Six pages, a risk assessment and a media plan
Chris asked whether I could provide a little more documentation to support the request. I took him at his word.
The approach went in back in April. What followed was a phone call, and a reasonable question: could I provide a little more documentation to support the request?
I took him rather literally.
In fairness, I was in the right frame of mind for it. I had only that day got back from manning the Boston control at London–Edinburgh–London, so I had spent the preceding week immersed in somebody else’s thousand-mile endurance event and was thinking hard about what actually keeps people and machinery going over long distances.
The case
The argument was that TS2 crossing Europe in 2026 is not a novelty but a continuation.
She was a demonstrator from birth, touring Standard-Triumph dealers around Ireland on trade plates. She completed the four-day Circuit of Ireland Rally in 1954, as IR-6360, without mishap. And she has done a Round Britain Reliability Run, the 10CR’s rather more brutal little sister.
More than seventy years after Banner Lane, showing that she remains road-ready and spirited seemed to me a way of honouring that history rather than risking it.
The parts that probably mattered more
Anybody can write a nice paragraph about heritage. The appendices are where you find out whether someone has thought about it.
Appendix 1, the risk assessment. Nine headings, each with mitigations. Mechanical reliability: pre-event inspection by a specialist, daily checks, critical spares carried, travelling in convoy with around eighty other Triumphs, European recovery including repatriation. Non-repairable faults: a UK specialist on call for remote advice, and a contingency for bringing her home by transport. Accident damage, driver fatigue, navigation, fuel, paperwork, security and weather each got the same treatment.
A two-driver team with regular rotation, as we ran on the RBRR in 2023 and the 10CR in 2024. Two independent GPS devices plus printed roadbooks and paper maps. Octane booster for low-RON regions, and the expectation of leaning the mixture for altitude on the Swiss stage. A steering lock applied whenever she is unattended, secure overnight parking preferred, and discretion about where she is left.
Appendix 2, the media plan. Pre-event, during and post-event, with channels, cadence and owners. Prep photography and short films. Daily photographs at landmarks. Reels and Shorts. Quick interviews with drivers and passers-by. A progress map. Afterwards, a highlights film, a photo gallery, and a feature for TR Action.
A spares list, cribbed from what we actually carried in 2024: hoses, K-Seal, throttle cable, coil and leads, rotor arm and cap, a complete spare distributor, belt, UJ, plugs, water pump, front hub, fluids, tyre repair, jack, tape.
And a list of things I needed from the club: the current ignition setup, carburettor state, known quirks, service history, preferred fluids, tyre age.
The tone of it
I opened by saying that nothing in the document was mandatory from my side, that TS2 is a treasure, and that I would work with them on any of it to alleviate concerns. I meant it. Above all I wanted them to know I understood what I was asking for.
If the request for documentation was a gentle test of how seriously I had thought about this, I hope the answer came back clearly enough. It is entirely fair for the custodians of an irreplaceable car to want to see somebody’s homework.
Then I waited. For quite a while, as it turned out.