RALLY PREPARATION SERVICES SECURES TOP TEN FINISH ON PEKING TO PARIS RALLY 

 

Second in the European Cup, second and third in the Vintageant division and three cars finishing in the ‘top ten’ of the Peking to Paris 2019 – not a bad day at the office for TeamRPS!

Said by competitors to be the toughest and most enduring Peking to Paris Motor Challenge to date, all eight cars prepared by Rally Preparation Services crossed the Paris finish line with two of the crews claiming silverware in the results table.

Brian and Catherine Scowcroft in the 1936 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe secured second place in the European Cup as well as third place in the Vintageant class, finishing in seventh place overall.

Second place in the Vintageant division went to David Long and Daniel Marti in the 1948 Ford Coupe, who had been in second place overall for much of the event until the final stages when he had a mechanical issue on one of the test sections. The crew finished sixth overall with Nick Brayshaw and Paul Woolmer in eighth place.

Rally Preparation Services MD Simon Ayris said: “Congratulations to all of the TeamRPS crews. This was a very tough event, tougher than ever before and both the crews and the cars were pushed to the very limit. To have all eight crews cross the finish is amazing. For three crews to be in the top ten and two of those to bring home trophies is exceptional.”

For the other crews in the TeamRPS camp, there were also many challenges to face – including Keith Weed and Richard Holmes rolling their Pontiac Coupe and, after a poor repair judgement by a mechanic on the route, a new engine being fitted overnight in Helsinki.

There were difficulties for Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike, Tim Eades and Jim McLaren, Charlotte Lockhart and Andrew Barnes, and George Coelho and Margo O’Brien-Coelho – who all kept pushing on regardless.

Simon added: “Although the dream is always to win the Peking to Paris rally, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t. Its like the London Marathon. No-one cares where you finish or how long you take, crossing the line at the end is the only goal.”

The Peking to Paris saw Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson as overall winners of the Classic division. This was their third victory, making it a ‘Triple Crown’ in an event they have really made their own, speaking of their achievement, rally veteran Crown, 87, had this to say:

“Our third win in the Leyland was the toughest yet but it was also very enjoyable. What we really needed though was a few more 87-year old’s in the field to keep me company. I must also congratulate the organisers for keeping the spirit of the rally alive, it’s the Blue Riband event of the historic world and it needs to be tough”

The win in the Vintage category for pre-war cars has gone to Graham and Marina Goodwin, after a hard-fought battle, eventually beating Artur Lukasiewicz and Bill Cleyndert by five minutes. Graham, delighted with his and his wife’s win at the first attempt, told us of his pride at crossing the line in a Bentley:

“It means so much to win in a Bentley in Bentley’s 100th year. The event was stressful but thankfully we had a bit of good luck which everyone needs. It was tough leading the event for so long and seeing your lead slowly coming down.”

Preparations are already in place for the eighth edition of this gruelling endurance event that will take place in three years’ time in 2022.

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