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New bonnet, New (new) Livery!

 

Following the .. * incident * ... with the old bonnet, the first update post race is a new bonnet. With the new bonnet comes new livery! The replacement bonnet had been waiting in the workshop for a while as even before the near catastrophic opening event the old bonnet was showing its age and the underlying support structure was cracking and coming away from the outer skin.

 

The original bonnet was replaced after it was damaged in a roll in the Rallye Jean de La Fontaine in May 2008 : 

 

 

The replacement bonnet that the car has been wearing since (and until this week) has taken its fair share of damage over the years, including roll overs at Plaines and Vallees in 2009 and the 'big one' in 2010. Despite the dents and cracks, it had survived to fight on until 2025.

 

The first job was to strip the black paint with copious quantities of celulose thinners and wire wool.

As I had to drill holes in the new bonnet for the bonnet pins, I used the opportunity to replace them with a fresh set. Next was a coat of primer, then some signature red colour. The paint job was only every going to be rattle cans as it will no doubt soon be scratched and scuffed from off piste excursions! Nevertheless, it doesn't look too bad at all!

 

I really liked the stickers on the old bonnet as they tell the story of it past life, and I did consider trying to reproduce some of them, especially the one from the now defunct 'Total Off-Road Magazine'... But, with a new bonnet its time to move on... I decided to keep it simple, going for our '#RedRav4Racing' hastag and the biggest Instagram logo I could get made that has a chance of being readable at a distance. I've also added a couple of the French 'Leclerc' stickers and a small Union Jack, along with a SCOR Safari Championship 2025 sticker, ready for the final event of the year. Here is the finished article :

Although it doesn't look it under the workshop lights, it is the same colour as the rest of the car! 

 

Next is the long list of things to sort before Round 7 at (RAF) Manston in October!