Intrepid characters take on challenge of 14,500 km Peking to Paris Rally

27 February 2025 rmedcalf SPORTS 0

_{The 1924 three-litre Bentley being driven from Beijing to Paris}

Former policeman David Hughes, a regular visitor to Sai Kung, will take part in the Peking to Paris historic car rally in May in his 1924 three-litre Bentley. His co-driver is Kevin Chorane. Both of these intrepid characters are 75.

This event, not for the faint hearted, takes 37 days over 14,500km across 12 countries. It is one of the last great adventures on a shrinking planet. The rally starts at the Great Wall of China, proceeds across China to Inner Mongolia, then Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan over tough tracks in Georgia and Turkey, then comes Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and finally France.

David is an experienced rally driver who competes in rallies in alternate years. He has even done a round-the-world rally taking 80 days. Asked about danger going though some countries, David said, “The main danger comes from other competitors driving irresponsibly.” The key to successful rallying, David said, “is planning ahead, appreciating what’s coming up”. They have to be careful, for example he and Kevin will not eat the same food.

_{The route of the 2025 Rally}

David’s Bentley, which has a Le Mans body, has built-in redundancy, dual systems like an aircraft. In rallying competitors must do precision driving, at required speeds, arriving at checkpoints on time, otherwise they will lose points.

Here’s how Tomas de Vargas Machuca, chairman of organiser Hero-Era, describes the May event: “The P2P is a life-changing event that includes everything from the adventure element, the cultural dynamics, driving and mechanical skills and the utter determination to reach Paris by all.” He said the event builds real camaraderie between competitors who come from all over the world “looking for the ultimate motor challenge.”

The original challenge in 1907 was issued by the French newspaper Le Matin. It challenged motorists to drive their new-fangled machines across the world’s largest land mass. Despite the French origin no French contestant has ever won the Peking to Paris rally. The original route went through Russia, but that changed in 2019.