The Chopard Classic Rally was held in Dubai, but unlike the previous 2 day event last year, this year was condensed into 1 day with Hatta as its destination.
Our application to compete this time in the 930 Turbo was accepted as we were envious spectators at last year’s rally. And so the race prep for car and driver commenced..
The event was approximately 460km and included a number of skill challenges along the way. The previous night saw the 930 given a once over and a race number. We picked up our drivers book and had our plans in place to study hard all night to optimize our chances of success. This plan however soon went out the window with a few cold beers and car stories! As with many of these events it isn’t just about the race, but about the interesting people you meet.
We arrived at the Armini Hotel and Burj Khalifa the next morning to pick our car up and headed for the grid. We were greeted by a wide variety of cars; BMW’s, Mercedes, Jaguars including E-Types and an XK120, a wide range of Porsches, a beautiful Triumph and some American muscle competing for the win.
It wasn’t long before It became apparent that we were not the only ones under prepared, and so we huddled together and discussed tactics. We were all going to be very strategic;). As we approached the start line, reality sunk in, this is it, will we get lost, have we got the timer ready, do we have pens, do we know what we are doing?????
We were ‘strategically’ late for the first few check points racking up penalty points quickly, but, as the day went on we definitely improved. Our first challenge definitely changed our outlook on the rally. The challenge was an average speed test of 60km over an unknown distance. All of a sudden we were self proclaimed ‘experts' and this was the start of a collection of perfect scores!
We arrived at Hatta for a quick 30mins lunch stop before we had to be back in the car and off to our next check point.
The UAE doesn’t have your typical countryside aspect, however, this is one beautiful country. The sharp changes between desert and mountains, the beautiful way the sand dunes almost look like they have been painted on the landscape are simply stunning!
As we raced through uncharted roads and off road areas it was clear our earlier mistakes were going to cost us but now the challenge was how well we could finish. As you will be aware if you have follow us, we’ve had a few teething problems with the 930 but she performed flawlessly. She is a low ish miles cars and it really felt like she needed the drive and the time on the road.
As we were heading to the finish line everything became a little more relax and we started to form small groups. For a while we hung out with the Flat.12 team of Mohammed and Max and also the Arabian Bison team of Ahmed and Ali. These lads definitely put a smile on our faces after a long hard drive.
Only a few minor casualties on the day, a bad alternator and battery on the Triumph, oil cap issues on an E-Type Jag and a small and thankfully minor collision between a Toyota and one of the competing Ferraris, thankfully just a minor paint scratch (if anything can be minor on a Ferrari), oh and the guest driver ran out of fuel. We arrived at the awards ceremony in the dark of night with an air of expectation.
Congratulation to the winners Team XK120 and Gilbert as we cheered them on with a few well-earned glasses of wine.
