Thursday, November 04, 2004

Rally preparations


goingforit2
Originally uploaded by wjwmorrow.
I seem to have finally got the hang of this picture hosting business (Flickr.com is recommended) and I apologize for the apparent overindulgence but pictures can truly be worth a thousand words.

I am waiting with baited breath to hear whether the Automobile Club d'Monaco has accepted my entry for the 2005 Monte Carlo Historique rally. Roll on Nov 25. In the meantime I'm spending a fortune on car preparations. I've fixed a lot of minor bodywork problems which have amounted to a virtual respray of the car. Still all the rust, which was not as minor as I had thought, is now gone and the car is structurally stronger as well as looking very pretty. I've acquired a lot of period BMC ex-works parts and the interior is looking very good. I still need an intercom, a full set (6) of Dunlop 93J tyres (I'm trusting that Bill Richards has managed to negotiate a deep discount as well as a race suit and open face helmet. When I go to England next month I'll get the suit and helmet. I'll also do some fine detail work in preparation for the car's photoshoot with MiniWorld which is pencilled in for December 10th.

I'm also hoping to visit Stamford's (best map shop in the world) in Covent Garden, London, where I'll pick up a set of large scale maps that will cover all the rally's regularity stages. Then all going well Bill and I will make a quick trip to Monaco for a recce of the infamous night loop section over the Col d'Turini. I'm a bit worried about these plans as Mercury will be in retrograde for that period (the fourth bloody time this year). For those of you remotely interested in this nonsense, Mercury is the ruler of my sun sign, Virgo. In this three week phase confusion abounds. It's usually nothing life threatening; just chaotic, irksome stuff. I hate it and it's really not the best planetary aspect for travel or planning a rally.

Peace!

John

No comments: