Bob gears up to hit the road less travelled
Media Release : Thursday 1 November 2007
Two Aston Martin enthusiasts and entrepreneurs will take to the road this month to compete in a motor endurance race held in Argentina.
Bob Fountain, owner of the Aston Workshop in Beamish, will be taking part in the 1000 Millas Sport, the largest motor vehicle race in Argentina. The event starts on 17 November and journeys through Bariloche, Chile and Lago Puela before finishing with an awards ceremony in Llao Llao on 24 November.
Bob and his team mate, Richard Furse, from Wales, who owns a DB2/4 and DB5, will make up one of only two UK teams out of 177 participating in the race, and will be driving in Bob’s 1936 Aston Martin 2 Litre Speed Model.
Motor racing competitions first became popular at the beginning of the century in Europe and mostly took the form of endurance races where record breaking was of main priority. After the First World War, a new long distance competition started in Italy and became a symbol of worldwide motor racing: the Mille Miglia.
In 1957 a tragic accident caused the death of two race drivers and several spectators, marking the end of the Mille Miglia. During the eighties enthusiasm rose again for the competition and the sports cars that were built during the era of the original Mille Miglia. In 1989 the Argentine version of the race was created, the Mil Millas Sport de la Republica Argentina. This event started with seventy participant cars and took place in the hills of Cordoba. Since 1989, the event has increased in popularity and the number of participants has grown to 170 this year.
In May this year, Bob took part in the Peking-Paris motor challenge in a restored 1934 Lagonda M45 Tourer. He and team mate, Joseph De Giorgi came fourteenth out of one hundred participants and were awarded a silver medal.
Bob, owner of Aston workshop, said: “It has always been a dream of mine to compete in one of the world’s most legendary motor races and I can’t wait to drive my restored Aston Martin 2 Litre Speed Model. The team at the Aston Workshop have done a good job on it. Argentina is such a beautiful place, travelling around the Patagonian lakes, valleys and mountains will be a real experience.”
The Aston Workshop, which is the only facility in the UK to offer car sales with the back up of a Paint and Body Centre, boasts a dedicated team of staff who are passionate about rebuilding and caring for the Aston Martin. Founded on an ethos of ‘The Ultimate Aston Martin Restoration’ the workshop is devoted to achieving perfection using bespoke craftsmanship, traditional methods and time-honoured techniques. The Aston Workshop website, www.aston.co.uk, is believed to be the second most popular Aston Martin website after the official Aston Martin site and over 50% of their customers are from overseas.
Aston Workshop, Red Row, Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RW, tel: 01207 233 525 www.aston.co.uk
For further info re 1000 millas log onto http://www.1000millas.com.ar/