Thursday 26 February 2015

The Gala Dinner

Such a beautiful setting for the Grand Gala Dinner. The Boss got it right again...


What a lovely Canadian Couple these 2 were in their Mustang. Len & Laine :)


Georgina took to the stage and promptly handed over to the clerk of the course mr spillers...
The f & b industry should be proud of this ol geezer. He certainly did them proud.... :)))
Tee hee meoooooow...



These two 'young' chaps in their Ford picked up 3rd in class and were most honourable to give a mention to Anton & the lovely Inge from the big Bentley who sadly had to retire early.
The Bentley Team no doubt would have collected a well deserved 2nd in Class and these guys were quick to acknowledge that and the reason they slipped into 3rd place..


Marco & Marienne in the 4 litre Bentley then slipped into 2nd position and The Itala Team into 5th, being the Roller..

So without a doubt 3 of the 6 Bentleys in our class would have picked up 1st, 2nd & 3rd.. So we are quite pleased & proud with 5th place..


So the Vintage Line up...


Kurt & Mark in the blue Mustang also picked up a pair of 'Begging Bowls' for their great efforts :))



These 2 Kiwis in the Volvo picked up an award for driving flat out at every opportunity, eventually blowing up their engine and then finding a replacement on facebook and then continued to drive like a 'man possessed' lol (good sports tho - even sprayed us with sand a few times) 
David gave them a bit of a pep talk about the P2P that they are planning in 2016..


Men in skirts Mmmmmmmmm lol


Gerry Crown on the other hand was the Oldest Swinger in Town (82 years young he told me) and he picked up a Well Deserved 2nd in Class.. 

Great sport (met him on the P2P where i think he picked up 1st in class) 
Altough now an official Ozzy.. 
He was born in London and wait for it.....
Schooled in Barry, Wales and then as a teenager hopped off to Australia... I did detect a slight welsh accent... :)))



The Classic Line up..




These guys & guyesses were the 'warm up' act and what a good job they did..
They picked these frocks up on route.. 


Cool as a cucumber Herr Egli (Martin) all suited
And booted and ready to rock & roll and make some Mischief...


And just when we thought the Prize Giving was over and we could finally eat - Up got this mischievous pair (Martin & Robert) and took over the microphone to do some more 'Danke Schones'... 


The Marshalls & Mechanics were hauled up and applauded.. 




And then we were dragged up too..




So many peeps had come onto us saying that they were astonished that we hadnt had a prize or a mention and i have to say that David certainly Did deserve a 'something' for all the effort he put into getting the Itala to Mandalay..

The Itala is without doubt the toughest car to drive on this route and had the least mechanical attention whilst on the rally but i guess there just wasnt enough Trophys to go around this time...

Our Big Yin was busy back in Bangkok getting back to Top Fit condition after his tumble so the show was left in the hands of others so ... 
Sour grapes to us tee hee.

Lots of competitors were puzzled as to how the prizes were allocated but our prize was arriving in Mandalay and still rocking & rolling and still fit enough to drive to Yangon so :))))) 👍



2 days rest & relaxation in Hong Kong awaited the Itala Team....


Itala now in the Warehouse in CarsUk safe hands..




Its hard to imagine what kind of Adventures would turn a bright shiny red car into this state in just 24 days!!! Someone will have a tough job to get it scrubbed up ready for its French Jaunt in May..






On Route through Yangon to the Warehouse..




Andy sorting out his truck ready for the next big trip..





And straight back to the poolside to relax with friends..







Wednesday 25 February 2015

Arrived Safely in Yangon :)))

Just completed a Very Very long final 630km day.. 

Scorching heat. 500 + km of Expressway but still had dogs, water buffalo, mopeds, children etc popping out to say 'hello' and nearly a few goodbyes... 
Shattered.. 
Hopefully wifi will work here...  
Pics later...

I can see now why some Teams put their cars on trailers and thumbed a lift in the 4x4 lol
At least we can say we stayed on Rally Route from Start to Finish.

Tough Rally but Fantastic Time was had by all even if they did give our Trophy to a Rolls Royce lol .. Should have been in our 'shadow' ha ha :))))

Ps couldnt resist the Balloon Ride at 5am over the Temples of Bagan. Awesome...











And here come the Sales Men selling their wares...


After our early morning Balloon Ride we were quite late leaving.. 10am so a long day was ahead of us..




David 'Tanked' the Old Girl for 4 hours solid apart from a 5 minute Petrol fill up..

And then just 1 km before the next petrol fill up we heard a strange noise coming from the engine and slowed down to investigate..
I thought OMG something serious was occurring lol but it turned out to be just the alternator or rather the bearings of the alternator had gave up the ghost..
So belt was cut off and on we marched the last 225km..





Number 9 struggling in the heat of this final day.. They are true sportsmen these guys. Have fought long and hard all 'around the track' - picked up 3rd place


Last Toll and the sun is setting..
Yikes soon we would be without light...



Then a police escort for the last group to arrive... That was a right fiasco as the locals dont even bother taking any notice of the anyone... Police included so ...



But we made it in the pitch black through heavy Yangon traffic and now resting with a capital 'R' at 'Kandawgyi Palace..