Total MX-5 – July 2019

Summer 2019 | TOTAL MX-5 |^39

[ FEATURE ]

5

tracked Pamir Highway, the mighty Five
didn’t skip a beat. We cruised (a relative
term) through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan
and Russia. The next challenge came in
Mongolia. A country where roads are an
ethereal concept and the 4x4 is king:
except we were up for challenging that
preconception. In fact, the MX-5 is a
remarkably adept machine for crossing
the deserts, as it glides across the sandy,
dusty surface.
We almost made it through without a
hitch, but 300 miles from the border, a
cooling pipe from the engine block
corroded through. After some swearing,
one minor argument and ten minutes
with a hacksaw and Jubilee clip, we had
the MX-5 back in motion. We crossed the
finish line seven weeks after departing
on our incredible voyage. We had left the
UK full of intentions to drive the MX-5
back through Russia and Europe.
However, after much time wasting and
political mishaps, this became
impossible. Instead we shipped the car
back to the UK and ended the saga by
raffling off the car to raise money for the
Farming Community Network. I am told
that the new owner is very pleased with
the old girl.
The Mongol Rally teaches you a lot
about the world, but even more about
yourself. We spent a lot of the journey
worrying that we would seriously break
down. As it happened, we were
needlessly concerned. In fact, it was all
the things that we didn’t worry about that
went wrong. My take home message is to
just chill out a bit, and when it does go

wrong, improvise, adapt, overcome. You

might also get the impression from

various Top Gear episodes that journeys

like these are non-stop banter. Let me

assure you that by Georgia we had

exhausted most topics of conversation.

Thankfully, Alan and I are very

comfortable in each other’s company so

this didn’t pose a problem. We would go

for great periods in silence until

something caught our eye and sparked a

new conversation. These journeys are all

about the people you meet on the way,

the retrospective laughs you have when

it all goes wrong, and a love born out of

hard-earned respect for the noble

machine that took us to other the side of

the world.

Want to explore the planet? I strongly

recommend you buy an MX-5.

Clockwise from above:

The MX-5 drew crowds

all along the route;

local people were

always welcoming and

generous, unlike the

officials in some

countries; repairing the

cooling system by the

roadside in Ulanbaatar,

Mongolia; MX-5 and

crew made it – the end

of the Mongolia Rally

in Ulan-Ude, Russia,

seven weeks after

leaving the UK