RTG1 - Flipbook - Page 29
Day 14: Delphi to Vouliagmeni, 13 October 2024
Text & photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Design: K-Design
They made it! Gathered around the winning Porsche of Clint Smith and Martin Jones
With their Porsche, clint Smith and Martin Jones held the
lead from day three without taking anything for granted.
Similarly, Shane Houlihan and andrew Boland had endured
the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard for more
than a week, now they felt they were on the home run.
after neatly sidestepping the athens traffic, the crews
took the chequered flag in, an almost on the beach, Divani
apollon Palace & Thalasso, where the celebrations began
immediately with a glass of chilled ouzo before the cars
were consigned to the garage and the crews headed to the
bar.
Scrubbed up and refreshed, it was time for the prizegiving
dinner, silverware and speeches. In addition to the overall
class and category winners, a couple of discretionary awards
were given. The Spirit of the Rally went to Peter Spak and lisa
Snell, who had thrown themselves into everything they faced,
embraced the enjoyment of the event, and worked through
all of the challenges. The against all Odds “fixing stick” was
presented to David and Jo Roberts for nursing their wheel
bearing, brakes, and gearbox mountings to the finish.
clint Smith was delighted to have won a RtG event for the
first time. They’d “come to the rally with no expectations
to do well. It’s our first win, and it’s great. I’ve been trying
for a long time! The pressure built as the days went by
and yesterday was tough, but remarkably we managed to
hold it together. We were reasonably quick on the Tests
and reasonably accurate with our navigation. It’s been an
amazing event, and I’d like to thank the RtG team…”.
Martin Jones agreed, “It’s my fifth rally with clint, and
I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been tough, but we’ve
enjoyed ourselves, and the win is just a bonus. Thanks to
the RtG team”.
Sliding to a win Shane Houlihan and Andrew Boland’s Ford
Shane Houlihan conceded “I’m only here because
andrews’s wife, a great navigator and better-looking than
me, couldn’t make it. We thought we’d be at a disadvantage
to the other crews because we had two drivers in the car
and no navigator. andrew has been brilliant though. He’s
risen to the challenge of what was undoubtedly a tough
job. It’s been a steep learning curve for both of us and we
made a few rookie errors, which cost us a little time. It’s
been a huge challenge, but we’re delighted to have won
the event.”
andrew Boland was also pleased with the result “It’s our
first time together and my first time as a navigator, but
Shane’s been a great driver. Yes, I found the navigation
difficult at times, but somehow I managed it and it’s great
to get the win. We saw some fantastic scenery and got
through some awful weather, but the route was superb, so
hats off to the organisers for putting it all together. It’s
been a wonderful experience. We enjoyed the journey, and
we laughed every day”.
RtG’s route planner anthony Preston explained “We
wanted to build on the success of the 2022 Ypres to
Istanbul Challenge, with a slightly shorter event that
showcased the best that this part of the world can offer
and test the competitors against it. We spent more than a
month recceing the route through seven countries, and I’m
delighted that it’s been so well received.”
Mark appleton echoed this “Yes, it’s been tough, but it’s
also been a lot of fun. That’s what we set out to do, and
it’s great that everyone has risen to the challenge, whether
against the clock, the landscape or the weather. The whole
RtG team has worked really hard on this event, and it’s
great to see that it’s been so well appreciated”.
www.rallytheglobe.com
