ROUTE

The route divides into three legs - Europe, India and Australia - each separated by an airlift. The cars are carried by two giant Russian Antonovs, the worlds' largest cargo planes, each fitted with a racking system built for TWE in 1992 and designed to carry 50 cars. The crews travel by chartered Boeing 747s.

Day Date Overnight stop Country
1 Sat 05 June Portsmouth ferry to St. Malo France
2 Sun 06 June Poitiers France
3 Mon 07 June Rodez France
4 Tue 08 June Gap France
5 Wed 09 June il Ciocco Italy
6 Thu 10 June Arezzo Italy
7 Fri 11 June Ancona ferry to Igoumenitsa Greece
8 Sat 12 June Thessaloniki Greece
9 Sun 13 June Alexandroupoli Greece
10 Mon 14 June Bursa Turkey
11 Tue 15 June Ankara Turkey
12 Wed 16 June Fly to India Airborne
13 Thu 17 June Cochin (Rest day) India
14 Fri 18 June Munnar India
15 Sat 19 June Coimbatore India
16 Sun 20 June Mysore India
17 Mon 21 June Ooty India
18 Tue 22 June Cochin India
19 Wed 23 June Cochin (Rest Day) India
20 Thu 24 June Fly to Australia Airborne
21 Fri 25 June Alice Springs (Rest day) Australia
22 Sat 26 June Ayers Rock Australia
23 Sun 27 June Coober Pedy Australia
24 Mon 28 June Mungarranie Camp (under canvas) Australia
25 Tue 29 June Windorah Camp (under canvas) Australia
26 Wed 30 June Roma Australia
27 Thu 01 July Noosa Australia
28 Fri 02 July Glenn Innes Australia
29 Sat 03 July Port Macquarie Australia
30 Sun 04 July Sydney Australia

European leg.

From our London Start it's two stages before we take the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo.

The run through central France will take in some fine championship stages off the beaten tracks in typical rural countryside heading towards alpine country. Gap and the mountains beyond were once the stamping ground of the famous Monte Carlo rallies of old.

In Italy we take in some of the old San Remo stages. It's a region rich in stages which is why we've planned a double loop there to take full advantage of some of the best ones.

An overnight ferry takes us to Greece to sample some of the famed Acropolis and Halkidiki stages of the present and past and then a well-earned rest day in the charming Mediterranean sea port town of Alexandroupoli before we head off into Turkey and our first airlift - out of Ankara to India. The whole leg is brand new - exciting new routes and new stages.

Indian leg.

The romance of southern India, the hill country, the tea plantations and an enthusiastic welcome from a strong rally culture which flourishes here.

Short days so we can enjoy the sights and sounds and fragrant scents that are synonymous with this colourful country.

In the relative cool of the hill country the majority of our stages are on the tarmac service roads through the tea plantations. 

Australian leg.

Alice Springs is in the heart of the Northern Territory and it's here the sting in the tail of the event starts. This is the famed Red Centre of Australia where the dusty roads are bright red and stretch as far you can see. It's tough unforgiving country.

Ayers Rock is one the great sacred Aboriginal sights; from there we go to Coober Pedy, the opal mining centre of the world, and after that we really are 'in the bush' for two days. We're having our own overnight camps built because where we're going there aren't any hotels. You'll get a noontime stop at the famous Birdsville Pub which is on the edge of the Simpson Desert and 300 kms from the next pub.

We point ourselves towards the coast and the fashionable resort of Noosa for your first glimpse of the Pacific. From there it is a wonderful mix of forest and country gravel road stages before what is sure to be an emotional finish in Sydney against the backdrop of the worlds most famous opera house.