An Impudent Effort

Author Terence Tracey drove from Johannesburg to London in a 50-year-old Hillman Imp – in order to get to a birthday party

- Bruce Dennill

On 6 May 2013, a group of fans of the Hillman Imp, the small, rear engined car conceived by the Rootes Group to compete with the Mini, gathered in Coventry to celebrate the vehicle’s 50-year anniversary. On the RSVP list were Terence Tracey and Geoff Biermann, who had left South Africa on 28 March, and were driving through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey and half of Europe to get there.

You had such a ridiculous goal – failure was almost guaranteed. Other than the appeal of being an explorer and adventurer, why press ahead?

I’ve always had a simple determination to do what’s in my mind. I’m too stupid to analyse everything – I just set off and expect to get there. Had I understood the dangers we faced once we got north of Nairobi, it might have been different.

There’s an enormous amount of paperwork involved in a journey like this. How much of the experience came down to doing boring admin?

Probably around 20 to 25% of the effort was admin, border crossings and forward planning. I’m the worst at that sort of thing; I’m just happy to do. Maybe my strength is knowing my weakness: when I get a business partner, I put all of that stuff on their plate so I know it’ll get done!

Through all of that – and the tough times on the road – you managed to maintain a positive attitude. How did you manage that?