Driving in the moonlight (25th Moonwalk Trophy 2024)
Catching a nice weekend this early summer was not easy. Accordingly, it rained so much on Friday afternoon, June 21, 2024, that the host of the starting location called and advised against holding the Moonwalk Trophy.
But Peter helped. Just in time for the arrival of the first team at 16:00, the rain took a break and only started again when everyone had started at 18:00.
The Moonwalk Trophy has been around for 25 years now. The concept is impressively simple. The teams (drivers and co-drivers) register via the Moonwalk Trophy homepage. They receive confirmation that they will be taking part and where the start will be approximately - within an hour's drive.
Around three weeks before the start, they receive the exact coordinates (exact start location, time, etc.). And they still don't know where the journey will take them. This is part of the Trophy DNA!
By the way: you can take part in the Trophy in anything that drives, whether it's a classic or vintage car, a new sports car or a hippy bus! This is also part of the DNA.
After arriving at the starting point, there is a lunch briefing and the road book is handed in. Now it's up to the teams to organize themselves, program their GPS or Google Maps (both are allowed), orient themselves on maps and get ready to go.
The next meeting point is at the Moonwalk Trophy Dinner - sometime between 22:00 and 00:00. On the way, the teams have to solve a few tasks if they want to take part in the competition. The trophy winner is the team that has completed all the tasks and has done something special, e.g. helped another team or stood out in some original way.
The final event is the legendary champagne breakfast and award ceremony. As a rule, the Trophy night involves around twelve hours of driving and around two hours of eating, breaks and answering questions. The teams start at 18:00 and are at breakfast from 08:00.
This year, the Moonwalk Trophy started at the Va di Lei on the dam wall, and the Vespermal was served in the unique Bajta del Capriolo restaurant. Then it was off over the Splügen Pass to Chiavenna, over the Passo San Marco to San Pellegrino, then towards Milan, then across the Po Valley into the Apennines.
What an experience! Enjoying the Apennines under a full moon, then speeding over the old Cisa Pass and arriving in Viareggio. Incidentally, the moon gave the Trophy its name. It is always started in May, June or July as close as possible to a full moon night.
Yes, the 25th edition was worthy of the anniversary and the participants are already looking forward to 2025, when it will once again be: "Dear Moonwalkers, Good Luck!"
