Some examples taken at random:
- Vintage steering wheel chat? Enter Darren stage left.
- Brave enough to opine that a RHD 911 driving experience might be just as good as LHD? Prepare for a telling off from James hot66.
- Belts and harnesses? Cubist, can you free yourself?
- The Targa Florio? Just try posting about it and see if 23e Heure can resist responding, normally accompanied by a photo of himself somewhere on the Piccolo Madonie circuit.
... Hang on, was that Pavlov's bell I just heard?
My first in person meeting with Mike 210bhp and Brendan Mullan was in 2006, when we camped on adjoining pitches at Maison Blanche during that summer's Le Mans Classic.
Mike was there in his RS, Brendan in his (pre-engine rebuild) T, and me in my E.
Soon after the tents had been erected and we were all sat drinking warm beer, someone wandered over with a copy of the latest 911&PW.
The mag was new out, and I was chuffed to learn that it featured a 2 page article about a recent trip in the E, to attend the Targa Florio Centenary.
A month before Le Mans Classic I had driven from London to Sicily with my dad as co-driver, and flew my mum and my (now) wife out to Palermo ahead of us.
That was my third pilgrimage to the island, and this time I simply had to drive all the way there in an early 911:
I wanted to emulate the tales I had read in DSJ's Continental Notes, and when better to do that than in 2006, to coincide with the centenary event?
That's when the conversation moved pretty quickly to dream road trips. Mike revealed that his RS was delivered new in 1973 to Palermo.
And that he harbored an ambition to one day take the car back 'home'.
2006 was when I first met Johnny Tipler too. It was scrutineering day for the centenary rally, and I had blagged myself and the E into the paddocks.
When popping back to the car, I overheard the official at the gate arguing with two guys in a hire car, who were waving press cards and trying to gain entry.
They were clearly british hacks in need of help, so I pointed at my car and implied in broken Italian that they were my support vehicle.
Within short order Johnny and Antony Fraser were thru the gates and parked next to me in the paddock.
Since those first meetings, year after year Mike has asked me "When are we going to go to Sicily together?", and Johnny has asked "When are we going back together?".
Fast forward to 2016, a decade on from the centenary, and finally all of our diaries sync so that we can make it happen
And so it is that we set off next Monday lunchtime. Mike and Brendan are taking the black RS, Johnny and I the green rep.
Following the same route as I took with my dad in 06, we overnight on Monday in Reims.
This snap was taken en route in 06, I know the grandstands look very different now, much smarter (less patina?)
We run the length of France on Tuesday morning, then east into the Alps and Chamonix. 06 again. One of my fave shots of my old E:
On then through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, south past Turin to Genoa, and finally a l o n g ferry to Palermo, arriving Wednesday evening.
We'll be staying at an agritursimo owned and run by one of the Pucci family. Antonio Pucci won the 1964 Targa in a 904, and his son Giulio finished 7th in 1973 in a 911 RSR.
Just don't mention what Giulio did in testing that year, as it might bring the other Mike back from the Ferrari forums!
The agriturismo is located right within the tight mountain roads of the Piccolo Madonie circuit, giving us easy access to have a couple of laps, take lots of snaps, and breathe in the history.
Palermo is less than an hour away too, for Mike to go look for the site of the Porsche dealership that sold his car when new.
And as a cherry on the cake, Johnny and I have been invited to participate in this year's Giro Di Sicilia. What better way to hark back to the days of Jenks...?
Drive your car the length of Europe. Once there, add some oil and adjust the tyre pressures, participate in a 3 day historic event.
And then drive the car all the way home again
Technology has come a long way since the last trip in 2006. Back then my dad navigated using an old 1983 road atlas, and my mobile phone did not get a signal in Italy.
Also a great development is the stability of the DDK servers: after our trip in 06 I posted a long thread about our adventures. Sadly at some point the thread got deleted, so I can't link to it here.
This time around we can - and shall - post a mini blog here of our travels...
In the meantime, here is a (re)post of a short film I made when I visited in 2004, an in car lap of the full circuit: https://youtu.be/8AR6yLqa-RQ
(A bit of a long post to kick off the thread: sorry, getting a bit excited now!)
