Got back from watching the cars on the RTW route - what a great sight.
Drove to the NW corner of NJ and followed the route all the way down to
Newark. Stopped every few miles and waited for the cars to come along, so
I could take pictures of them on the road.
First one through was a Merc 280SL - top down, husband and wife enjoying
the summer NJ weather. Great sound as it drove past. Second car through was
the Citroen 2CV, all 602cc of it. Dusty looking, a couple of knocks on the
fender
but generally looked good. A couple of Healey 3000's stormed by, again
looking fairly
pristine, hard to believe they had already done /4 of the trip. The
occupants looked
a bit cramped in there, along with route books, trip computers, roll-cage,
clothes and
spare parts.
Then came a gaggle of Aston Martins from a pair of early DB2's, through to a
DB4 (looked
like the James Bond car). Elderly couple were driving, both looked relaxed
and big
smiles on their faces, they had the windows rolled up, so it must have had
air-conditioning.
I was parked by the side of the road taking pictures and a State Trooper
stop by to ask me what was going
on. I explained to him that these were participants in the RTW rally and
they were heading on the last leg
in Africa. His only comments was "What !!! in those goofy looking cars?"
I then followed a pair of Rover 80/90 all the way to the end point, they
both looked a bit battered,
bits were hanging down from one of them and both were missing
tail-lens/bumpers/fuel flaps etc.
I arrived at the finish behind a DB2, and what surprised me was the TOTAL
lack of fanfare. No bands,
no banners, no press, no TV cameras..... no nothing except a lady with a
clock timing the cars as they
came through.
Stayed at the finish for about 1 hour, talked to a couple of Italians
driving a VERY battered Lancia (looked
like the rolled). Except for a couple of minor fenders bent, most of the
cars looked in exception condition
considering what they had been though. Also I was surprised by the "lack" of
preparation (in the nicest sense
of the word). Most of the cars looked really stock, except for skid-plates,
a couple of lights, a tow-rope in the
back seat, Halda and pens/paper. There were a couple of Mercs which looked
like they had just been taken
out of the garage for a Sunday drive.
All in all, it was great to see them, most of the cars waved to me as I sat
and took pictures> The MGB ran 450 miles
in one day and did not miss a beat (the new overdrive gearbox is a great
addition for long distance driving).
gerry brinkman
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