Slovenia - 8th Classic Marathon - June 1998
Despite considerable interest in the beginning, the TOPS Team dwindled to just three cars after William Hay decided to go and make his fortune and withdrew his Maserati at the last minute, leaving Richard and Trisha Pilkington in the Frazer Nash Sebring, Tom and Di Threlfall in their Frazer Nash Targa Florio and Chris and Sandy Wilson in a 1963 Porsche Carrera because their Frazer Nash was misbehaving.
It was nearly 1,000 miles to Slovenia and we routed rapidly through France, stopping overnight and on to Germany and then Austria where we stopped in a most splendid lakeside hotel. Chris and Sandy did the entire trip in the day and arrived somewhat tired. They are crazy! From the hotel it was only a couple of hours drive to Slovenia which is the size of Wales.
We had expected to find a fairly poor country recovering from repression but were surprised by the apparent affluence of the people and fairly English style countryside which we were to see on the well-organised rally. The Slovenians spoke English and were very friendly and helpful. It came as a bit of a shock to hear them say with pride how marvellous it was that they had been free of war for eight years. We had little time to explore the capital city Ljubljana but what we saw was attractive and worth further exploration. A welcoming party included David Lloyd our Ambassador who confirmed that it was somewhat hotter than usual but predicted rain - and of course he was right.
The rally, celebrating 100 years of the first car in Slovenia, contained an interesting mixture of timed sections and simple driving tests which were all taken very seriously by most of the entrants. The speed sections were the downfall of the TOPS Team as we tried in vain to average 16 kph over a 2 km section! The route took us round the attractive north-west part of the country and included several hill climbs as well as a race against a steam train laden with people in period costume. There was much good humour all round and a fascinating selection of cars not normally seen by us.
The only signs of former communistic influence were the wall-to-wall gambling machines in hone hotel casino, the fairly rigid observance of road speed restrictions and the refusal to bend the rule "one bottle of wine and water per table" regardless of table size. Our group therefore occupied three tables but the 'manager' had sense of humour failure and we were eventually re-grouped and 'watered' by the other entrants who preferred to drink beer.
On Sunday night in heavy rain at the end of the rally we had not found a hotel and so drove back to the one we had liked in Austria. Whilst it was the right decision at the time, it did mean that we failed to see as much of the country as we had intended and will have to return!
"Whoever experiences Slovenia will never forget it. You will remember Slovenia not only for its spectacular Postojna Cave, picturesque Lake Bled, the beautiful white horses of Lipica, the lush vineyards, and the very special experience of its primeval forests and other interesting natural attractions but also for the hospitality and friendliness of its people."
From Slovenia we had to go to Bern, Switzerland, for the Grand Prix where TOPS had arranged for 30 Grand Prix and 1950s Sports racing cars to take part. Our route was simply stupendous. Fabulous roads, scenery to take your breath away and so many Passes that we lost count - all different and beautiful. The Stelvio was magnificent as were the Grossglockner, Mendola and Susten. Our cars behaved admirably and we arrived at Bern in high spirits ready for the next event.
