Staples2Naples 2012
Discussion
A few friends a myself will be competing in the staples2naples rally in August. The rally starts in Calais and finishes in Naples, Italy 4 days later. The basic rule is to buy a car for less than £250, 'decorate' it in the most conspicuous way possible and drag it valiantly across the continent. The route includes the famous 'Stelvio Pass' in Bornio, and on the return route we will be make a detour to the Nurburgring for a lap each.
Has anyone on here taken part in this before? Or any other euro rally? It'll be our first so we're not sure what to expect, what to look out for, and what to avoid. The car will hopefully be decorated as shown so I can assume we'll attract plenty of attention, especially from the foreign authorities.
As for the car, we're still looking so if anyone spots anything particularly interesting for the budget please post a link!
Has anyone on here taken part in this before? Or any other euro rally? It'll be our first so we're not sure what to expect, what to look out for, and what to avoid. The car will hopefully be decorated as shown so I can assume we'll attract plenty of attention, especially from the foreign authorities.
As for the car, we're still looking so if anyone spots anything particularly interesting for the budget please post a link!
Edited by Taras on Thursday 19th January 08:21
A large group of us did it a few years back. On the whole a great laugh, but its what you make of it!
I wouldn't worry about the £250 limit, a lot of cars there were above budget, it's down to how you treat it - spend £400 then cover it in blackboard paint for example and no one will question what it cost you.
Our main quibble was the lack of organisation of the evenings. For example on the first night in Calais they were promoting a bar out of town which was only reachable by taxi, when there were loads of bars in the main area a few streets behind the hotel, where luckily most teams gravitated to.
The other one that got us was I think the 3rd night in Italy the checkpoint was a restaurant that had seating for say 40, which obviously couldn't cope with 100+ Brits descending on it, the organiser didn't have any other restaurant suggestions and we wondered around for ages with a number of other teams trying to find somewhere (sleepy Italian town on a Sunday night).
The best bit of advice I can offer is get to know as many other teams as possible on the first night and exchange numbers - luckily we did this and were able to arrange our own entertainment in the evenings, so had a great time despite what I said above.
Oh and don't cut the roof off your car - we had a big falling out with the organiser over this despite re-enforcing it to an extent where it felt stiffer on the twisties than when we started!
I wouldn't worry about the £250 limit, a lot of cars there were above budget, it's down to how you treat it - spend £400 then cover it in blackboard paint for example and no one will question what it cost you.
Our main quibble was the lack of organisation of the evenings. For example on the first night in Calais they were promoting a bar out of town which was only reachable by taxi, when there were loads of bars in the main area a few streets behind the hotel, where luckily most teams gravitated to.
The other one that got us was I think the 3rd night in Italy the checkpoint was a restaurant that had seating for say 40, which obviously couldn't cope with 100+ Brits descending on it, the organiser didn't have any other restaurant suggestions and we wondered around for ages with a number of other teams trying to find somewhere (sleepy Italian town on a Sunday night).
The best bit of advice I can offer is get to know as many other teams as possible on the first night and exchange numbers - luckily we did this and were able to arrange our own entertainment in the evenings, so had a great time despite what I said above.
Oh and don't cut the roof off your car - we had a big falling out with the organiser over this despite re-enforcing it to an extent where it felt stiffer on the twisties than when we started!
Hey Taras,
Welcome aboard! I run S2N obviously.
If this is your first rally, aim low. New teams always aim far too high - I've just talked a new team out of taking a Merc estate on the event on the S2N forum for instance. The most fun is had by teams with a car that is unsuited for long distance, uncomfortable, underpowered, and just plain old knackered. If the car doesn't worry you when you first buy it and drive it home, it's probably too good.
So aim low.
Decorate the car as well. Like most teams you will gradually fall in love with the wreck. A good woman can cure you of that - usually with a threat that she wants that heap off the driveway as soon as possible. However, decorate the car. We recommend Dulux. If Dulux is too good, just use branded B&Q emulsion. Remember to key the car to start with. If spraying the car - do it outside to pick up a sandy patina.
Buy airhorns. Hours of endless fun. The Godfather tune is recommended for Italy, and the Italians sure appreciate it.
Dressing up - you must dress up on the fancy dress day, regardless of how embarrassing it is. This year is embarrassing. If you don't you will be in a small minority of people who don't. So remember - most of the rally will be dressed as *************** that day.
If we can have a set of guys wearing mankinis on Stelvio last year, trust me, you can do anything. (This year's costume is not mankinis btw)
Yeah, roof chops, don't do it. There was a big crash in 2007 which would have killed a team had they chopped the roof off the car. Accidents can and do happen, car companies spend £bns on crash research, so don't think you can knock up a home made roll cage and think it'll perform as well as 20 years of experience and testing that Ford, GM, Toyota, Kia, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, VW, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo (to name but a few) put into car safety design.
Roll cages bought with bits of tube from B&Q will not suffice, no matter how good you think your welding is.
If you want a car with no roof, then buy one with no roof in the first place.
Evenings are usually set at a specific bar but you are welcome to find alternative evening amusements if you want. Mornings are staged where you get a challenge. We might have 2011s (in)famous Hooker Hunt again in 2012, although it might be a bit different.
But as was said earlier, you get out of the event what you put in. Put nothing in, and you'll get nothing out of it. But if you find a good crap car (if that makes sense), paint it, rag it, try not to fall in love with it, and enjoy the company of 300 strangers, you'll have a laugh. If you bang into other cars (and vice versa) - don't tell me
Staples2Naples 10th Anniversary is nearly full as well. We have around 15 places left for this year, and they'll go in no time at all. We're already at 85 teams.
Hotel information is going out before the end of January. Make sure you book when you see the green light for that. Most people who are disappointed are disappointed because they didn't book hotels early, and are in hotels some distance from where the fun is.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly.
Welcome aboard! I run S2N obviously.
If this is your first rally, aim low. New teams always aim far too high - I've just talked a new team out of taking a Merc estate on the event on the S2N forum for instance. The most fun is had by teams with a car that is unsuited for long distance, uncomfortable, underpowered, and just plain old knackered. If the car doesn't worry you when you first buy it and drive it home, it's probably too good.
So aim low.
Decorate the car as well. Like most teams you will gradually fall in love with the wreck. A good woman can cure you of that - usually with a threat that she wants that heap off the driveway as soon as possible. However, decorate the car. We recommend Dulux. If Dulux is too good, just use branded B&Q emulsion. Remember to key the car to start with. If spraying the car - do it outside to pick up a sandy patina.
Buy airhorns. Hours of endless fun. The Godfather tune is recommended for Italy, and the Italians sure appreciate it.
Dressing up - you must dress up on the fancy dress day, regardless of how embarrassing it is. This year is embarrassing. If you don't you will be in a small minority of people who don't. So remember - most of the rally will be dressed as *************** that day.
If we can have a set of guys wearing mankinis on Stelvio last year, trust me, you can do anything. (This year's costume is not mankinis btw)Yeah, roof chops, don't do it. There was a big crash in 2007 which would have killed a team had they chopped the roof off the car. Accidents can and do happen, car companies spend £bns on crash research, so don't think you can knock up a home made roll cage and think it'll perform as well as 20 years of experience and testing that Ford, GM, Toyota, Kia, Subaru, Nissan, Honda, VW, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo (to name but a few) put into car safety design.
Roll cages bought with bits of tube from B&Q will not suffice, no matter how good you think your welding is.
If you want a car with no roof, then buy one with no roof in the first place.
Evenings are usually set at a specific bar but you are welcome to find alternative evening amusements if you want. Mornings are staged where you get a challenge. We might have 2011s (in)famous Hooker Hunt again in 2012, although it might be a bit different.
But as was said earlier, you get out of the event what you put in. Put nothing in, and you'll get nothing out of it. But if you find a good crap car (if that makes sense), paint it, rag it, try not to fall in love with it, and enjoy the company of 300 strangers, you'll have a laugh. If you bang into other cars (and vice versa) - don't tell me
Staples2Naples 10th Anniversary is nearly full as well. We have around 15 places left for this year, and they'll go in no time at all. We're already at 85 teams.
Hotel information is going out before the end of January. Make sure you book when you see the green light for that. Most people who are disappointed are disappointed because they didn't book hotels early, and are in hotels some distance from where the fun is.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me directly.
I think Justin's probably covered all the salient points above (as you'd expect given he runs the thing!)
I'm another S2N reject, having competed in 2006 and loved every minute of it..
The event truly is what you make of it, but all the participants are in the same boat and the camaraderie amongst the teams is great.
I did a reasonable amount of prep before going (hotel bookings etc) but still managed to arrive at the hotel we'd booked one night to be told "no rooms"
Thankfully I had a mobile Internet card in my laptop and was able to book another hotel... if that sort of thing worries you then try another event!
As far as car choice goes, the more rubbish the better, but be sure and give it a decent run in the UK before the event, it's not much fun if your clutch goes on the way to Dover....
We built this (it cost us 103 notes on Ebay)
and the car that started all the furore over self-made convertibles was this totally excellent effort by a team called (IIRC) Honda not Zonda
I'm another S2N reject, having competed in 2006 and loved every minute of it..
The event truly is what you make of it, but all the participants are in the same boat and the camaraderie amongst the teams is great.
I did a reasonable amount of prep before going (hotel bookings etc) but still managed to arrive at the hotel we'd booked one night to be told "no rooms"
Thankfully I had a mobile Internet card in my laptop and was able to book another hotel... if that sort of thing worries you then try another event!
As far as car choice goes, the more rubbish the better, but be sure and give it a decent run in the UK before the event, it's not much fun if your clutch goes on the way to Dover....
We built this (it cost us 103 notes on Ebay)
and the car that started all the furore over self-made convertibles was this totally excellent effort by a team called (IIRC) Honda not Zonda
I did this a few years ago. Have a look at our web site for our journey.
http://www.amorgos.plus.com/lcs/index.html
http://www.amorgos.plus.com/lcs/index.html
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