Just like on the original trial 100 years ago, the 2013 Centenary Alpine Trial was distinguished by a very interesting set of participants, some extremely challenging driving, wonderful scenery, glorious weather and a sense of tremendous achievement by both the participants and their cars. In addition we had the attention of three British Ambassadors, a Duke, a Prince and Countess from Great Britain and finally an Austrian Count and Countess to round things off.
Participants started to arrive on Wednesday 12 June some having driven from England, while others shipped their cars and flew in. However they came, on arrival, the Intercontinental Hotel in Vienna made sure that a little chocolate covered Spirit of Ecstacy was waiting for them in their room.
Proceedings started with a very pleasant reception given by the British Ambassador to Austria who gave us a reception and lunch at her residence in aid of promoting the Great Britain campaign. The Ambassador sent us on our way with a very amusing speech linking the British engineering excellence of our cars with the British eccentricity of driving 100 year old cars for 1800 miles around the Alps!
Forty Seven Silver Ghosts dating from 1909 to 1926 were flagged away in glorious sunshine by the Margrave Pallavacini, whose great grandfather had presided over the original event 100 years previously. The start was from The Kursalon in the centre of Vienna, less than 100 metres from the headquarters of the Austrian Automobile Club that had organised the original event.
The first week through Austria to Italy 14th to 20th June.
The first day’s run was relatively easy with a climb of the Semmering pass and two minor passes to climb. All the cars ran relatively well, climbing the passes strongly with no signs of boiling, although this was to change later in some cases.
However two problems soon became apparent that were to continue throughout the tour. The first was the old problem of beaded edge tyres. As has been shown on many previous challenging events these tyres are just not able to withstand the pressures that modern conditions create and within fifty miles cars were experiencing blow outs. Fortunately for the drivers, P&A Wood had provided two mechanics to assist with any mechanical problems on tour, and for the first few days they spent endless hours changing beaded edge tyres.
In some cases the problems were caused by poor fitting, but even after correcting this there were still problems, particularly on the rear wheels. A lesson for the future is that we should seriously consider banning the use of beaded edge tyres on the rear wheels of Silver Ghosts going on demanding tours because of the dangers caused by their very limited capabilities.
The second problem was completely different. The organisers had decided to try to simplify the very complex navigational challenge experienced in 1993, by pre-loading the route instructions on to the latest Sat Nav system available. When it worked, it was great as it gave the driver early warning of every twist and turn of the route which invariably followed the minor country roads used 100 years ago. Sadly however the new Sat Nav were too clever for themselves and were constantly trying to improve on the planned route by taking short cuts or quicker routes or using the Autobahn. Unfortunately it took three days before the source of the problem was traced to a software fault and so half way round the original Sat Navs were replaced with a simpler version which worked rather better. However in some cases this took more current than the 100 year old electrical circuits could provide and so failed. This was a great disappointment but fortunately the backup system of a very clear route book helped get people round without too much difficulty. The Sat Navs were a good idea but some significant software changes and further testing are needed before the system can be depended upon 100% in future.
Apart from these two problems the cars proved remarkably trouble free although it became apparent that some had not been as thoroughly prepared as they should have been. Quite a lot of work was therefore required by P&A Wood on magnetos and ignition systems as well as carburetion to get the cars to go as well as they should. Other minor shake down problems were solved and as a result many cars ran better as the tour progressed. At the end of the first day we all arrived at the first of many wonderful hotels, in this case an old monastery.
The next day we set off with warnings that the route might be flooded as the previous week the whole northern region of Austria had been subject to really heavy rain. Although the river Danube was incredibly full, the roads were passable and we had a really beautiful drive along the banks until, yes, the road was closed! Fortunately the diversion involved a spectacular climb up the hills beside river and then down a series of brilliant hairpins before we rejoined the route.
The second surprise of the day was equally pleasant. Through the bush telegraph and emails one of the organisers had been contacted by some Rolls-Royce enthusiasts who persuaded us to go to the opening of a private motor museum dedicated to the cars designed by Ferdinand Porsche. This museum was built and owned by the eldest member of the Piech family, Ing Ernst Piech who’s uncle was Ferdinand Porsche. Ernst Piech proved to be an incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable gentleman who was delighted we had brought so many Silver Ghosts to his opening ceremony and then showed us his key exhibits in great detail. The most exciting was an Austro Daimler Alpine car which had subsequently been fitted with half of an aero engine from the Great War.
This car showed that the German and Austrian cars in the Trial were much closer to racing cars of the period than they were to large touring cars like the Silver Ghost.
Our next day was a rest day in the comfort of Salzburg, where in the evening we had a fantastic evening in the Bishops palace, the Schloss Helbrunn.
After a wonderful multicourse meal we were entertained by the many extraordinary water features in the garden before the evenings balmy summer’s evening turned into thunderstorm with a mad dash to our open cars to get back to the underground car park!.
After a good night’s rest we set off in glorious sunshine again through the Pass Lueg and the Radstadter Tauern Pass before going onto climb the notorious Katschberg Pass.
The Katschberg Pass was the pass on which James Radley, in his highly geared London to Edinburgh tourer had failed to proceed in 1912 and his passengers had to dismount before he could reach the summit. In the ensuing 100 years the road has been regraded and although still a long 15% climb it does not have the 28% incline at the very summit that it had in 1912. Everyone climbed the hill easily although because of the heat some cars had their bonnets strapped open to keep the engines cooler. That evening we arrived at another wonderful hotel in Lienz next to a rushing torrent of water running alongside the terrace where many a cooling drink was had.
The next day included some more surprises. The first was an alternative route suggested by some Austrian members. This proved to be a wondrous road clinging to the side of the valley and then climbing to some beautiful open pastures with glorious views of the valley below. The recent rains had resulted in significant repairs being carried out but fortunately we were allowed through and enjoyed a wonderful run.
Later in the day we climbed the Brenner Pass before dropping down to Innsbruck. Here the road was closed and for once the only available route was via the motorway. This resulted in Silver Ghosts being seen going in all directions as they navigated the complex junctions outside Innsbruck.
Finally they all found their way west to the Interalpen Hotel Tyrol to the west of Innsbruck. This had been a late change of hotel which we had not managed to recce beforehand. The hotel was simply staggering, but the approach on a very hot afternoon proved to be a major challenge for the crews and their occupants as they ground up to the hotel a thousand metres above the valley floor. However all was soon forgiven as the cars were received in a wonderful wood panelled unloading area in the entrance to the underground garage. The rooms all had simply stunning views of massive alpine peaks whichever direction one faced. As with the previous nights hotel the food was excellent and many asked if they could just skip the next few days and stay on and enjoy the scenery and food.
Week Two into Italy and on into Slovenia and Croatia
Fortunately no one did since on the next day we travelled south to the foot of the magnificent Stelvio Pass which was one of the two most challenging drives of the tour. Throughout the tour we had been accompanied by the Rolls-Royce Works Team consisting of a member and his wife in their 1913 Silver Ghost that had been driven by James Radley in the original 1913 Trial.
They were accompanied by a Special Alpine edition of the current Ghost, painted in exactly the same colour scheme as the 1913 team cars with black wheels and radiator, Aluminium bonnet and pale greyish blue bodywork. Now we were joined by the Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, Torsten Müller Ötvös. The next morning he was driven up the Stelvio pass in a member’s 1911 Silver Ghost.
Much to his credit, Nick managed to get round every one of the 48 hairpins to the top of the pass without having to back-up on any of them. At the top they joined a number of other Silver Ghost for a champagne breakfast before setting off down the still unmade road down through Switzerland. There followed a very interesting and challenging days drive through the vineyards and olive groves down the valley into Italy and a night in Trento. Here we were joined for the next two days by our president the Duke of Gloucester who joined us on a private visit. Those who ventured into the old part of the town that evening found themselves in a carnival atmosphere of music and light in this wonderful medieval town.
The next day the carnival atmosphere continued with a gentle drive down to Riva del Garda, followed by a glorious boat trip on the lake to two nearby villages. Meantime in Riva we were joined by members of the RREC who had just started their Alpine Celebration Tour. Altogether over 80 Silver Ghosts were assembled in the car park, proving an entrancing sight for everyone present. Our President, the Duke of Gloucester was particularly interested and probably photographed every single car there for his collection. In the process he displayed a remarkable knowledge of the wide range of coachbuilders involved.
That evening Rolls-Royce Motor cars hosted a reception and dinner for us in the lovely gardens on the edge of the Lake followed by a wonderful fireworks display. Our Chairman welcomed Torsten Müller Ötvös and Rolls-Royce’s participation in the event and Torsten then made an extremely complimentary speech in return praising the club for its imagination in creating such a wonderful event and complimenting us on the meticulous execution of the tour. He had also greatly enjoyed his journey up the Stelvio Pass in a Rolls-Royce which was over 100 years old.
The next day we all set off on the great Dolomite route which took us back into Austria over some of the most spectacular and beautiful passes of the whole tour. The Duke of Gloucester accompanied some members in their 1912 Silver Ghost and quickly learnt the mysteries of the fuel system as he kept a watchful eye on the fuel pressure gauge and pumped vigorously should it ever fall below 0.5psi. After an enjoyable lunch in Moena he and his aide were whisked away to the airport in a modern Ghost courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
It was at this half way point that it became apparent that we were carrying four casualties with us. Two of these were London to Edinburgh cars suffering most un-Ghost like maladies. The first was suffering from what was believed to be big end trouble, resulting in the engine making most unpleasant knocking noises and so it was returned to Vienna on a transporter. The second was equally unusual in that the joint within the great sphere was breaking up. Under light load it could be driven in first and second gears and in this manner it was subsequently nursed very carefully all the way back to Vienna.
Of the other two cars, one suffered another rather odd malady. The car had been in storage for many years before being recommissioned in 2010. Possibly on account of the long lay up the central core plug in the head of the cylinder block had corroded through letting water escape with much attendant steam from the exhaust. Not surprisingly this could not be fixed on the road and the car had to be retired.
The fourth car suffered an accident when, through no fault of its own, it was rear ended by a young driver in an Audi. Fortunately it was the only car to have an accident despite the many lunatic motorcyclists and extreme number of blind bends encountered on the route.
On a Silver Ghost the tank is very exposed, right at the rear of the chassis and following the collision the tank duly leaked its contents out onto the road. Fortunately nothing caught fire and otherwise the car was unharmed. The police recognised the young Austrian was at fault and the Ghost made it to safety in a nearby garage forecourt. P&A Wood were called to the scene and with great ingenuity rigged up two large plastic petrol containers linked to an electric petrol pump. With these in place the driver and his co driver continued, absolutely determined to complete all the rest of the tour.
On this first day on the Dolomite Route we climbed the 1616m high Broccone Pass with magnificent views before climbing the Rolle Pass with 29 Hairpins up to the top of the Pass at 1984m. The beauty of this pass was augmented by the wonderful sunny day giving a wonderful view of the highest mountain in the Dolomites, The Cmon della Pal, and (the Matterhorn of The Dolomites) rearing 1200m above the road. In Moena, the half way point we spent a relaxed evening in three delightful hotels, that each made us warmly welcome.
The next day we climbed the even higher Pordoi Pass, 2239m, the highest pass on the original route with 27 hairpins on the ascent and 33 on the descent. This was followed by the equally dramatic Falzarego Pass 2117m before we dropped down to Cortina and then on to Dobbiacco. Here we passed by the Grand Hotel where in both 1913 and on the 80th Anniversary in 1993 all the cars had been parked in front of the hotel. Now it has all been developed into a training centre and so all we could do was pause and reflect on what might have been, but it was good to see the old building has been restored and put to good use.
We then had quite a fast run back into Austria, through Carinthia to Villach where we were given a special reception at the Warmbladerhoff Hotel. We had a band and more importantly representatives of the Austrian Motor Corps in their 1913 uniforms, complete with period Austro-Daimler Alpine tourer.
The next day it was due south again and over the very steep Wurzen into Slovenia before going back into Italy and over the Predl Pass before following through twisting river valleys and first World War forts down towards the Gulf of Trieste. Here we turned right in the middle of a little village and shortly found ourselves on a wonderful road high above the gulf with fabulous views all the way down into Trieste. Trieste itself is a busy tourist centre and commercial port which was once Austria’s principal port before it was handed over to the Italians in 1919. Our destination was Porteroz and a superb hotel on the Adriatic Coast.
After a leisurely breakfast on the wonderful balcony in front of the hotel we then had a lazy day’s journey into Croatia along some very minor roads before climbing over the old pass up Monte Maggiore.
On the way down we were met with a police escort that took us very carefully down and round numerous hairpins as the road gradually dropped down to the edge of the Adriatic. We were then parked on the quayside under police guard. In the evening we were joined by the British Ambassador to Croatia and we then took the Mayor and a group of officials for a parade through Opatija to a nearby fishing village.
This proved to be only the second occasion when it rained, which was a great pity as the Croatians had gone to a great effort to welcome and instead got drenched for their trouble.
The next day was a longish haul through the Slovenian countryside including a stretch of unsealed road little changed since 1913. After many twists and turns we eventually reached the wonderfully peaceful resort on Lake Bled, where president Tito used to relax during his long rule over Yugoslavia. That night there was much discussion about the next day’s challenge which was the climb of the Loibl Pass. The organisers had made a quick recce that evening and fortunately everything had survived the recent rains remarkably well and if anything the pass was in better condition than it had been for many years.
In 1913 the Loibl Pass was the most feared of all the passes as it was a real challenge to the cars. 100 years on and the pass is virtually unchanged with an unsurfaced country lane climbing up the side of the mountain past the twin obelisks at the top and then down the other side into Austria. Both sides are very steep, particularly the hairpins on the Slovenian side where the gradient is 25% or greater on the inside. Even for a Silver Ghost this is a challenge, particularly if you are driving a three speed Silver Ghost with their high bottom gear ratio.
Fortunately the day dawned fine and by 9am the camera car had climbed the hill filming everything as they went. On the steeper hairpins, the three speed car could only just make it so the riding mechanic had to jump off and run alongside. Subsequently the remaining cars which were nearly all 4 speed cars managed the climb without undue difficulty.
A very high geared 3 speed London to Edinburgh car went up absolutely flat out and went up in great style on occasion cursing the camera car on the hairpins whose traction control system was cutting the power just at the wrong moment in the middle of the hairpins! Two other valiant climbs were made, the first by the member still running on his emergency fuel system who did a dance at the top with a somewhat startled Slovenian reporter at the top he was so happy. The other was the oldest car on the event, the 1909 ‘Silver Dawn’ which slowed for penultimate hairpin and came to a halt. However with judicious use of the clutch she re-started and climbed to the finish in fine form.
After a rapid return to Lake Bled we were met with a reception laid on by the British Ambassador to Slovenia who had arranged for Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex to visit us as part of an official visit to Slovenia. Both the Prince and Countess were a delight to talk to and seemed somewhat amazed at what our 100 year old cars had managed to achieve. That evening we all repaired to the local restaurants where many were seen eating one of the local specialities, a shank of veal, which was amazingly succulent.
Final two days back to Austria
All of this jollity and good living was slightly tempered by the fact that we knew we had a 250 mile drive to do the next day. People therefore set off quite early next morning for the drive through the Loibl tunnel and then up into Austria. On the way we crossed over the steep Radlpass on what is now the eastern end of the border between Slovenia and Austrian before dropping down very steeply down to Ebiswald. After a long haul through undulating countryside we came to what was the notorious Stubalpe. In 1913 this long mountain climb had been criss-crossed with over 125 drainage channels which had to be jolted over on the ascent of the pass and then over 200 on the descent. The pass is still a long stiff climb but the cars made it without boiling despite the continuing very pleasant sunny weather.
When everyone eventually arrived at the Panhans Hotel there was a huge buzz of excitement and elation as everyone recognised that they had cracked the worst day and there was only an easy 50 mile journey left to do.
That evening there was much cheering and well wishing in the restaurant and bars in this 100 year old hotel that had been rescued from bankruptcy earlier this year. In an earlier life it had seen the height of society grace its floors in the 1920’s and 1930’s before becoming the favourite resting place for Herman Goring during the 1939-45 war
Next morning after a leisurely start we went in convoys back to Vienna to the final flagging in point from where we had started at the Kursalon in the centre of Vienna. Once again the Margrave Pallavacini flagged us in, this time accompanied by his very excited young daughter. Everyone was delighted to be home with 45 cars finishing out of the total of 47 starters. Do not ask how many beaded edge tyres were used up though, it was appalling!
That evening we all attended a wonderful reception and dinner in the Palais Pallavcini where the Margrave gave an amusing and interesting account of how his family had come to own the palace 200 years ago and how they had managed to retain it ever since.
The dinner was attended by the British Ambassador and her husband, the Margrave and his wife and by the Marketing Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Richard Carter. After coffee the awards were given out, with Rolls-Royce making some special awards. The Alpine Trophy was awarded to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for entering into the Spirit of the event and for the outstanding performance of their cars, The Steuben Trophy was awarded to Mindworks Marketing for organising the event so well.
Altogether it was a very memorable end to a very successful Tour that truly commemorated the centenary of the success of the young men who achieved such success in 1913, when they filled the first four places on every day but one and won the most prestigious individual award of all on the trial.
