This section covers all the Ws: who, where, why, what, when, and, erm, how. 
A daily record of the plans made and the decisions taken. 
Click on the articles below for the latest news.

How hard can it be to deliver a package on time? If you are DHL, the answer seems to be 'very'. As I mentioned a little while back, I took the plunge and ordered myself and Lisa some snazzy sunglasses from SunGod. The company sends them out recorded delivery, using Bonn's favourite delivery service. I received an excited email from SunGod saying my shades were packaged and ready for collection and that DHL would pick them up shortly. Sure enough, I received an email from t

Can you believe this is the 200th blog post on our pokey little corner of the internet? If that isn't a good enough reason to write a post taking stock of where we are, our achievements and what is still to do, I don't know what is. So where are we? We have registered three cars for the event and have five of the six drivers sorted. Carl is still looking for his co-driver, but Lisa and I are completely invested in driving Team: Dirty Martin around Europe, as are Richie an

Do you ever struggle to drift off to sleep because your brain starts racing, firing mad thoughts around like a knock-eyed cowboy at a shoot-out? That happens quite a lot to me, even more so now that we are embarking on a mad trip across Europe. The latest insomnia inducer was being over the drink drive limit while on the continent. Although we will be sensible, I still get the fear at the thought of inadvertently being over the limit after enjoying a glass of sumptuous red

After the official rally finishes, we head along the coast to Séte for a couple of days. But what do we know about the place beyond the fact that it looks achingly beautiful in the pictures I've seen? Let's dive a little deeper. Sète is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region. It sits on a narrow strip of land between the sea and the vast Étang de Thau - a brackish lagoon - giving it a genuinely distinctive geography, almost

I stumbled across a website that creates cracking, print-ready map posters of any location in the world - handy if, say, you were doing a trip across Europe in a couple of months and wanted to create a poster commemorating the trip... It runs entirely in a browser and is powered by OpenStreetMap data, allowing me to search for any city and create my own detailed map with as much detail as I want, then pick from dozens of curated themes or build my own custom colour palette. A

So the Facebook algorithm has been doing its job, as it started showing sunglasses ads after I clicked on one link. Now I'm being bombarded with adverts for eyewear endorsed by everyone from Oasis' Noel Gallagher to F1 driver Oscar Piastri.   The Gallagher offerings are designed by FINLAY, an independent British eyewear brand founded in 2012. They handcraft their own frames and grind their own lenses, and have stores in Notting Hill and Soho, so you get the picture of the qua

After reading the new Rally Bible and looking at the route on the map, we have another couple of points of interest to add to the journey, a dam and a church. Intrigued? Let me elaborate. We are already stopping at points of interest along the route between stages of the event, like visiting Bastogne to see the World War II memorial commemorating the Battle of the Bulge, a turning point in the war. But looking at the Rally Bible, there is a chance to visit a dam in Switzer

After another night of scouring Booking.com, we have secured our apartments in Séte and San Sebastián. It wasn't easy; there was much discussion, changing of minds, and back-and-forth between the five of us, but we have settled on two locations that look really good. With the last places booked, we now have costs mapped out for the whole trip, and it is a pretty hefty bill! We estimate the fuel will cost us around £500 in total, a figure we roughly thought before signing up

Our Abarth, like all modern cars, doesn't have a drip rail - that little strip of raised metal designed to stop rain cascading over the roof and down into the window. So, like everyone out there at some time, I've ended up with an elbow full of cold water. I sometimes like to open my window a little to let some air circulate, but if there has been even the lightest drizzle, my right arm gets dripped on as the water on the roof gently cascades down the roof. I can't crack th

I was watching some old Top Gear episodes recently. I came across the episode where the presenters chose their favourite hot hatchbacks and were sent to Italy to complete several challenges (Series 17, Episode 2, if you are interested). Clarkson rocked up in the Citroen DS3 Racing, Hammond championed the Fiat 500C Abarth, and May made the case for the Renaultsport Clio Cup. They attempted to navigate their way around baffling Italian towns and take part in a scavenger hunt

According to reports, the UK is the second-largest market for aftermarket vehicle upgrades in Europe. The industry was valued at around £7.8 billion in 2025, and is forecast to reach £9.5 billion by 2030. The manufacturing sector is worth around £12 billion, with approximately 1,600 businesses operating in it. The Top 10 most popular modifications in the UK are: 1. Alloy Wheels 2. Number Plate Personalisation  3. Exhaust Upgrades  4. LED Lighting  5. Suspension & Lowering K

After booking the bed and breakfast in Sète (that we may or may not be staying in - more of that HERE ), we moved on to San Sebastián. We had already scoped out a couple of properties, so this should have been a little easier to sort out. Something to factor in is that by this time we had got through a couple of bottles of wine, the thick end of a bottle of vodka/gin/spiced rum, and enough cans of beer to satisfy an away-day coach of football fans. It was noisy and disjoin

Another night, another session sat around a computer looking for places to stay on the continent that is located in the right part of town, have at least three bedrooms - ideally with ensuite facilities, and parking for three cars, making a heroic trek across Europe. Phew. It was noisy and disjointed, but we got it done. We are now booked into a charming place in Sète that fits the bill perfectly. It has three rooms, so we would effectively have the place to ourselves. It

So goodbye to 227 and hello to 60... or rather, 17. Confused? Let me explain. As I detailed in this post , getting the original design (number 227) made and fitted would, as they say in the trade, be a faff. It needs to bend three ways on the bonnet and fit around the wing mirrors. Can be done, but wouldn't be easy or may need compromising the design. I found an alternative design (number 60) that isn't as striking as the original but is more on-brand and clearer. The

So the new kicks have arrived! We are the proud owners of Puma Speedcats, driving-inspired trainers. They look much better in the flesh (suede) than in the pictures, if I'm being honest, and they certainly give the racing driver vibes. They are lovely and sleek, and fit surprisingly well given their slender design. The uppers are really soft, and the bottoms have a tiretread pattern with the Puma logo right in the middle. Mine match our team colour scheme perfectly, Lisa's

After the trip to see the lovely guys at Colour Create, my mind has been whirring. I need to rethink the design as the current scheme is too difficult to apply to the magnetic strip and then onto the car. Not going to lie, this is a massive blow. But there is no use wallowing; it's time to find a solution to the problem, which means going back to the drawing board. <sigh> One thing Barry and Kevin at Colour Create said was that big, rectangular graphics are easy to produce

The perfect phone case doesn't exist. Yeah, whatever! Look at this bad boy! This case ticks more boxes than a vindictive health inspector doing a random spot check at a dodgy, backstreet kebab shop. Classy, minimal design? Check! Featuring the iconic Martini Racing stripes? Check! Customisable to include our car number? Check! Available in matte or glossy finishes? Check! MagSafe compliant? Check! I found this on Etsy while looking for Martini Racing t-shirts for the trip, an

After baulking at the cost of Martini-branded training shoes for the trip, I returned to my original thought of buying 'driving' shoes. Not the fantastically priced, Italian-made leather mockasins designed to let the wearer feel every ridge of the pedals while still looking stylish enough to pose around the harbour in, but proper trainers. Puma seems to have cornered the market when it comes to knocking out race-inspired trabs. They have collaborated with Ferrari, Porsche

We visited Colour Create yesterday and met Barry and Kevin. I rambled on about the trip born from a stupid idea, fuelled by alcohol and fed by a 'you only live once' attitude. They initially looked at us like we were daft, I reckon they are right to be honest! I showed them images of what we would like. I explained my reservations about sticking a magnet over the contours of the car. They had a sample of the automotive-grade magnetic sticker, which was thinner than I expe

So my £13 t-shirt is back from Inkthreadable , and the old adage 'you get what you pay for' may be true. It isn't exactly what I was after, to be honest. That's not to say it is a complete loss, more that my expectations have been recalibrated. Let's start with the good. The t-shirt was cheap, but the quality is decent. It is exactly the right size, has good weight, and the colour is spot on. I am more than happy to order again if this is the base for the design. Now,