| Rally Roundup | Classic India Rally 2013
W
e’ve bitched about
Belgium before. As
no-one complained
we assume that
MotorPunk’s readers are
in agreement: Belgium
is the obstacle to any
Brit wanting to enjoy
a roadtrip beyond our pleasant shores in their
own car. The people at Rhythm Of A Road Rallies
(ROARR) have an appealing solution. They’ll pop
your classic in a container, whisk you away by
plane and cut out the boring bits of the roadtrip.
Earlier this year fifteen cars were delivered
to Delhi where they were reunited with their
owners ready for a roadtrip through the Jewel of
the Empire: a 28 day roadtrip of 4,000km around
Gujurat and Rajasthan.
Starting from the Imperial Hotel, opened
in 1911, the year the King George V (Emperor
of India) declared New Delhi capital of India,
22 | MotorPunk October 2013
the rally runs through the Sariska National
Park and Bhangarh Fort, a deserted village
known as “the ghost town of Rajasthan”.
Indian traffic can be hellish but the rally
avoids the highways and picks it way through
the countryside, the leisurely pace suiting
both participants and their cars. A few words
on those. 2013 entrants included a trio of
late ‘60s Mercedes-Benz 280SLs, a pair of
Jaguar XK120s of a ‘50s vintage and a 1925
Lanchester. There’s a mechanic along with the
rally, ensuring that all cars run as they should
over some challenging terrain. Aside from the
somewhat patchy road surfaces, obstacles
include huge families on tiny motorbikes, cows,
and cripplingly overloaded lorries. The route
includes ancient forts and gems such as the
Garh Palace - described by Rudyard Kipling
as “the work of goblins” - and after 11 days,
crosses from Rajasthan to Gujurat.
With no breakdowns or dropouts, the rally