Cape Town adventure begins

A 1923 Vauxhall 23/60 is the oldest car in a field of 44 for the 9000-mile London-Cape Town Rally, which will start outside the Houses of Parliament on January 1 and end in South Africa on January 29.

Australian father and son team James and Max Stephenson will pilot the only pre-war entry, while a gaggle of cars from the 1960s and ’70s will share the event with a clutch of modern 4x4s. Organiser Philip Young,

doyen of endurance rallying, describes London-Cape Town as a “drive against the clock from London to the foot of Africa”. The plan includes a single rest day in Nairobi.

The field includes former McLaren team manager Alastair Caldwell in a Porsche 912, historic racer Grant Tromans in a Datsun 240Z, and the female crew of Jane Edgington and Gill Cotton in an MG Maestro. “It’s going to be a fantastic adventure,” said Edgington.