Mk1 2.5PI saloon DPA 120H "Mark" (the first Mk1 PI to do the run). My co-driver was Roddy Pratt.
1986
Mk2 2.5PI saloon LPG 292K "Fizz" (we were planning to take the factory prototype Mk1 PI KWK 546F but failed to get it ready in time). My co-driver was Roddy Pratt again.
1988
Mk2 2.5PI saloon LPG 292K "Fizz". Roddy Pratt was my co-driver for the third time.
1990
Mk2 2000 estate LPB 424K "Holly" (holed a piston near Penzance but still finished).
This time my co-driver was my wife, Maggie Roberts.
1996
Mk2 2000 estate LPB 424K "Holly" again (by this time it had a 2500 engine).
My co-driver was Adrian Ayres.
1998
Del Lines Stag Estate TNH 10. Friends and relatives also did the 1998 run, in LPB 424K. The six drivers were Andy Roberts, Maggie Roberts, Chris Roberts, Brian Stone, Adrian Ayres and Roddy Pratt.
Having three drivers was so much better than two that I decided that I would always have a crew of three from then on.
2002
Mk2 'facelift' 2.5PI saloon GHX 273N "Freddie", seen here alongside Tim Hunt's TR4A at Land's End. My co-drivers were Phil Gibbons and Chris Roberts.
2004Mk2 'facelift' 2.5PI saloon GHX 273N "Freddie" again.
The same drivers as 2002 (me, Chris Roberts and Phil Gibbons).
2008
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey", seen here after the run with some of my work colleagues (including Phil, one of my co-drivers) who sponsored us. The other co-driver was Chris Roberts, my son.
We only just got her finished in time to take part, and I foolishly did what I always tell everyone else not to do; I did not plan things properly and was left with too much to do in too little time as the date of the run approached. Without the help of friends such as Adrian, Alan, Bill and Phil we wouldn't have made it. And if I hadn't been so exhausted, we wouldn't have had the ignition troubles that plagued us during the run. But at least we finished!
2010
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey" again.
This time my co-drivers were Phil Gibbons and Peter Clapp.
At John O'Groats ...
2012
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey".
The crew was the same as 2010, namely me, Phil Gibbons and Peter Clapp.
At the Plough before the start, in very good company with Matt George's
2000 (2500) and Amanda Johnson's lovely early 2500S Estate.
Another photo at John O'Groats, but at a different "First and Last" establishment from the one in the 2010 photo.
Janey now has the correct "blue top tint" windscreen fitted, and the
chrome trims are on too! Perhaps I'll manage to fit the sill trims in
time for the next run. (Note: Sill trims still not fitted in 2023.)
2014
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey".
My co-drivers were once again Phil Gibbons and Peter Clapp.
2016
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey".
My co-drivers were Phil Gibbons and Peter
Clapp again.
2018
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey".
My co-drivers this time were Phil Gibbons and Richard Eaton.
2021
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey".
My co-drivers this time were Phil Gibbons and Linsey Martin.
This was my fifteenth RBRR, Phil's ninth and Linsey's fourth (although her first with Phil and me). We got on really well as a crew and I think all three of us are looking forward to doing the next RBRR together. Janey has now completed seven runs (the last seven).
Relaxing - just for a moment - at the viewpoint overlooking Dornoch
Firth during the 2021 run. This is a location where we always seem to
stop to admire the view!
All did not go quite as smoothly as planned, though; the viscous fan coupling gave way just as we were arriving at the Land's End breakfast stop. The plan was to remove the fan assembly and continue without an
engine-driven fan. It was, however, raining rather hard, so we decided
to limp to the next stop at Bude and seek assistance there.
At Bude, Malcolm Warren came up trumps and his friend Colin provided a garage with a ramp no less!
Not having a spare viscous coupling to hand, we were able to drain the cooling system, remove the radiator, replace the fan assembly with a spacer and put it all back together again in much more comfort than in the pouring rain in Penzance.
Thanks Malcolm and Colin, showing the true spirit of the event and the friendly nature of the classic car community.
2023
Del Lines Stag Saloon JNY 590N "Janey" again.
My co-drivers were Phil Gibbons and Linsey Martin, the same as last time. This was my sixteenth RBRR, Phil's tenth, Linsey's fifth (second one with us) and Janey's eighth.
Here we are relaxing at the start, just pleased to see each other again,
enjoying the company of friends (many of whom we hadn't seen for two
years) and completely unaware of the horrific weather that was to
follow.
Janey didn't miss a beat this time, despite the torrential rain and accompanying standing water in Scotland.
The picture above (thanks, Jen Bradford) whows us on our way along the A303 to the final control at Popham Airfield. You can perhaps tell from all the dirt that we've been though some weather!
We averaged 26.45 mpg, which ain't bad I reckon, especially as we weren't at all light on the throttle.
The sound of the V8 and the power that it delivers made sure we made rapid progress where possible and sensible. I particularly enjoyed driving from Kinross all the way to John O'Groats, along mainly empty roads, and it wasn't raining all that hard either.
2025
The "dream team" of Andy, Linsey and Phil are already looking forward to the next one. I think we must be mad, but we all really enjoyed this year's event and want to go round again!
Runs missed
I unfortunately missed some of the runs, for a variety of reasons:
1992 We had just moved to Devon and were setting up a garage business.
1994 Our garage (Lake Garage, Sourton, Devon) was one of the stops on the 1994 run.
2000 I was away in the USA on business (very bad planning, I know).
2006 The PI developed engine trouble during a continental trip 2 weeks before the event and I didn't have time to fix it before the run.
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