Monte
Carlo or Bust - The Glasgow Start Report by Jim Paterson
Making
a dream a reality is
easier said than done. Rebuilding a Classic at the same time some might
say is insane! However, whether on purpose or by necessity, that is
what CCHMSC's president Douglas Anderson ended up doing for the 2011
Monte Carlo Historique on the 27th January.
Thanks
to
David Barnett of Classic Autosports, the Herald rebuild was
squeezed into 3
months, with Cameron Gilmour rebuilding the engine to competition spec.
The Herald arrived on the start ramp to take its place as the opening
car with a mere 360 miles on it's rebuilt engine. So close was the
arrival that Douglas had to forego the Pre-Gala dinner on the 26th to
finish the car.
I did however
make the dinner and
enjoyed the
company and banter of many an old Monte competitor, including a chat
with the guest speaker Stuart Turner. Stuart is well known to the Club,
having given us a great talk back in November 2008 on a visit to Perth.
He still reads our eNewsletter and follows our activities. I picked up
a few ideas from Stuart, which will unfold later this year.
I
was to be co-driver for Douglas, and sharing the driving. I was keenly
aware of TV Chef James Martin's engine blow-up on his Masserati on the
2008 Mille Miglia, at around the same mileage as the Herald.
Effectively the run to Monte would run the engine in and shakedown all
the other parts.
On the Thursday afternoon
Douglas
and I
worked with the crew building the start ramp. Getting it across from its home in Mull was interesting,
requiring several vans to transport it to GTG Training, the
scrutineering location, and finally up to Blythswood Square for
erection. Douglas and I erected the CCHMSC Club banner on the ramp and
fitted all the sponsor cards and overhead lights. Not what we really
expected to be doing with a full nights drive ahead of us.
As
co-drivier I tried to make sure we had plenty of spares, and tools in
case we cruised to a halt somewhere. I found out that a
“sweepstake”
was running on just how far the Herald would go before it retired. From
as close as St. Vincent Street, some several hundred metres away, to
Cumnock and Dumfries. I think very few thought the car would cross the
border to England, let alone cross the Channel to France.
Ahead
of us was David Spence and Roddie Main in Dave's Ford Sierra. They had
mapped out the route through Britain, based on one of the Monte routes
of the sixties and seventies, and created the roadbook for the Monte
crews to follow to Dover. Loaded with all the spares that the Herald
and Ford may need, they headed off an hour before the competitors to
make sure the controls were open and manned.
Douglas
and I
headed off the ramp at 1800, half an hour before the first competitor,
to an eye watering barrage of photographers flash bulbs, almost
blinding us as we approached the wall of spectators in front. Once
clear of St. Vincent Street and on to the M8 heading for Kilmarnock, we
were on our own, what was behind us didn't matter any more!
The Lord Provost Bob Winter flagged the first
car away at 1830, on the first leg of their 3500km trip to Monte Carlo.
The turnout of spectators was estimated at 4000, way above what was
expected. The crowds opened up as the cars proceeded slowly on the
first leg out of Glasgow, with shouts of good wishes, and taps
of “bon chance” on the roofs of the
passing rallye cars.
Closing
the route after the departure of all the rally cars, and the Classic
Run to Luss starters, were club members John Stuart and Tom
Dromgoole,
who had a comfy ride in a modern Kia Ceed. This comfort would not last
all the way to Monte as the next chapter will show.
Hatched some three years ago this dream to bring
the Monte Carlo Historique
start to Glasgow to celebrate the events100th anniversary
involved not only convincing Automobile Club Monaco that CCHMSC were
capable of rising to the challenge, but also proving that the club had
the experience to pull it off.
You may recall the
Great North Winter Challenges, of past years, which were dubbed
“Scotland's Monte”. These were not just great events
in their own right but the foundations of the Glasgow Monte Start.
Having
secured Glasgow as a start venue Douglas began to work with the RSAC,
and the Glasgow City events people to draw up a plan of activities that
would eventually see the cars on the start ramp outside the now
Blythswood Hotel, a scene not seen since 1973.
Jonathan
Lord
and his team, along with the Glasgow events team helped to organise the activities, and smooth out
many of the issues that occured on the way.
Meanwhile
Douglas was also
building a Triumph Herald Coupe, the plan being to use this as the
opening car for the Glasgow to Dover section. Once the crews were in
Calais the French organisers would take over.
49
Starters from across Europe were joined by crews from as far away as
Japan and Canada, in machinery equally diverse.
With
the
pre-gala dinner completed on the 26th, the crews made their way to
George Square Parc Ferme, after scrutineering, to form part of the
Glasgow Motorsport Show. At 4.00pm they trooped up to
Blythswood Square,
stopping many shoppers and commuters in their tracks, with noise and
sights of so many cars not seen on Glasgow roads in such numbers since
1973.
The Rally had begun, no going back now!
Graeme Henderson
Healey Car 0 driven off the ramp by Louise Aitken-Walker
Home
| About
| Events
| News| Committee
| For
Sale | Links
I did however
make the dinner and
enjoyed the
company and banter of many an old Monte competitor, including a chat
with the guest speaker Stuart Turner. Stuart is well known to the Club,
having given us a 
On the Thursday afternoon
Douglas
and I
worked with the crew building the start ramp. Getting it across from its home in Mull was interesting,
requiring several vans to transport it to GTG Training, the
scrutineering location, and finally up to Blythswood Square for
erection. Douglas and I erected the CCHMSC Club banner on the ramp and
fitted all the sponsor cards and overhead lights. Not what we really
expected to be doing with a full nights drive ahead of us.
The Lord Provost Bob Winter flagged the first
car away at 1830, on the first leg of their 3500km trip to Monte Carlo.
The turnout of spectators was estimated at 4000, way above what was
expected. The crowds opened up as the cars proceeded slowly on the
first leg out of Glasgow, with shouts of good wishes, and taps
of “bon chance” on the roofs of the
passing rallye cars.
