26.10.09: Dramas on final day of RTOTY
October 26th, 2009 by Richard Aucock
RTOTY is over for another year: the chaps are in the bar, I’m seeing the Jag back home, and Neill’s off to Buckinghamshire with some solid gold.
It’s been a pretty mad day – I was up at 4 and had a journey half as long as that again. M4 closure. Drat it.
Then, there was the no phone signal drama. The lack of jetwash action drama. The ‘can we move the Jag away from that fuel pump’ drama.
The random red Volvo parked in the photo location drama. The clocks going back drama, and the time pressures it imposed drama. The slightly scary children drama.
Yes, the slightly scary children drama. The sort of children adults such as (ahem) we wonder why are not in school. Children en masse, all asking how fast they were, how expensive they were, how loud the stereos were.
Cars that attracted them? Focus RS. Nissan GT-R. Car they completely overlooked? Jaguar XF-R. ‘My’ Jag. And, thus, a good thing.
We were soon driving up to the amazing location our good editor had discovered. And, lo, who’s this alongside, but some slightly scary children on quad bikes, overtaking us. Ambush fear, us? Of course not.
No, we didn’t even worry when more men (yes, MEN, this time) turned up, on yet more quad bikes. And stood at the bottom of the quarry for 15 minutes, until still more MEN rocked up in a white Astra van. Then stood around some more. Before coming up to us at great speed.
Oh, no, we weren’t concerned at all, with the quarter-million pounds’ worth of cars in our possession, in the middle of nowhere, in which we were stuck with no mobile phone signal. Nope.
Sounds a bit random, all this? Well, you should have been there. And there’s a lot, lot more where all that came from.
In between, snapper Neill created some pure artistry, and every single car was done entire justice. Just the small matter of writing up the entire long weekend now. And creating a Road Test of the Year special issue for you to share in the action…
For now, though, I may join the lads in spirit, in spirit. Cheers!
Richard
Tags: rtoty
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