Derek Mayor, Volvo Bus Service Manager UK and Eire drove his classic two seater Morgan sportscar, fitted with a Rover V8 3.900cc engine, whilst Barry Mace, Volvo Service Manager for Eire was astride his BMW R1200 GS motorbike. They were also superbly assisted by two other Volvo men, Alec Evans and Mike Baldwin, who provided ongoing updates of traffic and weather conditions from the Volvo support vehicle.
The Classic Road Tour called at 14 Volvo dealerships across the UK and Ireland to collect cheques raised for Volvo’s nominated charity Teenage Cancer Trust. With over £5,000 raised during the event and money still being pledged all the time, it has proved to be an enormously successful event.
Television motoring personality Quentin Willson was at the launch event on Wednesday 8 September to wave off the Tour which he described as being a ‘hugely ambitious venture’. The motoring expert is a longstanding supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust.
After a hearty early morning breakfast and a few encouraging words from Quentin Willson and Volvo Bus Managing Director, Steve Dewhurst the team set off for Hartshornes in Walsall to collect their first cheque of the tour. With little time to spare they visited Coventry, Hayes and Southampton, before arriving in Avonmouth, via a slight detour when Alec Evans tried to outsmart the Sat Nav.
The Morgan then needed some running repairs and luckily was the last vehicle to make it on the overnight ferry from Swansea to the Republic of Ireland. A busy second day saw the team collect cheques from Cork, Dublin, Monaghan and Dennisons in Ballyclare.
Catching the overnight ferry from Larne gave the team chance to grab a breather before their final day. Friday saw a long drive North, in horrific weather to Volvo Truck and Bus Centre in Glasgow. After a trip to Parks of Hamilton to collect yet another generous cheque the team made the long trip South to Preston. The final visit of The Classic Road Tour was Crossroad Truck and Bus in Birstall, before a jubilant, but very weary team arrived back in Warwick at 8pm to celebrate their momentous 1180 mile round tour.
“The Classic Road Tour is part of our ongoing commitment towards raising £100,000 to assist with this extremely worthwhile cause,” explained Volvo Bus Managing Director Steve Dewhurst. “We are delighted with the money raised so far and would like to thank everybody who contributed and helped set up the event, as well of course Derek, Barry, Alec and Mike and also Quentin Willson for coming along and supporting the launch event.”
ENDS
14 September 2010
Caption for Image: Classic Road Tour proves to be huge success for Volvo Bus and Teenage Cancer Trust. (Left to right) Barry Mace, Sarah Kneafsey (TCT), Tom Degg (TCT representative), Mike Baldwin, Steve Dewhurst, Derek Mayor, Alec Evans & Quentin Willson
