4:46 pm, October 12, 2013
BANGERS4BEN has begun – and as I type the pints are being poured for the participants who have successfully made it to our overnight stop.
In contrast to the five previous Bangers4BENs, today’s first leg has been a pretty leisurely affair. The day began unceremoniously at 6am (with Duncan trying to tap our car’s registration number as the post code into the satnav) to get to Porsche GB’s headquarters near Reading.
But it was worth the pain and tiredness because as we turned into the thoroughly neat and ordered car park that could only ever be owned by a German car company, the sight that greeted us cheered our hearts.
The vast majority of the 23 other teams had made it to Porsche’s HQ and they’d all gone to town on dressing their cars. There are far too many (and I’m far too tired) to list here but the two that deserve special mention are Trader Media Group’s Ford Scorpio Estate dressed up as a Lancaster bomber and a Suzuki Wagon R+ fire engine piloted by Marshall Motor Group.
But within 10 miles of leaving Porsche GB, news came through that a massive pothole had taken out the tyres of Spidernets’ Honda CR-X and at Folkstone to join the Channel Tunnel, the AA’s Suzuki Swift was receiving life-support.
Within hours, more news came through that the Swfit had died and that Merlin MOT’s classic ’60s Mercedes Fintail had given up the ghost too – but that’s yet to be properly confirmed.
Into France and through into Belgium and our 2003 Vauxhall Omega was performing very well. A slight wheel wobble at 70mph meant a steady 75mph was the order of the day, but that’s all that has really bugged us.
Actually, that’s not true. Our overnight stop is in Spa and it would seem I’ve drawn the short straw when it comes to accommodation.
I thought it strange that as Duncan and I exited the lift, he turned right down the corridor with walls painted in tasteful grey and decorated with Picassos, while I turned down a corridor mostly painted beige with Monets.
Naturally I’m in a sulk as his room is twice the size of mine and doesn’t have a TV that’s permanently tuned into a channel showing Ronnie Corbett talking about dogs.
Tomorrow we point the Omega to Germany – stay tuned to see how we get on.
See our progress on Twitter – follow Car Dealer’s editor James Batchelor, Sophie Williamson-Stothert and Duncan Chappell.
Also follow the hashtag #B4B2013.
