September 6th is finally here, and two pairs of feet have now departed American soil. In four days time, my friends Steven Harris and Hayden Burvill will start the Peking to Paris Rally in Lola: Steven’s WEVO-prepped Porsche 356 Coupe. Both men are currently en route to China, to prepare for their proper Porsche adventure.
I’ve been appointed official Blogmeister for Team Lola Racing, which means I get to tidy up the garbled gibberish typed from the passenger seat of a classic Porsche desperado, hammering along the unpaved byways of Ulaan Bataar, and distribute it here and on Hayden’s entertaining WEVO blog. I’m proud to be helping out, as these guys are two of the most passionate Porsche enthusiasts you are likely to meet.
As well as blogging the adventures of this modern-day Asterix and Obelix, I’ve got to get 6 tyres from Wales to the middle of nowhere: four to Kazakhstan and two to Istanbul. Should be no problem for a gipsy-blooded horse trader like me. There was talk of flying out to drop them personally, but I managed to find some sensible people who won’t charge a fortune to get this done.
Let me remind you of the route the boys are taking: Peking – Great Wall of China – Inner Mongolia – Gobi Desert – Outer Mongolia – Ulaan Baatar – Kazakhstan – Tashkent – Uzbekhistan – Samarkand – Turkmenistan – Iran – Tabriz – Turkey – Istanbul – Greece – Italy – France – Paris. They start on the 10th of September and arrive in France on October the 16th.
I’ll keep you up to date as the race progresses. Assuming they can keep the news updates coming back from the wilds of Mongolia, this is going to be absolutely brilliant.
Two men driving half way around the world is far too exciting for mere blog content: it deserves a show on the Discovery Channel!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Steve and Hayden
Looking forward to following your Adventure of a Lifetime from here in the U.K.
Good Luck to You Both, Will bring the 356 over to Paris for the Arrival.
Best Wishes
Jay
Hi Jay, I have forwarded your comment to the crew.
Thanks for replying, and watch out for more pics from the rally start – just coming through now.
Best regards, John G
Good luck to you both and Lola, I was just at Alan's this morning talking about your trip and the car.
Looking forward to watching your progress!
Jason
Hi John
Still trying to keep up with the progess of Steve & Hayden !
Have they made it to Almaty? and did the rear suspension spares from Alan arrive. Regarding the Generator problems, I can't beleive they did not carry a couple of spare sets of brushes on a trip like this! I have only just sold a good used 912 Genny for £115 ! They could of had it for Free !
Nearly Half Way! I do find Sky Tag difficult to navigate to see how they are progressing. Send them our best wishes. We will see them in Paris !
Kind Regards
John Clarke