We're going from Home to Rome in 2010

27 January 2010

Just two months after the end of the Bangers4BEN adventure, we've started preparations for the next rally event, and this time we're heading back in to Europe.

We're tackling Home2Rome in 2010, more than doubling the mileage of the last event, and swapping the dubious delights of Berwick-upon-Tweed in winter for the splendour of Monaco and Rome in summer.

We'll be facing 4,000 miles of road, a couple of rally stages around Monte-Carlo, a stay at the top of Stelvio, and the natural banger environment of Rome city centre amongst many other challenges, so we need something sturdy and reliable to tackle that, although staying within a strict £150 purchase price limit.

Something like a SAAB 900…

Taking the budget right to the limit, our ton and a half has bought us a reasonably sturdy model, with only some minor issues to resolve. A power steering failure is the number one priority to fix, as the co-driver apparently can't cope with roundabouts with the steering as it is now!

Aside from that, there's a 'sporty' exhaust note that probably won't pass an MOT, a useless mirror and some artistic remodelling of various body panels.

Just about right for Italy then!

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Bangers4BEN 2009: Game Over

04 January 2010

It's been a very long time coming, thank to some auction 'issues' (not with our car, I hasten to add!) and some tardy timekeeping (which is my fault), but the final scores on the Bangers4BEN rally have finally come out.

First of all, my huge thanks to each and every one of our partners for their support...
This has been the first banger rally we've been involved in where everything, even the proceeds from the sale of the car, ends up in the hands of the charity we're raising money for, so the support in kind offered has been invaluable in keeping costs low and offering maximum exposure for the effort.

If you were following the rally on the website, you'll have seen that it was a pretty uneventful affair, with the Audi 90 running near faultlessly throughout the entire event, surviving with fewer issues than the Audi 100 entered by the Poole Audi dealership! However, the motorway sections meant I missed the cruise control, auto box and sofa-style seats that the legendary Renault Safrane from previous events had.

At the finish line at Mercedes-Benz World in historic Brooklands, a brief prize-giving ceremony took place, and we came away with a trophy for our efforts. We're happy with how we performed, especially when we were up against Honda's two cars, Toyota's entry and a great entry fom Hyundai, as well as a large number of dealer teams.

All told, the whole rally raised a stunning £15,268 for BEN, and only required around 70 people, 25 bangers, two support staff and one support vehicle to get there!

It may have been quicker and easier to dash a cheque off to BEN, but we wouldn't have had half as much fun doing that...

We'll be back on another rally in July, this time taking an ancient SAAB 900* to Rome and back via a very tortuous route (Stelvio, anyone?), and we'd love you to join us for that one.

Thanks once again for your support, and have a very happy and prosperous new year.

* Assuming the car works out ok. These things are never guaranteed...

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Going... going... gone.

18 November 2009

Today was the day. The day we finally waved goodbye to H585AFJ, the ancient Audi 90 we rescued from a garden in order to drive the length of the county, twice, in a bid to raise money for BEN.

After dropping off the Audi at BCA Auctions in Blackbushe on Friday, we travelled down again to see first hand just how much money BEN would get from our car - still with the red Audi rings on the rear flanks, and now renamed to BEN007 for the auction catalogue.

Lined up in front of the cafe, the Bangers4BEN cars attracted attention, all clean and shiny after being given the Auction Clean service by Motorclean, but was it the right kind of attention?

The first car rolled in to the auction room, a Ford Mondeo Si, selling for £150. An Avensis followed, getting an impressive £1,225, although still below book price. Close relations came next, a Rover 400 and a Honda Civic, both the same age. The Honda took twice the money of the Rover, making £450. Then the Audi…

After a jump start it drove in, the cracks in the windscreen highlighted by the strip lighting, the gleaming white paint showing off the areas of filler, and the 14" alloy wheels emphasising the fact that one wing didn't quite fit properly. The auctioneers sales pitch underlined the 'variable' mileage, and promoted the lack of an MOT. This wasn't going to go well…

Slowly, surely, the bids came in. Quickly dropping from increments of £50 to £25, then £10, before finally giving up as the room collectively shuffled their feet and looked at the floor, the hammer coming down at a disappointing £125.

I'd promised I wouldn't come back home with more cars than I left with, but it was tough to see the Audi go. We'd got history. We knew each others little foibles. We had a relationship. But now our Bangers4BEN adventure is over, and I expect to see a surge of Audi 90 spares on eBay.

Still, it's another bundle of cash in the pot for BEN, and that's the reason we did this one.

Make us feel better - add to the BEN pot by going to justgiving.com/CimaRacing and topping up the total.

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Bidding farewell to our Audi 90...

13 November 2009

Today was a sad day, as we saw the SportNetwork Cima Racing Audi 90 leave our site and be abandoned at BCA Auctions in Blackbushe, ready to be sold off on Wednesday

The car needed de-stickering, and that's easier said than done. While most of the logos were printed on to white vinyl in order to make removal easier, the Huntingdon Audi details on the doors are individual letters, so it all took some time. We've left the car with the iconic Audi rings on the rear quarters, though. They're very easy to remove, but should make the car look a little more desirable at auction.

And so it's been left at BCA. We've turned the satellite tracking off now, and won't see the car again until auction day, where we'll be in attendance to watch it go.

Or bid and buy it back...

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Oops!

12 November 2009

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Day Three: Berwick to Benz

11 November 2009

After leaving Berwick-upon-Tweed this morning, stopping off at SportNetwork and Invent Partners, we've finally made it to the end of the rally, our trusty Audi 90 taking us all the way to Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands.

The final blast form Wakefield, a 180 mile run down the M1 and M25, was despatched in well under three hours as we chased the setting sun. There's not much to say about the journey - dry, straight and dull. Somehow, any traffic parted and we arrived at Brooklands just in time for a celebratory lap or two of one of the many circuits, although an over sensitive safety car prevented speeds increasing much beyond glacial.

But that wasn't an issue. We'd made it, and that was reward enough.

That, and the trophy.

A prize giving ceremony took place in the Mercedes-Benz World building, with the guys from Hyundai taking the Best Decorated Car award, and the Honda teams taking the Best Twittering award thanks to their multiple people and constant laptop connection - we were runners up for that award, coping with nothing more high tech than a mobile phone!

The ultimate winners won't be decided until next Wednesday, when the cars go to BCA Auction to be sold off, with all proceeds going to BEN. While we think we'll do well there, we can't help but think one of the Honda teams could pick up that prize too - those Honda Prelude's are desirable cars after all. I may even bid myself.

So that's it. The easy part of Bangers4BEN has been completed. Next comes the hard part - handing the keys to the Audi 90 over to someone else.

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When Cima Racing met Invent Partners

Following a short drive from SportNetwork HQ, we arrived at the Holiday Inn at Wakefield where the guys from our supporters at Invent Partners were due to meet us - the second PR stop of the day.

After coaxing the ageing Audi 90 from Ascot to John o' Groats, and then back down towards Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, we were glad of the break, and what better company to keep than Invent's Matt Bradley and Julian Dyer, the guys behind our fantastic site.

So why did they get involved in building our site for us? Being used to producing business sites for proper grown up clients, they asked the rhetorical question "How often do we get to work on a site based around rusty bits of metal?"

Quite.

A cup of coffee, a pause for some photos, a gift of various chocolates to keep us going, and we were off for the final leg - Wakefield to Mercedes-Benz World.

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Stopping at SportNetwork

Day three saw us leave Berwick-upon-Tweed early in the morning and head south down the A19, through the Tyne Tunnel, and on to Castle Eden, home of SportNetwork.

Our bosses at SN HQ had agreed to put on some breakfast for the teams and, as the breakfast options at Berwick consisted of only a McDonald's, most were pleased to be presented with a huge number of fresh bacon rolls and a supply of tea and coffee.

I can't remember the last time I was actually in the office, so it was good to meet up with the team once again, including the new additions.

After a well deserved break, a quick photo shoot and some genuine thanks to the SportNetwork team from both ourselves and other banger teams, we were on our way once more.

Next stop, Wakefield.

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Day Two: Homeward Bound

10 November 2009

After leaving John o' Groats at lunchtime, it was a power drive back down the coast road to Inverness, retracing our steps as far as Perth, and then heading East towards Berwick-upon-Tweed. Easy.

Although in banger rallying, nothing is ever that easy. As the sun set, you realise just how dark the more remote parts of the A9 are. There's simply no ambient light at all. Nothing. Which is about the same amount of light the Audi's headlights give out, despite putting in 'Super Brilliance' bulbs the day before we started the event. Combine that with a windscreen that has an interesting set of cracks on the driver's side, a damp road that produces that muddy spray that covers headlights and windscreens, and finally a distinct lack of washer jets, and a worryingly high number of miles were driven by what can only be described as 'guesswork'. Oncoming cars simply blinded us, so making progress involved simply aiming slightly left of where the blinding lights were coming from, and hoping there isn't a central reservation.

We made it through, and arrived at Edinburgh, where there was enough light from busier roads and street lighting to be able to see the rest of the way. From there it was a simple drive down the A1 to Berwick, crossing the border in to England before arriving at another hub of despair. Or Travelodge. Facilities included a closed supermarket, kids in Nova's in the car park, and a vending machine offering cheap food for high prices.

Can't wait to leave in the morning, as it'll be a good day tomorrow!

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Crash Crash Banger Banger

A banger rally isn't considered a success unless somebody writes off an almost worthless car. Bonus points are on offer for those that do it in an amusing manner. Of course, by banger standards 'written off' means anything from gently bumping a duck upwards, given the lack of value in the cars.

This time it was the turn of the Big BEN Banger team, made up of Emily and Kirsten. Deserted Scottish highland roads, damp surfaces, an Astra (yes, that Astra), and following a Peugeot whose driver was pressing on a bit, meant the Big BEN Banger team seemingly drifted a little wide on one turn, and bent the front of the car.

On a Royal Mail van.

Given the general lack of traffic anywhere north of Inverness, that has to be worth an extra 15 points.

Obviously everyone walked away unscathed, but we imagine the bar might get hit later. Just not in an Astra.

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Lovely day for a swim

We're not taking this event too seriously. Being banger rally veterans, we know that however you approach matters, something will always go wrong. You might as well enjoy the ride, and laugh about the failures later.

That said, the boys from Honda are taking the whole 'not taking it seriously' concept to an entire new level.

John o' Groats is right up at the top of the country. It really is very high up indeed. It's farther north than Moscow or Toronto., and the Sea of Alaska stops at roughly the same latitude. Talking of the sea, the Honda boys decided to swim in it.

Cold, smelly and oily, they jumped in complete with moustaches, sunglasses and helmets, and had a swim in the North Sea, before getting in to their 1.4 Civic, turning the heaters to max, and heading south on the 340 mile drive to Berwick-upon-Tweed.

We feel like amateurs now.

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Day Two: Going right to the top

Inverness to John o' Groats. That shouldn't be too tricky, even on damp roads and with plenty of mist about.

Firing up the 90 behind everyone else, we reckoned a quick blast up the A9 and A99 would see us in John o' Groats by lunchtime. We got there quicker than that - the roads are magnificent and, despite the dampness, the trusty Audi never once protested about my slightly 'enthusiastic' driving. Undulations, hairpins, sweeping bends, long straights, it had it all. And then, after just over two hours, we arrived in tenth place at John o' Groats.

And that's when a wave of enormous disappointment washed over
us, as we realised what a dire, drab and depressing place this famous landmark is. It was difficult to tell the difference between the gift shop and toilet block, such was the grey blandness of it all.

But still, we'd made it! The Audi had got us the length of the country to Britain's second most northerly point - Dunnet Head, slightly to the west, is actually further up, but John o' Groats is furthest from Lands End.

Now all we have to do is go all the way back down again. Next stop, Berwick-upon-Tweed!
  • Mileage: 120 miles
  • Estimated fuel: 20 litres
  • Toll charges: £0.00

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Day One: From BEN to the banks of the Ness

09 November 2009

Day one was always going to be the long haul day, covering miles of motorway purely to get somewhere more interesting, as seems to be the case for most banger rallies. But before we hit the road, it was along the road to Ascot to meet up with the other teams at BEN's head office - could our competitors match the enthusiasm and inventiveness of the previous StreetSafari rallies, considering this event was altogether more 'corporate'?

Yes. Mostly.

Turning up behind our rivals from Poole Audi, jealous glances were witnessed once they caught sight of the four rings running up each side of our car. Hyundai turned up with a rare XG30, decked out to resemble (loosely!) a Rolls Royce wedding car, while Honda turned up with two cars, a Civic and a Prelude, with the entire team dressed as the Impossible Dream man - complete with moustaches, glasses and retro helmet.

Marshall Motor Group put in a number of cars, but bravest had to be Cambridge Land Rover, who turned up in a an old series 3 that lacked the ability to hit 60mph. That'll be fun.

Some bacon butties, some coffee, a quick photo shoot and a blast from our air horn (apologies to the BEN residents!) and we were away. We hit the motorway. Then, after a few hours, we were still on the motorway. Some more hours, some more motorway, and we finally hit Scotland! After that, there's just more motorway and then, finally, some mildly interesting roads on the approach to Inverness.

Sadly, we couldn't see any of it. One issue the Audi has thrown up is a lack of washer jets, so the road spray combined with darkness falling, means the picturesque parts of Scotland remain unseen. Perhaps we'll see something on the return leg...

Checking in to the Best Western Palace Hotel for the night, the bar was a welcome sight. Some dinner and drinks, then it's time to prepare for day two.
  • Mileage today: 568
  • Estimated fuel: 86 litres
  • Toll charges: £4.70

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Day Zero: From here to there

08 November 2009

The first day of the rally, but a day before it starts, and the Audi 90, nicely fettled by our friends at Huntingdon Audi, part of the Vindi's group, has to make its first post-fettled journey of any length, along the A14, M11 and M25 as it heads to the start line, stopping only to pick up Juliana, the co-driving totty. It was also a chance to test the satellite tracking worked, and it all seemed to go fine thanks to the help of Ben Collins.

There's not much to say about a day like this - it's a journey purely to get somewhere in order to go somewhere else, and it's almost entirely made up of motorway. Still, the Audi copes fine with the tiny demands made of it, and we arrive at the grim hub of despair that is the Bracknell Central Travelodge in time to take a couple of beers from the school canteen like Bar Cafe.

I'm quite glad tomorrow is an early start.
  • Miles today: 156
  • Estimated fuel: 22 litres
  • Toll charges: £1.50

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Before the off

07 November 2009

It's Saturday afternoon, and the Audi has finally returned from the garage, and it's now got a shiny new radiator thanks to the guys at Huntingdon Audi. There's still plenty to be done, as preparations for these rallies always get left to the last minute - that's part of the appeal and challenge.

However, it's not all as last minute as some. In an hour or so, Emily and Kirsten from BEN, who we're doing the whole rally for, will be arriving to pick up their own entry. The Astra in the fleet to the right will be their chosen steed, and it's notable by the very fact I still own it with less than 48 hours before the start of the rally. And I thought I was brave.

Our banger is mostly prepared, with the mechanical side in good order and a valet having taken place,. Now it's just a case of loading up the spanners, socket set, hammer, tape, etc., and then finding space for phones, sat nav, laptops, luggage and so on.

Then we're off!

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