September 2nd/4th
The start venue for the Tour Britannia is particularly apposite for an event that features older cars. Duxford aerodrome is one of the many locations operated by the Imperial War Museum as well housing the American Air Museum and Air Space, a new £25m exhibition of British and Commonwealth aviation. It is against this backdrop that all the documentation and scrutineering activities for Tour Britannia will take place on Monday, September 1st as well as the actual start of the event on the morning of Tuesday, September 2nd.
This famous heritage site is located nine miles south of Cambridge and nestles in the fork between the M11 and the A11. Duxford was built during the First World War and served as a training base for Royal Flying Corps aircrew. When just after the war the RAF was formed, it made Duxford its No 2 Flying Training School eventually turning it into a fully fledged fighter base with three squadrons. During the Second World War, Duxford - under its charismatic commander, Douglas Bader - played a key role in winning the Battle of Britain with Spitfires and Hurricanes. Later it became the home for American fighter squadrons of the 8th Air Force flying Mustangs and Thunderbolts, examples of which can be seen in the museum. After the war, it saw service for the new jet fighters then in 1969 it was de-commissioned and acquired by the IWM.
The plan for Duxford in relation to Tour Britannia is that from lunchtime on Monday, competitors will be welcomed by the team at Duxford and then taken through the process of signing on, collecting paperwork and having their car checked by the scrutineers. The situation then is that there will be a secure park at Duxford where the competing cars can be left overnight. There is no compulsion to do so but the competitors may find it more convenient than taking their rally cars into Cambridge. If they have no service car or other transport, the organisers will be providing a shuttle service. It is also worth noting that thanks to the co-operation of Cars Motorsport who are bringing many of the competing cars to Duxford and then collecting them again from Coventry at the end of Tour Britannia, there will be the possibility of transporting surplus road cars from the start to the finish.
It was always going to be an early departure on Tuesday morning but with the start moved from central Cambridge to Duxford, at least there is not the prospect of tackling the morning rush hour in competition cars that have not yet reached working temperature. For those who need a lift from Cambridge to Duxford, there will be shuttles operating from the main hotel, now known by its full name as the Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge Garden House. And for anyone whose early start meant missing early sustenance, there will be breakfast facilities at Duxford.
