1 The lower Widdington BBQ Club

Peking to Paris
classic car rally 2013

Peking – Great Wall of China – Inner Mongolia – Gobi Desert – Outer Mongolia – Ulaan Baatar – Telmen Lake – Russia – Novosibirsk – Omsk – Tyumen – Samara – Ukraine – Kiev – Lviv – Slovakia – Kosice – Bratislava – Austria – Schladming – Switzerland – Gstaad – France – Troyes – Paris

In 2013 Mr Mark van Hees, form Widdington, Essex, completes the Peking to Paris car Rally
So some of us Widdington folk had a weekend in Paris to welcome him over the finish line

THE ROUTE

The 2013 Peking to Paris route travelled from China, through Mongolia, then into Russia and westwards to the Ukraine, Slovakia and Europe finish in Paris. There were be free days in Ulaan Baatar, Novosibirsk, Samara and Kiev.

From China the route passed through Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated independent country, with the Gobi Desert.
From Mongolia the route travelled through Russia, avoiding main roads and major towns and cities, and the longest stage saw competitors travelling 415 miles in a day.

No15 Drivers Bill Cleyndert(GB) / Mark van Hees(GB) Car 1929 – Ford Model A Speedster Engine size 3400

Car Arrives in Beijing

Great Wall of China

Mark at the Great Wall of China

Chinese officials going over traffic laws

The Rally starts at the great Wall of China

And they're Offfff

Wild Camping

Very Wild Camping

Day 4:
Altanshiree-Ulaanbaatar

The starting line in Altanshiree

Camel spotting in Mongolia

On the road again, well just

Day 9

Day 10:
Khyargas Lake-Üüreg Lake

Leaving the Mongolian capital of Ulaan Baatar.

Day 16: Omsk-Tyumen

Another long day of driving through Western Siberia--this time, they travelled more than 400 miles from Omsk northwestward across the rural farmlands into Tyumen Oblast. Like yesterday, the time trials had to be cancelled as a result of road damage caused by the recent rain that the area has experienced. Much of today's route took them on a tarmac road that was extremely uneven and full of potholes, making the driving and navigating particularly difficult. Rally officials reported that part of the route was across marshland where mosquitoes and other insects swarmed.

Day 19, Ufa-Samara
Racing along dirt roads on the way to Samara.

Day 26: Kiev-Lviv

Time trial on the Chaika ("Seagull") race circuit

Racing around
the Seagull Circuit

Live on Slovakia TV

Sometime you just have to push

Back on the road

Day 30: Schladming-Davos

The British #15 team in a 1929 Ford Model A Speedster on a not so easy drive through the Swiss Alps

Day 31: Davos-Gstaad

The route took them southwestward then north on narrow and steep roads across a high-altitude mountain range.

Day 32: Gstaad-Troyes

Finally, out of the cold up in the high mountain passes, the drive was through the beautiful French countryside but felt long since they are so close to the finish line in Paris.