Home Again - some 2727 miles later!!!

So we are finally home -tired and in need of a holiday!
We have covered 2727 miles in total !!!
It was much harder than we had ever imagined and some parts of the navigational rally left us with headaches!
The special stages really made or lost the competition. Any mistakes were measured in 100ths of a second – and we scored far too many points on this.
We managed not to fall out -although it may have been close a few times!


Would we do it again?
2009 sees the 20th anniversary of the Italian Job Rally – it will be very special – and it is VERY tempting.
We are in awe of the organising committee and their professionalism. The support they had from sponsors reflects the respect they have earned over the years. The privileged entrance to race-tracks was the icing on the cake and we are honoured to have been afforded the opportunity.

As we decided quite late on to join the Rally we didn’t leave ourselves a lot of time for fundraising and the next time [see we are not ruling a re-run out!] we would start earlier.

We have made some new friends along the way, seen some fabulous scenery and visited lovely cities.
Most of all we are proud of our achievement, travelling all that way and, thanks to some generous support, have raised a good sum of money for Charity

We really hope that you have enjoyed reading the blog – and we appreciate your comments – it was good to have contact from you all.

The Finish Line Comes Into Sight

Well the final leg was fairly uneventful. We made the ferry in plenty of time and we were all asked to embark in convoy – so we could disembark in convoy.
With horns blaring and to the shocked amazement of other passengers this we did.

We then had a very tight time schedule to get to the muster point just outside Brighton- but we made it. The Sussex police boys did us proud. There was a rolling road block along the A23 [not all other drivers were happy about it!] – and we travelled 6 miles, in convoy.
As we finally approached the seafront we started tooting horns – and letting everyone know we were on our way. The finish line was in sight – and emotions were high.
We made it – and more importantly my little car never let us down.

The gala dinner in the evening was brilliant. All the tiredness was forgotton as speeches were made, stories told and prizes awarded.
The winners of ‘best dressed mini’, the different special stages and the overall navigational rally winner were all worthy.
We managed to finish in 24th position [out of 42], Not bad for our first attempt and considering we never really got the hang of the special stages [Paul needs more training in listening!!].

Almost there..

Well the end is in sight – everyone is feeling tired and today’s drive was one of the longest of the trip, some 330 miles. The only break in the monotony was the fuel stops!!
But is was worth it to arrive in Reims and the Mumm Champagne house for a private tour and tasting!!! – tough I know but as they had given sponsorship to the event we sort of felt obliged.

It is obvious that we are all tired as more and more teams are leaving the hotels late, driving too fast and picking up fines along the way. The old minis are also more prone to breakdown as they are pushed to the limit – so I think everyone will be pleased to make it to the ferry tomorrow!

Bon Soir

A remarkably uneventful day [for us] today. We were to make our own way to Annecy.
So we had a leisurely start, drove through some spectacular scenery and crossed into France without getting lost once!!

We did comment on how quiet the roads were -and later discovered that as it is All Saints Day -it is a Public Holiday here – which meant that Paul was let off the hook with all the shops being closed!!! We did have a very nice walk around Annecy – A beautiful town that we will definitely revisit with more time!

Tomorrow we have a very long drive – over 400 miles and a time schedule – the pressure is back on!

photos from Turin