HTCAV – 2024 Hainan Open International report
Words & Photos: Chris Ralph
Stepping onto the balcony of a deluxe hotel in Hainan, the ‘Hawaii of China’, I notice something’s missing – no traffic noise! EVs give a spooky silence to this sunny island city, but a terrible muttering thunder soon breaks the calm. The deep, medieval roar from beneath the hotel grows in intensity. Then a familiar smell greets the nostrils – burning hydrocarbons, thick mineral oils and unfiltered soot.
Deep in the hotel garage, valuable classic cars are awakening from ocean voyages…
The cars are being prepped for the Hainan Open International; a rally held under the auspices of FIVA (Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens), the arm of the FIA that’s devoted to the preservation and promotion of historic vehicles.
Eighty cars have come from around the world – Europe, UK, USA and Australia – as well as mainland China and Hong Kong for the event on 13-21 November, 2024. Many of the owners are high-level classic car dealers, here for an event that has become emblematic of the new interest China has in antique and classic cars. There’s business to be done here.
Global vintage and classic cars
From France comes a 1926 Bugatti Type 37 GP, an Amilcar and an 1100cc Salmson-based Rally with Mille Miglia history. The tiny Rally shares space with Brooklands-era British leviathans from Bentley and Armstrong Siddeley. Later pre-war cars encompass Riley, Wolseley and Rover from UK-based entrants, Chevrolet, Ford and Buick from the US and a BMW 328 that’s come from Latvia.
Fifties and sixties classics include Jaguar, Triumph, Austin-Healey, AC, Lancia, Iso Rivolta, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Volvo and Mercedes. Showing just how ‘open’ the Open International is, a Porsche 356 lines up against a behemoth 1966 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, with an example of the much-maligned Chevy Corvair in the mix, too.
A local entrant is the giant Chinese Hongqi state limousine, complete with brown curtains, which is given pride of place at the rally’s overnight stops.
Seventies-era cars from Porsche, Ferrari and BMW include a 1986 BMW 325i M Sport piloted by your very lucky writer; one of two Australian entries. More modern fare from local enthusiasts is called upon to boost the central core of overseas cars.
Why was an Aussie Team there?
The other Aussie entry is that of Makulu Vehicle Storage boss, Clive Massel, in his most favourite track and much-stickered Targa car, a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. Its decades of success continue in China, with Clive and navigator/co-driver, motorsport identity Matt Thewlis, coming home 8th outright and 3rd in the premier pre-1973 class. Neither of Clive’s cars miss a beat and we combine for a ‘Team Makulu’ formation finish of 7th and 8th.
Among the many high-profile clients at Makulu Vehicle Storage are brothers Richard and Peter Zen, the former being FIVA’s Vice President in China. They convinced Clive to take two cars to Hainan for the Open International and were the perfect hosts and facilitators.
Not just a businessman, Richard is a genuine, Grade A car nut with a big collection. His passion is so strong, he bought the old Port Wakefield circuit in SA, home of the 1955 Australian Grand Prix won by Jack Brabham in a bobtail Cooper T40. Why stop there? He next buys the T40 and gets Damon Hill to drive it at the Adelaide Motorsports Festival.
Beyond that, Richard is one of the nicest blokes you’ll ever meet, as is Peter – they are fabulous hosts. Even today, we may not know the extent of special treatment we received…
Luxury all the way
It seems that every hotel we stay at has a fountain or flagpoles out front. The accommodation is excellent and included in the entry fee. A coupon system covers meals, luggage awaits you at the next overnight stop and there’s even a free rally coffee cart at check points. Organisation at the Hainan Open International is flawless.
Cultural events are semi-obligatory, including watching a traditional opera while being served a never-ending feast by veiled maidens. Some of the rally stages are slowed right down so contestants can visit important cultural landmarks, historic sites and camera opportunities.
The hoopla at the official start and end of the rally in Sanya, a Gold Coast-style city in Hainan’s south, is huge, with bands, speeches and a day out for all. Along the way, each day’s start brings out city dignitaries and flag wavers.
Hainan, the smallest province in China (and its “second largest island after Taiwan” according to the glossy welcome book) won the bid to hold FIVA China’s 2024 event. Sanya’s government is on board and organise a lengthy demonstration run through the city the day before the rally gets underway. Police on motorcycles hold up traffic as pedestrians wave from the footpaths. When we stop, crowds of selfie seekers are like bees to blue flowers.
The Rally itself
A regularity-based navigation rally, the Hainan Open International is held over five days and approximately 1500km. We travel clockwise from Sanya to overnight stays in Changjiang, then the big industrial city of Haikou in the north. There, the weather becomes slightly cooler and the rural roads more rustic as we drive through the devastation from a cyclone two months before. Things get lusher as we motor down the east coast to Wenchang and Wanning before the run home to Sanya.
And a ‘run’ it is. Frustrations from previous artificially slow stages are forgotten - the last day is a sorting process. But wait! The organisers hadn’t counted on a massive market day in one town. An impenetrable mass of people on both sides of the street try to sell us everything from loosely butchered animals to trinkets as we inch our way through.
Our temporary Chinese licences run out at rally end, only hours away. We don’t care now, we’re on it. The mad dash through country lanes and city streets feels as though we’re in our own action movie. The famous short film ‘Rendezvous’ was even mentioned afterwards by people with shaking fingers and raised heartbeats. Ducks, dogs, cows, goats, pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders and crazy car drivers – hazards at every turn.
One Ferrari is scraped by a local ute but no other damage occurs. My local navigator, the excellent Huang Shenming, often has no time to mentally translate and communicates with a series of squeaks and small cries when things get hairy.
People make the event
While a handful are serious about winning, others jus’ wanna have fun. Dutch classic car dealer Philippe Mulders and his girlfriend Valentina drive their Bugatti T37 flat out. A failed oil pressure repair at control, aided by a bottle of French bubbly, sees them transfer to a superb 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24S convertible.
Sam Glover, the former Technical Editor of Practical Classics magazine, and three East European mates go off piste in the Corvair, driving all over the island and spending each night celebrating hard.
Hong Kong’s Jacky Wong and his partner, Toyota AE86 drift star Nana, have a crew filming for his “Speedster” You Tube channel. US funsters Harry and Heather Clark have an ongoing party of six in their big Cadillac, complete with picnic basket and champagne cooler.
Winners/grinners
High level speed/navigation contests are serious sport in Europe and two Dutch teams aren’t mucking around. Cornelis De Jong and Male Petrus in a Volvo 122 are quick and organised, but it’s Michiel Van Drunen and navigator Paul Van Der Aa who clean the first four days and only lose 10 points on the fifth to take the win in their tiny 1975 DAF 66 with 1100cc and Variomatic transmission. “OK if speeds keep up,” says Michiel, “but behind trucks up those hills, we are gevund.”
Just a few spots down the order, Team Makulu feels like a winner - and we’re certainly grinners. On Day 1, we bond with Sam and Sophie Fretwell from Classicwise, a car storage and classic sales company in the UK Midlands. Their sharp, red 1965 Mustang make us a three-car equipe for the event and a party every night. Friendship continues, business is being done and they are considering an event or two in Australia.
Unforgettable, really
This was a one-off opportunity grasped - one of the great lifetime experiences. Not your average event and not without some red tape issues (from the Australian side) but very, very different.
In a country where EVs from 100+ manufacturers glide like braindead whitegoods, barely distinguishable from each other (except for the fetchingly named TrumpChi), brands like KIA or BYD remind you of home.
At most intersections, overhead white lights flash to remind you who’s boss, but you’re OK up to 15km/h over the limit. Petrol stations? You have to hunt for them. It is a glimpse into the future in many ways – but the people are great, without exception.
My thanks to HTCAV sponsor and good friend Clive Massel for inviting me, preparing the cars and dealing with all the stuff before and after, and to Richard and Peter Zen for their amazing generosity.
An Annual Attraction
FIVA China rallies are held every year, with the 2025 event to be based in the Shanghai area. Keep an eye on the FIVA.org website if you fancy something out of the ordinary. Airfares are very reasonable and inclusive entry fees could have been worse
