It’s not every day that you can go from one historic racetrack to the next, but the Mongol Rally isn’t exactly a milk run. Along the 16,000 kilometres that we’re traveling from Goodwood, England to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, we’ll be seeing and doing a hell of a lot. The first week, from July 24th to 31st, was all about racing. We launched from the Festival of Slow, went around the Nürburgring, and drove over what Jeremy Clarkson calls the best driving road… in the world.
Started in 2004, the Mongol Rally came about because a guy named Tom wanted to do something fun with his Fiat 126.
Rad! From a meager six teams in 2004, the Rally has grown to nearly 450 teams in 2010, but the spirit of anti-preparedness goes on. It is a basic requirement of the rally that you drive a crap car; penalties apply for engines bigger than 1.2L on cars (and 125cc on bikes). GPS and maps are frowned upon, if somewhat necessary. Language barriers will be thrilling, varied and plentiful, as you’ll average a new country every three days.
The most daring routes are through the recently troubled Kyrgyzstan, like the Pamir Highway. A famous drug-smuggling route that is hewn out of the side of river valleys and mountains, its’ gravel and sand surface stretches across Central Asia, from Afghanistan in the south, along Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, before ending in Kyrgyzstan. We’ve just camped with several teams who plan to convoy along the route; we’re taking a far tamer trip from London to Turkey, then across the Black Sea to Sochi, Russia. From there we take on the vast territory and few roads of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and expect to make it to the finish line around August 25th. God knows we’ll hear some stories soon enough though, so stay tuned.
This year, the fun all started in Goodwood, UK. On the estate of the Earl of March is the Goodwood Circuit, a historic racetrack that was the centre of British endurance racing in the 50s and 60s, and which has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years since reopening (though, devoid of chicanes, it’s no good for modern racing). Notably, the Festival of Speed is held in the area early every July, where the newest and fastest vehicles compete in a hill climb.
We did not attend the Festival of Speed, but we were part of the Festival of Slow. 350 of the Mongol Rally teams launched from the Goodwood Circuit, where all sorts of silliness was going on. Awards were given out (the “least likely to make it to Mongolia” award was given to a team from New Jersey whose car had not yet shown up), teams that had long corresponded over the internet would finally meet in person (we got to meet the three ladies of the Great Canadian Beavers, at long last), and there were Mongolian wrestlers.
Around 2PM, we were shuffled onto the historic circuit for a lap before going off into the great unknown. Obligatory start line photo:
It was a slow lap, and we weren’t allowed to overtake, which is perfectly OK since by nightfall we made it to a camping ground just north of Nürburg, Germany – the site of the fabled Nürburgring.
The next morning we got up, found our way (slowly) to the Ring, and bought two lap cards. We were about to take our 2001 1.2L Suzuki Ignis GL onto the proving ground for any serious vehicle; we were also bringing along at least 400lbs of extra luggage and an unknown maintenance history. The question wasn’t what our lap time would be on the Nürburgring, the world’s longest racetrack. Instead, we were wondering if we – and our car – would make it through its’ 24 kilometres and hundred-something turns, and then do it a second time.
We strictly followed the camera ban and did not record any footage. Just kidding! But the internet is not what one would hope it to be in this part of the world, and to be honest, as a racing video, it’s a pretty poor demonstration of speediness. You don’t get the sense of how intense it is to be passed by fifty cars and bikes in ten minutes. You don’t feel how inadequate the suspension is for this kind of endeavour. You don’t feel the brakes getting spongy and the throttle pushing against the firewall. In short, you don’t get to experience any of the things that made my Nürburgring lap one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Just believe me when I say: you have gotta drive that road.
Huge thanks to Andrew and Spencer, part two will be up later today!