Driven by Al Young, Chairman of The smart Club, the giant-killing roadster conquered the might of Porsche, Lotus and Jaguar to take an outright victory and both class and team wins on the event, which is open to the vast majority of new and classic two-seater sports cars and was staged by the Guild of Motor Endurance earlier this month.
Over eight days the roadster blasted its way across a punishing route that spanned dirt tracks in Romania to spectacular mountain passes in the Southern Carpathians, literally ‘outsmarting’ the competition and surprising all with its fearless ability to tackle the toughest terrain.
Al and co-driver, Fiona, steered the roadster through nearly 4,000 competitive miles and nothing could slow its dominance, including air temperatures of 35 Celsius, Bulgarian potholes so big that they bent the steering rack, and even sliding backwards into a ditch.
The smart’s gutsy performance was even more remarkable considering that its rally-winning running gear is quite unremarkable! Aside from a roll-cage and beefed-up suspension and front brakes, its drivetrain is near standard – the basic engine, gearbox, wheel bearings, transmission and internals remain original smart.
And the roadster’s ‘heart’ proved particularly strong! Having already powered the roadster throughout its seven-year international rally career, including a win on the Monte Carlo International Endurance Rally, the smart’s engine shrugged off high revs for up to 10 hours a day and enabled an average speed of nearly 40 mph. Al’s local smart Retailer, smart of Edinburgh has played a major role in keeping the roadster in superb shape.
Al was thrilled at the roadster’s unbeatable performance.
“There’s just one word to sum up the smart – ‘incredible’. For sure, we weren’t the fastest but we made up for it with superb roadholding on the mountain passes and the car’s faultless reliability – an amazing indication of smart build quality,” said Al.
“Although it was worked very hard, the smart never coughed once, used very little oil and averaged over 40 mpg from the moment we left our home to the time we returned. Aside from a few battle scars, it’s pretty much as good as when we left and is ready for the next event!”
Claire Tracey, Manager, smart Operations said: “Al and Fiona’s amazing win is a great illustration of how smart really can go the distance even many years after its launch.
“smart is renowned for its fun personality and this result proves that our cars can literally take the rough with the smooth, delivering a level of quality and performance to be proud of!”
More information on the roadster’s entry in the London to Athens Endurance Rally can be found at the team’s dedicated Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/OJfwxO), on twitter (@londonathens, twitter.com/londonathens) and via thesmartclub (www.thesmartclub.com) and The smart Racing Club (www.thesmartracingclub.com)
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