ROVER RULES ROAD TO HANOI

In a spectacular start to 2024, Rally the Globe’s first ever driving adventure in the Far East – the Road to Hanoi Marathon on 27th January to 23rd February) – was an incredible journey of discovery through the byways of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. It was also the not-forprofit club’s second consecutive Marathon category event, following its Alaska to Mexico foray into North America.

While similar in concept, each was very different in terms of geography, ethnicity, climate, character and cuisine. And both produced four very different category winners – while Fords had ruled in their US homeland, in Asia the pre-war category was won by a Chevrolet Fangio, while the Classic Class was won by Peter and Louise Morton in their Rover P6 V8 – the latter a rare rallying success for the onetime bastion of deluxe motoring for the British middle classes.

A field of 26 entries, representing no fewer than 10 nationalities, took the start. In age, the cars ranged from a 1929 Chrysler 75 Roadster to a Porsche 911 and Mercedes Benz 350SL from 1974. In between were five Mercedes-benzes, trios of both Bentleys and Volvos plus a pair of Ford Escorts, while a Jaguar Mk2, Ford Mustang Convertible and Fiat 124 Spider all added to the eclectic mix.

The Rally the Globe team has four more events lined up for the remainder of the year – the third running of the Generations Rally on 22nd-24th March, followed by the Vintage Shamrock on 6th-9th May which is organised in partnership with Irish Racing Green, and two continental ventures: the Carrera Bavaria on 16th-26th June and the Austria to Athens Challenge from 29th September to 13th October. For more details, see www. rallytheglobe.com