LeJog 2025 - Leg One - LeJog Back with a vengeance

Such was the ferocity of the wind and rain overnight Friday before the early morning Saturday start of LeJog, that John King’s Lotus Elan +2 had been so swamped with water that the electrics triggered the Elan’s pop up lights to continually go up and down on their own, whilst alarms from vans rang out, unable to switch off with the continual wind sway. It was the first sign that LeJog was back after two years, but with a vengeance!

This first Leg would be a series of challenges, but just to make ground on the roads, never mind the six regularities and four tests that would present their own hurdles, would be a task. From the start outside the Land’s End Hotel in the dark and whistling winds, the white sea horses could just be seen as the waves below crashed against the rocks. The winding paths around the headland was the first test of LeJog 2025, the ultimate Reliability Trial, known throughout Europe as the hardest endurance rally of its kind.

Right after the end of the test, Joggers were straight into the first regularity which was long and tricky, sometimes causing stoppages as double decker buses or farm trailers made their presence felt. As MGB driver Mark Godfrey explained; “There were two double decker buses just stopped in opposite directions having a social chat, what made it even worse was there was not one passenger to be seen on board!”

Shortly afterwards, Colin Evans and Bob Duck scraped a trailer behind a farm vehicle with a flat bed lorry jammed behind them, after he was left no room to move. Inspections and debates followed whilst regularity rally traffic building, but eventually it was resolved.  Colin said; “He just left me no room but it was only a small scrape along the trailer mudguard which was as rotten as an old apple anyway! I tried to pay but in the end I just left my details.” As one prominent member of the historic rally fraternity said at the start; “Let the madness begin!” And so it had, LeJog was back with all its twists and quirks.

As the 53 starters wound their way through the soggy and slippery lanes of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, towards Wales, there were some great driving roads to enjoy. The roads across Bodmin Moor and further north were a treat. The sun made a brief appearance but the weather soon turned to torrential rain with flooded roads and diversion starting to bite, but they were professionally dealt with by the HERO-ERA Competition Team with efficient arrowing and quick re-routing. The team had to continue their work all the way to the old Seven Bridge which was shut due to high winds!

As crews have only just scratched the surface of the major motoring odyssey that takes the many UK and  European crews all the way to John O’Groates on Tuesday without much sleep, thoughts of the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals up for grabs was far from people’s minds as they were busy dodging floods or traffic on some of the regularities. Even seven time gold medal winner on LeJog, Andy Lane was not concerned about the medal status at this stage; “Iain Tullie and I are just happy with the start so far, it has all been going well, but there is a long, long way to go!”

There are three brave Vintage car crews taking on the LeJog Reliability Trial, a 1924 Bentley 3-4 ½ Red Label Speed of Shaun Harborne and former HERO-ERA double championship winner, Alistair Leckie and a 1930 Ford Model A of Swiss Christian Dillier and Tony Brooks. The Ford at least has a roof, the Bentley a sort of hood, but the 1937 Aston Martin Speed Model 2L has no roof at all!

Driver Simon Arscott and navigator Emily Anderson got swamped at a deep ford, the water flooding inside but fortunately not drowning out the engine. Emily takes up the story; “the water came right over the top of me and down my back, however, this time I have brought three fresh sets of dry thermals with me! But at the control right after the ford manned by LeJog veterans and medallists, John Kiff and Roger Bricknell, they didn’t recognise me. They must have thought I was an alien as I was covered in mud and leaves!”

With a main control and food halt at the end of Leg One, crews took the opportunity to fuel up and check their maps and route as Leg Two was about to start with a long night in Wales due to finish in Telford at 0230 hours after three regularities and huge two hour TC Section. This could be the night of the ‘Long Knives’ as many are expected to either climb the medal order, or plumet out of the coveted medal positions. [i]It will be a tough, long night in real LeJog style.

But what does LeJog mean for some of the competitors who keep coming back for more punishment? Here is the view of Thomas Geiger a prominent German Journalist who is navigated by his fellow countryman Andreas Ignaz in their VW Golf GTi, Thomas keeps returning.

It's fascinating, because as a journalist he has written many stories about this unique event, competed in many vehicles such as an original G wagon, so how does he sum up LeJog?

Thomas; “It's just the most demanding, the most challenging classic car rally, at least in Europe, I assume in the world. All the rest is just kindergarten, it is cruising. Even Mille Miglia is a kind of posh thing with a fancy cars driving fast, but without any regularities. This is driving, it's navigation, and it's fun, and it's like a virus. Once you're caught, you always have to come back, and it's great to do it in totally different cars. That's the opportunity of being a journalist and taking whatever car somehow you can reach. So after having two very unsuitable but cool cars, now we're having the Golf GTi and hoping to get some driving fun as well. So it's not only navigation this time this time, it's also driver skills, and we're going to see how we manage!”

Thomas manages to get major media coverage in newspapers and pan-European magazines, so why does he think the readers like the event so much?

“Yeah, it is because it is so unique. They are somehow tired of all these traditional classic, or what we Europeans call traditional classic car rallies, which is just a Sunday cruise with nice people and nice lunches. They see the different approach, and it's always as if it's something new, dog bites man, nobody is interested, but man bites dog is a huge story, and this is the man bites dog story of the classic car world.”