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16/2/1999: 4wdonline received the following announcement, by email, concerning a motoring event (a Haflinger or a Suzuki would qualify!): Seven League Boots
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| Pre 1950 | 1950 - 75 | 1975 - 2000 |
|---|---|---|
| Austin 7 | BMW Isetta | Suzuki Hatch |
| Bantam | Fiat Bambino | Honda Scamp |
| Fiat Topolina | Goggomobil | Subaru Mightyboy |
| Peugeot bebe | Morris Mini | Swatch-Mercedes |
Rally Outline
The fleet will depart England in May 2000. It will then proceed through Europe, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India. From India entrants will have the choice of finishing at stage one or shipping to Australia (arranged by the organizers). On arrival in Perth the fleet will then drive through the centre of Australia to Brisbane.
A follow-up rally in 2001 is planned around USA allowing entrants to complete a "world circumnavigation" with their vehicles. This will emulate Hector Macquarrie's fantastic "Round the World" journey in his Austin 7 in 1930. (The first car to drive around the world).
Organization
The journey will be non-competitive (although there will be numerous prizes) and basically self-contained. At the majority of overnight stops hotel accommodation will be available for those who require it but there will be many times when camping out will be unavoidable.
Each crew will be required to carry a tent and suitable bedding. Campsite catering will be by individual arrangement although the official support vehicle will carry a limited supply of drinking water. Because the aim is to prove microcars are as capable as large vehicles, no individual support vehicles are allowed.
Negotiations are taking place with several professional overland bus companies. They will provide a fully self-contained bus tour to accompany the rally. This will give the opportunity for partners of crews to come along in some measure of comfort. No children under the age of 14 will be accepted in the cars or bus on the journey.
The terrain will dictate the distances traveled each day but efforts will be made to avoid night driving. Early starts will be the order of the day with everyone in by mid to late afternoon. This is not a race, it is an adventure, and entrants will be expected to give consideration to others.
A support truck will accompany the fleet to carry limited recovery equipment, tools etc. Each vehicle TYPE will be allocated limited space for spare parts. A second four-wheel drive support vehicle will act as rally Marshall. Both vehicles will be capable of towing cripples to the nearest civilization - nobody will be left stranded.
Because costs are to be kept to a minimum (around $US3,000 per vehicle including shipping to Australia. Those wishing to ship back to Europe or North America will only be a few hundred dollars more) the rally will be run in the form of a tag-along adventure with crews responsible for their own enroute expenses.
Each stop will be preplanned and adequate parking and camping space will be selected. This may become very friendly in some of the more crowded Asian cities! Of course there will be times when impromptu stops must be made due to weather, road closures and detours and bureaucratic delay.
Organizers
The organizers are experienced international expedition and event directors and can offer advice to potential entrants. A full event outline and list of "rules" along with lots of advice will be available shortly. Queries and expressions of interest should go to:
- Lang Kidby
- 1024 Dohles Rocks Road
- Griffin Queensland 4503
- Australia
- Phone 61-7-3886 1688
- Fax 61-7-3886 5359
- [email]
- 1024 Dohles Rocks Road
And on 20/2/1999 we received this:
Babies Across the World UK-Australia Microcar Rally
Information Sheet One. 14 Feb 99
Two weeks after the initial public notification of the rally there are over 300 esquires registered, with "firm" starters from 6 countries.
DATES and TIMING
Departure date has been firmed up for the second weekend in May 2000. The starting point is planned to be Brooklands Racetrack/Museum, just South of London, the most historic motoring venue in the world. This date has been selected to get the best compromise between European winter and Middle East summer extremes.
Initial analysis of the route (see below) indicates a 3-week journey to Mumbai(Bombay), 10 days for shipping to Perth then 6 days across Australia to Brisbane. This is based on 300 miles/480 kilometres per day with a couple of rest days thrown in at interesting places.
The schedule will require a steady application to the task in hand but should not break either the cars or drivers
ELIGIBLE VEHICLES
Since the initial notification there has been a great deal of input from potential entrants and discussion on the aims of the rally. The real aims of the organizers are firstly to provide a once in a lifetime adventure for the average person at the most economical price. Secondly we are demonstrating in a positive way that although small economical vehicles have been available for 100 years they have been largely ignored- we no longer have that luxury and must combine past development with new technology to conserve our limited resources if the world is to survive.
The initial size restrictions basically hold (under about 3.5 metres and under 1,000cc) but the organizers will consider any vehicle on its merits which meets our aims. Fine vehicles though they be, vast production types such as the VW Beetle and Morris Minor are ineligible, they are just too big.
SOME VEHICLE INFORMATION
All vehicles must be fully registered with 3rd party/liability insurance. Car damage/loss insurance is up to you.
Every vehicle must carry a "Green Card". This is normally issued by the motoring organization in your country - AAA, RAC etc. It is a guarantee that should your vehicle be sold or left in a foreign country all charges, taxes etc. will be paid by the organization. Naturally the organization will require some security from you such as a cash bond, bank guarantee, insurance policy in their favour. European drivers are familiar with this system but for those from other countries it may take some time to organize. No green card -no start!
Every vehicle must carry a workshop manual and a set of basic hand tools
(this does not mean a pocketknife and a nail file). Each vehicle or group
of like vehicles must carry basic spares.
Electrical: plugs, points, condenser, coil, fuses;
Fuel filter (replaceable in-line type);
Fan belt;
Tow rope;
Jack and tyre changing gear;
DO NOT OVERLOAD;
Inner tube.
If you wish to continue after a breakdown you should have a parts supplier organized to ship what you need on the strength of a phone call. Because of the reasonably casual progress of the main group the only limitation on a delayed vehicle catching up is missing the shipping date from India.
Broken down vehicles will not be abandoned on the road and the rescue truck will bring them in to the nearest town with a telephone. If the vehicle is not able to be towed the crew will be offered a ride to a telephone, making a decision whether to all go to town or leave one member to guard the vehicle. The organizers are unable to undertake any major repair activities for entrants. Because of the nature of the rally - an adventure not a race, it is to be hoped that everyone rallies around casualties to offer some of the huge pool of experience already evident in potential entrants' inquiries.
CREW
There is no limitations on the crew other than they are fit enough to walk (or wheelchair) without constant attention. No children fewer than 14 years will be allowed to come on the rally. Pre-existing medical conditions may be exacerbated by constantly sitting in a small vehicle or extremes of weather so we recommend a check-up by your doctor prior to the start. He should be consulted for medication for your first-aid kit (compulsory for every vehicle). Everyone WILL get a dose of Delhi-belly in some degree along the way but it is easily controlled with the right pills. Various vaccinations may be considered prudent on your doctor's advice.
Every crewmember MUST carry top-level travel health/loss insurance, which includes a facility for evacuation. This is very cheap for what you get. Once again, no insurance-no start! The organizers will not be responsible for assistance to sick or injured crew once they have been placed in the care of the nearest LOCAL qualified person or hospital. No one will be abandoned on the road. The rescue truck, which will always be tail-end-Charlie, will stay with casualties until they are treated, transport them to medical facilities or wait for an ambulance. Several doctors have expressed interest in entering and negotiations are underway to secure an official rally doctor.
We strongly recommend that everyone consider giving up a few hours during the next year to attend a formal first-aid course. Who knows, the life you save may be your own!
ROUTINE
The rally will start reasonably early each morning, about 7.30 for the first vehicle. The rescue/support truck will depart one hour after the first vehicle. During that hour window entrants are free to leave at any time. If they do not get away before the truck they will know there is no back-up facility behind them and unless there are extenuating circumstances no one will come back to help.
At most stops the rally will have a central camping area such as the local football stadium or large camping ground. A number of people will choose to stay at hotels but still must keep in contact with the marshals. Each morning 30 minutes before the start will be a roll call - not a discussion group! Those not present will be noted and if they have not made contact or arrived prior to the truck departure will be deemed to be free-running outside the rally safety net.
Stops during the day are at individual crew discretion. It will be very few days before the rally forms into groups of people attracted to each other with a number of individualistic floaters. This teaming up adds to the fun of the journey, provides mutual security and support and leads to healthy unofficial competition.
A rally marshal should be at the appointed stopping or check-in site before the first vehicle arrives in the afternoon (don't slash your wrists if he isn't there, he may be attending to one of the usual daily dramas, just select your camp site and have a beer until he arrives). As each vehicle arrives it will be checked in then can proceed to the camp site or hotel as required.
The organizers will carry a means of printing and distributing briefing sheets and these will be handed out on most days. Every few days a formal meeting of entrants will be required to bring everyone up to speed or hear suggestions/grievances. These will not be allowed to extend into round-table discussion groups, which go on for hours. The marshals will be constantly available to entrants to hear suggestions or complaints and should be approached freely. But, the rally will NOT be run by committee!
There will be quite a number of occasions when the entire fleet will be required to assemble en masse. These will include border crossings, where police require convoy procedures and official starts or arrivals such as the city fathers flagging the fleet off.
Events such as this require expenditure far in excess of the entrance fees and can not be accomplished without sponsors and a condition of entry is that each vehicle agrees to co-operate with the major sponsor's requirements. Photo shoots, interviews or attendance at receptions are examples.
SHIPPING
The arrival date in Mumbai will be dictated by the departure date of the ship for Perth. Container bookings will be made months before departure and entrants must indicate if they are continuing to Australia or just completing Stage One to India. Because of the long lead time there will be no refund made for those not shipping, regardless of the reason.
Negotiations are taking place with shipping companies to have tradesmen ready to construct frames in the containers to secure the vehicles. Because of vehicle size most containers will have cars stacked two high.
A couple of shipping companies carry passengers on their freighters and the possibility exists to sail with your vehicle. We will not know until the exact vessel can be identified. Most people will choose to fly to Perth to take advantage of the facilities of this lovely coastal city while they unwind from a hard month on the road. It has been suggested by a couple of people who are limited by time that replacement crews may like to do the Australian leg. There is no objection to this proposal, in fact, crews can be changed at any time enroute.
The organizers can help shipping your car home from Australia. If you wish to sell the vehicle there it will be subject to the usual import duties etc.
ADMINISTRATION
The route will be driven by the rally organizers in October to enable firm plans to be made for the daily routine.
As already stated, each vehicle must carry a tent and sleeping gear for the crew. Each crew is responsible for ALL their own living requirements enroute. No en masse Paris to Dakar style mess tents will be available. Advantage should be taken of local supplies - it is ridiculous to force a baby car to carry a month's supply of canned food from home. Each vehicle MUST carry a minimum 5 litres of drinking water per person at all times. Sterile bottled water is available cheaply everywhere, do not drink local town or well water.
Shower facilities will be very limited or non-existent in many places. Crew members should be prepared to use one of the very efficient small camping shower bags available at most outdoor shops, practice washing in a cupful of water or as a last resort take an English bath (another layer of talcum powder).
Many inexperienced travelers make life miserable for themselves and those around them by obsession with toilet facilities. There is no doubt we will encounter absolutely atrocious conditions along the way as we travel further east. There is only one solution, close your eyes, suffer in silence for two minutes a day and get on with your life! Take your own toilet paper.
Negotiations are currently underway with the publishers of the "Lonely Planet" travel guides to provide a package for entrants. These fantastic books will give each team all the information they need to plan their trip, find hotels, select must-see sites etc. Each vehicle must have a good set of road maps to cover the entire route. There are many reputable publishers and maps are available in your own language in almost every city in the world. Potential entrants should invest in a set of these now to get some idea of the route and terrain.
The potential for getting really lost is only great in a big city with signposts in a strange language. As a last resort when you drive past the same statue for the eighth time, put one of your crewmembers in a taxi and follow it to the camping ground.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Along with the initial notification release this bulletin provides enough information to potential entrants to assess their interest in the rally. The hundreds of enquiries already received coupled with the extra arriving each day makes it economically unviable to provide bulletins to everyone on an unlimited post-out system.
The E-mail will from now on be limited to initial responses and direct enquiries. A rally web site is being designed and will be on line shortly. The web site will carry general information and progress reports but will not include entrant's bulletins, these will be mailed direct to registered recipients
Should you wish to be included on the hard copy mailing list you should register and send $US50 to the address below.
This registration will ensure you a confirmed place in the rally (for the first 100 entrants) in order of receipt. In a few months there will be a call for a genuine deposit from entrants. Those registered but failing to pay will forfeit their position and be replaced in order of registration by those on the "reserve list"
Lang Kidby
1024 Dohles Rocks Road
Griffin Queensland 4503
Australia
Phone 61-7-3886 1688 Fax 61-7-3886 5359
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