Qui Me Comitat Vincebit
RALI DE AUTOMOVEIS ANTIGOS - PORTUGAL RALLY !
April 24th - 28th, 2002
Having laboriously cleaned the XK, I lay in bed on the morning of our departure listening to pouring rain and a howling gale and wondering just how far it really was from Carlisle to Lisbon. We drove to Dittisham Mill - 400 miles - and set off the following morning from Plymouth to Santander which takes a fairly painless 24 hours. Tuesday morning, in glorious sunshine, we - Pilkington Frazer Nash, Stamper TR3 and Rylands XK 140 - drove to Cáceres on the main roads in temperatures up to 90°. The rally started on Wednesday evening so we had a leisurely drive on to Lisbon stopping in Marvão - a small fortified hill village just over the Portuguese border. Well worth a visit and heaving with unspoilt mediaeval history.
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Lisbon traffic makes London look like a freeway and serious heat was an added attraction. Having signed on - easy when we found where - we ploughed through the traffic to the hotel and I was into the pool like a rat up a drain pipe. The rally started with driving tests at 10.00 pm. They looked more intimidating than they were but getting there from the hotel proved interesting. 'El Presidente' was crossing town with endless outriders and cars full of thick set men with their knuckles dragging on the ground. Every junction was sealed off by a motor cycle cop causing predictable chaos. Once the great man had passed, they all just pissed off making no attempt to sort out the mess. This was followed by dinner starting at midnight but we, feeling the approach of middle age, decided on dinner beforehand then bed. The TOPS team were the only UK representatives. Sir Stirling was billed to appear which he did for a celebrity walk about during the evening but it transpired that he was booked on the 8.30 am plane the following morning leaving us to wave the flag.
Having found the start on Thursday morning, more by luck than judgement as there were no instructions, we left Lisbon via the stunning Vasco da Gama bridge and headed for the hills above Setubal. All instructions were in foreign and distances in kilometres so even more unintelligible than usual which was my excuse for not taking the various time trials seriously. The XK's trip is miles out and time trials mean going very slowly indeed between various semi hidden points. There followed a slightly dreary motorway section which caused some of the older cars a problem and then we hung about at a Go-Cart track for another 'test'. Lunch at Evora was gut busting but excellent. They don't rush feeding times and there was ample time to go walk about. Some great roads to Beja where we stayed in a lovely old convent. I was quickly into the pool fearing that it would soon be heaving with sweaty oily people but only Pilk braved it. Another excellent dinner but it didn't start until 9.30 pm which I suppose is normal for people who usually spend most afternoons asleep.
Friday morning was as beautiful as the others and we set off for a sort of reverse hill climb where the object was to come back down the hill 15 seconds faster than one had gone up. I was keen to see if I could o one of the timed sections without the engine but freewheeling proved slightly too slow! Lots of local delicacies at the top of the hill - some less delicate than others - which I mistook for lunch but another excellent gastronomic freak out was to follow.
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The night stop was in the heart of Algarve grot at Albufeira in a huge package holiday hotel surrounded by bars with names like 'The Rovers Return' and full of shaven headed citizens with bones through their noses. The real panic was that we arrived at 6.40 pm to find that the pool 'shut' at 7 so I dropped everything and went in. It seems one can't even drown in peace nowadays. I gather the vulgar coastal development only penetrates about 2 km and then the Algarve is delightful again. By this stage, both the Pilks and Rylands had been declared 'disqualificato' and we opted for the touring section finding time trials added little to the fun. Meanwhile the Stamper/Murray equipe were doing well in representing now only TOPS but the UK.
Saturday morning saw us setting off for a champagne reception in a night club at 11 am. I had cold tea - very good. Chris and Sandy Wilson joined us as we kicked tyres for a while before departing for the most serious lunch of the lot at the Algarve Sheraton. Again, no one in the pool but me which I don't understand and plenty of time to walk down to the beach.
The last night was at a sort of holiday village near Tavira where we could have stayed on FOC. When we arrived, we were surprised to see a number of transporters loading rally cars for the 200 mile trip back to Lisbon. Dinner was crowded but with an impressive 14 piece orchestra who sadly played the sort of musak one sometimes hears in low class lifts. The results appeared and Geoff Stamper with Brian Murray's significant help had finished a highly creditable 17th overall and 3rd in class. We were both impressed and pleased as we subconsciously felt that perhaps the TOPS team hadn't done too badly after all although with no help from me.
The rally officially ended with another legendary lunch together with prize giving on the Sunday but we decided not to hang about and set off north. Geoff was going straight back to Santander but the Pilk/Rylands set off into the unknown to explore Portugal, a country we had never been to before. A tasty lunch in a tiny village consisted of dead hen stew complete with the feet and was an unexpected pleasure as was the bill at £3 a head including wine and pudding. We stayed that night in a charming convent/hotel near Redondo where Catherine of Braganza stayed on her way home following the death of Charles II. A delightful place I would happily visit again - our room looked out across an endless sea of cork trees and olive groves and was full of the scent of orange blossom.
The following morning we set off for Estremoz and Flor da Rosa - both worth seeing and after a very dusty drive over some significant mountains, stayed at the Bucaço Palace Hotel near Coimbra. A real 'fur coats and no knickers' Edwardian knocking shop built around 1900 by the King of Portugal for his mistress. Three years after this fairy tale monument to conspicuous vulgarity was completed, the king was apparently kicked into touch - no wonder. It was a most interesting and comfortable stay but the convent the night before was 'more us'. Back across Portugal and over the border into Spain and the ancient parador in Zamora which was another good place to stay once found. Their signs have a habit of simply disappearing at crucial junctions. Wednesday morning and north to Cevera de Pisuerga over the Picos mountains. With the road climbing to 5,280 feet, we were above the cloud base and now line on little more than a garden path and arrived at the hotel minutes before heavy rain which would have caused the first hood erection of the trip. On our last morning it might have been sensible to take the main road to Santander but the mountains were too attractive to avoid and worth the effort but the last 30 miles to catch the ferry were covered more quickly than I had intended.
I drove from Aberdeen to Gibraltar 35 years ago in a TR2 but had hardly visited Spain since, and never Portugal. The fields of wild flowers as far as the eye could see were an unparalleled experience. The bird life was mainly dominated by fascinating storks who are obviously part of the culture. The authorities erect little platforms for them to nest on top of telegraph poles though they are clearly adept at building their huge nests on top of almost anything, bell towers being a particular favourite. We also saw flamingos, egrets, hoopers as well as many different birds of prey. Nest time we will take fewer clothes but a bird book and a flower book along with the baby binos. There were some dreary and bumpy bits but my memory will be of a wide variety of stunning scenery with some great inspirational driving roads. The rally itself, at £240 for two people and 5 nights, was unrivalled value and fun though perhaps really just the catalyst to get us to make the trip. Many nice well turned out cars - RR Phantom 3, MG SA and various Model A Fords etc. but nothing to cause a sharp intake of breath. Portugal is a beautiful country well worth seeing with friendly people whose language is totally unintelligible but many spoke English so we got by.
Not having had the XK 140 long and never having been on a real trip, I was slightly nervous following various sparks related breakdowns at home but she sailed along for 2806 miles (800 in UK) at 23.7 mpg. However, she used 7 litres of oil and overheated when asked to trot on a bit. Certainly no sports car but a lot more comfortable and practical than the H.W.M.
A great trip that I am glad we were persuaded to go on rather at the last minute and one we would like to repeat.
JKR
TRISHA'S TRIPLE
Portugal
- Lisbon - Algarve - 2001
Three Frazer Nashes go on three rallies for the price of one
A report based on Martin Morris' Diary.
The TOPS TEAM consisted of Chris and Sandy Wilson in their Targa Florio, Martin and Sue Morris in their Le Mans Replica and Richard and Trisha Pilkington with the Sebring. The route chosen was Plymouth - Santander - a most relaxing way to travel.
On arrival in Spain the team headed for the Picos de Europa. Now we were climbing up a spectacular pass. Fabulous views etc. Richard stopped at a viewing point guarded by a sculptured Stag, just before the top which reached 1,690 metres, nearly 5000 feet. It was cold, snow on the ground and as we started our descent it rained heavily. Eventually we reached Riano where we had a lunch stop - most welcome and v. warming.
After lunch it was raining cats and dogs but we carried on over another lovely road with continuous bends and the most beautiful heathers which would beat Scotland - purple tree heather, white ditto, yellow gorse and lots of may. We eventually reached our Pousada at Braganca, having crossed the border into Portugal on a marvellous twisty road without traffic.
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The next day we had rain on and off and it was quite cold. MM's Nashie's single radiator blind (a piece of old rubber insertion) was in situ all day. The morning drive was again excellent with the afternoon, as we headed West for the coast, being a bit repetitive. Chris leading on his 4.1 axle was running a bit too slow for Martin’s Nashie to be at his ideal cruising speed of 3400 rpm. Another good Pousada at Viano do Castello where we had a jolly evening with a certain young lady in a splendid pair of leather trousers distracting our attention. Even Trisha said she was envious of the trousers. Two incidents had been noteworthy. We had come across a vast lorry endeavouring to make a 3-point turn - he very nearly flattened Wilsons, as he reversed towards a wall. Then tried the same on Richard. The other was an incident during our afternoon's drive when Chris began overtaking and MM having pre-planned his own overtake found himself rapidly gaining on Chris, when a local mimser decided to make a left turn. MM was in the mimser's lane accelerating and mimser was stationary, Chris was in the RH lane. MM had a toss-up between full use of Nashies' 50 year old, non-servo drum brakes or giving Chris a nudge over. Luckily the brakes just won!
We headed in the direction of Lisbon via some more spectacular scenery and roads and a fantastic climb up to the top of Sierra de Luisa 1,203 metres. This was one of the best climbs most of us can remember. Stupendous scenery, continuous bends. Billiard table surface. No traffic. Most of the time we had a near vertical drop of some 1000 feet on the right. Eventually we reached the top and a most wonderful view. And then on South for our final night before we were due to join the Rally at Lisbon. We managed to get lost, find unmade roads, watch bull fighting on tele in a restaurant where the patron had plainly been a locally famous Matador and we saw lots of footage of the Bull winning. We decided the Tories should encourage Bull Fighting and 'Blair Bating' in England.
And then it was time for the rally organised by Horatio Gonzalez - a kick-off at 10.00 p.m. with driving tests in the main square in Lisbon, followed by a dinner at 12.30 a.m. which we skipped. There was a gathering of 124 highly varied cars ranging from 1910 Model T Ford, a superb 1913 Silver Ghost with a light 2-seater body + luggage space and a single rumble seat centrally placed astern, through Vintage/Historic/Classic up to 1971……… We fixed the usual rally plates, number stickers etc. We all did miserably at the driving tests which were cleverly devised but required split second timing.
For the next few days we religiously followed our Road Books which took us through some more lovely countryside, numerous driving tests, where we continued to do remarkably badly, to various excellent Pousadas. We had good meals and visited some historical places. One of these was the Temple of Diana in the middle of Evora. Another was an impressive Hill Fort where there were two monuments and a church commemorating a famous battle between the Portuguese and Moors which the former won and then proceeded to cut the heads off all the surviving Moors!
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While we were at the top we were treated to excellent drinks and snacks, examined a Cadillac with some mirth, and then had to drive down the hill 15 seconds faster than we had driven up. This was the only test where the TOPS TEAM scored NIL penalty points! At many of the check-points there was an hour or so to wait which allowed Chris and Richard time to modify the dynamo on an AC Ace – actually some of the participants were surprised that ‘we were not just a pretty face‘.
Eventually we arrived at our sponsors holiday complex at Pedras Del Rei near Tavira. It was a strange place - Martin and Sue were greeted by the biggest Black Beetle you ever saw scuttling across the floor of their 'chalet' which had no internal door handles, no hot water, no electric sockets - MM fell out of bed in the night which seemed to scare the beetle.
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At the end of the day our positions in the Rally had become Morris' 72nd, Wilsons' 71st and Pilkingtons' position No. 69!! With such glorious results all 3 of us had been relegated from the 'Competition' to the 'Touring Class'. This was a bit of a turn-off so the next day we spent some time attaching Chris' exhaust pipe back on to the car - you'd have been proud of the boy scout solutions for a ramp etc. Then we headed for the champagne reception at the T club, a brief visit to Chris and Sandy's nice apartment in Quinta do Lago, followed by lunch at the Pine Cliffs Sheraton Hotel - a place we had 'opened' with a group of vintage cars some ten years ago! We were a bit late and had some difficulty finding seats at the tables - some French competitors obviously thought we had the pox as they refused to move their coats off the chairs so that they could keep a gap between us and them! It began raining very hard and Richard and Martin put up hoods. By the time we were ready to leave, it had turned sunny so we took them down again, like the grand old Duke of York.
We spent the afternoon with Martin's sister, put AV Gas in Chris' Nash when he ran out of petrol - he drove off as if he'd had Beans for lunch! Then another champagne reception at the holiday complex and a final dinner with a really first class band which encouraged us to dance. A good time was had by all.
There were a dozen huge transporters to take the cars home to France, Spain and even Portugal! We missed the prize-giving lunch (oh dear!) as we had to drive 250 miles north on twisty roads to Cáceres - to a modern hotel where we voted the food quite the best of the entire trip and we managed to jam the garage door closed with Chris outside and Martin and Richard inside….. Then on up to Santander - still good roads and scenery - and the relaxing ferry trip back to Plymouth.
Two great 'TOPS' rallies - one down, one back, and one official very well organised 'Lisbon to Algarve rally' on which we did not excel! Thanks Trisha, and thanks yet again Nashie, for a lovely ten days holiday of the sort TOPS is all about.
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