Motoscape Rally 2014: Day 4, Garmisch Partenkirchen to Trento

Day 4 of the Motoscape Rally is always one of the most anticipated, it’s “Mega Pass Day”! This year we improved the route so that it enabled teams to either take on the Stelvio Pass or the Timmelsjoch Pass. Today’s mileage was either a minimum of 160 miles or a maximum of 225 miles depending on which route was taken, but most teams decided to take on at least one pass to really put their cars to the test! Following the morning briefing, the teams prepared their cars, checking the essentials such as, oil water and brakes and those with greater mechanical issues were just keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

If you have been on a Motoscape Rally in the past, you know the Stelvio Pass needs no introduction. It is touted as one of the greatest driving experiences in the world.  If you think the Stelvio pass can’t be beaten though, we’d beg to differ. The Timmelsjoch Pass may not have quite as many hairpins as the Stelvio pass but at 2,509 metres, it’s a real test for any banger!

Whilst many teams attempted the Stelvio, the Motoscape Team along with B-Team, Art of Cooking, Old Timers, Bunsen & Beaker, Walnut Manoeuvre, Sing-a-long Radio, Well Spotted and Riverside Racers drove the Timmelsjoch Pass. The pass was simply amazing, there was fabulous scenery on the way up and at the top a breath-taking panorama of north and south Tyrol awaited. We also recommend trying the apple strudel at the top of the Timmelsjoch, definitely rewarding after the drive up to the top!

For the teams that took on the Stelvio, there were a few car problems (more details on this below) and we managed to get a fantastic shot of all the bangers with the bonnets up cooling down from the treacherous hairpin bends. We received many amazing photos from all the teams on the passes, a brilliant effort guys and gals! There are spectacular scenic photos, some hilarious snaps in front of the signs and some creative photos from our challenge with Monty, the Motoscape Mascot, that show what the Motoscape Banger Rally spirit is all about. Take a look at all the photographs from the 2014 Mega Pass Day at the end of the blog.

There was also plenty of none driving related adventure during the day. The Ladlords team went to Area 47 in the Oetztal valley, the largest outdoor adventure park in Europe. The park consists of a bathing lake, waterslide park and climbing wall. The even took “Monty” on the waterslide!

Before heading to the passes the guys from Scoobytastic and Suffolk Mafia headed to the Alpine Coaster in Oberammergau, a 2,600m long slide through the picturesque mountain setting, they said it was an awesome ride and highly recommend it to next year’s teams!

It’s not just all driving on the Motoscape Rally, the routes enable teams to do a variety of different things en-route depending on particular individual interests! In fact one seasoned Motoscape team chose to drive to Hitler’s nest in Obersalzberg!

On the car side of things, the sweeping roads and Stelvio Pass itself was more than a match for some of our beloved bangers…

Before they had even begun their journey for the day, Kasper and Ian from Scoobytastic had a hire car supplied by the breakdown insurance. Their Subaru had major problems with the diff from the day before meaning there was not suitable on the tight corners of the passes.

The Suffolk Mafia’s Ford Granada Limo couldn’t handle the pass, the gear box was leaking oil and now unfortunately out of the Motoscape Rally as it can’t be repaired! The team spent the night in Switzerland and are going to try and get to Venice to continue the rally with the other teams, we will keep you updated on their progress.

Another team, another car casualty was Team Ramrods Volvo, which had a bit of a nightmare in a tunnel and lost a wheel! Luckily a local taxi driver stopped to help the guys but again the car was beyond repair. Still waiting to here an update from the team, but they are hoping to get some more transport to continue the rally!

Finally, a less serious car incident but Pete from team I’m Not a Chauffer but I’ll Drive You Crazy left his fuel cap at a petrol station (along with his house keys, tut tut) so fuel was leaking out when going up the passes. Safe to say his team mates Angela and Chloe were not impressed! To make things worse he then reversed the car into a wall, oops! At least the car is still going and they have sourced a replacement fuel cap. Specsavers could be useful?

The rest of the cars are still running although some have a few issues but with a bit of luck all can be coaxed to the end of the rally. Good luck to everyone!!

On to the challenges, it was a fantastic effort from most of the teams today. Congratulations for the second day in a row to Tommy Tankers (Prague). Things are very close at the top of the scoreboard with a tie at the top between the Tommy Tankers and the Torquay Fore. The winner of the 5-day rally and today’s daily challenges will be announced tomorrow at the Venice teams finale meal Well done to all the teams who took part, we certainly enjoyed all your photos!

During the evening teams headed into Trento, the stop off point for the day. Trento is a very attractive city and one of Italy’s wealthiest, regularly coming out top in quality of life surveys. The Motoscape organisers met some of the teams in Pedavena, a very large German/Italian affair where they brew their own beer and served a wide variety of food. Other teams relaxed in their respective hotels after a hard day tackling the mountains.

Take a look at the photos from Day 4, there are definitely some memorable ones at the top of the pass!

Day 4 was certainly a driving experience the teams will never forgot (and some cars may never recover from), but that’s just another day on the Motoscape Banger Rally!

Day 5 see’s the teams head to Noventa di Piave in Italy (via Venice and the Supercar Museums), which is the end of the trip for the teams on the 5 day route. Find out how everyone gets on tomorrow!

For latest info, news, daily updates, photos and even more visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages at the links below, remember to Like, Follow and Re-tweet!

http://www.facebook.com/MotoscapeBangerRally
http://twitter.com/BangerRally
http://instagram.com/motoscape

 

Leave a Reply