The second warm-up rally before Peking to Paris! Word arrived from the organisers about the Sahara Challenge.
Do have a look at the last post for an outline of the event.
Unlike the last warm-up, which tested the car’s maintenance, this one runs 4,800 km over twelve days — driving under all the punishing conditions the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge itself will demand.
In a sense, reading through the organisers’ notes, even this alone felt like a serious challenge in its own right, and it sharpened my focus.
Entry list No. 5
As with the last English warm-up, our Team Japan is No. 5.
I have driven a great many Italian rallies until now, but perhaps because of the difference in national character between Italy and England, I learned that this needs formal negotiation through the formal channels — never a simple “ah, that’s fine!” — but a genuinely serious, straightforward exchange.
That last English rally was, in this sense, also a piece of behind-the-scenes strategy: entering it to communicate with the English organisers and let this whole challenge go more smoothly.
Over these three years, the number of times I have gone to England to argue in person for a place in Peking to Paris — I think I deserve some praise for that myself (laughs).
With a dedicated medical team
An FIA-recognised rally requires carrying a first-aid kit, but this rally, it seems, has a dedicated medical team driving with the field from start to finish.
With the heat and every kind of danger along the route, it strikes me again, ahead of this punishing challenge, that managing not only the car but our own condition — and coming home in good health — matters more than anything.
I am busy running around every day, but it is about time I put real weight on looking after my own condition.
Over ¥2.5 million needed — two currencies
The total cost for this challenge: an entry fee of ¥2.6 million, ¥900,000 in travel and lodging, and ¥1.5 million for petrol, other vehicle transport and insurance.
Split between the driver and me, my own share comes to ¥2.5 million in total.
The currency needed in Spain is the euro — as of 31 July 2022, ¥136.
The currency needed in Morocco is the dirham — ¥13. A currency I had never even heard of (laughs).
With the yen this weak, I now need roughly 1.5 times what I originally planned.
The situation has changed so much since I first planned this that I have turned to crowdfunding again, and received a great deal of support and encouragement from many people — I am carrying this enormous challenge forward with everyone’s feelings behind it, and I am grateful from the heart.
The Sahara Challenge travel dates are set
Leaving Japan on 15 September, starting from Málaga, Spain, on 19 September. Twelve days, 4,800 km, and due back in Japan on 3 October.
Every day I meet different people and walk around telling them what this challenge means.
That feeling is carrying itself beyond the world of motorsport, into a spirit of Japanese people cheering each other on. I am truly grateful for it.
Step by step, steadily, I have come this far. There is no time to let my heart get sick, and no time to let anything hold my feet back.
I will keep my condition in the best shape I can, and go on sending reports carrying everyone’s feelings with me. Thank you for staying with me.