One of MML Sports’ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo World Rally Cars will demonstrate the global nature of not only the sport of rallying but also, MML Sports’ abilities in May and June, as it travels from Latvia to Barbados then back, spending little more than a few hours in each location.
The car in question was used by Ivars Vasaraudzis to win Rally Talsi, the third round of the Latvia Rally Championship, on Sunday 16 May. It left Latvia to travel back to the UK on Monday 17 and arrived at MML Sports’ Rugby, UK base on Tuesday 18th.
It spent the day on Wednesday 19 May being reprepared after its win, while also being converted from gravel to tarmac specification, ready for its next event.
After just one day of work, the car left the UK on Thursday 20 May to fly to the Caribbean island of Barbados, arriving on Friday 21 and clearing customs on Saturday 22nd.
Later that day, it underwent a tarmac test at the hands of local driver Sean Gill, who competed with the car on the Island’s famous Rallysprint on Sunday 23rd. He finished the event in fifth place, as he learned the Lancer and prepared for the main event the following weekend.
The car then has a few days off, until Gill again takes the wheel, this time on the traditional rally, running over the weekend of 29/30 May. Once the event is finished, the car will again be prepared to travel, leaving Barbados on 31 May, to arrive back in the UK on 1 June.
There, MML Sports will convert the car back into gravel specification in just one day, on Wednesday 2 June, before it leaves for Latvia on Thursday 3rd, ready for the Madona Rally over the weekend of 5/6 June, again at the hands of Vasaraudzis.
So by the time the car returns to MML Sports’ Rugby base on around the 8 June, it will have covered 535Km under its own steam, more than 8000Km towed behind one of the company’s support vehicles and 13,500Km in the belly of a Boeing 747.
That’s a total distance in excess of 22,000Km, more than halfway around the world.
Truly a World rally car.
At a glance
Rally Talsi – 150Km
Riga-Rugby – 2500Km
Rugby-Gatwick – 200Km
Gatwick-Barbados – 6757Km
Barbados test – 25Km
RallySprint – 20Km
Barbados rally test – 100Km
Barbados Rally – 100Km
Barbados-Gatwick – 6757Km
Gatwick-Rugby – 200Km
Rugby-Madona – 2551Km
Rally Madona – 140Km
Madona-Rugby – 2551Km
Driving distance – 535Km
Road transport distance – 8,002Km
Air transport distance – 13,514Km
Total distance travelled – 22,051Km