We have now had the chance to digest and follow up the mass of information we gathered during the course of our main Route Survey earlier this year.

This was a wonderful experience, which brought me back to a lot of old places and reminded me how fabulous they are, and which took me to lots of stunning new places. I can promise you the trip of a lifetime.

Did you see the story of our journey in the Daily Telegraph Motoring section on 29 July? If you missed this, you can still catch the words (but not the pictures) here.

If you want to read more about our adventures, there's also a diary of our trip as far as Santiago on the HERO website. I still hope to finish it when I get time! We were able to take some super photos, which can also be seen on the website.

But the Route Survey was above all about the hard work of getting the details right. On the trip, we covered some 40,000km, to check not only the roads that form the 24,000km main reliability trial route, but many thousands of extra kilometres to check the 4x4 and pre-1950 variants, and to explore other routes we decided to reject for one reason or another. Everywhere we went, we made a detailed road book which fills five thick binder files.

We noted the locations of fuel stations, and the availability and prices of different kinds of fuel. We checked out control sites, and made detailed drawings of them.

At each overnight rally halt, we visited and inspected anything up to a dozen hotels, selecting the best available, negotiating prices and making pencilled bookings.

We visited the municipal authorities, who welcomed us with open arms - you'll be sure of the red carpet treatment. We sought out places to park the cars securely overnight.

We contacted local motor sport clubs, who were invariably enthusiastic and assured us of their help - in a number of cases, including the use of the local race circuit for a lap consistency test.

We have in addition made very fruitful contacts at national political level. In most countries, at least one Government minister has signed a Declaration of National Importance for the Inca Trail, and has promised their help in contacting police and highway authorities.

We have made a particular point of getting the help of Customs and Immigration departments, who are setting up fast track border crossing procedures for us. At some frontier posts, these arrangements were already working for us during our trip.

Not everything is ready yet, but the ground has been thoroughly prepared. This letter is to update you on the current situation.

Entry List

Another important piece of news is that the entry list is now practically full up. Just on 100 crews have signed up for the event - and the entry list doesn't officially close until 31 July 2001! I attach a copy of the current list.

We have managed to find some additional hotel accommodation, and are working on getting more, which should enable us to take a further five to ten cars.

From now on, we are only accepting entries on a provisional basis, their names to go on a list of applicants which will close on 31 October 2000. Soon after that date, we will select the lucky recipients of the last few places. Priority will be given (i) to crews in pre-1950 classic cars, and (ii) to later classic cars, in that order. We are not accepting further entries for 4x4s.

Latest Route and Timetable

The updated Provisional Route and Timetable Outline shows our current plans. Some of the changes given below emerged as essential from our Route Survey. In addition, we have added in some extra overnight halts and rest days, particularly in the latter part of the event.

This follows from the feedback we had from the participants who attended our Open Day on 10 June. I had become anxious about the length of some of the days, especially in the latter part of the rally. When I put this to the assembled company, there was virtually unanimous agreement that we should make things easier, even if this was at the cost of lengthening the event, and their paying for the extra hotel nights; so we have been working on this basis, with the results given below.

The main changes from the original version are as follows:

1. The start is now one day earlier, on Saturday 6 October 2001
   
   
2. There is a sightseeing day on Day Two, at Ouro Prêto; I make no apologies for giving you a day off so early in the event, to explore this wonderful old city, a World Heritage Site
   
   
3. On Day Seven, we stay in Jujuy rather than Salta. This only adds a little to this day of fast asphalt, but cuts 90km off the tough next day to Potosí
   
   
4. On Day Nine, the pre-1950 cars will stay in Potosí, to give them an easier run to La Paz the next day
   
   
5. The rest day in La Paz has been dropped, to make room for the extra night halt at Huancayo (see below); but there's a later (10:00) start on Day 11
   
   
6. Pre-1950 cars will have only one rest or sightseeing day in Cusco, to enable them to get ahead on the road; they can visit Machu Picchu on this day if they wish. They spend the night of Day 14 in Andahuaylas
   
   
7. We have added an extra night's halt (Day 16) in Huancayo - this is absorbed by dropping the La Paz rest day (see above)
   
   
8. 4x4 crews spend the night of Day 19 in Ica, not Nasca, because of limitations on hotel capacity; their desert excursion that day; and the need to stagger times for the next day's light plane flight over the Nasca Lines
   
   
9. On Day 26, we are now staying the night in Catamarca
   
   
10. On Day 27, we are now staying the night in San Juan
    
    
11. Our halfway break (Days 28 & 29) is at the superb Marbella resort and sports complex on the Pacific coast, not at Viña del Mar, where I was frankly unimpressed with the standard of accommodation and the general ambience. Marbella has full size golf courses, tennis, riding, lovely swimming pools, and great sea views. The down side of this is that it is further from major garages for anyone wishing to spend this day doing repairs. We will try and arrange for service trucks to come to the hotel.
    
    
12. Perhaps the biggest change of route is the deletion of the sea voyage from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales (former Days 30-33), through the Chilean fjords. I visited the ship, and was very disappointed at the frankly poor and seedy quality of the accommodation, and the general lack of space on board. It might have been just tolerable for one night, but not for a three day voyage, especially if the weather were to be poor - a distinct possibility in one of the world's wettest zones
    
    This turned out to be the best decision we could have taken, as the land route south, crisscrossing the Andes between Chile and Argentina, is absolutely superb: wonderful driving roads through remote areas with fabulous scenery of fjord, lake and mountain. Much more likelihood of sunshine, too!
    
    This adds a day to the total travel time, and means that we visit El Calafate and the amazing Perito Moreno glacier on the way south (and gives us more time for this trip). We also definitely now visit the stunning Torres del Paine national park - did you see the picture on the front page of the Daily Telegraph Motoring section on 29 July?
    
    Sadly, the cost of the hotels (especially the lovely luxury one at Llao Llao) is quite a bit more than we had been quoted for the sea voyage.
    
    
13. We now travel direct from Río Gallegos to Comodoro Rivadavia on Day 41, with a detour to the Petrified Forest National Park.
    
    
14. There's an extra day (Day 43) to explore the lovely and fascinating Welsh area of Patagonia. This also means we have to cover less miles the following day on our trip round the Valdés Peninsula, and have time to take a whale watch boat trip.
    
    
15. We've added a night in Argentina's premier seaside resort of Mar del Plata, to break up a very long day and give us more time at Fangio's home town of Balcarce, where the local motor club and museum committee have promised us a terrific welcome.
    
    
16. We have dropped Blumenau, which has changed dramatically (and lost much of its German character) since John Sprinzel and I discovered it on our World Cup Rally recce in 1969, and substituted the lovely island seaside resort of Florianópolis. We've also put in a rest day here, in part because our beach resort hotel is superb and it's a shame to arrive there late at night and leave first thing in the morning, and in part because the next day's run is VERY long and requires a pre-dawn departure!
    
    
17. We've added an extra overnight at Paranaguá, between Florianópolis and Guarujá, to split a day that was originally almost 900 km. This enables us to add to Day 54 a lovely Rally and 4x4 Section, on slow but smooth red earth roads through beautiful green hills and valleys, settled 100 years ago by Germans - the locals are still handsome blonds. It also means we arrive at our beachside hotel in Guarujá in time for a dip
    
    
18. The net result of all the extra days is that we now arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Day 55, the evening of Thursday 29 November.
    

Cost supplement for additional nights

As explained above, the additional nights in hotels have to be paid for. Those present on 10 June told us plainly that they would prefer the event to be relaxed in the way described above, even if this means some extra cost. The extra nights for officials also have to be covered.

We have now firmed up rates with the hotels concerned. The net effect is that we are going to have to charge a supplement of £525 per person, payable by the entry closing date of 31 July 2001.

This also includes an element for inflation (which has been high in some South American countries since we set our original price early in 1999), and for the fall in value of the pound against the US dollar, which last week stood at $1.39, as against around $1.60 a year and a half ago.

Single room supplements

We have now managed to secure limited availability of single rooms in most of our overnight halts. The supplement for single rooms will be £5,500 per 2-person crew, or £2,750 per crew member.

This does not absolutely guarantee you a single room in every location. In the event of a shortage of rooms, our first priority is to ensure that everyone has a bed of some kind.

Where one crew member requests a single room, leaving the other crew member in a room on his/her own, the supplement is payable by both. Crew members are however free to team up with room-mates from other crews, for example to avoid a third crew member having to pay the supplement.

Changes of crew

Crew members other than the nominated First Driver may be changed during the event, as permitted by the Regulations (Articles 4.4 and A4.3). The following rules will apply to all crew changes, in both categories of the event; these will be incorporated into the Regulations when next revised:

1. The full details of intended crew changes must be supplied to the organisers by the closing date for entries, on a special form which will be sent to you on request. These must include personal details of all incoming crew members; and the point of change-over
   
   
2. At the point of change-over, incoming crew members must sign on at the time and place stipulated, and outgoing crew members must sign off
   
   
3. On the Reliability Trial, awards for performance over the whole event will not be made to crew members who do not cover the full route; they will however be eligible for awards for any part of the event which they do cover
   
   
4. All crew members on both events will receive a full set of apparel and other event items, including a copy of the souvenir book
   
   
5. To cover these items and administrative costs, including the additional personal and medical insurance premium, a charge of £250 will be made for each new crew member replacing an existing crew member at a change-over
   
   
6. In the case where an extra crew member (not replacing a previous one) joins the event, the normal entry fee(£5,000 plus £525 supplement - see above) will be payable; this may be reduced pro rata to the number of days applicable
   
   
7. On the Reliability Trial, up to four crew changes per seat (apart from the First Driver) are now permitted
   
   

We have been asked if the First Driver can be changed. Unfortunately we cannot permit this, as it is necessary for one person to have legal and fiscal responsibility for the vehicle throughout the event, and particularly at each frontier crossing, for customs purposes.

Part event entries

Because of the demand for places for the full event, we will not be allowing crews to enter for part of the route only, as foreseen in Articles 2.13 and A2.15. These Articles are therefore annulled.

Shipping costs

As many participants already know, unfortunately, our shipping agents' original ball park figures to us were some way adrift, and even the amounts quoted to us on 10 June did not include all elements. By the time all handling and customs charges at Rio are taken into account, you are now advised to budget for a round trip cost of £3,000 per vehicle. Our current fact sheet is attached.

Mobile telephones

We have been researching the availability of network coverage for mobile telephones in South America. Generally coverage is good, even in rural areas, and the networks are improving their services all the time. However the main problem lies in a lack of roaming agreements between neighbouring countries resulting in communication problems each time a border is crossed.

To avoid crews having to carry a different phone for each country we travel through, usable only there, HERO is in negotiation with a global communications company which will arrange contracts with all the individual countries on behalf of HERO and Inca Trail participants. We intend that this will enable you to carry only one telephone, and by means of a phone call at each border you would be connected to the next network. Further information should be available shortly.

Briefing and Training Days

Although not specifically aimed at Inca Trail participants, our Revvin' Up to Rallying Weekend on 30 September/1 October 2000 may well prove a useful introduction to the technicalities of rallying for those new to the sport. See the programme attached - there are still places as I write. You can come for just one day if you wish, for £39.25 - half the two-day rate.

We are planning two major Briefing Sessions for the Inca Trail itself during 2001, on Saturday 7 April, and Saturday/Sunday 11/12 August. These are a MUST - put the dates in your diary!

Take your Own Mitzi on the 4x4 Adventure Drive

I was knocked out by the performance of Mitzi - our Mitsubishi L-200 - on the Route Survey. Not just her toughness - you expect that from what is really a truck - but her speed, quietness and ability to float smoothly over rough roads, thanks to great torsion bar front suspension.

Mitzi is a left hand drive four-door 4x4 pick-up with a Truckman canopy, powered by a 2.5 litre turbodiesel engine with intercooler. This enabled her to cope wonderfully well with the high altitudes.

As she is designed to carry a commercial payload, she was not overloaded by all the tools, spares, baggage and paraphernalia we were carrying - not to mention four people for the most demanding mountain roads! Her separate cargo bay means that jerricans can be carried inside the bodywork - something that is impossible with a one-box passenger 4x4 , as our regulations (and common sense) prohibit spare fuel containers in the passenger compartment. Her opaque rear canopy prevents prying eyes from seeing what we carry. And we avoided the reduction in high cruising speed, and the extra fuel consumption, of a roof rack.

If you are taking a 4x4, I strongly recommend a diesel rather than a petrol vehicle. Diesel fuel is available everywhere except in the downtown areas of some major cities; it is usually much cheaper (only 20p a litre in Brazil); and you avoid the problem of variable petrol quality (including the 25% of alcohol in Brazilian gasoline). A turbocharged engine copes much better with altitude, too.

Mitsubishi L-200s are widely used in South America, and needless to say there is a good dealer network. Main agents were fully up to UK standards.

Perhaps the best recommendation is that we have now ordered six identical vehicles for our own support crews during the event.

Mitzi was sourced in Belgium for us by the Left Hand Drive Place, Peter Rushforth's business in Basingstoke. Peter is well known to HERO regulars, as he has driven course opening car on practically every event we have run, including London - Cape Town (where he was Clerk of the Course). He has been a rally competitor and organiser, and a close personal friend, for about 35 years now. He'll be in a course car again on the Inca Trail.

At our instigation, the Left Hand Drive Place will be offering a special deal to Inca Trail participants for the supply of a vehicle identical to Mitzi. This can be delivered as it comes (registered and taxed in the UK), or (if you get it to him early enough - he'll be busy with ours, too) Tim 'Jingers' Riley can prepare it for you to the same specification as our own vehicles, complete with canopy, extra spare wheel and other essentials. Tim, of course, drove Mitzi for the first half of the Route Survey, and is therefore fully au fait with the vehicle, and with the conditions it will face. He too will be in a support car on the event.

Details of the LHD Place's offer will be available shortly; or ring Peter, Maggie or Colin on (+44/0) 1256 461173, fax 811541. Jingers is at (+44/0) 1327 860960, fax 860655.

See you soon?

Last modified 02 October 2000