewell Mongolia... Day 12 Khovd to Border

SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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A stunning view for David and Sarah Rayner - BMW 321 Coupe - on the final day in Mongolia

Our final full day in Mongolia, and the scenery has been breathtaking, one of the finest days rallying since we left China. The punishment has been relentless, and the Volvo PV544 of Nicholas Pryor and Lesley Stockwell are limping into camp with axle failure.

Several crews are staggering on to the Russian border as “walking wounded”. We know that Car 6, the big La France, is on a truck, so it car 3, Daniel Ward’s 1919 Lancia Theta, The Shooter’s Ford, Car 29, lost its gears today and is on a truck but spares are lined up later down the route, the Renault 4CV, Car 89, had a temporary fix of its front suspension but it didn’t last long. The Vauxhall Viva GT has suffered electrical problems, diagnosed as a failed condenser.
Driving the Impossible

The handsome lead achieved by Gerry Crown in his Holden was maintained today, despite the fact that Gerry has finally decided that driving one-handed is just too much. He has his left wrist in a splint, and he is on doctor’s orders to give the arm maximum rest... he reckons its just an old war-wound of too much gearchanging in too many past rallies, so today, he handed the steering wheel over to young Matt Bryson, his navigator.

We suspect this meant that Matt had to work the GPS, on top of driving. Matt looked as if he was under pressure when we pulled our tent-pegs out of the frozen grassland first thing this morning. The son of John Bryson, top Australian navigator who sat alongside the likes of Andrew Cowan to win the Southern Cross Rally more than once, Matt was realising he had rather a lot on his shoulders.

Michael Thompson and Andrew Davies - Chrysler 75 Roadster - splash through another river crossing

However, he rose to challenge by setting the best times on all three tests, and delivering an extended lead in the Classics Category for the Holden over the second placed Anadol of Ongun and Tokcan. This unusual car was made in Turkey with the help of Reliant – it has an “over heavy” Reliant chassis, according to its driver, a fibreglass body, with a rear design similar to a Gilbern or Alfa GTV, and a Ford Mexico Kent engine of 1600cc.

Today’s final run to our camp site consisted of several glorious valleys with far reaching views, some horrendous roads, and five river crossings. The final Time Trial had a maze of roads wandering off at angles to the main track, and at times, looked totally confusing, as nothing was very clear which was the main track….the navigators for sure decided the best results on this one, as it took an agile ability to mix trip-meter with Tulip road book and GPS while trying to read the road to chose the best course.

Tomorrow, we are off to the Russian border. Another country, and another stack of adventures in store, now awaits. At 9.0pm, all are accounted for, except that the Rolls Royce of Richard Auchincloss is on a tow-rope with Simon Ayris in attendance, and the Volvo is awaiting a similar rescue. Their dinner is going cold…

Moon River... Day 11 Khovd - Rest Day

SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Rudi Freidrichs carries out rest day repairs to his Alvis

A “rest-day” today, camping here on a grass plain by a wide crystal-clear river, mountains in the far distance, with pasta on the bubble for lunch. However, for some, it’s anything but rest.

As Betty Banham said, it’s better described as frenzied activity as it’s a chance to get cars fixed for the final two days of Mongolia. Broken engine mountings, snapped shock-absorber mountings, radiator mountings, the job list for the sweep-mechanics has gone on and on, with some cars going off into town to visit a welding shop for repairs to cracked chassis, and more.

Car 59, the Alvis of Rudi Freidrichs and Lennox McNeeley, was looked like a dragon-fly without its wings once its wheels were off and various bits stripped out on the grass. This car had set second best times on the Time Trials coming into here, and the story is now emerging of the car achieving this after a make-shift repair to a broken king-pin. The Wilkinson’s supplied a spare they were carrying, but it was a size too small, so a sardine car was cut up to make a shim, and the whole lot put back together again, good enough to set a second-best time.

Mending and making-do out of bits and pieces has been going on all day. The Volvo PV544 of Nicholas Pryor and Linda Stockwell has had major surgery to its rear end, with shockabsorber mountings re-made, an engine mounting made, and the eyelet mounting of Bilstein shocks strengthened with added welding. Robert Kitchen in one of the sweeper-trucks has attended to various electrical problems. There are river crossings ahead, and good water-proofing will be vital.
Driving the Impossible

Rest Day entertainment - Nigel Gambier and Hugo Upton join in the local display of Mongolian wrestling

The 1954 Sunbeam Talbot Alpine of David and Joanna Roberts is in town having a cracked chassis welded up. They are not short of company. Car 28, the Lagonda with Dutch crew Maarten Hoeben and Jan Bruintjes, have put their open two seater on the back of a truck for a long haul to the Russian border, having suffered a broken axle half-shaft.

For those not attending to repairs, the locals have put on an afternoon display of archery, wrestling, and horse-riding, culminating in archery on the back of horses at full gallop.

The sun dropped quickly over the far mountains, to be replaced by a full moon tonight… it’s been a bright blue sky all day which suggests tonight could be a cold one.

The High Plains Drifter... Day 10 Teel River to Khovd

SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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William and Victoria Medcalf currently hold Vintageant Category third place in the 1925 Bentley Super Sports

Gerry Crown retained the lead in the Classics division today. He started the day with a comfortable lead over young Garry Staples Jnr. and Gernold Nisius in the VW Beetle Cabrio. While the sun was making up its mind what sort of day we would get as we broke camp at Teel River, these two were already turning on the heat.

Alas, too much red-mist in the drive west saw the VW sidelined with rear suspension bothers, something the Banhams were unable to fix in the middle of the desert, so it was destined to end the day on a truck.

Gerry Crown with Matt Bryson is a veteran of the first Peking Paris Retrospective of ’97, and Gerry is the only drive on the event to have tackled all three Peking Paris Challenges. He is listed on the entry list as a navigator. The reason for this perhaps needs some explanation. Aged 78, Gerry was considered too incapable, too incompetent, to qualify for a Chinese driving licence, so, he is listed as a navigator with Matt Bryson as driver. That gets round Chinese red-tape and since getting behind the wheel Gerry has clearly enjoyed proving to those in authority that they have got him wrong. He has been rallying since 1963, his first event being Australia’s prestigious BP Rally, driving an 850cc Mini, which ended in something of a disaster as he rolled it down a hillside. A minor diversion: Gerry was rescued by the legendary Gelignite Jack Murray, who towed the Mini for over a hundred miles through a forest, forgetting the Mini was there, and Gerry Crown reckons he is the first person to ever see 100 mph on the clock of a rallying 850cc Mini…certainly at the end of a tow-rope.

Long in the tooth he may be, but he seems to have the measure of the Peking Paris, although he fails to get the measure of this camping lark and reckons he is past playing Swallows and Amazons, so chooses to sleep in his car. He will no doubt sleep soundly tonight in the knowledge that he now has a 13 minute gap over the Turkish Team’s Anadol, now in second spot. Adrian Gosden and Andrew Honeychurch have no rear shocks on their Aston Martin DB5, but they are up to third in the Classics Category now. Greg and Liz Newton in a Holden are fourth, and the Sunbeam Talbot Alpine of David and Jo Roberts are fifth, despite a lot of sand somehow entering the sump.

We have driven another glorious day across tremendous landscapes, with two Time Trials for good measure. It suited William and Victoria Medcalf in their Bentley as they set fourth best time on the first Time Trial and second best on the second timed-to-the-second blast of the day. Top Vintageant on both tests was Steve Hyde and Janet Lyne in their yellow Chevy Fangio Coupe. Rudi Friedrichs and Lennox McNeely also had a good day and the Alvis is now 5th in the Vintageant Category, behind the Wilkinson’s Alvis.

The repair shop in the nearby town of Khovd is going to be busy on our day off tomorrow, David and Sarah Rayner had the subframe off the BMW Coupe this afternoon and trucked into town for welding up, in order to be first in the queue.

The Vauxhall Viva GT is on the back of a truck today, but is not alone, the Peugeot 203 broke its front spring for the third time today. There is welding equipment here at our riverside campsite – everyone is in good spirits.

Tranquillity Base... Day 9 Uliastay to Teel River

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

Maarten Hoeben and Jan Bruintjes - Lagonda - need a helping hand to escape a patch of soft sand

“Mongolia has the best scenery in the world.” That’s the summing up of Catriona Rings, navigator in the pretty red Alfa alongside Alastair Caldwell, who has probably rallied in every country with a road worth rallying. And it sums up the mood of the event as we struggle with hammer and tent-pegs yet again, beside another fast-flowing river.

We have just driven 300 kilometres and just as we had all thought “the scenery surely can’t get any better” today has proved to be absolute stunner, and the best so far. Many are saying it’s been the finest driving-day of their lives, even your Syd Stelvio reckons today makes it onto a short-list of three of the world’s greatest roads.

We have crossed a vast open plain, beneath big skies, with a line of mountains on either side, and not seen a soul. Not another car. Not another shepherd, most of us have not ever seen an animal, although a few claim to have seen a herd of camels.

Where else can you begin the day on a sandy, gravel road, so unused there is grass growing up the middle, and run up and down valley after valley, and every time you crest a hill, have your breath knocked away from you by yet another vast prairie. You discover just how it must feel to be a single-handed oarsman rowing the Atlantic when you realise you are looking at horizon that displays the curvature of the earth… and when you get there, you crest a hill for another far horizon. On, and on, and on…and finish up beside a river without one kilometre of tarmac, and, joy oh joy, not a single pot-hole.

In case you are wondering where this treasured spot of utter tranquillity exists on the map and plan a parachuting holiday, check it out on Google Earth at 48.29137°N 93.48999°E only don’t bother with the bathing costume as Andy Inskip says the water in these parts is icy-cold.

So, it’s been a great day. Not easy for the navigators, as some found themselves going off route and skirting round the back of a mountain before realising they now had some real navigating to do to plot a course across country to get back on route.

Confronted with a Y-junction, a lot of cars swung left as it seems the main track to take, as Rupert Marks and Simon Mackenzie-Smith said at on arrival in their Ford Model-A at the campsite: “We got lost with the lads in the Lagonda, Car 25, we went 7km off track, Nigel Gambier said “it's just the other side of that mountain”, got a puncture driving over the grassland looking for the correct track, our first one, cracked front cross-member, but what stunning scenery – this is the day we entered this rally for!”

The beer tent is doing a roaring trade, the sun is setting, so a Sundowner has obvious appeal, and the chefs are chopping up a small mountain of raw cabbage for a coleslaw salad, there is distinctive smell of barbecued chicken coming out of one kitchen tent… and there are log fires under several large rusty drums of water for hot showers. The team of campsite workers are hard at work… and so are the roving mechanics.

Chris Elkins and Ed Rutherford have gone off in their Vauxhall Fronterra to rescue some ten cars that are reported bogged on the side of a very sandy hillside about 12 kilometres away, so while today was planned as a short day, and with no timing – a chance for everyone to recover from the rigours and hardship of the appalling roads of the last two days – it looks like some will still be in late tonight.

Alastair Caldwell broke a gear-lever today, as well as a shock absorber mounting, and is under the car. Catriona is passing him paper cups of what looks like either brake fluid, or, a slurp of red wine. But given she is sipping her own, it’s surely just another bottle of Australian Cabernet. Not that this matters a jot – the Alfa has been without brakes for days.