Vintage Shamrock
May 6th - 9th, 2024
The fifth running of this celebration of pre-war motoring ventured further north than ever before, as it crossed the midlands and explored the mountains and coast of the ancient kingdom of Connacht. This race took the Bodacious Racing Team through stunning Irish scenery, hospitality and charm.
Chris and Jeff drove the 1939 Supercharged MG TB, and Tim and Jim drove the 1949 MG TC. Learn more about how the team did during this race here.
Road to Hanoi Marathon
January 27th - February 24th, 2024Chris and Jeff drove the 1972 Porsche 911, (car #23) and took 2nd place in their class, and 6th overall. Tim and Jim drove the 1972 Ford Escort (car #22), and they made a fine showing, finishing 7th overall. If you'd like to learn what happened, you can learn the details here.
Alaska to Mexico Marathon
August 27th - September 26th, 2023We planned a month of intense driving, competition, adventure and camaraderie, 12,000km south from the vast wilderness of Alaska, to the tropical beaches of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. As fate would have it, both of our vehicles failed us, and this rally was a bust. If you'd like to learn what happened, you can learn the details here.
Chris Pike and Jeff Urbina competed in the 1957 Chevy Bel Air, car #20. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren competed in the 1971 Ford Escort, car #43.
The 13th Flying Scotsman 2023
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.April 14th - 16th, 2023
Our spring adventure headed south from Turnberry into Northern England.
Set against a brooding backdrop of the wild seas of the Firth of Clyde simply punctuated by the unique outline of Ailsa Craig, the Turnberry Resort provided the perfect starting point for this adventure. In fact, this luxurious lodging (formerly the Station Hotel) owes its very existence to the railways when it was built by the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company in 1906 as part of the first purpose-planned golfing resort in Britain.
Leaving Turnberry, Day One saw us quickly taking to the uplands of Dumfries and Galloway. Lonely ribbons of tarmac cross the raised bogs and rounded hills of this wild and remote landscape were explored during the morning. The first special tests then followed before the route crossed over the border to enjoy more remote roads as it traced the line of Hadrian’s Wall to reach Slaley Hall – set in the heart of the Northumberland countryside.
An early start on Saturday preceded a longer day on the road, as the morning route initially headed south once again, into the fine driving roads of the Northern Pennines, before turning north to re-cross the border and trace a largely direct route through the scenic Southern Uplands to a night halt just outside Edinburgh.
The third and final day began with a crossing of the Firth of Clyde before the rest of the day was spent in the heather-clad hills of the southern and central Highlands circumnavigating Loch Tay, before returning to the final terminus at the world famous Gleneagles Hotel – another railway hotel of old, built in 1924 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company.
Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike competed in an 1939 MG TB, car #89. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren competed in a 1949 MG TC, car #97.
2022 Lima To Cape Horn Enduro Rally
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.October 22nd – November 20th, 2022
Starting at sea level in Lima, Peru, only six days later we slept at over 3,600 metres in La Paz, the Bolivian capital. The salt flats of Bolivia and north western Argentina gave way to the green vineyards of Mendoza. Following the Andes south, we entered the breath-taking lake district around Bariloche, before making our way into Chile, where the days were decidedly cooler as the scenery became ever more dramatic. Glaciers and deep blue lakes surrounded by snow peaked mountains surrounded us before we finally entered magical Patagonia - finally arriving at the city at the end of the earth, Ushuaia.
Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike competed in the 1972 Porsche 911, car #30. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren cpmpeted in the 1936 Ford Cabriolet, car #5.
2021 Highland Thistle Rally
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.September 3rd – September 7th, 2021
Starting in Scotland from historic St. Andrews, the race meandered westward to stay on the coast in a scenic loch-side hotel. The next day it passed awe-inspiring Glens and mountains before crossing over the sea to the Isle of Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebrides and home to some of Scotland's most iconic landscapes.
Returning to the mainland the next day, it crossed the country and spent two nights close to the cathedral city of Inverness, with a foray into the far North and some of the remotest regions of the British Isles.
The final day of the route crossed the Cairngorms, the UK's largest National Park, and the Tay Bridge, before returning to the start in St Andrews, the home of golf.
Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike competed in the 1972 Porsche 911, car #31. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren competed in the 1971 Ford Escort, car #29.
The 2020 New Zealand Classic
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.February 15th – March 8th, 2020
A small country with an enormous heart, New Zealand is a land like no other. "The Land of the Long White Cloud" is famed for a breathtaking and often unique landscape, rich cultural heritage, top-notch wines, fabulous cities, hospitable locals and world-famous sporting history.
Alongside rugby, cricket, watersports and winter sports, motorsport pulses strongly through New Zealand's veins and we were excited to participate in the ERA New Zealand Classic in 2020.
Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike competed in the 1972 Ford Escort, car #28. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren competed in the 1971 Ford Escort, car #25.
The 7th Peking to Paris Motor Challenge 2019
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.June 2nd - July 7th, 2019
The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is unique in the motoring world – a true endurance motor rally following in the wheel-tracks of the original pioneers of 1907. Driving an old car nearly half way around the world with a bunch of like-minded enthusiasts, against the clock, with the added spice of timed sections, makes Peking to Paris the longest and toughest driving challenge for Vintage and Classic cars.
Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike competed in the 1936 Ford Cabriolet, car #36. Tim Eades and Jim McLaren competed in the 1957 Chevy Bel Air, car #114.
The Trans America Challenge
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.May 27th - Sunday June 17th, 2018
The Bodacious teams participated in the Transamerica Rally in support of a cause near and dear to their hearts. It began in Charleston South Carolina on May 27th and finished in Seattle WA on June 17th 2018. The three-week fusion of competitive historic rallying and road trip clocked up 8,000 kilometers of breath taking sights and scenery. As well as taking in little-known back roads, the route encompassed deserts, oceans, mountains, flat plains, small towns, big cities... and it featured gravel tests, forest regularities, and race circuits. We raised nearly $73,000 for Metastatic breast cancer, in partnership with the www.drive4stageiv.com website.
The Blue Train Challenge
September 18th - 22nd, 2017The Blue Train Challenge is an imaginative new Endurance Rally Association event from the same thoroughbred stable as the highly successful Flying Scotsman and Alpine Trial. Designed from the ground up for enthusiasts with pre-1948 Vintage and early post-war 'Riviera Sports Cars', the Blue Train re-captures that nostalgic 1930's age when pioneering motorists set out to beat the famous Train Bleu on its journey across France from the English Channel to the Cote d’Azur.
The 9th Flying Scotsman Rally
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.March 31st - April 2nd 2017
Nearly six months after the Alpine Trial, the Bodacious Racing teams were back in their driver seats again, headed across the ocean for the quintessential Flying Scotsman Rally. This three-day Vintageant car rally was held in the magnificent countryside of Northern England and Scotland.Our first team, Tim Eades and Jack Baldwin, drove the 1938 - Chevrolet Fangio Coupe, assigned number 97. With general maintenance and tune up, the RPS team prepared this car without any major modifications.
In their second Flying Scotsman appearance, Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike drove the 1936 - Ford Cabriolet. After the Alpine trial, the Ford went to RPS for further improvements. Fuel tanks were optimized, a new dash with cleaner layout and a new paint job (down east red with black fenders), which turned some heads. It also got a new canvas top, lightweight trunk lid, lightweight roll cage and improved brakes. RPS did a great job "again" on limited time. Jeff and Chris raced under number 76.
Alpine Challenge
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.September 26th - September 28th, 2016
The Alpine Trial has quickly become established as the must do Vintage-only event for those seeking out the finest in Alpine motoring. The first day took place in the Jura Mountains, which rise immediately behind the beautiful art-deco Rally HQ of the Domaine de Divonne hotel. While not as high or dramatic as their Alpine counterparts further south, the fast sweeping roads of the High Jura are made for vintage motoring, and they provide a perfect introduction to the challenges of this three day event.
On Day Two the cars headed south from Divonne, following the spine of the mountains towards the Rhone valley. Once across the Rhone, the mountains grow steadily higher until, after lunch, the dramatic limestone crags of the Chartreuse Massif hove into view, a new area for the "Alpine". After cresting the famous Col du Granier, the route descended briefly into the Isere valley before turning north for the final run into Annecy.
The final day provided the stiffest challenge of all, using virtually every remote Alpine road in a compact route that is rarely out of sight of Mont Blanc. A few new mountain passes were thrown in for good measure before the event returned to Annecy, for the Gala Prize Giving.
Nearly 1000 kilometres of the finest vintage motoring... what better way to spend three days in the Alps!
Jeff Urbina and Willie McNickle drove the 1936 Ford Cabriolet and Tim Eades and Jack Baldwin drove the 1938 Chevy Coupe.
Peking to Paris
Click here to enjoy our daily log from this race.June 12th - July 17th, 2016
The most extraordinary journey possible in a motorcar...
The 2016 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge started at the Great Wall outside Beijing. The adventurous route wound through Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland before finishing in Paris, France.
Our drivers; Jeff Urbina, Chris Pike, Tim Eades, and Willie McNickle, competed with over 100 cars, driving over 8,510 miles in 36 days. To qualify for this event, cars must "reasonably stand a chance of coping" with the challenges they will face. Each participant brought their own camping gear and spare parts, including extra wheels.
It was a race without compromises, with very long and strenuous sections. It was a real adventure and a big challenge.
The 8th Flying Scotsman Rally - Belvoir Castle to Gleneagles
Friday 15th - Sunday 17th, April, 2016
On Friday April 15th, 2016, Jeff Urbina and Chris Pike were "All aboard" departing Belvoir Castle, an idyllic East Midlands location set in 16,000 acres of beautiful parkland. They had three days of glorious Vintage motoring through the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Wolds then onwards to the North and beyond via Northumberland and some of Scotland's finest Lochs and Glens before arriving, bang on time, in front of the splendid Gleneagles hotel.
The Sahara Challenge 2015
Madrid to Marrakesh - October 5th -14th, 2015Jeff Urbina and Tim Eades drove the 1938 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe in The Sahara Challenge, placing 2nd overall for their class (Vintageant - pre 1941 type cars). The ten-day event from Toledo to Marrakesh proved to be great preparation for the Peking to Paris 2016, but more than that, it was a fantastic rally experience in its own right.
