Day 1:
At 6:00AM the car was on the road - a full tank of fuel, a year's supply of energy drinks and several bags of sweets was all our team needed. Our team (Chris Ryu and Russell Whittam) arrived safely at the first checkpoint at 8:00AM to meet their competitors. No dramas on the first leg, infact Chris even took the time to fit a CD player to the 18 year old car whilst on route. Once all of the teams have arrived at the Ben (Ben-Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund) Headquarters in Ascot, the rally was on - next stop Inverness. As the drivers all ran to their cars, the first rotten tricks started. A few gentle nudges were being given in the queue to get out of the car park and meanwhile, Team Poole Audi was nowhere to be seen... ...they had been blocked in by some of the teams who obviously took their inspiration from the 80s cartoon Wacky Races. Eventually our team escaped and started the 560 mile leg to the Great Western Hotel in Inverness. All of the teams made it to the hotel and the complaints of back-aches were filling the dinner hall, but certainly not from us! The ride from the 100 Avant was smooth and faultless, which is more than could be said for one of our rivals. While battling their way through the intense fog covering Scotland, the Smartrepairinsurance team had developed a coolant leak.
Day 2:Team Poole Audi rise out of bed early to start work on the Smartrepairinsurance team's car. joined by Team GRS they managed to fix the coolant problem, while all of the other teams got a head-start on the next leg to John 'O' Groats. A few bottles of water and anti-freeze lighter, the Poole Audi team was feeling good about the good deed and held up the rear of the pack, making sure that the struggling Ford was ok. All seemed ok... until our first (and only) drama came about. Our coolant light gave the first warning sign that something wasn't quite right and so we pulled over to check everything was ok. One of our 18 year old water pipes had split and precious coolant was now oozing out of the hole. Luckily the split was right at the end of the pipe, an area that was probably weakened a few days prior when we fitted a thermostat (not sure why but the previous owner had removed it!). Armed with a knife and a jubilee clip, the team was back on the road within 15 minutes and arrived at John O'Groats in convoy with the last of the rally cars. After a short rest and a few practical jokes, the next leg was under-way. Again, there was no drama for us on this trip but for others there were real issues. First came the sabotage, as a practical joke played on Car Dealer Magazine resulted in a blown tyre. Secondly, the Ben team were involved in a car accident as they lost control on one of the steep declines back down from the highlands. Finally it was the turn of Cambridge LandRover, their valiant attempts to keep the H reg LandRover going was all in vein when they finally broke down half-way to our next stop, Berwick-upon-Tweed. We arrived at the checkpoint with nobody to be seen, it seems nobody had told us that our next stop (and dinner plans) had changed - a mistake or another joke, you decide!
Day 3:The tired troops were all in the cars at 7:00AM to make a quick stop at Sport Network and then on to a race track in Surrey. By this time, we had been amazed by how good the Audi is and yes, you guessed it - we arrived at the track with no issues. We even had enough time to taunt the Ben team by sticking http://www.pooleaccidentrepair.co.uk/ stickers on their replacement car. Eventually the other teams arrived and we made our way onto the wet racetrack. The Audi 100 is hardly a sports car but it gripped well and apart from a little understeer, did us proud.
Auction:
The cars were cleaned and we had the stickers removed ready for a charity auction at the British Car Auctions centre in Blackbushe. Most of the teams were disappointed with the sale figures of their precious cars, especially us. However, we helped to raise over £12,000 for charity and I guess that makes them the real winners!
