14,000 versts not a hook
These were time machines: wheel-drive wheels, mechanisms unusual for a modern automobile industry, special tires, rare spare parts, tricky breakdowns and an infinitely diverse, unique design. On June 24, 103 retro cars were in our city, and on July 7 they finished in Paris. We decided not just to make a photo report, but to tell in detail about the rally, some cars, high-speed races and difficult situations that took away the sleep of 5 people and conquered 5000. Under the cut a lot of photos and not less text. Pour tea, sit back - this is the time of car magic and traveling into the past. Do not forget to buckle up.
To Paris is over there
June 24, 1 pm The main square of the city - Minin and Pozharsky Square - is partially overlapped, watering machines cool red-hot asphalt. Closer to two in the square, a solemn finishing arch appears, we and the volunteers nervously solve the last moments, divide people by points. There is one word in my head - “security”, to which another one very quickly grows - “repair”. A little more and the participants of the retro rally will pass along the long Rodionov Street, descend to the very edge of the Volga and ascend to the Kremlin and the monument to Chkalov. We wait.
Kamaz blocked the passage, on the right for the greenery - the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the main tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
')
Arch and our great assistants from the traffic police, who, at a difficult moment, went around the square several times and helped our voices with their loudspeaker :-)
Chrysler CM 6
So began the main car event of the Nizhny Novgorod summer. On June 24 and 25, 2019, Nizhny Novgorod met the participants of the international rally “Beijing - Paris”. 105 crews left Beijing and tried to come to our city under their own power, but not everything turned out - a few basically did not work, one arrived looking for the night, solemnly resting on the tow truck (which does not cancel his turn), 103 retro car.
By this time, under the arch-tricolor with carefully decorated tape with banners there was a judicial machine. Here you and I should stop and remember (well, or find out - there are obviously not so many fans) what a rally is. First of all, the rally is not exactly a race, and the principle “who came first, he wins” does not work.
Rally as a type of auto racing has several differences: most of the distance lies on public roads from the city to the city, and the result is fixed at the control points. Additionally, cars make high-speed races at special sections of the route (for example, at the Nizhny Novgorod Ring ASC) - here they can accelerate to maximum speed and demonstrate all of their abilities. However, our support-car (modern) managed to observe one of the crews, the Leyland P76 of 1974, in urban conditions, the daily Gagarin Avenue - in places he drowned heavily above 60 km / h and playfully walked around the other participants in the movement photographing him from the windows. We somehow did not dare to sit on his tail until the end - the crew will leave for Paris, then sail away to Australia and are unlikely to receive letters of happiness with a photo and an offer to pay, but we still have life in Nizhny.
Hilux, member of the judging panel and mark indicating the time control point, which was installed under the arch on the asphalt
The judge fixes the time with the Austin Healey 100/4 1954
Heroic crew of 1907
Car Contal Mototri Tricycle on Minin Square in Nizhny Novgorod, 2019
They look scary, outrageous and very stylish
The reaction of the driver Nissan on the street. Rodionova is priceless - however, this was all. Photo by Athanasius Borshchoff (to whom I thank you for the enthusiasm and quotes from the Golden Calf)
At the technological parking lot and overnight stay on Lenin Square, the tricycle was resting under a canopy, but who could have bothered to see the details!
For a tricycle, this is a real test of strength, but I finish the article and I know that it is already in Paris, the path has been covered.
July 7, 2019, Paris. The finish. photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
By the way, in the press and bloggers there was a lot of controversy about whether it was a replica or not. As we have already written, there are indulgences in the design and parts, which are exactly the same as the original ones, but have not lived for 112 years - however, the design fully corresponds to 1907, and even dates and numbers marked 1907 were stamped on the frames. But essentially the tricycle is a replica, since the original car has not been preserved.
A total of 40 horsepower and 109 years of history is the White MM Pullman. Outwardly, it looks more like a royal carriage, but internally it is far from being a pampered aristocrat, but a full-fledged steam (!) Car, which, moreover, had a powerful spring suspension, was equipped with a differential and drive shafts, unlike direct drive on similar Stanley steam cars.
Alas, Minin and Pozharsky Square never saw this hero. But I saw Lenin Square - at the beginning of the tenth evening, the steam car royally drove into the place of lodging for the night.
White MM Pullman, 1910
Details. The photo is not mine, but the best of the many albums that I threw in a personal. If that - the author, respond :-)
And this is somewhere in the region of Belgium about a day ago - photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
In general, the history of the participation of this car is not very specific to the rally. The fact is that the car was traveling with a technical car, which was assigned the number 2+. It was a Ford F350 with water for a steam installation and everything else: the car itself, though, shakes 60 km / h, but its autonomy is so-so - up to 5 km, further refueling. And water stations are even smaller than electric ones - about zero.
One of these is a crew of 96, a 1977 Porsche 911S. Eka Nepal, - you will say, - such in Europe they ride only on the way. In fact, this is not such an old copy, and several such cars participated in the rally, but this one is stunning.
Meet the Porsche 911S rally participant
And this is it on June 24 at Lenin Square in Nizhny Novgorod
The car was restored to the conveyor state and went to the rally. How it was, you can see in the blog of his crew .
But the 50 crew was difficult from a technical point of view and required repair. And what, in fact, such a Fiat 124 Spider BS1 1971 - Fiat as Fiat, a regular car of the 70s, with a 1.6-liter engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. But the design! Does the name Pininfarina tell you something? So, the body design was developed by the Pininfarina atelier, which largely determined the long road of this style in the automotive industry (including the USSR). The Fiat 124 Sport Spider is a low-volume, sporty version of the Fiat 124, from which our own VAZ-2101 penny was copied. And the crew of this car is authentic Italian Enrico Paggi (I) / Federica Mascetti (I).
Early morning June 25 - a sports car from the 70s is preparing for the start
Salon on the evening of June 24
The crew and the audience puzzled repair
1969 Volvo 121
Particular attention of the public attracted several cars - of those about which we did not write, we chose four more legends, although there was no room for anyone in the parking lots. By the way, about the public. If you organize a rally stage in your city, you do not belong to yourself, because, first, you must obey the requirements and wishes of the organizers and participants, and second, all the time, while the cars are in the city, there are exactly 2 tasks: security and repair. And both the safety of visitors from cars and car parts from visitors :-)
The tasks of organizing a mass meeting for the participants are not worth it - the desire to organize also a city holiday was solely our initiative, a group of 4 people. Frankly, we overdid it: announcements in VKontakte groups, press releases and cool advertising on Facebook (budget less than 3,000 p. For 615 responses to the event, “thats so all lived”) collected a total of about 0.5 million views. “Conversion of 1% for the event,” says the Talmuds of marketing and PR. "1% of 0.5 million = 5000 people", - youkat inside. In general, we had 15 + 10 volunteers of different levels of training (from yesterday's children to the severe students of NSTU), the main square of the city, 2 organizers at the point and yes, something about 5,000 people who were not particularly hindered by a fence and persuasion walk around the site and give cars to park. However, the participants clearly liked the attention.
Morgan Plus 8, 1967 and a very contented carriage - these guys allowed them to get into the car, hug, pull pens, and plant children. Very positive French!
By the way, the car itself, despite its appearance, is far from vintage: these racing supercars were produced from 1968 to 2004 and found their niche in amateur motor sports
For a number of reasons, the organizers demanded the closure of the site to be visited an hour earlier and we ... thought that we were scrambling a megaton of negatives on social networks. Yes, the night between the first and the second day was sleepless - I had to answer, apologize and explain that the technology site is first of all time and place for repair, and then a living museum on wheels. However, hundreds of grateful messages and appeals forced to decide that everything was not in vain. And yes, we kept the safety for 5+, no scratches, bruises or dents in anyone - love, hugs and joint photos.
Nizhny Novgorod’s special love was this bright shchekastik - 1938 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe, which for the first 4 days of the rally held unconditional leadership
Our favorite tip is this one:
"Today on the square. Minin had a completely amazing atmosphere. Almost the same as a year ago at the World Cup, only in miniature. Participants in the rally "Beijing-Paris" were marked by a stop in Nizhny. All the pilots and navigators, despite their fatigue, were very positively disposed and answered all questions with pleasure. Of course, if they were asked in English. Well, our city became part of an international event for a few hours. <...> ” (it was read in the local independent publication Koza.Press , and Koz read it on Dmitry Znamensky’s blog).
We know what the 2018 World Cup was for our city and such a comparison is worth a lot.
And, of course, no one was left indifferent by the two symbols of luxury - not so fanciful and interesting as vintage Bentley, but breathing the history of a real dolce vita.
Bristol 403 - pure luxury in silver, luxury car +, club car, British Golden Age. Just do not confuse it with BMW, many have confused the bars (by the way, BMW was presented very modestly at the rally).
1975 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. This is a revolutionary model for Rolls-Royce, with disc brakes on all wheels, independent suspension, 6.23 liter engine. This car is a Rolls-Royce response to the accusations of the old-fashionedness of its models. The hydraulic systems of the car bypassed the best for those times Citroen. The maximum speed is 185 km / h.
And the famous Nick on the hood of the
Chrysler 70 Roadster in 1927
and his salon, who wants to look at. Battery!
On the second day at 6 am, the participants went to the racetrack of the Nizhny Novgorod Ring ASC - it was there that the high-speed races took place and the cars showed everything they were capable of. Five, four, three, two, one, GO! - and impressive retro showed class. Places - extra class, the camera barely managed to grab the frame.
Good luck!
105 cars reached the finish line. July 7, the rally finished in Paris. Let's see who became the winner in the Vintage class and in the Classic class.
A rare car, one of the first sports models of the time - this Bentley is able to reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. In addition, the car is distinguished by high stability on any road and exceptional throughput. Even visually the car looked very reliable. Separately, I was pleased with the authenticity and safety of this particular instance.
The Chrysler CM 6 model combined a lightweight body, a powerful six-cylinder engine and a reliable chassis, so immediately fell in love with motorists of its time. In addition to interesting running characteristics, this car differed from its predecessors by a very comfortable cabin. In 1931 alone, 65,000 cars were sold, thanks to which the manufacturer was able to survive the height of the Great Depression that hit the United States in 1929. There is a version that in order to get the drawings for the future GAZ M11 and GAZ-51, it was necessary to connect the intelligence forces and the NKVD, with which they adequately coped.
The Bentley 4 1/2 was originally an elegant and massive British car with a 4.4-liter engine, but 720 Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans cars were also produced. As the name implies, the model was created for the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which was the best advertisement one could think of. The goal was achieved in 1928. The steepness of the car does not end there: in 1932, it was just such a model, but with supercharging, set a speed record of 222 km / h.
2 weeks before the victory - 1 (right) and 2 (left) place in the Vintage class at the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
This is a large, impressive sedan with Anglo-Australian origin, who won the rally in 2013 and now won again. The pilot of the car, by the way, is 87 years old. By the way, this participant got in Nizhny Novgorod in a small accident - broke the turn signal and crumpled the wing, which was immediately repaired with an elegant and universal tape. In general, to shuffle under the Metro Bridge - to win the rally. But we urge you to keep your distance and traffic.
Leyland P76 on Lenin Square . Author photo - Vladislav Khramtsov
Winners - crew and their Leyland P76. Photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
In 1973, the P76 with the V8 engine received the title "Car of the Year" according to the Australian magazine Wheels. However, due to a number of economic reasons, only 18,007 Leyland P76 cars were produced, and the coupe version did not soar at all. But the history of the brand Leyland goes back to the roots since 1888, when still quite young James Sumner redid his tricycle for steam traction. And then there was a big story . At the moment, the brand exists only in Australia and produces buses Maxus. Prior to this, the company for some time belonged to the GAZ group. Leyland has a special relationship with Nizhny Novgorod :)
Of the 105 rally cars, 9 were Porsche brands and 5 of them were 911s. This legendary car at one time gained a huge demand, and for cars of such power with a rear-engine layout - in general, demand is unique. The Porsche 911 car has been produced from 1963 to our time, and it is always a sports coupe (or convertible) with a recognizable design. In general, 911 was supposed to start and end like any number series, but with 911 something went wrong, more precisely, on the contrary, it was very cool, and the number essentially turned into a proper name. Fans of rally of various classes appreciate this model and have won victories with it more than once.
The 2nd Porsche 911 at the St. George Congress, Nizhny Novgorod. The
2nd Porsche 911 at the night parking lot.
Datsun 240Z, aka Nissan S30, aka Fairlady Z. Sports car company Nissan, a very successful model of the domestic and foreign markets. This is a three-door hatchback with 151 hp on a very small board, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 204 km / h. During the exposition on Lenin Square, I managed to hear one of the townspeople sigh, telling the other that his new Datsun could not be compared with this and he would have traded without looking. I don’t think that participants would appreciate the prospect of sharing :-)
Datsun 240Z
Our guys, the only Russian crew among the rally participants on the VAZ-2103 is the 23rd out of 72 in its class! And we congratulate them on this! (If you suddenly do not know what “treshka” is. In 1972, the VAZ plant launched the production of the “treshka” Zhiguli - VAZ-2103. The car, built on the basis of the Fiat-124, was much more comfortable than the “penny”, equipped with a 75-horsepower engine and accelerated from zero to hundred in 19 seconds. The “treshka” had several export variations, and inside the USSR it became a symbol of “auto luxury”, and, moreover, is still considered one of the most stylish models of VAZ.)
Citroen 11B
And of course, everything would be much more complicated and sad if it were not for these people!
Department of Road Transport, Institute of Transport Systems , NSTU. R.E. Alekseeva
.
* Versta - 1066 m, route length 14,500 km
PS: Ilya, Sergey, Alexey, it was very cool to work with you! Dream team!
PPS: thanks for the coolest link to the report including the delivery of cars to the launch site !
To Paris is over there
June 24, 1 pm The main square of the city - Minin and Pozharsky Square - is partially overlapped, watering machines cool red-hot asphalt. Closer to two in the square, a solemn finishing arch appears, we and the volunteers nervously solve the last moments, divide people by points. There is one word in my head - “security”, to which another one very quickly grows - “repair”. A little more and the participants of the retro rally will pass along the long Rodionov Street, descend to the very edge of the Volga and ascend to the Kremlin and the monument to Chkalov. We wait.
Kamaz blocked the passage, on the right for the greenery - the Dmitrievskaya Tower, the main tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
')
Arch and our great assistants from the traffic police, who, at a difficult moment, went around the square several times and helped our voices with their loudspeaker :-)
Just about, now, and we finally cover a part of the area. A boy of 12 years of age rushes forward: “Let me in, I adore exactly retro cars! I’m losing my mind about these cars! ”I distract myself, telling him in a boring and habitual way about the contour of the barrier and about the viewing zones. He: “I must see this! I will not fall asleep! ”I reply in the spirit that he certainly doesn’t know the names. The boy cheerfully lists the most exotic. At this time, in the pocket of Zello gives the air "first car". I turn in the direction of the St. George's Congress, first a mirage of wet asphalt, and then he is the first crew on Minin and Pozharsky Square - Chrysler CM 6 of 1931.About rally
Why precisely “Beijing - Paris”? In the winter of 1907, the French Le Matin published a challenge message: “It is necessary to prove that as long as a person has a car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Will anyone decide this summer to drive from Beijing to Paris by car? ”On June 10, 1907, a race started from the French Embassy in Beijing, which took place in places where they could not see the wheels of the cars and did not even know about them. The winner of the race of 5 crews of Schipione Borghese was dashingly small - he was so confident in his Itala 35/45 HP that he drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg, dined there and returned to Moscow to continue the rally and come as a winner. Fortunately, we did not have such.
Itala Borghese
1907 finish in Paris
Chrysler CM 6
So began the main car event of the Nizhny Novgorod summer. On June 24 and 25, 2019, Nizhny Novgorod met the participants of the international rally “Beijing - Paris”. 105 crews left Beijing and tried to come to our city under their own power, but not everything turned out - a few basically did not work, one arrived looking for the night, solemnly resting on the tow truck (which does not cancel his turn), 103 retro car.
By this time, under the arch-tricolor with carefully decorated tape with banners there was a judicial machine. Here you and I should stop and remember (well, or find out - there are obviously not so many fans) what a rally is. First of all, the rally is not exactly a race, and the principle “who came first, he wins” does not work.
Rally as a type of auto racing has several differences: most of the distance lies on public roads from the city to the city, and the result is fixed at the control points. Additionally, cars make high-speed races at special sections of the route (for example, at the Nizhny Novgorod Ring ASC) - here they can accelerate to maximum speed and demonstrate all of their abilities. However, our support-car (modern) managed to observe one of the crews, the Leyland P76 of 1974, in urban conditions, the daily Gagarin Avenue - in places he drowned heavily above 60 km / h and playfully walked around the other participants in the movement photographing him from the windows. We somehow did not dare to sit on his tail until the end - the crew will leave for Paris, then sail away to Australia and are unlikely to receive letters of happiness with a photo and an offer to pay, but we still have life in Nizhny.
Well, the judges fix these very intermediate results at each of the stages. When we saw the judges' car (as well as most of the support, this is Toyota Hilux), we even said aloud what we thought in chorus: “Yes, so that at this age we should be engaged in this.” This is active old age, not your Scandinavian walking on the way to work.Top Rally Questions
Will there be KAMAZ trucks? A topical issue, due to the huge popularity of the KAMAZ Master team. Kamaz were, but a little others - hard workers.
And the tricycle will reach? Everyone was waiting for a unique three-wheeled car. And he drove: to Nizhny Novgorod, and to Paris.
Hilux, member of the judging panel and mark indicating the time control point, which was installed under the arch on the asphalt
The judge fixes the time with the Austin Healey 100/4 1954
But both we and the assembled citizens of Nizhny Novgorod were waiting for the crew going to number 1. The Contal Mototri Tricycle is a car that participates in the “retro” class, produced in 1907. Car era Brass Era, the very dawn of the automotive industry. These French cars were produced in France from 1907 to 1908 by a company that made tricycles for delivery and mail. Compared with his other auto-contemporaries, he was very complex. The same tricycle took part in the first rally of Beijing-Paris in 1907, but failed in the Gobi Desert, and the crew barely saved their lives. They were forced to drink water from the radiator in order to survive, and the car itself remained not found in the sands of the desert. And now, after 112 years, the tricycle participates in the same rally, wanting to continue and finish the journey of 13,840 km, literally through centuries. Behind the wheel - insanely beautiful and courageous Anton Gonnissen, a real adventurer. It sounds romantic, but in fact, the car is dangerous and uncomfortable and the navigator allowed some indulgence, including a Harley Davidson saddle.About rally
The rally lasts 36 days, in total, participants drive through 13 countries, the initial list of participants is 105 crews, the length of the route is almost 15,000 km.
Retro rally "Beijing - Paris" takes place every 3 years. It was first held in 1907, but there was a break and the rally of 2019 turned out to be the seventh in history and fourth in the history of Nizhny Novgorod (1907, 2007, 2016, 2019). In general, any rally changes the route and rarely passes through the same city, especially in the middle of the road, but we are lucky :-)
The contribution of participants is about $ 65,000 (or to be exact, then ÂŁ 53,500), and this is without taking into account gasoline and travel expenses. Cars are delivered to the launch site by ships, and one, late, flew by plane.
Heroic crew of 1907
Car Contal Mototri Tricycle on Minin Square in Nizhny Novgorod, 2019
They look scary, outrageous and very stylish
The reaction of the driver Nissan on the street. Rodionova is priceless - however, this was all. Photo by Athanasius Borshchoff (to whom I thank you for the enthusiasm and quotes from the Golden Calf)
At the technological parking lot and overnight stay on Lenin Square, the tricycle was resting under a canopy, but who could have bothered to see the details!
For a tricycle, this is a real test of strength, but I finish the article and I know that it is already in Paris, the path has been covered.
July 7, 2019, Paris. The finish. photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
By the way, in the press and bloggers there was a lot of controversy about whether it was a replica or not. As we have already written, there are indulgences in the design and parts, which are exactly the same as the original ones, but have not lived for 112 years - however, the design fully corresponds to 1907, and even dates and numbers marked 1907 were stamped on the frames. But essentially the tricycle is a replica, since the original car has not been preserved.
The second car that everyone was waiting for was car number 2 - a steam engine.Stop stop stop what classes? Where does the concession in the design?
"Beijing - Paris" is a rally in which participants ride in cars of two classes - retro until 1941 and vintage until 1977. Of the younger cars only escort.
Cars may have some design changes such as sports seats, replaced parts, modern tires (especially this fact was “happy” for the tire fittings that had to drive the spoke wheels), but there can be no fundamental changes such as replacing the engine with a larger engine, tuning the engine and other changes that give a clear technological advantage. In fact, these are the cars that drove along the roads of their time.
A total of 40 horsepower and 109 years of history is the White MM Pullman. Outwardly, it looks more like a royal carriage, but internally it is far from being a pampered aristocrat, but a full-fledged steam (!) Car, which, moreover, had a powerful spring suspension, was equipped with a differential and drive shafts, unlike direct drive on similar Stanley steam cars.
Alas, Minin and Pozharsky Square never saw this hero. But I saw Lenin Square - at the beginning of the tenth evening, the steam car royally drove into the place of lodging for the night.
White MM Pullman, 1910
Details. The photo is not mine, but the best of the many albums that I threw in a personal. If that - the author, respond :-)
And this is somewhere in the region of Belgium about a day ago - photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
In general, the history of the participation of this car is not very specific to the rally. The fact is that the car was traveling with a technical car, which was assigned the number 2+. It was a Ford F350 with water for a steam installation and everything else: the car itself, though, shakes 60 km / h, but its autonomy is so-so - up to 5 km, further refueling. And water stations are even smaller than electric ones - about zero.
Each car deserves special attention, but in addition to 1 and 2, there were a few that are worth special mention.Oh, by the way, what about gas?
Rally to Europe crossed several countries, sometimes in the wildest and deaf places: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia. The quality of gasoline at some gas stations left much to be desired and could easily have worn out some retro engine. But participants had with them a supply of additives, which saved the engines from strange fuel, which sometimes gave out their octane number for something else.
One of these is a crew of 96, a 1977 Porsche 911S. Eka Nepal, - you will say, - such in Europe they ride only on the way. In fact, this is not such an old copy, and several such cars participated in the rally, but this one is stunning.
Meet the Porsche 911S rally participant
And this is it on June 24 at Lenin Square in Nizhny Novgorod
The car was restored to the conveyor state and went to the rally. How it was, you can see in the blog of his crew .
But the 50 crew was difficult from a technical point of view and required repair. And what, in fact, such a Fiat 124 Spider BS1 1971 - Fiat as Fiat, a regular car of the 70s, with a 1.6-liter engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. But the design! Does the name Pininfarina tell you something? So, the body design was developed by the Pininfarina atelier, which largely determined the long road of this style in the automotive industry (including the USSR). The Fiat 124 Sport Spider is a low-volume, sporty version of the Fiat 124, from which our own VAZ-2101 penny was copied. And the crew of this car is authentic Italian Enrico Paggi (I) / Federica Mascetti (I).
Early morning June 25 - a sports car from the 70s is preparing for the start
Salon on the evening of June 24
The crew and the audience puzzled repair
Another breakdown story that caused us (the organizers of the Nizhny Novgorod stage) a lot of experiences and guaranteed our Ilya a sleepless night in the service station on the rowing canal (this is a place on the very bank of the Volga). When the last part of the support team moved from Minin to Lenin and stood in a taxi car in a traffic jam on the bridge, our volunteer noticed that Volvo was loading a tow truck nearby. We quickly found out that this was not our service and made the little freaked-out taxi driver turn around right in the traffic jam and go with us to meet the adventure. Behind the wheel of a Volvo 121 was a Swiss, and ... it would be better if he tried to speak French, but I was confused and did not offer him this language. I could understand nothing in his speech except clutch (clutch) and individual words, but as a daughter of the owner of the second UAZ Hunter, in a row, I understood that the word “clutch” and a tow truck promise a long, long repair. Where there is to Paris. With us in the car was a translator Julia, who was able to communicate with the Swiss in English, and three men of Nizhny Novgorod were standing nearby. During the survey of all, it turned out that the guys started warning and called a tow truck in order to send a foreign guest to the local car-care center (I was afraid to think what would happen to his staff at the sight of the unit). The leader of the support Ilyukha stayed in the service with the orange 60th crew until two nights and after long and cheerful experiments with the press a new bearing was assembled from two old and third extras and attached to the clutch. The car continued on its way.Fun rally
The participant tells about the second day of the rally in China: “After a sumptuous breakfast in a panoramic restaurant on the 26th floor, we got a road <...> with rocky areas, short grass and viscous sand - it was a Mongolian steppe in miniature, and we even met a family of frightened marmots, who fear for their little lives when the cars rush straight to them. ” Most of the problems received a steam car - needed to replace the burner nodes and the help of a person with a fire extinguisher. The tricycle also has problems - at first it bent an axis, which was repaired in a welding workshop, and then a blow was struck by the Chinese bureaucracy: officials decided that a three-wheeled vehicle was not allowed to use toll roads, and the super car went on a long detour and lost a lot of time from the rest.
And then the Chinese see such cars every day on their roads!
1969 Volvo 121
And how did you repair it? A lot of damage?
Cars are old and difficult to avoid breakdowns. In addition, they contribute to road and weather conditions. Off-road of Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia thoroughly loosened the nodes of cars and "helped" the wear of nuts and other compounds. In some areas, participants (much of whom rode in open cabriolets) caught rain and even June snow, which added problems, from crew fatigue to water ingress into the aggregates.
Part of the cars went the distance, some went to a difficult repair and a section of the road passed on tow trucks. For example, one of the crews went to Moscow, where he was taken by semi-axle by plane (!). The rest were repaired at the sites: sometimes a day in the city, like in Ufa, sometimes a night — like in Nizhny Novgorod, sometimes a few days like in a tent camp in Mongolia. As you understand from the last location, where there are hardly any service stations, most of the repair lies on the shoulders of the crews and technical assistance.
In cities, the organizers provided all the conditions for repair. For example, we had an agreement with several services, car towing vehicles, a NSTU garage (Polytech), dealerships and tire fittings - they were ready to accept all autoexotics and provide repairs. Of course, for the money: the participants paid for all the repairs themselves, and it was not very expensive by the standards of the participants. For example, the repair of the Volvo mentioned above cost $ 200 + $ 26 for a tow truck. During the repairs with the crews, the organizers or volunteers from Polytech were located (one of them was already before 3 am).
Handsome and a little whining
Particular attention of the public attracted several cars - of those about which we did not write, we chose four more legends, although there was no room for anyone in the parking lots. By the way, about the public. If you organize a rally stage in your city, you do not belong to yourself, because, first, you must obey the requirements and wishes of the organizers and participants, and second, all the time, while the cars are in the city, there are exactly 2 tasks: security and repair. And both the safety of visitors from cars and car parts from visitors :-)
The tasks of organizing a mass meeting for the participants are not worth it - the desire to organize also a city holiday was solely our initiative, a group of 4 people. Frankly, we overdid it: announcements in VKontakte groups, press releases and cool advertising on Facebook (budget less than 3,000 p. For 615 responses to the event, “thats so all lived”) collected a total of about 0.5 million views. “Conversion of 1% for the event,” says the Talmuds of marketing and PR. "1% of 0.5 million = 5000 people", - youkat inside. In general, we had 15 + 10 volunteers of different levels of training (from yesterday's children to the severe students of NSTU), the main square of the city, 2 organizers at the point and yes, something about 5,000 people who were not particularly hindered by a fence and persuasion walk around the site and give cars to park. However, the participants clearly liked the attention.
Morgan Plus 8, 1967 and a very contented carriage - these guys allowed them to get into the car, hug, pull pens, and plant children. Very positive French!
By the way, the car itself, despite its appearance, is far from vintage: these racing supercars were produced from 1968 to 2004 and found their niche in amateur motor sports
For a number of reasons, the organizers demanded the closure of the site to be visited an hour earlier and we ... thought that we were scrambling a megaton of negatives on social networks. Yes, the night between the first and the second day was sleepless - I had to answer, apologize and explain that the technology site is first of all time and place for repair, and then a living museum on wheels. However, hundreds of grateful messages and appeals forced to decide that everything was not in vain. And yes, we kept the safety for 5+, no scratches, bruises or dents in anyone - love, hugs and joint photos.
Nizhny Novgorod’s special love was this bright shchekastik - 1938 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe, which for the first 4 days of the rally held unconditional leadership
Our favorite tip is this one:
"Today on the square. Minin had a completely amazing atmosphere. Almost the same as a year ago at the World Cup, only in miniature. Participants in the rally "Beijing-Paris" were marked by a stop in Nizhny. All the pilots and navigators, despite their fatigue, were very positively disposed and answered all questions with pleasure. Of course, if they were asked in English. Well, our city became part of an international event for a few hours. <...> ” (it was read in the local independent publication Koza.Press , and Koz read it on Dmitry Znamensky’s blog).
We know what the 2018 World Cup was for our city and such a comparison is worth a lot.
And, of course, no one was left indifferent by the two symbols of luxury - not so fanciful and interesting as vintage Bentley, but breathing the history of a real dolce vita.
Bristol 403 - pure luxury in silver, luxury car +, club car, British Golden Age. Just do not confuse it with BMW, many have confused the bars (by the way, BMW was presented very modestly at the rally).
1975 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. This is a revolutionary model for Rolls-Royce, with disc brakes on all wheels, independent suspension, 6.23 liter engine. This car is a Rolls-Royce response to the accusations of the old-fashionedness of its models. The hydraulic systems of the car bypassed the best for those times Citroen. The maximum speed is 185 km / h.
And the famous Nick on the hood of the
Chrysler 70 Roadster in 1927
and his salon, who wants to look at. Battery!
On the second day at 6 am, the participants went to the racetrack of the Nizhny Novgorod Ring ASC - it was there that the high-speed races took place and the cars showed everything they were capable of. Five, four, three, two, one, GO! - and impressive retro showed class. Places - extra class, the camera barely managed to grab the frame.
Good luck!
Winners
105 cars reached the finish line. July 7, the rally finished in Paris. Let's see who became the winner in the Vintage class and in the Classic class.
Bentley Super Sports (12) - 1 place Vintage
A rare car, one of the first sports models of the time - this Bentley is able to reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. In addition, the car is distinguished by high stability on any road and exceptional throughput. Even visually the car looked very reliable. Separately, I was pleased with the authenticity and safety of this particular instance.
Chrysler CM 6 (8) - 2 place Vintage
The Chrysler CM 6 model combined a lightweight body, a powerful six-cylinder engine and a reliable chassis, so immediately fell in love with motorists of its time. In addition to interesting running characteristics, this car differed from its predecessors by a very comfortable cabin. In 1931 alone, 65,000 cars were sold, thanks to which the manufacturer was able to survive the height of the Great Depression that hit the United States in 1929. There is a version that in order to get the drawings for the future GAZ M11 and GAZ-51, it was necessary to connect the intelligence forces and the NKVD, with which they adequately coped.
Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans (17) - 3 place Vintage
The Bentley 4 1/2 was originally an elegant and massive British car with a 4.4-liter engine, but 720 Bentley 4 1/2 Le Mans cars were also produced. As the name implies, the model was created for the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which was the best advertisement one could think of. The goal was achieved in 1928. The steepness of the car does not end there: in 1932, it was just such a model, but with supercharging, set a speed record of 222 km / h.
2 weeks before the victory - 1 (right) and 2 (left) place in the Vintage class at the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin
Leyland P76 (112) - 1 place Classic
This is a large, impressive sedan with Anglo-Australian origin, who won the rally in 2013 and now won again. The pilot of the car, by the way, is 87 years old. By the way, this participant got in Nizhny Novgorod in a small accident - broke the turn signal and crumpled the wing, which was immediately repaired with an elegant and universal tape. In general, to shuffle under the Metro Bridge - to win the rally. But we urge you to keep your distance and traffic.
Leyland P76 on Lenin Square . Author photo - Vladislav Khramtsov
Winners - crew and their Leyland P76. Photo from Facebook Endurance Rally Association - ERA
In 1973, the P76 with the V8 engine received the title "Car of the Year" according to the Australian magazine Wheels. However, due to a number of economic reasons, only 18,007 Leyland P76 cars were produced, and the coupe version did not soar at all. But the history of the brand Leyland goes back to the roots since 1888, when still quite young James Sumner redid his tricycle for steam traction. And then there was a big story . At the moment, the brand exists only in Australia and produces buses Maxus. Prior to this, the company for some time belonged to the GAZ group. Leyland has a special relationship with Nizhny Novgorod :)
Porsche 911 (92) - 2 place Classic
Of the 105 rally cars, 9 were Porsche brands and 5 of them were 911s. This legendary car at one time gained a huge demand, and for cars of such power with a rear-engine layout - in general, demand is unique. The Porsche 911 car has been produced from 1963 to our time, and it is always a sports coupe (or convertible) with a recognizable design. In general, 911 was supposed to start and end like any number series, but with 911 something went wrong, more precisely, on the contrary, it was very cool, and the number essentially turned into a proper name. Fans of rally of various classes appreciate this model and have won victories with it more than once.
The 2nd Porsche 911 at the St. George Congress, Nizhny Novgorod. The
2nd Porsche 911 at the night parking lot.
Datsun 240Z (85) - 3 place Classic
Datsun 240Z, aka Nissan S30, aka Fairlady Z. Sports car company Nissan, a very successful model of the domestic and foreign markets. This is a three-door hatchback with 151 hp on a very small board, capable of reaching a maximum speed of 204 km / h. During the exposition on Lenin Square, I managed to hear one of the townspeople sigh, telling the other that his new Datsun could not be compared with this and he would have traded without looking. I don’t think that participants would appreciate the prospect of sharing :-)
Datsun 240Z
Our guys, the only Russian crew among the rally participants on the VAZ-2103 is the 23rd out of 72 in its class! And we congratulate them on this! (If you suddenly do not know what “treshka” is. In 1972, the VAZ plant launched the production of the “treshka” Zhiguli - VAZ-2103. The car, built on the basis of the Fiat-124, was much more comfortable than the “penny”, equipped with a 75-horsepower engine and accelerated from zero to hundred in 19 seconds. The “treshka” had several export variations, and inside the USSR it became a symbol of “auto luxury”, and, moreover, is still considered one of the most stylish models of VAZ.)
How is it 87 years old?
Rally "Beijing - Paris" is often called the race of millionaires, and not only because of the contributions and the cost of cars, but also because of the status of participants. Many of them are very successful, famous people whose names are searched on Wikipedia. For example, at number 63 on the Citroen 11B was driving itself Mario Illien ( Mario Illien ) from Switzerland, the head of the company Ilmor, which in different years developed motors for Formula 1 cars, Mercedes, Renault and Honda.
Citroen 11B
My album with a selection of photos here
Acknowledgments
And of course, everything would be much more complicated and sad if it were not for these people!
Department of Road Transport, Institute of Transport Systems , NSTU. R.E. Alekseeva
- Mikhail Korchazhkin, Deputy Head. Department of Academic Affairs
- ,
.
- ,
- ,
- .
- ,
- ,
- ,
* Versta - 1066 m, route length 14,500 km
PS: Ilya, Sergey, Alexey, it was very cool to work with you! Dream team!
PPS: thanks for the coolest link to the report including the delivery of cars to the launch site !
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/459258/
All Articles