Smiles all Round, again… Day 30 Kozakli to Abant Lake

OCTOBER 9TH, 2010
Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Martin and Olivia Hunt - Bentley Le Mans

Adrenaline has been flowing well today and there is a happy throng in the bar tonight recounting the tales of a what has universally gone down as simply a great day’s rallying.

What has made the difference – and there was still a mind-numbing 500 kilometres to knock off between hotel stops today – was the insertion of a string of off-road Time Trials, on narrow tracks that climbed and dipped, twisted and turned, over the rolling hills of the Turkish plateau, ending with a big surprise… a drive in the snow.

We are now at a fine hotel beside Lake Abant, near Bolu, and before dinner the buzz is all about the test-sections. There were three today. Two others had to be cancelled – the first because it was too muddy, and a steep slope would have defeated some of the older cars – and the second was discounted as impossible to run as recent pipe-laying work meant that one side of the track had been dug up, making it too narrow. Some early-morning course-car work enabled a swift decision to keep in the route, but turn test-start Controls into Passage Controls – where merely a stamp to prove the route had been complied with, kept everything on track. The final three Time Trials proved to be “absolute hum-dingers” which is Bentley-Boys talk of the sort you get from William Medcalf, second overall in the Vintageant Category.

Paul Bessade and Michel Magnin - Pontiac Convertible

The last test was the shortest, but the must demanding, with constant, free-flowing open bends, ending with cars cresting a ridge and finding it had snowed today, and all around was a carpet was white fresh snow. Fastest over this was Steve Hyde in the yellow Fangio Coupe who set a time of 12 minutes dead, just pipping the Aston Martin DB5 of Andrew Honeychurch by 4 seconds. Third best time was Rudi Friedrichs in his Alvis, 16 seconds clear of William Medcalf's Bentley. (For more information, go to the results page).

Car 48, the big Chrysler of Michael Thompson is back in the running, we reported that the road-side repairs of Simon Ayris had sent worrying rumours back to base-camp that the flywheel was coming adrift… this was nothing more than a gearbox malady, a chipped cog had sent a piece of metal into the valley of another cog and the knocking this caused was tremendous, “at first you would think a big-end had gone,” said Simon, who soon had the Chrysler on its way.

So, here is a short run-down of the leading positions of the three Categories:

First overall in the Pioneer Category for pre-1925 model-types, is Charlie and Nellie Bishop in their Vauxhall 30-98, on 219 hours, 22 minutes, 16 seconds, and in line for a gold medal, the only Pioneer crew still qualifying for a Gold Medal.

Second is Max Stephenson and Carl Watson in their Vauxhall, on 233:47:18; and Nicky Bailey and Janek Mamimo in the Buick is third.

In the Vintageant Category, Steve and Janet Lyne are on 197 hours, 25 minutes, 41 seconds, well ahead of the the William and Victoria Medcalf Bentley on 197:52:43, with Michael Thompson and Andrew Davies in the Chrysler still on for third. All three are up for a Gold Medal. It’s close for fourth, Rudi Friedrichs in the Alvis is mere minutes ahead of Alastair Caldwell’s Alfa Romeo 6C, despite the Alfa presenting the driver with daily mechanical challenges.

The all-girl crew in the Plymouth, Rachel Vestey and Suzy Harvey, are now back on the first page of the results, having had a totally depressing day yesterday …if someone had shown Rachel and air-ticket she would have had her many bags packed, brought down with electrical worries that gave no headlights, and a carburettor that failed to respond to the throttle pedal, so no power.

Today, things are different – from 15th, entering Mongolia, the girls plummeted to 35th, and then set about working their way up, and today they are grinning as they have gained a few places to 23rd. “The throttle is working and so is everything else… a brilliant day.”

In the Classics division, 78-year-old Gerry Crown, the veteran Australian rallydriver deemed too old to hold a Chinese driving licence so had to be listed officially as the “co-driver”, has a handsome lead with young Matt Bryson alongside him working the clocks… they are on 182 hours, 42 minutes, 35 seconds, with All Turkish Team on second place, with 183:57:24, in the fibreglass Anadol 1600, and Adrian Gosden and Andrew Honeychurch finally getting their act together and really making the Aston Martin DB5 fly… but over an hour adrift.

Fourth in the Classics division is the Holden of Greg and Liz Newton, on their first timed rally – they lost time when baulked by others on a muddy climb yesterday and were far from happy, but having built up a handsome class lead, are able to hang on as class leader.

The general verdict is best summed up by Steve Hyde: “Things simply can't get better than this… a wonderful day, from start to finish.”

Tomorrow is a “transit” day, with no timing, taking us just past Istanbul, and a short-driving day is promised with an afternoon off. Hmmm, where have we heard that before?

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.

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.