Onich driver John and young navigator enjoy rally success
Onich resident John Ducker is used to dealing with the unexpected challenges after a long career as a pilot and running an outdoors centre at Glencoe.
Now 83, John’s latest challenge was not only to nurse his 60-year-old Heinkel bubble car to the end of a prestigious rally covering more than 2,000 miles around Europe, but in also having to get used to his new navigator, who turned out to be a little bit younger than he was expecting.
John was taking part in last month’s Liège-Brescia-Liège Rally, which was held over a fortnight in July.
And for this year’s event, the diamond jubilee hosting of the rally, organisers decided to go back to the rally’s roots and make the event for micro-cars.
The 2018 rally followed the same route as in 1958 – 60 years after the original rally – and was enjoyed by significantly more micro-cars than took part in the first running of the event.
The rally covered approximately 200 miles each day with competitive endurance tests on private tracks in Slovenia, Italy and Germany to establish worthy winners.
John and his teenage navigator, Elinor Bergman, 13, along with the rest of the crews, had to plot their route on Freytag & Berndt and Michelin maps from the original list of place names, adding navigation to the challenge.
Further interest was added by visits to various museums and car collections along the way, as well as castles, such as the stunning Schloss Lichtenstein.
John and Elinor, who lives in London and is the daughter of friends of John, got along famously despite the age difference and Elinor’s initial unfamiliarity with map reading.
‘I had planned to be doing the rally with someone of my own age from Sweden, but it turned out he could not read the maps we had to use and if Elinor hadn’t been willing to stand in, I’d have had to withdraw,’ said John, who spent 10 years restoring his classic vehicle.
‘Elinor had basically just been going along for the ride with her parents, and I was very grateful she decided to take part.’
John, who was a pilot in both the army and with a missionary organisation, had discovered his car as a rusting wreck in Sweden and painstakingly spent a decade rebuilding it, almost from scratch.
‘By the time I had finished restoring the car it was actually better than new as I made a few little improvements,’ he explained.
‘The purpose of the original rally in 1958, which came at a time of fuel shortages, was to show that fuel-efficient micro-cars like mine were just as reliable as bigger cars.’
Asked how he and Elinor got on during the long driving sections – Elinor’s parents were in the rally support team – John said the duo enjoyed their adventure.
‘Elinor wasn’t familiar with map reading to begin with but it’s second nature to me having been a pilot. So with a little training from me she soon started getting the hang of it.’
John says that, as the grandfather of 10, he is well used to dealing with youngsters. ‘With somebody 13 and somebody 70 years older, it meant quite an adjustment on both our parts I think.
‘But we got on fine together and is was fantastic to complete the rally and come first in our category – the under
250cc group.’
Each day, however, saw John, who ran an outdoors centre at Glencoe for 13 years, have to put in well over an hour maintaining the car and, given the heatwave which has gripped Europe, it was hard work.
John added: ‘It was quite tough going. But what I like about driving the car is that it always makes people smile and wave when they see it.
‘I drive it regularly at home and always get a cheery wave and a smile.’