Historic Rallye - The most essential item of equipment is a sense of humour!

29.2.08

FIA - Historic Regularity Rallies/Historic Rally Championship

FIA Championship 2008




Vamos lá... a partir de fevereiro é que começam os rallyes de regularidade de carros históricos - Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies. Esta é a mais leve das competições, pois, só há estágios em regularidade e não em velocidade (vide abaixo o calendário destes rallyes, que em muitos dos casos são mistos, ou seja, regularidade e velocidade).

- 27 de janeiro a 1 de fevereiro, tivemos o The Winter Trial

- 09 a 15 de maio a Sétima Ediçcão do Historic Acropolis Rally

- 14 a 21 de junho tem o Vigésimo Classic Marathon (ainda não confirmado)

- 25 a 28 de junho a XXI Volta da Ilha da Madeira Classic Rally

- 12 e 13 de julho tem o Historic Cyprus Ragularity Rally

- 4 a 8 de outubro o terceiro Tatry Classic Rally

- 30/10 a 2/11 o Quarto Autumn Rally

- 20 a 23 de novembro, tem o último rallye do ano - Oitavo Rally of the Tests


Agora a "Difircurdarde"!!!



http://www.classicrallies.com/img/events/1017_poster.jpg

O Costa Brava foi o primeiro, já a segunda prova da FIA Historic Rally Championship é na Itália - trata-se do Sanremo Rally Storico - Coppa dei Fiori.



Somente carros fabricados abaixo de 1981 são admitidos neste 23 Historic Sanremo Rally (que vai ocorrer de 3 a 6 de abril, por 316 kms), todos é claro, setados dentro dos regulamentos (Anexo) FIA. Para a participação precisa mandar foto do carro e cópia da primeira página do FIA HTP, além é claro do pagamento de 936,00 Euros (até 10 de março), ou 1.120,00 Euros de 11 a 15 de março. Em paralelo a esta competição, será realizada a Copa dei Fiori (também para carros construídos, antes de 1981 - porém com papéis FIA ou CSAI). A rota é a mesma, pas a precisão de velocidades é o tema central (speeds entre 40 a 50kph). O pagamento da inscrição fica em 480,00 Euros. Vai ter uma prova especial dentro da Copa chamada Targa Riviera dei Fiori.

- De 10 a 12 de abril, ocorre na República Checa o Historic Vltava Rallye Klatov, que é um misto de regularidade com velocidade.

- De 9 a 15 de maio, tem um dos mais gostosos rallyes da Europa - O Historic Acropolis Rally. É considerado um dos Top Rallyes na Europa. O start é sempre de fronte do Parthenon em Acrópolis. Nos 4 dias de rallye vão ser percorridos 1.400kms (tem categoria de velocidade e de regularidade). O preço é salgadinho 3.100 Euros para o Sporting Rally (velocidade), e 2.750 Euros para o rallye de regularidade (até que é barato, pois, são 6 dias de hotel - double room - incluídos, 5 refeições para cada competidor; jantar de entrega de prêmios e souvenirs). E tem mais, quem participar deste evento, não precisa pagar nada no 4 Historic Autumn Rally of Crete (de 30/10 a 2/11 evento FIA).








- 30, 31 de maio e primeiro de junho tem na Itália o Trofeo Florio - Historic Rally Città di Cefalù (esse é só sporting rally, ou seja, um pau só no - como os italianos chamam - Campionato e Trofeo Italiano Rally Autostoriche).

Este é a sexta edição do Rally del Corallo, que parte de Alghero (Sardenha) de 5 a 8 de junho. Este é o segundo Italian Historic Rally, que faz parte do FIA Championship, para no máximo 70 carros com papéis FIA e CSAI. Vão ser 522kms de regularidade e de velocidade, com inscrição de 936,00 Euros.

- De 26 a 28 de outubro - Belgium Ypress Westhoek Rally (rallye misto - velocidade/regularidade).

- De 12 a 13 de junho - Historic Cyprus Rally.

- De 10 a 12 de agosto Lahti Historic Rally (misto de regularidade com velocidade).




- De 28 a 30 de agosto o Rallye Alpi Orientali - Misto de regularidade com velocidade (muito legal - é um dos rallyes da FIA que eu mais gosto).

- De 18 a 20 de setembro, temos o XIX Rallye Elba Storico - Esse é o rallye de velocidade e o de regularidade é o 20 Elba Graffiti - Trofeo Locman (que acontece na mesma data e no mesmo trajeto).

- De 17 a 19 de outubro tem outro rallye preferido - a Décima Nova edição do International Ostarrichi Rallye.




- De 28 a 30 de novembro, tem a última prova - o Rallye du Var. Eu falei o último, pois, até a presente data o Abu Dhabi Historic Rally ainda não foi confirmado.

Luis Cezar

25.2.08

Raid T-Rex (Part 4)

Trip
MG TC

The day we left Ushuaia, Mother Nature had a bad case of PMT; she was already throwing the furniture around in a fit of the vapours. We set off in sleet which rapidly turned to horizontal snow as we gained height to cross Paso Garibaldi. It was so much colder, but as we dropped down to the northward side of the mountains the snow gave way to clearing skies and a screamer of a wind. The sun came out but it was still cold; I spent the morning as I was to carry on the rest of the day – clinging on to the hood and nearside sidescreen with both hands.

We crossed the border out of Argentina and back into Chile virtually unable to stand upright at the border posts. The wind put a parting in our eyelashes and our Tilly (guaranteed never to blow off if you put them on according to our instructions) hats failed the Patagonia test several times.

Then onto a gravel road for 100kms, thankfully recently graded, to meet the shorter ferry back to the mainland from the northern part of Tierra del Fuego. We thought, being a short crossing, that we could just drive on. Instead we found a three and half hour queue. Never mind, we had the accommodation sorted out and that was just 5 kms from the ferry on the other side. As night fell we found that the hosteria had been taken over by an oil company for offices. That meant another 150kms and another border crossing out of Chile and back into Argentina until we made Rio Gallegos.

We crossed the border at 11.30pm and finally found a hotel with a room at 1.30am next day in Rio Gallegos on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. These long days in trying conditions are tiring. We had planned on an orderly retreat from World’s End; what we got was 648 kms, 150 kms of that on gravel, two border crossings, a snow storm, a howler of a wind, over 13 hours in the saddle and a long queue.

Routa 3 runs northwards parallel to the Atlantic coast all the way up to Buenos Aires. The plan was to follow routa 3 up to Commodorio Rivadavia for a couple of days and then strike across Patagonia WNW to Bariloche in the Argentinian Lake District.

Routa 3 must be one of the world’s most boring roads. Some of it is brand new tarmac, most of it is one great big roadworks with gravel temporary roads running alongside, too much of it is old tarmac in a poor state. Argentina is spending huge amounts of money on infrastructure in Patagonia. As well as the dry, dusty Patagonian steppe country, vast areas are producing oil via oil derricks slowing nodding like geriatric dinosaurs. Oil storage tanks and power lines dot the landscape, oil tankers ply routa 3 constantly.

Heavy goods vehicles do a lot of damage to the road surface, hence all the improvements. The bits they haven’t got to yet were just as damaging as ripio. Instead of constant vibration we would manage 80kph, dodging potholes, ridges, gouges and all manner of contortions but sometimes we just couldn’t spot them all and that is when the suspension took sudden and severe shocks at speed.

After one day off ripio, we discussed how lucky we had been not to do any more damage to suspension and not to have any tyre damage, just normal wear and tear. The next morning we awoke to find a flat rear tyre. It was a slow puncture so we were able to get through the day by reinflating at regular intervals. In Commodorio Rivadivia we found the offending rear tyre was split inside which had pinched the tube. Hence the slow puncture. There was no sign of damage on the outside of the tyre. So, we ended up with Michelins all round with just an odd tyre left on the spare, and one spare tube. The Blue Goo worked to a point so that the tube didn’t completely deflate, hence the slow puncture.

We were still in guanaco and armadillo country but the hares were less in evidence with more sightings of skunks, mostly flattened on the road. These little guys are cute in a Walt Disney sort of way, black with a white mohecan stripe from between the eyes all the way to the tip of the tail. After coming across the first squashed skunk we simultaneously started singing:

“There’s a dead skunk in the middle of the road,

Wind up your windows and hold your nose,

There’s a dead skunk in the middle of the road

And he’s stinking to hiiiigggghhhh heaven!”

There were a lot more rheas around in big pre-school nursery groups with a couple of adult care assistants to keep them under control. They seemed to favour the road verge, possibly because the sparse vegetation was greener from the rain runoff. What a nightmare keeping tabs on so many youngsters.

There were still cyclists slogging out routa 3. OK, it was sealed, but so boring and featureless. We could not fathom out their motivation, not that of a guy walking routa 3, or rather pushing a handcart with his rucksack and other camping clobber. He had a sort of benign grin all over his face. He must be on something. Whatever launches his boat, he needs sectioning.

The further west we traveled the greener and more mountainous things got; the drive northwards to Bariloche parallel to the Andes was fantastic. The Argentinian Lake District knocks the Chilean side into a cocked hat. The town of Bariloche perches over Lago Nuhuel Huapi, a huge lake with “fingers” that spread in all directions. Buildings are in the Swiss chalet style, sometimes to the point of pastiche.

The whole area is a popular tourist destination summer and winter, and justly so. Many people told us it was like Queenstown on South Island and to some extent it is, but not entirely. Plus there is a bonus – it is famous for chocolate and preserves. We found a chocolate emporium, an old-fashioned store stacked to the gunnels with so much chocolate you put pounds on just walking past the door.

Our next target was Buenos Aires, a four day slog NE with big distances and again, very little in the line of places to stay along the way. We have sampled the full range of accommodation so far from five star hotels, fantastic campsites, great cabanas to total flea pits. The hotel in Zapala was a dump in total contrast to the hotel in Choele Choel and both cost the same. Travellers in non-tourist areas are a captive audience and there’s nothing we can do about it. The upside is that they are cheap; cracked washbasins and sheets so thin you can read a newspaper through them haven’t killed anyone yet.

Somewhere along this trip we found we had broken a front shock absorber mounting bracket. We blame the poor state of some of the sealed roads rather than the ripio – we checked the shockers all round regularly. We discussed the options and decided to proceed to Buenos Aires, just to remove the bracket and let the spring do the work.

After the green and pleasant scenery of the Lake District, the landscape gave way to the dry and dusty barren stuff again. Something strange happened to the price of petrol somewhere after Bariloche – the price rose by 40%. Nothing to do with geography, transport costs etc, just a plain ordinary price rise. How’s that for inflation?

Further east green appeared again and suddenly, the traffic got a lot heavier. We were traveling through a fruit growing area – apple, pear, plum, cherry and stone fruit orchards spread for a hundred kilometers along a wide river valley. All this traffic vanished along with the orchards as the scenery returned to dry and brown again.

From Bahia Blanca on the Atlantic coast, the scenery changed once more to green. Enormous, flat fields given over to beef cattle, sunflowers or maize spread all the way to Buenos Aires. This is pampas and exactly as we pictured it. It is a prosperous agricultural area, with many more roads servicing more towns and communities, with the proportionate heavier traffic. Argentina is famous for its quality beef and most of it was Aberdeen Angus judging by the colour of the cattle.

It was on one of our peestops that we spotted our first South American snake. Now, we know that Anacondas are bad news, but what were we to make of a 60cm long, green, gold and black reptile? I didn’t want to be bitten on the bum, well, not by a snake anyway, so what is a girl to do? Scream? Faint clean away? Back off slowly? Did it have reinforcements? Was it poisonous? How many per square kilometer? So many unanswered questions. I chose option three.

The traffic was building fast as we got to within 50kms of Buenos Aires and we found the first bit of autopista. Judging from the map it dumps you in the centre of Buenos Aires. With fingers crossed we were swept along with the mounting traffic hurtling headlong into Buenos Aires. The city has a reputation for mad traffic but we were not overwhelmed as we expected, probably because it was Saturday. We found the drivers polite and patient; one offered to lead us to our hotel! We must look like a right pair of gringos.

We had sorted a hotel with secure parking, so secure the entrance took some finding. It was supposed to be a four star hotel. Whatever. Walking the streets looking for a meal was fun. The place was full of milling crowds of locals and tourists just promenading around the narrow streets. There is music everywhere, not blaring pop music but sophisticated tango music. There are street artists, tango demonstrations, hawkers, an all-pervading smell of leather, classier than usual souvenir shops and leather jackets for Africa. Restaurants don’t really get into full swing until 9pm and stay open until very late. Buenos Aires is best described as vibrant.

Restaurant cooked meat has something of the Inquisition about it. Parrillas and Asados (grills and roasts) are several steps closer to the dead animal that the sanitized versions we get in Europe and North America. Asados in particular, where a lamb carcass is impaled, spreadeagled, on an iron frame and then hung over an open wood fire to slow roast looks more like Medieval torture than food preparation. We still see the occasional spit roast pig at village fairs in the UK but nothing on this scale. The asado is everywhere, and in Chile too.

On Sunday we morphed into tourists, so we headed for a craft market in the uptown area of Recoleta via wide boulevards and tree-lined streets. Buenos Aires has some wonderful old buildings in the grand Baroque style. There is a lot of granite, marble, ironwork and gilt. They like huge doors, huge impressive doors. Avenida 9 Julio is the widest boulevard in the world but wait for China to top that soon.

Recoleta is an old fashionable area populated it seems by well-to-do old ladies with dogs which they parade around streets and allow to foul pavements. Our mission however was the Sunday craft market in Plaza Francia. Jewelery was the most sold item, including a very interesting, if not eccentric guy selling pendants reflecting one’s birth sign according to the Mayan calendar. Apparently I am a Luna sign governed by the Wind. It is Mayan for “I talk a lot”, or in Yorkshire tongue, “I’m a bag of wind”, or even “I like the sound of my own voice”. Mmmmm. He claimed to be of Mayan descent and that all Mayans are witches. He looked the part.

We accidentally stumbled across Recoleta Cemetery, a major tourist destination. Now, cemeteries are not on our hot list of things to see whether we are on holiday or not. In Recoleta cemetery you find the dead of the great and the good and the rich, including the mortal remains of Eva Peron. The family mausoleums are huge granite and marble edifices set up like streets, some planted with trees.

Buenos Aires has a reputation for not being safe. By not safe they mean tourists are easily identified and easy picking for thieves. We wore money belts with Kevlar straps that cannot be cut, and spread our credit and debit cards around our person so no one hit costs us too much. The most you can withdraw from any ATM is ₤50 per day, the rationale being that you then don’t get robbed of too much money.

With the number of policemen and security guards on the streets, all “tooled up”, pickpockets would have a hard time making a living, except in the areas devoid of such security. We have no problem with guns so long as they are not pointed at us. As soon as we lost sight of a gun, we headed back to where they were in evidence. Is all this armed security a preventive measure, or a reaction to an existing problem? What would it be like without them? There are armed security men at all supermarkets, banks and most public places. I prefer them to be there than not. To be absolutely honest, we never felt insecure.

The older guide books tell you to keep away from the docks, but recently the whole dock area has been tarted up and is now fashionable apartments, offices and restaurants. We meant to carry on to La Boca, another tourist area, but the heat and humidity got the better of us. God bless airconditioning.

Tomorrow we head for Uruguay and Montevideo via a high speed ferry from Buenos Aires. A contact in Brazil tells us that our major problem there will be mud – Mother Nature has been at it again and has decided that an extended Rainy Season is in order.

Bob and Lynne

22.2.08

Almoço do MG Club do Brasil - 2008

Almoço do MG Club do Brasil

No dia 16 de fevereiro, foi feito o primeiro almoço do MG Club do Brasil, num Fazenda perto de São Paulo. Participaram umas 40 pessoas, que vieram com seus carros clássicos. Aqui estão os destaques:


Luis Cezar

16.2.08

Stars & Cars

Stars & Cars

Jane Mansfield with her XK 120 Jaguar
Jane Mansfield em 1956 no seu Jaguar XK 120 - Isso sim que é a Bela e a Fera

Como o presidente do MG Club do Brasil é americano como nós, tendo apenas nascido acima da Linha do Equador, temos que agradá-lo com alguns temas, dentre eles matar a sua curiosidade dos carros dos atores e atrizes famosas de Hollywood. Eu sei... eu sei, que o tema deste blog não é esse, mas temos que agradá-lo, caso contrário ele aciona o US Marine Corps!

MARSHALL THOMPSON AT HIS HOME IN LOS ANGELES WITH HIS 1968 JAGUAR XKE 4.2 2+2 / 1969
MARSHALL THOMPSON na sua casa em Los Angeles com seu Jaguar XKE 4.2 2+2 1969.

The Carpenters Richard and Karen outside of their southern California home with their Maserati Ghibli
Os irmãos Carpenters, Richard e Karen na casa deles na California, com seu Maserati Ghibli (1971).

Karen Valentine and her husband Mac McLaughlin in her 1970 Mercedes 280 SL
Karen Valentine e seu maridão Mac McLaughlin, na Mercedes 280 SL de 1970.


O Steve McQueen, nas filmagens do "The Thomas Crown Affair", em 1968 (o Steve McQueen acabou recebendo como presente este Rolls)

Clint Eastwood with his Ferrari 275 GTB
Clint Eastwood com sua Ferrari 275 GTB em 1965

Jackie Raye and her 1964 Porsche 356
A gostosinha da Jackie Raye e seu Porsche 356, em 1964

RED SKELTON & HIS WIFE GEORGIA WITH HIS NEW 1963 BUICK RIVIERA 1963
RED SKELTON e sua mulher GEORGIA, no seu novo BUICK RIVIERA 1963

Lana Turner in her Mercedes
Lana Turner no seu Mercedes SL em 1961


Os atores de "Route 66" - Martin Milner e Glenn Corbett, em 1964 na Corvete do Martin, usada no filme, depois vendida a ele.

Glynis Johns with her 1956 Thunderbird C. 1956
Glynis Johns no seu Thunderbird 1956

Kirk Douglas in his 1956 Mercedes 190 C. 1956 *M.W.*
Kirk Douglas no seu Mercedes 190 em 1956

Roger Moore and his Jaguar XK 150
Roger Moore no seu Jaguar XK 150, em 1956

Jackie Cooper with his 1956 Ferrari Superfast
Jackie Cooper na sua Ferrari Superfast de 1956

Sophia Loren driving her 1956 Corvett August 20, 1958
Sophia Loren no seu Corvett em 1958

Debbie Reynolds and her 1955 T Bird
Debbie Reynolds e seu T Bird 1955

Rex Harrison and his 1952 Jaguar XK 120 C. 1952
Rex Harrison e seu Jaguar XK 120 de 1952

Marlon Brando with his 1950 Ford
Marlon Brando com seu Ford 1950

Red Skelton with his 1946 Chrysler Woody *M.W.*
Red Skelton no seu Chrysler Woody em 1946

Bing Crosby with his 1939 Oldsmobile 6 Cylinder *M.W.*
Bing Crosby com seu Oldsmobile 6 Cylinder em 1939

Olivia DeHavilland with her 1937 Buick C. 1937 *M.W.*
Olivia De Havilland com seu Buick em 1937

Jay Leno and his 1937 Bugatti type 575 C at Woodley Park CA 11-7-99
Jay Leno e sua Bugatti type 575 - 1937

Charles Boyer with his 1935 Packard *M.W.*
Charles Boyer com seu Packard 1935

728-670 JOAN CRAWFORD IN HER 1934 FORD ROADSTER CIRCA 1934 *M.W.* / MPTV
JOAN CRAWFORD e seu Ford Roadster 1934

809-850 GARY COOPER IN HIS 1933 DERHAM TOURSTER CIRCA.1933 *M.W.* / MPTV
GARY COOPER no seu DERHAM TOURSTER 1933

Jean Harlow with her 1932 Auburn 12 C. 1932
Jean Harlow com seu Auburn 12 de 1932

Jean Harlow with her 1932 Auburn Speedster C. 1932
Jean Harlow com seu Auburn Speedster 1932

Jean Harlow with her 1932 Packard C. 1932 *M.W.
Jean Harlow com seu Packard 1932

Joan Crawford with her 1928 Model A Ford C. 1928 *M.W.*
Joan Crawford com seu Ford Model A de 1928

Rudolph Valentino's 1924 Fiat *M.W.*
O Fiat 1924 do Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino with his 1923 Avions Voisin *M.W.*
O próprio Rudolph Valentino com seu Avions Voisin 1923

Tom Mix in his 1921 Cord *M.W.*
Tom Mix no seu Cord de 1921

Roscoe
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle no seu Pierce Arrow de 1920

759-141 LORETTA YOUNG IN HER CIRCA 1930 PACKARD ROADSTER *M.W* / MPTV
LORETTA YOUNG no seu PACKARD ROADSTER de 1930

860-665 CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S CIRCA 1925 MINERVA (?) TOURING *M.W.* / MPTV
O Minerva Touring de 1925 do CHARLIE CHAPLIN

James Arness in his Mercedes 300 SL C. 1958
James Arness na sua Mercedes 300 SL de 1958

Pronto - já puxei o saco!