Motoscape 2013: Day 1, St Omer

WOW! What a start to Motoscape 2013! Definitely the best bangers and fancy dress outfits we have ever seen, which made yesterday a great start to what is going to be a brilliant week. Registration opened at mid-day and as the teams arrived one by one, there was a great buzz of excitement going round as everyone admired the bangers coming in to dock! The sun was shining and the variety of cars and creativity made a fantastic spectacle!

As well as the registration process there was a few extra twists to this years rally. Ian and Chris from team ‘Make a Wish’ were raising money with a selection of drinks on offer in exchange for a donation to Motoscape’s nominated charity Make a Wish Foundation. John, Steven, Patrick and Gregg from West Lothian College ran a tyre changing competition; again for Make a Wish Foundation and in total over £300 was raised, a great effort!

Each year the most talked about subject on the first day is who will win the coveted title of Banger of the Year! Well this year, the cars were so good 1st place was a tie! Take a look at the winners below along with pics…

1st Place: Cunning Stunts – Ford Galaxy, The TANK!
1st Place: Banger to the Future – VW Scirroco, Back to the Future Delorean Car
2nd Place: West Lothian College – Nissan Bluebird, Egyptian Pyramid Car
3rd Place: Not Another Rover – Rover, Super Mario Kart Car

A mention must go to the teams who’s bangers came close to finishing in the top 3, these are: Venice Bound Birds (Pink Volvo 850) – great paint job, Rebel Alliance (Sliver Peguout 306) – very creative, Dr Rally Team (Black Toyota Carina with extra guns!) – well thought out theme, Hazardous Wasters (Toxic Mercedes C180) – impressive paint and accessories, Missing Lincs (Green Volvo 850) – fantastic theme and fancy dress, Scuderia Smutty (Multi-coloured MG MGF) – wow how long did that sticker design take, and Three Massive Heads (Super Mario Graffiti Mercedes 180) – perfection in paint! All in all a fantastic effort by every single team! When you see these fantastically designed creations rock up on the first day, it just makes all the preparation in the 51 weeks leading up to the start of the rally, well worth while.

Take a look at all of this years cars below:

There were a few teams that had car trouble on the first day. The Three Amigos broke down getting onto the ferry at Dover!  Luckily they got the problem sorted and managed to get a later ferry and still arrive for registration in time. In the hotel car park, there were car problems for the Friday Nite Idea’s Mitsubishi Estate and V Rally’s Skoda Felicia. The Mitsubishi had an issue with the front brake calliper and the Skoda had an oil leak. Both cars need a bit of work but have managed to carry on for now so fingers crossed they make it to Germany tomorrow!

Geoff and Pauline from Eastcombe Bahnstormers (Geoff’s 3rd time on a Motoscape Rally!) also had some breakdown problems but not with his car!, the train crossing the channel broke down, not the best start for them but they made it in the end! Let’s keep a close eye on the cars the next few days and see if we have any casualties!

At 7pm last night all the teams gathered for the introductory briefing and the official start of the rally. After the Motoscape team went through the rally do’s and don’ts people headed for the town square in St Omer to enjoy some French cuisine and then meet in the Queen Vic for a few drinks. It was a great night enabling the teams to get to know each other and even try to explain the concept of a banger rally to the locals! A brilliant start to what will be the road trip of a lifetime!

Day 2 see’s the teams head to, Koblenz in Germany (via the Nurburgring), tune in tomorrow to see what happens next!

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