6 men, 3 cars, 1 destination.
In the early hours of Wednesday, 6 members of the XLCR team set off in 3 vehicles destined for the Monaco F1.
In a TopGear styled road trip, the Ferrari 458 Spider, Lamborghini Huracán and BMW M2 drove the first leg of the journey with London in their sights.
Chief Executive Officer - Lee Duerden took control of the 458 and was joined by Account Manager Stephen Peace in the passenger seat.
Managing Director Shaun O'Neill & New Business Director Daniel Liles shared the responsibility of driving the Lamborghini.
Finally, Commercial Director Patrick Macadam and Will Smith (not the famous one) took responsibility of driving the brand new BMW M2.
Leg 1 - Colne to London.
With the light rising, the cars hit the empty roads London bound, in usual TopGear fashion all co-pilots were armed with Walkie-Talkies.
It didn't take long for the thirsty BMW M2 to drink half a tank of petrol, and by the time the cars hit the M6, it was service station time.
All 3 cars met at Corley Services, where the M2 needed to be refuelled, despite the 458 and the Huracán having 3/4 of a tank remaining.
During the short stop and expensive breakfast, the cars were getting plenty of attention by customers wanting 'selfies' in front of the supercars.
Once back on the road, the cars quickly went their separate ways due to co-pilots intuition. With only the "Find my friends" app now working, the Walkie-talkies became redundant due to the excessive distance between the cars.
With London approaching, the Huracán team took the lead, but didn't actually know where they were. The BMW M2 appeared out of contention for Leg 1, being over 15 miles behind the 458. With London traffic slowing both the Huracán and the 458 down, the M2 began closing in on the leaders, with all co-pilots eagerly watching the "find my friends" app to see where the other drivers were located.
Miraculously all 3 drivers chose/found different routes to the same destination. With the Huracán approaching the destination, Shaun and Daniel momentarily forgot it was a contest and the 458 which was driven by CEO Lee Duerden stealthily arrived at the destination and they made the way to the finish line - the bar!
Despite being over 15 miles behind the 458, Paddy ensured the contest stayed alive until the end as he pulled up to the finish line, screeching the M2 to a halt, but the Huracán team had just pipped them to second place.
- Ferrari 458 - Lee Duerden | Stephen Peace
- Lamborghini Huracán - Shaun O'Neill | Daniel Liles
- BMW M2 - Paddy Macadam | Will Smith
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Leg 2 - London to Epernay.
After dinner and a short break in London, it was time for the 458, Huracán and the M2 to get the second leg, back underway to the Champagne region of France to Epernay.
The M2 desperately needed petrol before crossing the border to Calais, and despite the 458 & Huracán not being as desperate, the fuel shortage in Northern France forced their hands. A nervy M2 driver was still worrying of reaching Epernay on one full tank of fuel from Folkstone.
Once aboard the 35 minute train ride to France, the teams managed a quick break and a stretch of the legs before arriving in France just after 11pm.
In a relatively straight-forward drive, the 458, M2 and Huracán set off down the a26 from Calais to Reims, the only detours that would be needed, would be to find a petrol station, or stop for a drink.
Obviously first vehicle to require juice was the M2, this stop would be one that put the Commercial Director out of contention of winning leg 2 and with the Fuel Strikes & the clock hitting midnight, many stations around Hargicourt were closed. After exiting the a25 the M2 re-joined about 30 miles behind the 458, which led the pack since Calais in hope for fuel further down the line.
The Huracan and the 458 were both complacent with over half a tank of fuel remaining. As the M2 was trying to hunt down the leaders, the fuel was dropping alarmingly. With 35 miles remaining until the nearest petrol station, Paddy was having to drive conservatively to ensure the 43 miles of fuel made the station.
Victory! Finally the M2 had fuel and could re-join the 458 and the Huracán, but surely stood no chance of reaching Epernay first. The 458 seemed miles ahead, but unknowingly to the Huracán team, needed fuel. Thankfully this stop was drama free for the 458 and this allowed the CEO to take his second win in as many legs to take a 2-0 lead over the M2 and Huracán.
The leg was closer than it appeared though as Shaun and Dan in the Lamborghini arrived 6 minutes later. Once again the M2 arrived last, some 15 minutes after Lee and Shaun.
- Ferrari 458 - Lee Duerden | Stephen Peace
- Lamborghini Huracán - Shaun O'Neill | Daniel Liles
- BMW M2 - Paddy Macadam | Will Smith
Leg 3 - Epernay to Lyon
Waking up on a warm Thursday morning in Epernay, the teams enjoyed a quick breakfast stop before visiting the Moet Cellar. Perhaps they should have considered boot space and practicality before their purchases!
The drive to Lyon was just under 500km and was expected to take around 4 hours 15 minutes.
With the heat hitting 25c it was a perfect chance for the 458 to open its roof. The 458 Spider, with the roof closed, looks like a quintessential Ferrari; it's a sleek-looking race-car for the road, but in just 14 seconds – the time it takes for the hard top to fold away into the back of the car – the 458 Spider is reshaped.
With only road-works and petrol stations in the way of Lyon, it was important that the drivers didn't get lost on the non-navigated drive to Lyon.
All drivers re-joined the a26, which is then clearly signposted to Lyon/Dijon. This leg of the journey and as in the last two legs, the Ferrari team consisting of Lee Duerden and Stephen Peace and the Huracán team being driven by Shaun O'Neill and co-piloted by Dan Liles began to power away from the M2. The M2 is no-mug though, with 365bhp, the 3.0-liter 6-cylinder can reach 0-60 in just over 4 seconds.
Once again all three drivers managed to end up on three different routes to the city of Lyon. As in the previous legs the 458 sat waiting for its competitors in the hotel forecourt. By the time Lee and Stephen had sunk their first Mojito, the M2 was lost, and the Huracán was 10km away.
It looked like the Huracán would once again seal second place, but utilising the 'Find my friends' app, Paddy navigated himself to the hotel some time before the Huracán.
- Ferrari 458 - Lee Duerden | Stephen Peace
- BMW M2 - Paddy Macadam | Will Smith
- Lamborghini Huracán - Shaun O'Neill | Daniel Liles
Leg 4 - Lyon to Nice.
The final leg of the trip is quite possibly the most exciting. Get it right, and you can arrive in Nice in just over 4 hours. If the drivers take the wrong route, they could travel across the border into Savona (Italy), and cruise along the coast into Nice.
Unlike the previous legs, this leg is a point based competition.
Points will be awarded on:
- The first team to the hotel in Nice.
- The team that has consumed the lowest amount of fuel (The M2 has already sealed 3rd place on this)
- The team that has covered the lowest amount of miles to get to the destination.
to be continued...
