The final section of the Monte Carlo rally is the one most anticipated by the spectators and feared by the crews. It comprises severally brutally difficult stages over the Col de Turini and other adjacent peaks in the Alpes Maritime that tower over Monaco. Every kind of weather condition can be expected: sheet ice, packed ice, black ice, fresh powder, wet snow, slush and of course freezing fog are almost always present to some degree. Rallyists aptly call this the “Night of the Long Knives” because of the long penetrating spotlight beams of the cars as they wind their way up the mountain roads. This year we had a double loop over the the Turini in the east-west direction followed by a stage over the Col de Braus. To put it mildly, was going to be a challenge for a car with a compromised gearbox and broken suspension! However the never-say-die ethos of the Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team came into play. We raced out of Monte Carlo in the direction of the mountains. We met Adam and John at the service point and they changed out tyres for the last set of fresh studded boots we possessed and then the race was on.
Although regularity stages are about maintaining what appears to be a modest, road-legal, constant speed (usually around 47kph) this task becomes almost unbelievably difficult when conducted over snow covered mountain “roads” that are often little more than goat trails. At some point over the Turini I stopped giving Bill clock times and told him to drive flat out as we were so far behind on time. Nevertheless we had an epic battle with the Mini Coopers of O’Nion/Wilkinson and Jahn/Jahn. We also reeled in numerous other faster cars including Alfas and Porsches (it’s always particularly satisfying when a Mini overtakes German machinery if for nothing other than the look on the driver’s face as our demented little buzz box goes past).
Despite our heroics the mechanical condition of the car was not working in our favour and to make matters worse 4th gear started to whine ominously. While we were holding our own we were not making ground either. We adopted the old maxim “to finish first, first you have to finish” and opted for Bill driving at eight to nine tenths as we careered over the Cols.
T
he cheering crowds were quite unbelievable and it’s hard to imagine anywhere else in the world where we would get such an audience at 2.00pm on a freezing cold weekday night. Eventually the end marker of the final stage appeared and we shot back to the finishing ramp at Monaco. It was now nearly 6.00am and again the crowds were out in force. I went to buy beers and Bill gave press interviews. After months of intense planning it was hard to believe that the rally was over. Despite all odds we had finished in the middle of the pack and 5th in class. Now we faced the long drive home and few months rest before starting planning for 2010.
The 2009 Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying Team was:
Bill Richards: Driver
John Morrow: Co-Driver
John Griffin: Service Support and team Manager
Adam Cooke: Service Support
and of course the star PRX 720B (1965 Morris Mini Cooper S)