Former Abta president Justin Fleming and his son Kristian are embarking on a motor rally across some of the world’s toughest terrain from Peking to Paris.
The pair are driving the 8,510 miles in a 1972 Ford Capri, with some of the most challenging driving conditions expected to be in Mongolia, where the rally takes drivers through the Gobi Desert.
“I miss the buzz of the industry so I thought this might be a quick fix,” joked classic car enthusiast Fleming, who was Abta president from 2006 to 2009 and is a non-executive director of Classic Collection Holidays.
In total 100 cars are taking part in the rally, which starts this Sunday, June 12. It is set to take 36 days, finishing on July 17, with the route taking drivers through northern China, Mongolia, Russia and Europe, including the Alps mountain range.
Industry veteran Roger Allard, chairman of All Leisure Group, is the pair’s principal sponsor. The Flemings will be posting details of their progress on a blog, peking2parisblog.com, during the rally.
They are raising funds for two charities, children’s charity Bombolulu School of Promise, which provides education to youngsters in the slums of Mombasa, Kenya, and Saint Joesph’s African Aid, which manages small projects, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Gabon.
Fleming launched Panorama Holiday Group in 1987, which he sold to the former MyTravel Group (now Thomas Cook) in 1998.