THE Mayor of Erewash is to set off in a Reliant Robin on a near 2,000-mile tour of the borough’s three twin towns – pausing at the Nurburgring to race the three-wheeler around Germany’s most notorious motorsports circuit.
Cllr Harry Atkinson reckons the charity stunt will be the first time anyone has tackled a lap in one of the Del Boy-style vehicles.
The blue Robin – which sports a Union Jack on the bonnet – is owned by one of three friends who will be accompanying him on April’s grand tour to boost links with Langen in Germany and the French towns of Romorantin-Lanthenay and Châlons-en-Champagne.
Harry last year took to the wheel of the vehicle during the Long Eaton Carnival parade.
His friend Matt Micklewright – who the Mayor has known since they were both six – has owned the 34-year-old car for three years after buying it for “a bit of fun”.
Harry confessed: “It has a top speed of only 85mph – downhill – with a 0 to 60 time of around 16 seconds so we won’t be breaking any lap records. But it is a fun way to raise money for my Mayor’s charities – the 1st Sawley Scouts in their mission to build a new scout hut and the youth academy of local community radio station Erewash Sound.” The car, which has just 55,000 miles on the clock, previously made it to Norway and back on a volunteering mission. Del Boy Trotter – played by David Jason in TV sitcom Only Fools and Horses – famously owned a yellow van version called a Reliant Regal. The three wheelers, which have fibreglass bodies, were manufactured in Tamworth.
Harry’s trip will also include a visit to the World War One Belgian battlefield of Ypres, where the Mayor will lay a wreath. The provisional itinerary is:
10 April (Fri): Erewash → Dover (3h 19m – 326 km)
11 April (Sat): Dover → Paris (3h 6m – 288 km)
12 April (Sun): Paris → Romorantin-Lanthenay (2h 19m – 205 km)
13 April (Mon): Romorantin-Lanthenay
14 April (Tue): Romorantin-Lanthenay → Châlons-en-Champagne (3h 41m – 341 km)
15 April (Wed): Châlons-en-Champagne
16 April (Thu): Châlons-en-Champagne → Nürburgring (3h 32m – 329 km)
17 April (Fri): Nürburgring → Langen (1h 53m – 177 km)
18 April (Sat): Langen
19 April (Sun): Langen → Ypres (5h 12m – 529 km)
20 April (Mon): Ypres → Erewash (5h 43m – 489 km)
The Nurburgring has been billed on BBC motoring show Top Gear as “the world’s most demanding racetrack”. When Richard Hammond was one of the presenters he described it to viewers as a “fearsome 13-mile track with 147 corners that over the years has claimed hundreds of lives”. He then climbed into a Ford Transit van driven by racing queen Sabine Schmitz – who managed to complete a circuit in a shade over ten minutes.
Châlons-en-Champagne – formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne – has been Ilkeston’s twin town since 1957. Long Eaton is twinned with Romorantin-Lanthenay, in the Loire Valley, and Langen, which is a town near Frankfurt. More information is here: Twinning | Erewash Borough Council
