In 1907 five gallant crews decided to try their luck and went to face the unknown - to win everlasting glory when they made it to Paris. A hundred years later 134 crews went in those pioneers' footsteps, to take part in the Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge 2007.
12.642 - that's how many kilometres of Mongolian deserts, Siberian steppes, mountain ridges and fords, not to mention Russian roads, had to be covered by valiant motorists who decided to go the century-old route. Among those who'd made it to the end was a Belgian crew of Xavier del Marmol and Catherine Janssens, in a Chevrolet Convertible 1937. Xavier and Catherine got the prestigious second place in the overall rating, and now share their impressions with "Aquatoria".
- Why did you decide to go for such a hard, long trip as Peking-to-Paris rally? Did you have any practical experience of this kind before?
- We do regularly take part in short rallies, between two and five days. A couple of years ago it occurred to us to try our hand on a longer route. And then we heard about the anniversary Peking to Paris 2007 rally and decided we'd go. To test our potential, last year we went for the Classic Safari rally. It was our first long-haul raid - 23 days. And it wasn't easy either: we've covered over 8.000 kilometres from Dar es Salaam to Capetown in a car which wasn't exactly ready for it.
- By the way, why did you choose Chevrolet and not a European car?
- A friend of ours who'd already participated in rallies like this advised we should buy a Chevrolet for the race: like all American cars, it was originally designed for long journeys. After all, distances in America are much greater than in Europe. Also, Chevrolet cars are reliable, tough, easy to service and repair, and most importantly, they are fast and undemanding. In a word, perfect for the ordeal we had to go through.
- And did the car live up to your expectations?
- Oh yes, 100%. The car proved to be excellent. The only serious breakdown was failure of the rear spring when we didn't see a deep hole on the road in time and rode right into it. And we had to replace the original wheels: old steel didn't survive the lack of roads in Mongolia.
- Did you make any changes to the car's original design?
- We completely reassembled the engine, replaced all worn parts which could break down on the road. The whole car was taken to pieces, every piece examined and each part we weren’t sure about was replaced. The suspension and other structural elements more vulnerable to wear were reinforced. Some components such as seats were replaced with more modern ones according to the rally rules, to meet the safety requirements. Of course we had to replace the original rubber too: there was no way to find it in Mongolian steppes.
- What was the most memorable episode of the journey?
- We'll never forget Mongolia. That country made a great impression on us. The desert, the heat, horrible roads we had to drive on, rivals coming to each other's help, tent camps we've spent five nights in, unbelievably beautiful landscapes - all that was truly unforgettable!
- This time you came second. Any plans to try your luck again, to become first?
- No, I don't think we'll ever go for a rally like that again. Originally we just wanted to make it to the end. But along the way we realised we can compete for a good place, and the fact that we came second is a great success for us. We're completely happy.
Ilya Kalinov
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