PEKING TO PARIS 2016

Teams from New Zealand and Australia have set the pace and ultimately the prise of the 2016 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. New Zealanders, Bruce and Harry Washington took overall honours in the Vintageants in their 1929 Chrysler 75 Roadster, while the Aussie combo of Mark Pickering and Dave Boddy secured top position in the Classic category in their ace 1973 Datsun 240Z.

This was Bruce Washington’s 3rd attempt at this famous rally having not completed the event on the first attempt, managed a 4th place finish in 2013 with son Ben and this year with his son Harry secured top spot in the Vintageants. Harry was also awarded the Philip Young Cup, which is presented to the best performing novice on the rally.

Chasing them hard in the Vintageants category, the British team of Mike Thompson and Andrew Davies, who were competing in another ’29 Chrysler 75 Roadster took second place and the 1938 Ford 62 of fellow countryman Nigel Lee and Richard Turner finishing 3rd.

Mark Pickering and Dave Boddy had a battle on their hands but success came as the pair secured the win in the Classic category with strong competition from Ford Mustangs, Escorts and Datsun crews.

At the end however, the 1969 Volvo Amazon piloted by Frenchman Ludovic Bois and Julia Colman finished in 2nd place with Aussies, Murray and Adam Jackson taking 3rd third in a 1974 Mercedes 450 SLC.

The Aussie pair also won the European Cup for the Classics while Bill Cleyndert and Jacqui Norman in the 1925 Bentley Super Sports lifted the trophy for the Vintageants. The True Grit award was presented to Hok Kiang Sia and his son Eric from Malaysia as they caught back up with the rally after a fire in the engine bay of their 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom. Another award was the ‘Against All Odds’ award which was given to the UK pairing of David and Jo Roberts who had to repeatedly repair their 1954 Sunbeam Alpine which they by themselves. The Spirit of the Rally award went to Australia’s Max and Julie Stephenson in their 1923 Vauxhall OD 23/60

The event which is organised by the Endurance Rally Association, started on the 12th June and 107 crews crossed the start line at the Great Wall of China in Beijing and on the 17th July, 98 crews came over the finish line in Paris. It was a journey through 11 countries that included Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, Russia and Belarus.

The next Peking to Paris Motor Challenge will take place in June 2019, and a new proposed route that will include Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Greece. Fancy a go? Take a look at www.endurorally.com

Images courtesy of Gerard Brown.

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