TV DEAL LOCKED IN

SKY TV will be sending a crew to cover the whole event and will make three half-hour programmes.

The shows will go to air in the UK and Europe and edited versions will appear in America and other English language countries.

Criticism of the 3-hours of London-Sydney 2000 coverage was that it focused almost exclusively on the four front-runners ignoring the other 90 competitors.

Not so this time round, Director Andy Marriott says he plans coverage that will span the whole field and tell the real story of the event.

TOP MAGAZINE COVERAGE TOO

Watch out for the announcement any day now telling that Britain's biggest circulation motor magazine will team up with a leading manufacturer to enter a revolutionary new car in the Group N category.

It will be driven by an award-winning journalist and the magazine will give the event heaps of good ink and the manufacturer will be pounding out their own good message to the world's media.

AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Britain's prestigious Daily Telegraph will support the event with pre-event stories on the build up to the start and regular on-event coverage.

Watch for stories in the Saturday motoring supplement.

HAVE YOU GOT HALF OF WHAT IT TAKES?

We know of 3 members who would like to do the event and are looking for someone to share costs.

Derek Parling has a ready to roll Volvo Amazon (rebuilt after London-Sydney 2000) and is looking for a co-driver. Derek can be contacted on +44 1262 605570.

Mike Corns has plenty of preparation and driving experience and Lorrie Paesano is also looking for a ride. Mike is on +44 1745 860 and Lorrie on +44 1753 655 521(W).

All took part in the London-Sydney Marathon 2000 and are good blokes with many marathon miles of experience.

NEED A CHEAP CAR TO DO THE EVENT IN ?

It's the end of the British season and, as ever, there are lots of Group N cars up for sale. Check the British weekly paper Motorsport News.

This week I see a Ford Ka for £9,950, a Honda Civic for £11,000 and a Proton Satria for £12,000. All of them built in 2000. The paper is probably the world's best source for good second hand rally cars. Off you go !

Fancy an honest opinion on a car? TWE's Scrutineer Colin Salkeld, for a modest fee and expenses will go and look at it and give you a report. Colin can be contacted on 07860 960 489 or email to colin@nerallychamp.co.uk.

JEEP FOR SALE

TWE's trusty 1996 Jeep Cherokee that did the survey from North Cape into Africa. Auto, 4-litre all the usual good stuff. Metallic green, full service, new shockers excellent condition, 67k miles. Ready to do lots more - you could even use it to enter The Challenge or as a service barge. A steal at £9,000. Lives cosily in Mike Summerfield's barn. Ring him on 01761 414 519.

SYRIA AND JORDAN

Ever since September 11th and the launch of Mr. Bush's war against terrorism and the Taliban in Afghanistan there has been a perception that travel in Muslim countries is dangerous.

Not true ! John De Stefano and Nick Thake have just returned from doing a rally in Malaysia (the worlds most populous Muslim country) and report wonderful hospitality and no bad vibes whatsoever.

In Jordan and Syria life proceeds exactly as it did before September 11th. Nothing untoward happening, no demonstrations and all tourists being made very welcome.

Tourism in both countries is economically important and their governments work hard to develop favourable images of their countries.

Our route through Syria takes in two of their most important tourist destinations, Palmira and Damascus. Similarly in Jordan we are on the tourist route, Amman, Petra and Aqaba.

So dismiss any fears you may have about Syria or Jordan being inhospitable or unsafe.

HIRE A RALLY CAR

David Sutton of Historic Motorsport tells us that he has both Group N and Classic cars available for hire in which to do the event.

A turnkey arrangement is available - turn up at the start, drive the car, fly home from the finish, David sorts the rest including service during the event. Contact David to find out the details on:

Tel: +44 1327 300 677 or email to historicmotorsportltd@btinternet.com.

TWO EVENTS IN ONE

Remember that Midnight Sun to Red Sea is two events in one.

The Rally is for full FIA-spec pre-1971 classics and for modified showroom GpN cars under 2-litres.

Cars race over closed road stages timed to the second. Fastest car wins !

The Challenge is for recreational 4x4s and for pre-1975 classics. No special vehicle preparation is needed and a competition licence is not required.

The competition is run over timed sections on which vehicles are required to maintain a spirited average speed. Points are lost for being quicker or slower than the average.

NEW WEBSITE

Soon to be released is our new website which we hope will be even easier to use than before. Same address www.twerally.com, the new site should be up and running in early December.

There is also a section for links to members own sites, so if you have a site let us know the URL. All we ask is a link from your site to ours.

ARE YOU ON EMAIL?

If you are not already getting emails from us, then send an email to rally office (ron@twerally.com) and we will add you to our list. This way you get advance notice of anything new.


A little bit early but a good time to wish all our members and our new competitors a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2002 from Nick Brittan, Ron Jackson, Mike Summerfield and all the TWE Redshirts.