PEKIN TO PARIS ROAD RACE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 59

PEKIN TO PARIS ROAD RACE.

A cablegram received by tho Dunlopf Rubber Company ' froiij Le Matin, Paris,' 6tates that Prince Scipio Btirghese sue- ■ ceeded in reaching Tomsk on Friday, Julj) 11 a distance of about 490 miles from thY city of Krasnpiarsk, where Borghese and hie Itala car had gained a lead "of £6s: miles -on the other"* "three**' com petitons,- ; Cormier, Collignon, a*nd Goddard. Sincei leaving Pekin (June 10) Prince Borghese has now covered "a distance of some 2420. mites in 31 days, or an average of SO inilesv a day, which will convey 'a fair idea o3 the almost insurmountable difficulties to b» overcome along this route. In reaching^ Tomsk, which is one of the most important! cities in Eastern Siberia, but situated offi tho Trans-Siberian rail route, ■ the Italian . motorist has left the villainous mountain , tracks and passes behind him, and now' strikes over 1100 miles of steppes, or desert' plains and 6wamps, before he reaches the city of Om&k. This country is described as the most unprofitable and unpopular, part of Siberia, and is but sparsely in* habited. For hundreds of mites at a, stretch' the country ie roadless, treeless, and swampy, and mostly carpeted with hore grass,- A few scattered villages are met' every forty or fifty miles. This section ol the route is said to be the most monotonous part of the Pekin-Moscow highway or caravan track. Should Borghese, strike this country after rain, he will have considerable difficulty in making headway, and tha probabilities are that the other three competitors may gain some time, or even catch Borghese over the steppes, for whilst they, will be able to assist one another through the heavy country, Borghese and the Italai car will have to rely upon themselves. The only guide across this desert of sand, mud, and swamp is by following the telegraph), wire and poles. R. L. Jefferson, the well" known writer and traveller, cycled and trudged over this country some years back,' and states that the steppes are well nigh xzxzpo9stl>le {or xuotoring. In places fe]v» track is feet deep with soft clay arid? mud, and it is almost impossible to drag al wheeled vehicle through with a team of t horses. The mud is usually so bad tha* all transport work is let stand over until* winter time, when the country is under frozen snow, and can be sleighed over. ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. Prince Borghese, the leading competitor in the Pekin to Paris motor race, has reached Moscow.