The Independent American Magazine for all Mini Owners
Issue link: http://mc2.epubxp.com/i/33536
Rallye Historique John and Bill passing by a quaint chateau somewhere on the Ardeche plateau.... T he evening start at Reims was very cold, but had a fantastic atmosphere and large crowds waved us off on the Concentration Run, a brutal 1,000Km shakedown drive through the night to Monte Carlo. As we headed through France, Mini fans turned out everywhere along the route to cheer us on. We pushed through the Jura Mountains Rhone-Alps, Haute Alps and Maritime Alps, eventually arriving with a clean sheet in Monte Carlo the following afternoon. Ten percent of the cars had already dropped out of the rally and things hadn’t really started! Unfortunately, there had been a sting in the tail: just outside Monte Carlo there was the first 44 MC2 Magazine www.mc2magazine.com of 14 regularity stages which have to be driven at an ultra-precise average speed. We raced through this first one only to find that we were seven minutes fast, having been misled by a malfunctioning tripmeter. It was a shame that we found ourselves towards the back of the field this early on and we committed ourselves to doing better over the rest of the course. The following day we set off on the Classification Leg – a drive to Valence with four regularity stages. The first was a nightmare: awful conditions and car carnage everywhere. The Mini picked up a small ding but we had resolved the tripmeter issue and were pleased to find that we were 14th overall. The day was very long and we finished the other three stages quite successfully and were moving quickly through the field. So far, so good. We arrived in Valence cold and hungry around midnight. Hats off to the kebab shop owner who took pity on us and re-opened his grill to feed us! The next day was Part 1 of the so-called Common Leg – a big loop around the Ardeche plateau encompassing four more regularity stages and finishing back at Valence. Unlike previous years there was very little snow and we drove most of the stages without too much difficulty. Bill drove brilliantly and I managed to keep us very close to our target time. We were on the final stage of the day, and in the top 50, when disaster Th g b e M b i he Ca c B Mlo in the T onte e fa rl ompl r c o H tor y-s toric p is tition. ons e ha torics raa l r ra l W a angine a s a re unp mode eul de p tune p rticc rn (WRC) a , il nd his nd B Ric ds , rl nte y s d. e Jc ohn a l ia a s c rs it w ve il ore , sy hington s s d c l l a d J he l s aic nua ta e M r te 1965 M s omp 100th e ions ini drive re te tha the e c d a y 28th to F ide ga ins n by Rant,or uno A a l e ohn M brua M J ris t of the d s a ny a nd the r or d in a dition of the t run ove tone A nd l y 2nd. n numbe s w a n t 327 othe r mos a l ra l r c ini Coop rs row a s f td D n teog Rh Me co i h al l o y o y tt a ni lm bal ro R e n aee Cnten a tu r l t n yeni e s n t g h e al l ’ r of indemous K t the onl y c l a r S. ge s s ca e ve ome e ta tions me e rlbray fa gehe ne nd pre e T s nda fa w r y U e re . w p -ba y is e a s s ra l o a c mous icnt M nowd M his e sndee a inis s a re ye e… ini rap rl w t this ye e a rer a w e r ’ s k s J s l rt.ovep c a s ohn re a T geortsra p cit into w nd a s