Africa Rally Maestro progress thread

[E_T_V]

Following on from the build thread (link) I'll try and post a few updates as and when I get them from the rally.

For the latest updates see the girls website http://www.girlsacrossafrica.com/


At last after all the advice and prep of the maestro 1600. Its off on its virgin event.

Pics courtesy of Gerard Brown
www.gerardbrown.co.uk

[Piggy Bank]

The Maestro ladies have now crossed the Channel.
They went on board of the P&O "Pride of Canterbury" at 3.40h last night.
At 6.00h the whole parade of rally cars drove off in Calais (local time).
The Maestro was covered with mud from the Challock Woods but Gill and Jane were happy and the Maestro is doing well they told me.
I've taken pictures on board of the ferry.

[mgdavid]

day 2 overnight stop at Beaune - 3rd overall
:-)

[Guest]

The Maestro put down its marker on the event from the outset with a brilliant effort in Kent, with the two forests, and 50 mile night-navigation on maps section, all suiting small cars - the Porsche 911s, the Datsun 240Zs, other 100k fully-prepped efforts, struggling in the wake of the Maestro which ended the night in second spot, behind the 1.6 MG ZR of the St. Albans Rover Centre, (Matt Fowle on the maps had done really well and driver Owen Turner is well known for a particularly smooth approach, the two having done well in lots of events, winning many club rallies).

The Maestro badly needs a car wash. It was given more spares at Dover and the weight is a worry for Tony Fowkes who built it, and on the hills in the Western Front battle region of the Somme it was stuggling visibly, with claggy mud clogging up the wheel arches. But you would think an experienced crew with a Subaru Imprezza would have got the Maestro licked on ground like muddy tracks. The great deal of ground clearance on the Maestro is paying off already!

Practical Classiscs delivered their stickers which went onto the rear doors just before the start - the final spot of preparation. Can someone keep Dan Glover at the magazine well primed, the publicity will be good for everyone.

( There are photos on the Gerard Brown photography site, we will try and get some onto this website but someone needs to know how to work the screwdriver for this. ) "The Maestro is going well, we feel a bit tired but loving it," said Jane last night - tucking into a chicken stew with mashed spud.

The Maestro is beating cars with four times the power (the BMW X5 has 400 bhp, the Maestro is 90-odd). the 4x4s failed to knock it off its perch in the mud, so things are looking goor for an an amazing result, but, its early days. Cars are on their way to Italy, and then cross to Greece for rocky gravel stuff in the hills, used on the Acropolis Rally of the 70s. Then....on to Egypt. Africa beckons. Can Dan Pyke or someone who knows the techie-details get access to Gerards photos?

Lots of results and description are going up at www.londoncapetownrally.com - only 9,480 miles to go now.

[Piggy Bank]

The Maestro badly needs a car wash. It was given more spares at Dover .

2 Jan. 2012 on the ferry.

[E_T_V]

One more pic Courtesy www.gerardbrown.co.uk

[E_T_V]

Day 1. 5th Overall - 2nd in class
Day 2. 3rd Overall - 2nd in class
Day 3. 4th Overall - 2nd in class
Day 4. 4th Overall - 2nd in class

[countrydude]

Those are familiar sounding words! Sounds good i wish them well.

The Maestro is beating cars with four times the power (the BMW X5 has 400 bhp, the Maestro is 90-odd). the 4x4s failed to knock it off its perch in the mud, so things are looking goor for an an amazing result, but, its early days. Cars are on their way to Italy, and then cross to Greece for rocky gravel stuff in the hills, used on the Acropolis Rally of the 70s. Then....on to Egypt. Africa beckons. Can Dan Pyke or someone who knows the techie-details get access to Gerards photos?

Lots of results and description are going up at www.londoncapetownrally.com - only 9,480 miles to go now.

[Guest]

I watched the stage at Challock and it was really going for it! It did look like one of the quickest and certainly one of the most composed cars there.

[matthewsemple]

It is great to see the Maestro doing well. Let's hope this continues. The MG ZR is looking pretty unbeatable at the moment as well.

One thing that puzzled me though, there are three or four MG ZRs competing and all bar one are listed as 1600s. Seeing as the MG ZR was never available with a 1.6 engine, what has happened here? Petrol ZRs were only available with a 1.4 (105) or a 1.8 (120) or 1.8VVC (160). Do they have K-Series 1600cc engines from a different model in order to have the biggest possible engine in the sub-1600cc class?

Just wondered if anyone knows!

[Piggy Bank]

Interesting, I asked myself the same question. Some competitors in Dover were sure that they have 1600 engines but they can't know for sure.

[matthewsemple]

Interesting, I asked myself the same question. Some competitors in Dover were sure that they have 1600 engines but they can't know for sure.

Sounds a bit dodgy. How can they not know?

There are a few possibilties:

1. They are 105s or 120s which are listed incorrectly
2. They are 160s and they thought that the 160 referred to 1600cc or 1.6 litre
3. They are Rover 216s or 25s with a 1.6 litre engine that have been converted to look like an MG.
4. They are MG ZRs with an engine from a Rover or an MGF/TF 1.6 or ZS 110.

I would have thought that options 1 or 2 are the most likely. However, WJ52AUH and FG51UDU both check out as 1589cc and 1588cc respectively, which is consistent with options 3 or 4.

I guess the cars weren't prepped by the owners and as K-Series engines are probably quite cheap to buy, the company involved has fitted the biggest engine allowed in that class. But why wouldn't the drivers be aware of that?

[Russ]

There were some 1.6 ZRs built for rallying, not sure of the spec or the exact class but is was something to do with some 1600 class in rallying a few years back

[Guest]

There were IIRC a couple of unfinished 1.6 "Specials" in the cars that where sold off at Sport and racing after the collapse.

[matthewsemple]

These two 51- and 52-plate cars are not rally specials that were sold off after the collapse. That is not a likely explanation for these cars