With approximately ten weeks remaining until the Eagle Rally pummels mainland Europe with the glorious soundtrack of a dozen exhausts roaring in unison, we figured it’s high time we put out an update on the forthcoming trip. So, with a deep breath, here we go… shortly. First, I’m going to give you an update on the Pub2Pub project in general, as it’s now three months since Kermit’s little drive came to an end, and I’d hate for you to all assume we’ve just been sat in the pub boring people to death with the story of that time I drove to a crap bar in rural Chile…
Ironically, boring people to death with the story isn’t far from the mark, because as you may have noticed, much of those three months has been taken up with writing and spreading the Pub2Pub word far and wide. We’ve had features appear in many places, from Octane Magazine to Sprint, from Top Gear to Petrolicious, from Pistonheads to Norwegian glossy magazine Finansavisen Premium. The writing commitments are continuing to roll in, and you can expect to see the Pub2Pub Expedition featuring in a variety of further media over the coming months, including glossy magazines, podcasts and YouTube channels. So as you can see, the expedition’s PR workload remains as heavy as ever, and that’s even before you consider that we’ve signed a book deal with leading automotive publisher Veloce Publishing, with the fruits of this mildly intimidating undertaking due in 2019.
In total, the expedition has now generated well over 100 articles and features in the press since we reached the southernmost pub, meaning we’ve been averaging a feature a day, and thanks to content in such high-profile places as the BBC, Daily Mail, Jalopnik and the Mirror, the expedition’s ‘TVR = reliable’ message has now been read by tens of millions of people around the globe. We’ve also shown Kermit to the world at a wide range of events from Bicester Heritage to the pre-race driver’s parade at Le Mans – not bad for a little jaunt across a few continents in an old piece of fibreglass, hey?
But that’s not all! We’ve attracted support from a range of businesses for our ongoing adventures, most notably Classicline Insurance, who are Pub2Pub’s official insurance partners. We’ve teamed up with Dartmoor Brewery to launch the rather thirst-quenching ‘Pub2Pub Expedition IPA’, and we’ve not forgotten Kermit either, with the mighty steed receiving a lot of TLC from Racing Green TVR and TVR-Parts Ltd, and a fancy new cherrybomb exhaust courtesy of ACT performance, meaning it’s running – and sounding – better than ever.
If you’re still awake, you might be wondering what else we’ve been up to here at Pub2Pub HQ? Well, even ignoring the writing and the other PR stuff, we’ve been busy, that’s for sure. Firstly, we’ve put together a full business plan for this ‘ere venture, which should see us hopefully going from zero to world domination quicker than the original Griffith did in the early ‘90s. This business plan encompasses everything from trips like the Eagle Rally to merchandising and even track days under the ‘Pub2Pub Racing’ banner, so expect to see much more of the brand in the future.
And speaking of the brand, we’re now registered as a genuine limited company, we’ve registered the associated web addresses, and will be bringing you the full, all new Pub2Pub Adventures website in a few weeks time. We’re also currently working on the initial merchandise range, and will be revealing the results of this work through the new website shortly.
So… if you’ve been wondering how planning for the Eagle Rally has been progressing, sorry about the silence, but as you can see we’ve had quite a backlog of things to get done before we’ve been able to go full steam ahead on the planning. However, don’t for a minute assume that nothing has been done – far from it. For any trip like this, much of the initial work is research, and we’ve spent many long days pouring over maps, books and Google researching potential routes in obsessive detail, much like we did for the Pub2Pub Expedition – except this time, we’re hoping to produce a European route-plan with a substantially larger serving of awesome.
‘But how?’, I hear you ask. Simple – knowledge is king. So we’re currently becoming experts on a variety of European subjects, such as the driving roads of southern Belgium, the breweries of Bavaria and the petrolhead culture of the Stuttgart area. And so far, our research has turned up everything from Europe’s largest collection of F1 cars to a Soviet ‘Buran’ Space Shuttle, from a potential visit to Red Bull’s ‘Hangar 7’ toy box to a splendidly named bar in Bavaria called the ‘Wank-Haus’. In fact, our research is turning up so much good stuff that it’s going to be more a question of what to leave out of the itinerary, rather than how to fill it.
We already have a provisional route drawn out in all its glory, which we’re slowly filling in with outstanding memories at every turn, and 12 cars currently participating in this inaugural running. Fancy joining the action? You’ll have to be quick, as entry to this Autumn’s Eagle Rally closes at the end of July. If you’re interested, drop us an email at bencoombs998(at)gmail.com, and I’ll get you onboard.
There, I think that just about covers where we are right now – hopefully we’ll be seeing you on the road soon enough…
Pub2Pub 