12in12 Rally Part 2 – The Main Event
The 12in12 Rally takes you deep into the mountains. 1/100s 55mm F5.6 ISO 100.
Being the shoulder season in September it wasn’t necessary to be up and out at 4am like the previous rally in June, but we were still all up to start leaving at 7am. The cars were staggered in stages depending on the car’s power and the madman behind the wheel, with the aim to have everyone arrive at the end destination at roughly the same time. Despite going out in the middle of the pack there was no chance of a lie in as Tony wanted me to take photos of the first cars leaving before I jumped back in the car with Aaron. The difficulty here was that I as the navigator had no chance to actually look at the map before we started. However, the route wasn’t difficult to find with the map we were given, and the paper maps Aaron had bought for this trip. Like the Hannibal Rally we had checkpoints we had to pass through but at least this time we only needed a photo to prove it. No more rummaging through bins.
The Triumph TR6 was another late arrival that looked great next to its saloon brethren. 1/50s 33mm F4.0 ISO 4000.
The cars went out on a staggered start. 1/200s 70mm F4.0 ISO 4000.
The Italians arrive. 1/200s 28.5mm F4.0 ISO 3200.
A Fiat Ritmo Abarth in the capable hands of former rally driver Piergiorgio Deila. 1/200s 64mm F4.0 ISO 3200.
The MGF started in the latter half of the pack. 1/320s 24mm F5.6 ISO 400.
The first part was pretty straight forward as we drove through a short mountain pass and onto a series of mountain towns. It was at the former we encountered perhaps the feistiest competitor of the day: an Italian ex-rally driver armed with a Fiat Ritmo Abarth. He’d been told to look after it as he wasn’t actually the owner, but the smell of his brakes said otherwise. However, it was during this first stint that things were already starting to go wrong. Despite Aaron replacing his alternator and then having it be rebuilt, that wasn’t enough to appease the car gods as he could see his battery warning light flicking on at high revs. The car was otherwise driving fine, and the battery did seem to be charging below 4000rpm, but it added an unnecessary layer of stress early in the day.
I can almost still smell the Ritmo’s brakes now. 1/320s 70mm F5.6 ISO 400.
It didn’t take us long to be back in the Italian mountains. 1/320s 37mm F5.6 ISO 125.
The Porsche 914 broke down on the mountain road up Colle Valcovera. It needed some muscle power to clear it out the way. 1/320s 37mm F5.6 ISO 125.
The view out from Colle Valcovera. 1/320s 24mm F5.6 ISO 125.
It quickly became apparent that we weren’t the only ones with alternator issues. As we drove up Colle Valcovera, we encountered the Porsche 914 who was blocking the road, having come to a complete standstill and unable to restart his engine. Using a bit of muscle power, we managed to push to up the mountain to the next clearing before we could carry on driving the narrow Italian passes as they pondered what to do next. Tony had given a warning of a particular section of road that was especially nasty on the descent and, despite Aaron’s mostly careful driving this next section, yielded yet more problems. With a loud crash we hit a rock on the underside and almost immediately I could smell something. Killing the engine, we stopped the car in the road and saw a coolant pipe had been knocked out and had proceeded to leak profusely. Thankfully it wasn’t damaged, and whilst Aaron put in back in place and refilled the coolant from the 5L bottle of water in the boot, I ran up the road to forewarn the Alfa Romeo SZ and the now-running-again Porsche 914 to take it extra slow over this section.
Hitting a bad bit of road knocked out a coolant pipe that required some emergency action from Aaron. 1/200s 24mm F5.6 ISO 1250.
The bit we hit was polished by the cars that had scraped along it. 1/200s 48mm F5.6 ISO 400.
After some forewarning the SZ and a now working 914 carry along the mountain pass. 1/200s 43mm F5.6 ISO 250.
It wasn’t long until the Triumph 2500 PI zoomed on by. 1/200s 28mm F5.6 ISO 250.
An indicator had also become shaken loose, but this was an easy fix with duct tape. 1/320s 26.5mm F5.6 ISO 250.
The car back in running order, we continued to the next town where we could stop to inspect the car again to be on the safe side, as well as refill our bottle of water in case of any other mishaps. That led us on to the next set of passes before we approached Colle dell’Agnello from the opposite direction from day three, to head back into France and make our way to the lunch stop. The wider, better paved roads do make all the difference so we didn’t need to worry about damaging the underneath of the car, but unfortunately for Aaron he had to take the driving a bit easier than he would have liked due to the ongoing issues with the alternator. There was still plenty of fun to be had however and we made sure to stop periodically to check the car as well as take photos for the magazine.
There wasn’t a lot of time to stop but there was plenty to appreciate on the journey. 1/320s 25.5mm F5.6 ISO 100.
Arriving back at Colle dell’Agnello to head into France. 1/320s 36mm F5.6 ISO 100.
Another convenient stopping point for photos. 1/320s 30mm F5.6 ISO 250.
Aaron consults the maps to make sure we are still on route. 1/320s 38mm F5.6 ISO 100.
The enforced one hour lunch break gave everyone a time to catch-up and get some much needed rest. 1/320s 58mm F5.6 ISO 1000.
We arrived for lunch in good time, but it was clear that many people weren’t. The Porsche 914 had broken down again and many of the other Italian drivers had decided to quit the rally out of solidarity, staying with him instead of carrying on. That Ritmo with an ex-rally driver behind the wheel? Well, he’d taken a wrong turning somewhere and just kept going off on his own route. Finally, the Trident Ventura had made it close to the Italian/French border, but a serious set of issues saw it spend the rest of the day on a flatbed truck back to the hotel. It really did feel like a proper endurance race at this point, and I won’t lie it was thrilling despite the prospect that we could join them before the day was done. Still, the MGF was holding up well and Aaron had a chance to give a more thorough once over once we’d tucked into our lasagna and tiramisu. Lunch was an enforced one-hour break, with anyone leaving early suffering a time penalty. During the lull I got a chance to explore a bit of the local landscape, before watching a huge procession of classic trucks go by in large numbers one-by-one on the main road. I’m not sure why they were there but there must have been another event going on.
The monstrous Peugeot SUV that John had to drive following his crash in the SL. 1/320s 70mm F5.6 ISO 250.
Aaron checks over the MGF before we set off again. 1/160s 36mm F5.6 ISO 250.
With their MGB not ready for the rally Thomas and Sven came in their BMW Z4. 1/160s 70mm F5.6 ISO 250.
The area near Jausiers made a great place to relax for an hour. 1/160s 24mm F5.6 ISO 150.
A whole parade of classic trucks came by whilst we were on our lunch break. 1/160s 70mm F5.6 ISO 125.
The Lancia Beta HPE Volumex arrived with the Audi A1 for lunch. 1/160s 70mm F5.6 ISO 100.
Slowly but surely the Caterham became more and more mud splattered. 1/160s 47mm F5.6 ISO 100.
Time to carry on and our next photo stop was to be Cime De La Bonette. This was the highest point on the rally with the road sitting at 2,802m above sea level and the summit at 2,862m. Sensing an opportunity I grabbed my camera gear and dashed up the stony path to the top in order to get a photo of the car with a mountainous backdrop as well as experience the view at the top. What a view it was; It’s easily the most stunning vista I have ever seen. Slightly staggered and out of breath, I was in awe of the 360° views of the Alps that surrounded me. To top it off I had the massive wings of Griffon vultures soaring the thermals above me. I can scarcely even imagine the views they must have had. If you make it to this part of the Alps, you must visit here. You won’t regret it.
The Z4 handled the mountains roads with ease. 1/100s 27mm F5.6 ISO 100.
The Cime de la Bonette monument. 1/200s 38mm F5.6 ISO 100.
One of the breathtaking views from the top of Cime de la Bonette. 1/200s 32.5mm F5.6 ISO 100 two photo panoramic.
The greatest view I have ever seen and not one I could do justice with a single photo. 1/200s 25mm F5.6 ISO 100 two photo panoramic.
Griffon vultures were soaring the skies over the Alps. What a view they must have. 1/640s 200mm F4.0 ISO 250.
My summit dash had cost us some time, so we jumped back into the car and zipped through to the final major pass that would take us back over into Italy – Colle della Lombarda. The best had been saved to last. The road was incredible, with its mixture of bends, switchbacks, and just stunning views of the surrounding mountains. My jaw almost hit the floor when we turned a corner and saw the road snaking through the open valley ahead of us. There was no question about stopping for a photograph, we weren’t going to get a better setting all trip. Aaron rates this as the best road he’s ever driven and even being unable to have the MGF at full chat, it was a riot.
Approaching Colle della Lombarda. 1/200s 31mm F5.6 ISO 160.
Despite the problems with the cars alternator Aaron was still able to take the corners at speed. 1/50s 14mm F6.3 ISO 320.
Colle della Lombarda is by far the greatest road that Aaron and I had driven on. It’s really not hard to see why. 1/160s 85mm F5.6 ISO 500.
As we approached our final waypoint the sun was beginning to set. 1/50s 25.5mm F5.6 ISO 200.
The end was near; all we had left to do was to visit the Madonna del Colletto church which we had skipped on the out leg before we could head onto the finish point. It was perfect timing really with us arriving there as the sun was starting to set. We’d done it, despite issues with the car we’d managed eighteen out of twenty-one passes on our very first attempt. Tired but satisfied we headed back to Costigliole Saluzzo, where we arrived after dark, and could then breathe a tired sigh of relief. The car had been getting worse as the day wore on and by the end the battery warning light was coming on at anything over 2000rpm, but at least the drive back to the hotel was now less than a mile away. We’d even managed the entire day without a single fill up, quite the achievement in comparison to everyone else.
Completing our final mountain pass at the Madonna del Colletto church. 1/60s 36mm F5.6 ISO 500.
The sun was truly setting at this point as we were about to head to the finish point. 1/60s 37mm F5.6 ISO 250.
The car will definitely need a good clean when it gets back to the UK. 1/125s 62mm F5.6 ISO 500.
I’ll be honest I was too tired to really eat anything, but everyone was in good spirits and at least we didn’t have the never-ending belt issues the Lancia Beta HPE Volumex had suffered. It would have been a real pain to have to stop every twenty or so miles to put that back on. We laughed, drank, and ate the evening away, with Tony having organised Italian car designer Enrico Fumia to be the guest of honour and hand out the awards for both the Hannibal rally & the 12in12. In addition, every participant was given a signed copy of his design for part of the original Lancia Ypilson. I’ll take that over any medal.
We managed to complete the entire day on a single tank of fuel. 1/60s 45mm F4.0 ISO 4000.
The day was capped off with a group meal complete with plenty of beer. 1/60s 30.5mm F4.0 ISO 1000.
Italian car designer Enrico Fumia was there to hand out the awards as the guest of honour. 1/60s 47mm F4.0 ISO 1000.
We headed back to our hotel room exhausted, and amazingly for us this was only the mid-point for our trip. We still had plenty of driving ahead of us but before all that the MGFs alternator needed to be addressed, we weren’t going to be getting home as it was. What happened next? Well, you will have to read the third and final blog next week.
Aaron and I receiving our awards. 1/125s 41mm F4.0 ISO 3200.
Even the boobie prizes were well received. 1/125s 42mm F4.5 ISO 3200.
With special thanks to Tony Calo for organising. You can find out more about the 12in12 Rally by visiting https://12in12en.mystrikingly.com/ or by e-mailing him at 50passesin5@gmail.com. Also don’t forget to check out the latest issues of MG Enthusiast and Auto Italia to get both Aaron and Chris Rees’ perspective on the event, which you can find at https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/issue/MGE and https://auto-italia.co.uk/latestissue.asp respectively.
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