In the dim and distant past, Penny enjoyed the equestrian life while Geoff spent all his time sailing and experimented with motorsport; he soon realised that he couldn’t really afford it! All this came to a halt while the children were growing up.

Penny & Geoff Rawlings have been members for many years of both the MG Car Club and the Ulster Vintage Car Club in Northern Ireland. Since the 1980s they have competed in many types of event such as driving tests, trials and navigation rallies. In 2004, they drove one of their smallest cars, a 1934 MG PA approximately 1000 miles on a round trip to Luxembourg and in 2005, the took the same car on an adventure to Angoulemé in France.

In the summer of 2005, Penny received an invitation and a brochure concerning the 2007 Peking to Paris. Unbeknownst to her husband, Geoff, she had been nurturing the kernel of an idea since reading what she expected to be a ‘beach read’ novel by Rosie Thomas while on holiday a few years previously. It was in fact an account of Rosie’s participation in the l997 event in a 1960s Volvo. After dropping hints over the breakfast table about experimenting with some longer-distance European rallies, she eventually dropped the bombshell and asked what he thought of the 2007 P2P. Several months cogitation and discussion led to the entry fee being submitted in October 2004.

They have competed for several years with two small MGs in events both here in Northern Ireland and in UK. They have also made forays into Europe .