the ultimate banger rally experience!
As the teams arose from a steady night in Feldkirch, today was the day we put the cars to the test, for the almighty Stelvio Pass. If you’ve visited our website or read last years blogs you know this needs no introduction. It is simply one of the greatest driving roads in Europe.
Today we were driving from Feldkirch to Ritten / Rennon in Italy which is around 220 miles. Luckily this year, the weather forecast was good and the sun was shining all the way. The teams met as usual in the morning (everyone on time today too!) for the challenges and our pep talk on taking on the Stelvio. This really puts the cars to the test, stick around to see which cars survived and which didn’t!
It was an extremely eventful day, with some teams spending a good 4 hours going up and down the Stelvio numerous times, and even taking their cars on the train through the middle of the mountains! The Arthur Ant Hill Mob couldn’t get their taxi to the top, but they managed to hitch-hike up there with some friendly tourists! The Motoscape Team also bumped into the 27 Club Trippers on our way to the top, so they followed us up there for a great photo session.
We got so many amazing photos from all the teams, some great driving shots, spectacular scenic pics and some hilarious clicks that show what the Motoscape Banger Rally spirit is all about. We know there’s a lot to look at so we’ve included them all together at the very bottom of this blog.
Other stories from the day included, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles getting an Italian army officer to pose for a very comical photo, the Bat mobile making it all the way to the top, Wrong Gears creative balloon techniques, all the amazing pics in front of the Stelvio sign and just a great bunch of laughs and fantastic memories for everyone to enjoy.
On the challenge side of things, due to a bus getting stuck on the Stelvio we extended the deadline to 8.00pm so the majority of teams could get back. Congratulations to Tribu Dei Chiahuahua who won today’s daily challenge and the £100 cash prize!
And the car side of things, the Stelvio deemed too much for more beloved bangers. Gert Lush’s Capri had some trouble back in Austria that they hoped could be sorted but unfortunately was not to be. The car was their parents from new so needs to get home! For the minute they have an hire car to complete the rally in and they are going to arrange for the Capri to make it’s way home one way or another.
Alex and the boys from Three Idiots Abroad found the Vauxhall Calibra run into cambelt trouble right at the bottom of the Stelvio. After 24 hours of desperately trying to get the right part it was confirmed this morning as another unrepairable banger casualty, but luckily (like most people this year) they had breakdown cover and now get to complete the route in one of my personal fav cars, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta!
The final team with major car trouble for the day was GP Racers. The brakes were beyond repair (in Italy anyway) so they are jumping in with GP Racers Car 2 for the rest of the route while the car gets shipped home for repair to be ready for their charity auction.
The rest of the cars are still doing really well though so it’s not all bad news!
Onto the evening and we arrived, slightly later than planned, in the town of Rennon (also known as Ritten) which is a beautiful historic town perched in the fabulous Dolomites. Many of the teams enjoyed a heavy night in the hotel bar sampling genuine Italian beers and of course various “Sherberts”.
Tomorrow we head to Bologna, which is the end of the trip for the teams on the 5 day route. They are all looking forward to the complimentary meal tonight and presentations tonight, followed by a night out in Bologna. Find out how we got on tomorrow!
