RTG Hanoi Daily Dispatch - for website 2 - Flipbook - Page 3
Pre start & scrutineering: Hồ Chí Minh, 27 January 2024
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
From 1972: Tim Eades and Jim McLaren’s Ford Escort and Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike’s Porsche 911
for two years putting these roads together and, with
a pedigree stretching way back into the annals of
endurance rallying, we’re expecting this marathon to be
a real humdinger.
an early afternoon briefing gave rally director, Fred
gallagher, Clerk of the Course, mark appleton, loren Price
and Kim the chance to welcome the crews and highlight
some salient points to make their lives a little easier over
the next few weeks on the road. the rest of the afternoon
was then free for a little sightseeing.
saigon is a fascinating place and lies along the meandering
sông sài gòn river. named after the late Prime minister and
President hồ Chí minh, the city is famous for its motor
Michael and Firdy Naqvi Merkle‘s
1971 Mercedes-Benz 350 SL
scooters and vibrant cultural life. a fascinating history,
dating back to the 4th Century, has had many twists and
turns, including a period of colonisation under the French
and a pivotal role in a much-storied war, which swept
through the entire region during the 1960s and 1970s.
having come this far, nobody wanted to miss saigon.
as the sun dipped, drinks and dinner rounded off a very
busy day and over a convivial meal, the excitement built for
tomorrow’s early start.
all this was but a distant memory to the advance car
crew of dick appleton and Chris mills as they’d pulled out
of town some 48 hours earlier with notebooks and pencils
at the ready looking for anything untoward.
The 1934 Aston Martin Mark II
Daniel Sauter and Martin Ruebel’s 1938 Chevrolet
of Nigel Dowding and Mary Antcliff Fangio
www.rallytheglobe.com
