Classic Cars Challenge China
Beijing to Shanghai, China 12-19 October
RALLYING IN CHINA is different. Though the Classic Cars Challenge China was supported by FIVA and loosely run to European rules, on this event friends switch cars, as do navigators, while at least two drivers elected to complete the course solo. Timing bordered on the supernatural, while the organisers took delight in running regularities with finish controls tucked away in hard-to-find city locations. Running red lights to save a couple of precious minutes did little to endear competitors to the police.
The 42 crews on this seventh running of the Challenge left downtown Beijing for stage one of a 1400km regularity rally that would end in Shanghai seven days later. Cars ranged from a 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom and 1931 Packard to a pair of Jaguar E-types and such rarities as a BMW 2002 Turbo, Subaru Leane RX Turbo, a works replica Lancia Delta Integrale, and a Volkswagen Camper van with expanding roof and bed. The VW not only lasted the course, but even arrived home in third place!
Each relaxed stop-over (Tiajan, Weifang, Qingzhou, Nanjing and Wuxi) was followed by a formal departure ceremony attended not only by local dignitaries and sponsors but also enormous crowds, most of whom had never seen a ‘classic’ car before.
The official route mixed endless miles of super-smooth highway with short sections of traditional A-road, most of which are in very poor condition, and passed through overcrowded villages, often sharing thin strips of rutted tarmac with insane scooter riders, dogs, overloaded trucks and fearless pensioners. Police checks are also a way of life across China: every foreign competitor has to pass a driving test; not difficult, but because classic cars are only importable as static display items, all need temporary Chinese licence plates. Competitors are monitored via GPS, so getting lost can very easily lead to temporary arrest.
After three days heading more or less east, the rally eventually turned south to follow the East China Sea coastline, taking a 24- hour breather in Wuxi before the final 100km mad dash to Shanghai. Of the 35 finishers, leading across the line was the beautiful 1976 BMW 2002 Turbo owned by the Shanghai Auto Museum and driven by the event’s chief director, Li Si Jian, followed by the Sanhe Classic Car Museum’s Lancia Delta Integrale 16V.
In many ways Classic Cars Challenge China 2017 was disappointing. The customary ceremonial start from under the shadow of The Great Wall in Beijing was replaced by a rather dreary departure from a trading estate off the 4th Ring Road, the promised visit to a racetrack never materialised, and competitors who had booked friends into the finish hotel in Shanghai were none-too-pleased to find the hotel switched at the last minute to a location across town. Others complained about monotonous highways and badly planned regularities. Okay, strict government doesn’t make things easy for organisers, and that low cloud, mist and general pollution blotted out much of the scenery is also not their fault, but after seven years the event is feeling stale.
Having said that, the possibilities are enormous and Chinese hospitality is unrivalled, so if promises are to be believed, next year’s could be the best so far.