Here's an update and some shots from blog follower, Ahmet's 37 day adventure in the Peking to Paris Rally. I did a previous post on this event,
here.
These are some interesting questions that they asked along the way, things they were usually confused about throughout the Rally:
- What day of the week it was
- The city they were in when they woke up in the morning
- The time difference with Turkey
- Local currencies
- The time of sunrise and sunset
- Changing weather conditions (ranging from -14 degrees in Mongolia to 41 degrees in Uzbekistan)
Gotta ask yourself...How did they finish with their Anadol?...Read on...
They set out with the Turkish flag in hand at the Great Wall of China! They reached Daihai after a six-and-a-half hour drive!!
Before they reached the Siberian border, their car got stuck in the sand!! It took them 45 mins to dig her out !!
In all 14,400 kilometers… These vehicles are used for maximum performance in the most difficult environmental conditions (they covered thousands of kilometers on ground that can hardly be called roads, including fields!!!), and the “mechanical problems” inherent in motorsports are unfortunately inevitable sometimes…
Five minutes after they started the last 200 kilometers to Paris, Ahmet noticed something odd with the oil pressure indicator. The needle should normally indicate 40 psi, but it had exceeded even the maximum value of 100 psi!!! Ahmet along with co-driver Erdal, discussed this problem, but since the engine water temperature was normal, they decided to continue and just keep an eye on the water temperature… Needless to say, they first got the important opinion of Serdar Bostanci, the creator of "Princess", the Anadol, on the phone!!!
But in the meanwhile, they couldn't help thinking, “Oh God, what will happen next?”… Naturally, this situation troubled both of them a great deal!!! Just think, Ahmet wrote, “It was the last morning and we were in the last 200 kilometers… What if it ended with disaster instead of second place?!!!” The heat was on…
And finally, the three leading cars of all three classes, the Anadol entered Paris in a convoy and headed for “Palace Vendome,” the square where the Ritz is located!!!
They took the car under the tag, stepped inside doors of the car amid applause and celebrated the result with Ahmet waving the Turkish flag…
The two winners parked their Anadol close by and hugged friends who had come to welcome them!!! Ahmet is on the left with co-driver Erdal on the right.
At the gala dinner, photographs and a film taken throughout the rally were shown… and then they received their trophies.
The Peking-Paris Rally includes only categories based on the age of the car. Since the special stage sections, which have a direct effect on the result, are mostly full of hills, choosing the car with the most powerful engine has a "one-hundred-percent effect" on one’s final success. If Ahmet were to enter an endurance race of this kind again, he would choose a car with an engine displacement of at least three liters.
When Organization President Philip Young presented them their award during the ceremony, Ahmet reports, hearing him say “We would like to congratulate the Turkish team who won second place with a Anadol and its small engine and power of less than 100 hp.” Ahmet most certainly did feel rewarded and it was worth all the difficulties they had put up with... Because their main target was bringing their Anadol, with the smallest displacement and power in its group, to Paris without breaking her during the race…
Ahmet sent some final thoughts on the Rally.
"Winning second place made us incredibly happy, and how did we achieve this success in this challenging race?"
"Car guru Serdar Bostanci, with his team, prepared the Princes in the best possible way for us." “THANKS A MILLION SERDAR!!!”
"The support of friends made us focus and zoom in to the end result right from the beginning of the project." “SO HAPPY AND GLAD THAT WE HAVE YOU OUT THERE!!!”
"Naturally, there were times when we had heated moments in the car... We were side by side for 37 days and nights after all but we never gave up on our teamwork..."
"And the last reason is very simple!!!"
"The angels of 250 students were with us and THEY ALWAYS PROVIDED US WITH LUCK, which was essential for our success."
They collected donations for these students - what an adventure!
