Jordan Grand Prix opened its doors to over 850 quests in October. The Open day proved a great success, with fans travelling from far and beyond, including one person who hitchhiked all the way from Holland and back again!

Some fans stop at nothing in order to get a piece of the action, and whilst getting to Jordan was relatively straight forward for Frans Blonk, the homeward-bound trip was an extraordinary adventure, as he recounts…

“I left Silverstone when the Open day ended and travelled with some people to a roundabout at Northampton. They were driving north and I needed to go east. The evening was falling and nobody could take me further so I walked to the Centre of Northampton. Unfortunately, I could not get a ticket to Harwich at the train station, so my next step was to take the train to Luton and get a flight to Amsterdam.

A train and bus journey later, I arrived at Luton Airport but found that there were no flights that night, due to weather conditions. My options were to stay in a hotel or get a flight from London. I went to the bus station, but the driver told me that all flights to Amsterdam from London were cancelled so I stayed in a nearby hotel.

The next day (Sunday) I bought a ticket to Amsterdam for the 10.30am flight, it was then delayed until 1pm. But at 1pm the flight was cancelled.

I had to do something to get home. I had the address of a friend in London so I took the bus to visit him and to see if he could help me out. I tried to phone my friend but could not get through. When I arrived in London, I went by underground and by bus to his address. After asking people for directions, I found that he did not live there.

It was getting late so I decide to get the train to Harwich that night. I travelled all the way back to the centre of London, when I got to the train station I was told there were no trains to Harwich. I went to the first pub I could find for a large beer!

I tried to find a hotel but found that they were too expensive, it was now 11.30pm and I needed some where to sleep. I went to the police station and told them my situation, they phoned hotels but without much luck of finding me a place to stay so they let me sleep on a chair in the waiting room. After a short nights sleep, I freshened up and went to the train station to buy my ticket to Harwich. After further delays I eventually arrived by boat in Hoek in Holland at 4.30pm on Monday, 48 long hours after leaving Silverstone.

The Open Day at the Jordan headquarters was very nice and the weekend has been very special but my journey home was certainly a test of my dedication! I would do it all again, though, I must be mad.”