PEKING TO PARIS
AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
Peking to Paris is the ultimate classic car rally, not just for its impressive route across the world’s broadest land mass, but because the roads barely exist for thousands of kilometres. It’s a true test of a car, its preparation, and the driver’s grit and determination. In the first part of this two-part series, published in our last issue, Garry Boyce and co-driver Ken Williams set off from Peking, learning what bits of Garmin’s guidance to trust, and just how tough the roads, or tracks, across Mongolia could be. When the ‘road’ got too rutted, like the locals, they just drove across the desert alongside the old road and made a new one. However, they still experienced sudden drops and ditches that buckled the 1964 Mercedes 220 SEC’S belly pan so badly they had to panel beat it — twice.
“It might be fine for New Zealand conditions but it was totally inadequate out there,” was Garry’s verdict.
In this issue, Garry and Ken forge on into Kazakhstan and back into Russia, where it gets even tougher.
Now, over to Garry.
No relaxation
Our second ‘rest day’, as they call it — everyone spent most of the day working on their cars, so there was no rest — was at Novosibirsk in Siberian Russia. The oil I had in the car from New Zealand was 10W40. It was getting hot, and we had very low oil pressure at idle, so we went looking for a better oil grade: preferably 20W50 but at least 15W40. We set off at 8am to a couple of addresses we had been given but were not successful. As we were driving back to the hotel to see if we could find a better contact, we passed a garage workshop that was just opening its doors. I said to Ken, “Let’s just go in there and see if someone could direct us to a supplier of the oil we need.”
They looked at their computers for about 10 minutes, then said they could have eight litres of Bardahl 15W40 delivered to them in two hours and that we could use one of their hoists to do the work.
Just next door was the Nürburgring car wash, so in we went for the full works. They noticed the ‘Nürburgring’ transfer on the back of the car — I drove the car around the ’Ring in 2006 — so they were very excited and gave us the wash for free in exchange for a photo in front of their business. The oil turned up at the garage on time. We had the car on the hoist, belly pan off, oil out, filter changed, new oil in, all grease points greased, down and out in about 40 minutes. We were back in the hotel car park by 11am feeling very pleased with ourselves.
We found and booked a table at an Italian restaurant and had a pleasant meal with our Rover friends.
Summer in Siberia
We set off the next morning using the second route book, meaning we were a third of the way to Paris. We transited two time controls (TCS) and two passage controls (PCS) for 191.62km to TC 15.3 at ‘German Village’ square, as it was called in the route book. The weather just got colder and wetter. Everything you have read or seen about Siberia is true. This is mid June, summer time. The temperature would have been 5°C, the wind came straight from the north, and the rain just poured down.
We did 9.2km to TC 15.4 at Kamyshin and on, according to the route book, to gravel — only it was not gravel; it was Siberian mud. Thick, deep mud, which I can only describe as the consistency of thick porridge, with an average depth of 100–200mm and potholes you could not see.
The test was 16.06km to sporting time control (STC) 15.3 and the target time was 12 minutes — that’s an average speed of 80.3kph! In these conditions, that was impossible, even for the best-prepared Paris–dakar Porsches. We wallowed, went sideways, pushed a bow wave of mud before us, and dropped into big puddles of watery mud that covered the car. At times we could not see out of the windows. At one stage my side was completely blocked but Ken had a small clear piece. I was driving our left-hand-drive car. Ken, on the right, had to take the steering wheel in his left hand, peer through
the gap on his side to see out, and give me instructions as to when to power off and on. It took us 24 minutes to get the 16.06km to STC 15.5.
At the control, a crowd of locals was waiting with welcoming buckets of water to throw over the windscreen. It got colder and rained harder as we moved on towards the border. At least it helped clean some of the mud off the car. If you wish to see this, you can go to Youtube, search ‘Peking to Paris 1907-2019. Off-road’, then look for Russian script.
The border was cold and wet. Standing outside at the small window of the Russian border post, getting the car documents accepted, seemed to take forever. I was very cold when I got back into the car, so it was full on with the heating. Into Kazakhstan, and at least the border control was inside. Car documentation was quick and on we went. The weather slowly lightened and improved as we went on to the Irtysh Hotel, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan.
… Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a fascinating country of many contrasts. Four- and six-lane concrete motorways just stop, tipping you onto rough shingle. We passed many coal-fired power stations, some 50 or 60 years old from the Soviet times, belching carbon into the air. No talk of global warming here; just full-bore coal and oil extraction.
The next day, after some TCS and PCS, we came to a test section on a track around an open-cast coal-mine slag heap. It was 8.9km long. There were two further tests later in the day. We were early at one and got a two-point penalty. That will not happen again! Then came a long 201km transit to the Marriott Hotel in Nur-sultan, old name ‘Astana’, the capital of Kazakhstan.
We had made it onto the first page of the result sheets at 19th place, and we were working hard to stay there, or improve. At this time, we were the top Mercedes W111 and the third Mercedes out of 11 in the event.
To leave Nur-sultan without having a good look around was a shame, as the futuristic architecture of the new buildings is just stunning, but the rally moves to a tight time schedule and you must maintain your place in the schedule. As the only test for the day had been cancelled, and we had met all route and TCS, we had a 460km day with zero points lost, heading to the final camping night of the event.
The entrance to the campsite was a ford that was deep but I drove through with no hassles. There were a lot of local people, all in traditional dress, horses to ride, music, dancing, and we got the tent up before the rain. They had a big bonfire so everybody did the hokey-cokey around it. It rained and got bitterly cold during the night. I was colder than in the Gobi Desert. As this would be our last campsite, most people, including us, left all their camping gear for the locals. You just do not want to carry the extra weight.
Day 18 started out through the ford we had come through the evening before. Ken’s approach was more aggressive than mine, and he dropped the car into the water at a much higher speed. The water came up over the bonnet, but somehow she kept going and climbed out the other side. On to a test on a narrow paved track through a valley with trees all around that is used in the winter as a Nordic ski training track. Ken nailed it and we got a good time.
We seemed to zig-zag through the countryside, through the other famous Kazakhstan feature: vast wheat fields 30km long without a break. The rally used the tracks through them as tests. They were fast, mostly smooth, and fun, some with deep ruts that gave the belly pan another belting. We did good times. Later in the day we passed through a national park with many types of pine and conifer trees. We had to pay a toll.
Then, on to a town called ‘Kostanay’ and into the Medeu Hotel. Ken and I have stayed in some pretty suspect hotels over the years but this set a new low. It was an old Soviet-style hotel, still with a woman sitting at a booth on each floor. Our room had two rooms with three beds in each. I rebuilt the plumbing so we could shower. It had had no maintenance for years. Ken took two mattresses off other beds to make a bed he could sleep in. The dinner and breakfast were also Soviet style, featuring older women standing about wearing white caps and dust coats.
Hi-de-hi! Soviet style
Day 19 started with a 172km transit through PCS to the border and back into Russia. Back on Russian roads: potholes and patches. We had two interesting tests in the afternoon, and
then on to the older style Lake Bannoe resort. Dinner was a barbecue on the lake edge. The whole set-up was a bit Hi-de-hi! but pleasant.
We are now over halfway to Paris and into what the Russians call ‘European Russia’, but we were only the same degree west as Pakistan. Ken took the first real racetrack test we have been on and did a really good time, earning appreciative comment from the officials. It’s called ‘late braking’. I am now so accustomed to it I do not panic as we approach a hairpin corner at what seems an impossible speed. The rest of the day was spent on some good and some not-so-good roads, getting through many PCS to the city of Ufa.
Some TLC
As we approached the city, I spotted a car-wash place. Some other rally cars were already in there but we soon had the car cleaned. Ken took the high-pressure gun and did under the bonnet and under the guards. The amount of mud he got out was impressive. He just kept going, not daring to look up at the attendant in case he was told to stop. The car came out looking as if it had just left Beijing.
Not many cars have been as trouble-free as our car. Our biggest problem has been our belly pan, skid plate, bash plate, sump guard, or whatever you wish to call it.
The construction is far too light; OK for New Zealand shingle roads but not for the rutted tracks and metal roads in Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan. We have had it off the car four times; once was for an oil change but the other three times were to straighten it. When it gets bent up, it starts rubbing on the exhaust-pipe bracket and sends the exhaust vibration through the car. The handbrake mechanism also loses its clearance and will not work. We spent six hours during the free day in Ufa working on the car. All the wheels came off so we could dig the mud out from the inside of the rims. It was making the wheels unbalanced. Dug the mud out from around the rear engine mount, and wire brushed all the exhaust manifold and pipe to get the baked mud off. We had a puncture repaired, put some more gear oil in the differential, and generally had a big tidy-up. We are two weeks from Paris. We will drive this car to the finish.
Stepping through Russia
In the last four days we have driven 2375km through the steppes of Russia. Passed through eight master time controls (MTCS), eight TCS, two STCS, eight PCS, five test starts, and five test finishes all on time, and coped with two time-zone changes. It’s not just following the route book with all its vagaries and inconsistencies but doing it on time and in the correct order that is challenging and exhausting. Enter a TC on time from the wrong direction and it will cost you dearly.
We are still holding 17th position out of the 67 classic-division cars that started in Beijing and are on the first page of the results sheet with 117.15 minutes. Our nearest challenger is on 179.14. We are confident we can hold
or improve our position. This is a long game; it’s ‘tortoise and hare’ stuff from Ufa, through Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Zavidovo, and Saint Petersburg.
The car is still holding up; a noise from the differential is getting louder but should hold out to Paris. We have an issue with the carburettors that lets the engine stall at idle. We have adjusted the high idle up to 1800rpm. This also helps to hold the oil pressure up to 20psi when the oil is hot.
As we pass through villages, we notice the number of abandoned and derelict houses, also many disused very large industrial plants and buildings that date back to the Soviet era. Off the main highways and through the countryside, we see wheat fields for miles and thousands of nodding-donkey oil-well pumps working away. The oilfield goes on for 50 to 60km. The natural gas infrastructure, with well heads and mixing and metering stations with their bright yellow pipework, showed just how large the oil and gas field must be.
As we move further west, every aspect of life gets more affluent and European. The roads get better and the number of potholes per kilometre halves. Yesterday we were on a fourlane express toll road that was one of the best transit roads I have ever seen. It went for more than 200km with forest on both sides.
Today is the last non-driving day we have until Paris. Most of the cars that are still in the rally will make it to Paris.
I took the opportunity to take Ken into Saint Petersburg city centre. We are staying about 30km out from the centre, close to Peterhof Palace. The traffic and tourists were a bit overwhelming but we managed to get photos of the car outside the Hermitage and the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood.
After the day off from driving, it is now back to the serious stuff of classic car rallying for the next eight days until Paris.
East meets west
The passage from the hotel on the south side of Saint Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland put us on an extensive motorway system with spectacular bridges that took us around the outskirts of the city. Three toll gates and we were on our way northwest through Vyborg and on to the border. We took onboard a full tank of 92-octane Russian fuel at less that NZ$1 a litre. The Russian side was queues and much waiting around. The Finnish side was efficient and quick.
How such a dramatic difference can happen in just a few kilometres amazed both Ken and me. The roads are smooth with no potholes, there is no rubbish — not a fag butt, not a piece of plastic, not a drink bottle. Grass that grows to the edge of the road. Small lakes that have white water lilies. Roadside wild flowers: white daisies, multicoloured lupins, lavender, and wild delphiniums (I do know a little about flowers).
The hotel was a very modern Scandinavian design with just two levels. There was a large crowd in the car park with beer and the best sausages I have had on the trip. I had one of the best days on the rally.
In the morning there were two track tests. The first was a rallycross track with a mixture of tarmac and gravel. Ken, as usual, really nailed it with a good time. The second was at a gravel track through the forest at a car club rally track. What fun we had. Ken went for it, power-sliding around the gravel track amongst the trees. Rhubarb and strawberry crumble and coffee were supplied by the club. We will both be sorry to leave Finland.
Only a short drive down to Helsinki and the ferry terminal. The ferries are big, at least twice the size of the Cook Strait ferries, and fast. A two-hour, 15-minute crossing of the Baltic Sea and we were in Tallinn, Estonia.
The view from the 42nd floor of the hotel was spectacular, the sun still shining and setting shadows at 10.30pm. It is light at 3.30am. On the way first thing in the morning to another rallycross track at Laitse. Ken said he had seen this track on TV, a mixture of gravel and tarmac. As usual, he went for it and clocked in a time of 2min 46s. This all helped keep at bay the predators who were after our 16th spot.
On we went through Estonia. The back roads are just glorious. TC 29.3 was at Halinga. There was a restaurant booked for lunch, but Ken and I went to a car museum next door that had a collection of Soviet-era cars, giving us a good look at what collective Soviet thinking can do to a car. On through some of the best country roads I have ever driven; good surface but not flat, sort of up and down, undulating. The Mercedes-benz W111 chassis was built for this. I just had the best fun I have ever had in this car.
The border between Estonia and Latvia was the usual EU border crossing, where you slow down to 20kph and the border people just wave you through. Unfortunately, the road surfaces soon deteriorated, as did the general appearance: rubbish, graffiti, and less-well-maintained roads. We had some gravel roads with both PCS and TCS, then a really good track at Biķernieki. Ken did a respectable 3min 36s lap. Next to the track is the Riga Motor Museum. This is a world-class museum with some interesting cars. I was really impressed with a 1939 Steyr 220 gasser cabriolet — rolling art.
As we move further west, every aspect of life gets more affluent and European. The roads get better and the number of potholes per kilometre halves
Out of the Riga hotel and into the rally route: interesting back roads, some mining activity with large slag heaps, wheat fields for miles. We passed from Latvia into Lithuania without even knowing. Then a test at Nemunas Ring. Ken went well: four minutes flat. Minimum time 3.35 minutes. Max. time 10.45 minutes. We are holding our position. The rally rolls on, and soon we cross into Poland. Single lamp posts with storks’ nests, one with three storks on it. Red poppies in the wheat fields. Country roads lined with massive oak trees that meet in the centre, making a tunnel of green. Really special.
The final test for the day was at
Tor Mikolajki. This is a half-sealed, half-rough gravel circuit and by far the roughest track we have been on; a car breaker! We told ourselves to take it easy; at this time, preservation is paramount. Ken said yes but still did a 2min 26s lap, improving on his 2min 28s time of the previous day.
The hotel is next to the track. It was the biggest Hi-de-hi vacation hotel I have ever been in, just thousands of rooms.
So, with just five driving days to Paris, we are now in 15th place and ninth in class. We and the car will get there!
Rolling across Europe
The countries and the border crossings just roll by. The rally rolled on into Germany. The only way we knew we crossed the border was when Ken’s phone pinged when a new mobile network found him. There are no speed tests in Germany so the route is made complex by using B- and C-roads with ‘tulip’ instructions — little graphics showing the way at intersections — that seem to come by every 500m. Frustrating for the person navigating. We zig-zag our way around Berlin and on to Wolfsburg and to the MTC for the day at the Volkswagen Auto Museum and marketing complex. Very impressive — a free beer and nibbles. The museum is quite broad. Along with a history of the car, it featured a fabulous Bugatti Atlantic recreation that really spun my wheels.
A zero-penalty points day, so all is still going well. Our trouble with the car not idling has somehow fixed itself so the engine is not stalling at the traffic lights.
Friday was always going to be long and frustrating: more than 620km across Germany. We had a late start, so as we progressed through the day the traffic just got heavier and heavier to just about gridlock; 88 sets of traffic lights. In many, we had to sit through three phases to progress. That means running late for TCS so you are trying to make progress without being stupid and putting yourself or the car at risk. There were a couple of dents in other cars driven by frustrated drivers. Germany was frustrating and boring.
Into Belgium and on to a small track called ‘Peugeot test track’. It was at Spa, just beside the Formula 1 track. This was the last track in the rally, and Ken’s last chance to rip some more rubber off the tyres, which he duly did, achieving a great time. This grand finale performance lifted us up to 10th place in the European Cup. On to the hotel at Liège. A big crowd in the square; the Belgians are starting to party.
Our final rally day was spent focusing on TCS and PCS that really did matter as we worked to maintain our position. Many, many short tulip instructions, just about impossible to read at the speed each one came along. They even had a secret PC just to keep everybody on track — a big penalty if you went straight to the lunch-time control and missed it. Some really lovely back roads through very picturesque villages. A TC mid afternoon at a Commonwealth war graves cemetery at Passchendaele: a very moving experience,
Alison, Noeline, and many friends were there. New Zealand flags adorned the car and were being waved all around. Up to the finishing arch with all the medals and finishing trophies
with a special wall enclave and names for the thousands of New Zealanders now at rest there. It already felt personal but the many red floribunda roses planted there were the same variety of rose that was planted in my grandfather’s garden.
The afternoon moved us on to Ypres. We entered the main town through the Menin memorial arch into the main square and party time. The Belgian entrants in the event had got together and shouted 1000 beers for all the competitors for starters. I introduced Ken to Belgian chips in a paper cone with mayonnaise to go with the beers. We also found a car wash just outside the town. Fifteen minutes’ work and she looked just about as good she did in Peking.
A shuttle to a small hotel and then back to the Menin Gate for the daily playing of the last post. This is performed at 8pm every day of the year. With the rally people and others, there would have been over a thousand people there. Three buglers, the magnificent acoustics — a very special place.
Paris and FIVA
The final run to Paris was always going to be a transit run. We went through some country villages and back roads through PCS but we eventually ended up on the A1, entering Paris around Charles de Gaulle Airport and into traffic mayhem. On to the periphery, and clockwise around to enter through Bastille, through red lights, down bus lanes, along past the Louvre, then a right turn and we were at the Place Vendôme. The car, Ken, and I had made it.
Alison, Noeline, and many friends were there. New Zealand flags adorned the car and were being waved all around. Up to the finishing arch with all the medals and finishing trophies. Many mixed emotions: very pleased with the accomplishment yet sad that it was all over.
For many reasons, this event was sanctioned by the FIVA, the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens. It was while we were still at the finishing arch that we were presented with a special trophy called ‘The Spirit of FIVA’ for the ‘most original car’ and for representing what the FIVA representative deemed to be the spirit of the event. To say I was overwhelmed by this accolade would be an understatement. Many congratulations from other competitors and friends.
To finish 15th out of 73 cars in the classic division and ninth in our class was a massive achievement. We will look back at the past six weeks for the rest of our lives. The stories will be told and exaggerated.
The prize-giving dinner in the ballroom at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand hotel was a glittering affair. The room is so magnificently decorated with gilt chandeliers, statues, and architectural finery as only the French can do. Most of us were in black tie, dresses and gowns to match. Trophies were presented and speeches made. A video was shown that captured at least something of the grandeur of the event. You can go to Youtube and search ‘Peking to Paris 2019’ to see it.
Thoughts?
New Zealand Classic Car talked to Garry after the event and asked what’s next; would he recommend it, and would he do it again? Lots of competitors do and return year after year.
It was just a few days after his return when we spoke. Garry was glad to be home and not having to push on for another day. He says it was easily the toughest event he had taken part in. There’s much more to it than just driving across a scenic wilderness: the focus on navigating and keeping time, keeping the car going despite the bucking-bronco ride across unmade roads, and having to spend precious ‘rest’ days fettling the car for the days ahead make for an intense experience. Having to countenance how some others ‘interpreted’ the rules was another adjustment for this fair-minded Kiwi. But it clearly wasn’t too tough. Garry would not have won The Spirit of FIVA award if he had not met every challenge with enthusiasm.
Would he do it again? He would not have missed it for the world but right now Garry doesn’t feel the need to do it again. It was on his bucket list, and now it’s ticked off. There are
plenty more rallies and other events to do, both within the classic car world and in other walks of life. One thing’s for sure: Garry’s love and enjoyment of classic cars was only enhanced by the experience.