The 42nd Continental Milligan Vintage Trial is currently being held over four days in and around George in the Western Cape. So far, it’s been an absolute feast of vintage and classic cars.
The trial will cover roughly 1 200 km in total. There are about 50 entrants ranging from a 1916 Chevrolet 490 Tourer to a 1970 Jaguar E-Type Roadster SH. For the first day, I’ve been driving along with Errol Michel and Bill Odendaal in car no. 38, a 1938 Ford Deluxe Sedan.
From the (very comfortable, I might add) rear seat of the Deluxe, I have managed to figure out how a trial is held. The idea is for cars to reach certain markers along a set route within a specified time – requiring careful planning and management of speed. The catch is that the odometer and speedometer is taped shut.
So, drivers and navigators have to make use of poles, distance markers and road marking such as the white lines in order to judge their speed. For a newcomer like me, this seems an impossible task, but my two very experienced hosts managed a very good showing on the first day – having reached most of their markers on the undulating route between George and Albertinia within mere seconds of the specified times.
Be sure to keep visiting the website for more galleries and provisional results.
