Dear Trailer
As the event approaches things are beginning to happen more and more quickly. Over the last few weeks you have been inundated with requests for endless information and forms. I’m afraid that this will continue for at least the next few weeks as we put all of the final arrangements into place. Please be patient with us - a bit of extra time filling forms in now will make the event run more smoothly and therefore be more enjoyable.
I look forward to seeing you in Birmingham on the 11/12 August. This weekend is essential for a final briefing and will also give an opportunity to ask questions and to meet all of the team. There is also the chance for you to get your vehicle scrutineered. If your vehicle passes this inspection you will have the peace of mind that it will be acceptable when you get it to Rio. If not, you will have a short time to rectify things before shipping.
Enclosures
1 Changes to Regulations for Classic Reliability Trial
Article 1.8 - Officials
| FIA Stewards | Rio de Janeiro to Lima | Stanislav Minarik |
| Rio Grande to Rio de Janeiro | Jean Claude Menut | |
| HERO Steward | Don Griffiths |
Article 4.25 - Teams
Replace entire Article with:
Teams will consist of three to five vehicles, except Prewar Teams which will be of two or three vehicles. These may be:
No competitor may be in more than one team of each type, other than prewar teams.
At least three team members (two in the case of prewar teams) must be classed as finishers for the team to be considered for awards. The results will be calculated by aggregating the penalties of the three best team members (two in the case of prewar teams). The entry fee is GBP10/USD15 for each car in the team. For each team prize, six individual trophies will be given.
Article 4.3 - Identity Badges
After taking medical advice, we have decided NOT to show blood group or any special information required by paramedics on the necklace identity badges.
2 Changes to Regulations for 4x4 Adventure Drive
Article A4.6 - Identity Badges
After taking medical advice, we have decided NOT to show blood group or any special information required by paramedics on the necklace identity badges.
3 Shipping
As I write, we are awaiting final confirmation of the shipping arrangements from Rio. I hope to be able to send details of these arrangements during next week.
4 Medical Notes and First Aid Kits
Enclosed are a set of medical notes compiled by our medical team. Please read these thoroughly and take heed of their advice. As they say in the notes, this is a highly intensive trip that is both physically and emotionally demanding. It is inevitable that at some stage during the journey everyone will have some kind of medical problem. Most will be a simple case of traveller’s diarrhoea but some may be more serious. In all cases, proper preparation may make all of the difference.
Within the notes is the specification of the first aid kit that all vehicles must carry as per Articles 3.11 and A3.2 in the Regulations. This will be checked at scrutineering. Enclosed as a separate sheet is an order form for obtaining a kit to this specification from Mike ‘Medic’ Johnson at a preferential rate. If you fax or email your order to Mike before 3 August he will deliver the kit at the Briefing Day on 11 August.
Please remember that at least one member of each crew at any one time must either have a first aid certificate issued in their own country, or have attended the special course being run by Mike on Friday 10 August. If you have not already booked for this course but wish to attend, please contact Mike urgently tel/fax 01480 810099.
5 Excursion Booking Forms
Many of the highlights of the event will be events and sights that are off the beaten trail and that cannot be planned. However, there are four additional tourist excursions that we are running in conjunction with local operators that will provide great memories and are all "must-dos" in any tourist guide.
Enclosed are booking forms for all of these organised excursions. We do ask that you get them back to us on the Briefing Day at the latest, so that we can make firm bookings with the local operators. If you respond after this, we cannot guarantee you a place.
Also enclosed is another copy of the start/finish functions booking form so that you can book extra tickets for these functions.
6 Communications
During Don and Pat Griffiths’ ongoing route survey, we have been testing a few different methods of communication. I can now report that after a few teething problems connected with dialling the handset from a landline, the Iridium satellite phone supplied by Vodafone Hire Solutions is perfoming entirely satisfactorily. Every time that Don or Pat have wanted to make a call they have been able, although calling the handset from a landline is still a little temperamental but nearly always possible after a few attempts. All of the HERO support vehicles will carry one of these units as our main form of communication as placing calls from one Iridium handset to another is simple, effective and surprisingly cheap!
Unfortunately the news is not so good regarding the cell phone roaming arrangements that we were trying to set up with Ricardo Fox in Argentina. We have constantly had problems using this system and have only once managed to place an incoming call to it. We are continuing to try to solve the problems, but cannot yet report satisfactory performance or give details of cost or delivery.
Enclosed in this pack is an information sheet and booking form from Vodafone regarding hire of satphones. If you think that you may have use for a satphone after the event, you may wish to investigate purchase of a unit, as this can be done for just over twice the cost of rental.
8 Checklist of paperwork that should have been returned by now/in the near future
That’s all for now. Expect more shipping information next week, and the final arrangements for the Briefing Days shortly after. In the meantime read everything you have and come up with some good questions for "the team" in Birmingham.
Best regards
Mark Appleton
Deputy Clerk of the Course