Classic Cars Rally "Golden Ring"
Moscow, July 20th 2009
Last Tuesday on July 14th the International Classic
Cars Rally «Golden Ring» finished in the center of Moscow. All the
participants fought hard for the main prize - a golden watch
Legenda designed only in 6 pieces especially for the sixth edition
of the «Golden Ring» Rally.
In four days the crews from Russia, Italy, Great Britain, USA
and Switzerland passed 1211 km with 86 ability trials. This year
the route covered the territories of six Russian provinces and went
through the most picturesque towns of the Russian Golden Ring:
Uglich, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Yuriev-Polskiy,
Pereslavl-Zalessky and Sergiev Posad.
On Saturday July 11th 35 cars started from the Red
Square in Moscow. Alfa Romeo RL SS year 1925 with the starting
number one was a true star of this race, but stayed on the scene
until the other more young competitors left for the race: the
organizing committee decided to postpone the participation of this
rarity until the next year considering the specifics of driving
such a car. Another legend of world automobile manufacturing was
represented by an original Land Rover from 1949, - the crew took
part only in the first leg of the rally and finished successfully
in Yahroma Park where the 1st Stage prize-giving
ceremony took place: Teymur Aliev and Dmitriy Soloviev on Alfa
Romeo Spider, 1968 took the 1st place. Tatiana
Pankovskaya with her daughter Anna on Peugeot 203 C, 1953 were
second and the third place was also taken by the female crew - Anna
Lepetuhina and Tatiana Titova on Austin Healey 3000, 1963.
The organizers of the rally also awarded Franco Lombardi - he
was driving Fiat 124 Sport Spider, 1968 as the most experienced
driver. "The youngest participant" cup was presented to Luca
Bordogna - a co-pilot of another Fiat 600, 1962. The crew from
Switzerland Stephan Wursten and Severine Wegmuller on Volvo 242,
1978 were awarded with traditional cup given for the longest trip
to the start of the rally.
On Sunday morning the participants fully enjoyed their classic
cars on the secure roads of the testing ground of the Dmitrov
Poligon. This leg of the rally is considered to be the most
difficult and has no equivalent in the world, counting more than 20
connected ability trials.
Results of the second day showed that the best female crew was
that of the ladies on Austin Healey who took third place in overall
classification. Second place was taken by the main favorite of the
rally Alberto Bordogna and his son Luca on a Fiat 600, 1962, while
the winners of the first place from the previous day maintained
their position. The award ceremony for the second stage took place
in ancient Uglich during the dinner at the haute-cuisine restaurant
on a bank of Volga-river.
On the third day 23 crews continued the race. The others
returned to their offices in Moscow as they had registered to
participate only in the first two days of the rally due to the
extreme workload in these difficult times. However, this did not
stop them from actively supporting the running crews during the
last two days. Nikita Gudkov the Russian regularity champion sent
his GAZ 69, 1967 back to the famous Autoreview Magazine Automuseum
and followed the rally on his modern Alfa Romeo, since the average
speed of the long route from Yaroslavl to Suzdal would exceed the
capabilities of a military retro-vehicle.
Starting from Uglich the third leg of the rally went through the
national park and museum «Yaroslavlskiy Kremlin», where the
participants could appreciate the fine hospitality and spirituality
of the place, crossed Kostroma with its incredible views of the
Volga-river and stopped in the old Russian town of Ivanovo, where
the local authorities actively supported the pilots during the
competition on the Kokuy boulevard. The longest day of the rally
finished in Suzdal in Pushkarskaya Sloboda, where the participants
were greeted by representatives of local authorities with a
traditional Russian bread-and-salt and famous "medovukha" - an old
Russian honey-based light alcoholic beverage. After the dinner the
most responsible competitors were still studying the times table of
the last day. This year the organizers introduced special stages
with overlapping time values, what forced even the most experienced
participants to continue calculating the route itineraries of the
final day until early morning. Remarkably, even in the
circumstances of strong competition, the crews came together to
solve this difficult task.
The route of the last of the rally carried on through the most
picturesque landscapes of the Golden Ring - the lands around
Yuriev-Polskiy, where the vast fields spread on both sides of the
road often remind of the famous Tuscany landscapes. The warm
hospitality of this town had already become a legend of the rally,
and participants once again could appreciate the local "kvas" -
traditional Russian rye-bread drink, and the taste of ice cream, a
childhood memory. This year the local authorities took upon
themselves the full organization of secure passage of cars through
the special stages on central streets. This appeared as significant
help for the rally organizers, and allowed town residents and
guests to enjoy the unforgettable show with rare classic cars
passing under the walls of the old town.
The prize-giving ceremony took place at the theatre of the Count
Sheremetev's Summer Palace, villa-museum Ostankino. The winner of
the VI International Classic Cars Rally «Golden Ring» became
Alberto Bordogna and his son Luca. Artem Erizyan, the president of
the Watch and Jewellery Manufacturer Zolotoe Vremya, presented the
winner with the main prize - Legenda golden watch.
"I have been participating in the classic cars rallies for more
than 15 years now, and my track record is more than forty
competitions. I am happy that our crew won, especially because the
professional level of the participating crews grows year on year, -
commented Alberto Bordogna. - Equally important is the cultural
programe of the rally, - an incredible feeling you get from
visiting the old Russian towns of the Golden Ring, from seeing the
beautiful landscapes. Arrival of classic cars in these towns is
always like a public holiday for its residents."
Second place in the general classification was awarded to the
crew of Alfa Romeo Spider, 1968 piloted by Teymur Aliev and Dmitriy
Soloviev, who also won the national classification showing the best
result among the Russian crews. Third place was taken by the best
female crew Tatiana and Anna Pankovskaya on Peugeot 203 C,
1953.
The traditional cup for the "Best Debut" was awarded to Francois
and Evgenia Raulier, Alfa Romeo Guilietta, 1960: it was the first
time that they took part in the rally and showed the best results
among the newcomers. "Best Family Crew" cup was taken by Olga and
Pavel Pankovsky on VW Beetle 1300, 1970. The cup "Will to Win" was
awarded to Dmitriy and Elena Logunov on Lancia Flaminia GT, 1964.
The "Best International Crew" was rightfully presented to Fabio
Mondini and Elena Zonova on МGA Sebring, 1959.
«Golden Ring» rally is not about competing on speed, but rather
on precision of passing the mapped route: it is necessary to cover
the distances between the time control points within the certain
time, specified strictly to the second, and to cover the special
stages with precision of 1/100 of a second which was controlled by
DIGITECH equipment managed personally by Antonio Viaro. From 2009
«Golden Ring» is classified as FIVA event category "A".
"This type of competition is relatively new to our country, and
we are glad to see that each year there is a growing interest for
this noble sport,- commented Boris Bazhenin, president of Classic
Car Club. - This year the participants showed a high class in
driving especially the female crews. It is good to see that events
such as «Golden Ring» make it possible for a growing number of
people in Russia to appreciate oldtimers, to embrace the spirit of
a classic cars rally and to experience an unprecedented joy from
driving historical cars, every one of which is a masterpiece of
automobile manufacturing."
For more details about the «Golden Ring» Rally please visit our
website: www.goldenringrally.ru
