How the Cannon Run hit the skids for Wolverhampton businessman and pals

But for Adrian Harrold, Julian Wilson and Dave Bentley it has been memorable for all the wrong reasons.

They had been due to take in seven countries and cruise along some of Europe’s finest driving roads. And for two days it was a dream come true for the three friends and petrolheads as they set off on the Cannon Run car rally from from Maidstone to Monaco.

It had been plain sailing as they travelled through France,Netherlands and Belgium in their £85,000 Nissan GT-Rs before stopping at the world-famous Nurburgring racing circuit as they made their way through Germany.

But then the wheels came off their once in a lifetime trip in a way none of them could ever have imagined.

And little did they know they would end up spending 13 weeks in a Swiss jail.

It all started due to a fault with 49-year-old Mr Bentley’s car as they arrived in Switzerland which led to the three businessmen deciding to stick together so they could help out in case of engine trouble. But driving in convoy and allegedly travelling at speeds higher than the 120kmph limit caused them to attract the attention of the Swiss police just outside Zurich on June 4.

Mr Bentley, from Bridgnorth, Mr Harrold, 45, from Wolverhampton, and Mr Wilson, from Newark were arrested, along with Mr Harrold’s wife Tina and Mr Wilson’s wife Andrea, and their cars were seized. They were accused of driving too closely together in convoy, driving over a white line because they had nearly missed their turn off the motorway, and a minor speeding offence.

The men, who can now return home, were remanded in custody while an investigation was carried out and their wives were released without charge after being held for five days.

“The wives were released with just their telephones and their passports, and their phones had got no charge, meaning that they had to go to a cyber cafe to arrange their flights home,” said James Cannon, of Buildwas, near Telford, who has been running the Cannon Run trip for the past three years.

Explaining the circumstances leading up to their arrest, He said: “Dave was breaking down all the time, so the three of them stuck together in a close convoy, so every time Dave had to stop they were there to help him. I believe the speed limit was 120km/h, that’s about 75mph, and they were doing 85-87mph.The Zurich attorney general’s office has since confirmed the men, who have now been handed suspended sentences of between 13 and 14 months, allegedly reached speeds of up to 177 kmph or 109mph.

Their spell in custody, which police said was due to the time-consuming process of selecting, analysing and testing recorded data, also meant Mr Bentley’s daughter had to postpone her wedding because her father was unable to attend. But Mr Cannon, who is 26, knows all three of the men, and insists they are far from boy racers.

“Julian is a family man, he has two daughters and a wife, he works in the construction industry, he is very well respected in his community, and the company he works for. Dave is a family man with one son, two daughters and a wife, he does work with Julian’s company, and they met through the Cannon run.

“Adrian lives in Wolverhampton with wife Tina, and has one daughter. He is managing director of Manifestation Designs & Signs in Willenhall. They are all lovely straight blokes, never the sort to be in any trouble with the law, they are hard-working family men. They are not at all boy-racer types. I know the cars they were driving could possibly tarred with the brush of boy racers, but not many boy racers can afford vehicles costing £80,000. They are not boy racer cars,” added Mr Cannon.

Swiss prosecutors said their ‘high-risk driving’ was carried out in heavy Whit Sunday traffic, creating an increased danger of collisions, injuries or deaths and was considered a serious traffic violation.

Their impounded vehicles will be returned to the drivers, but they must find someone else to drive them out of Switzerland, the prosecutor said.The delay in bringing them to trial was attributed to the time needed for investigators to conduct technical examinations of the vehicles to determine how fast they had been driven whilst in Switzerland.

Zurich prosecutor Jürg Boll denied the sentences were intended to send a specific message to future Cannon Run participants.

But in general ‘anyone driving in Switzerland must respect the laws of the road and speed limits,’ he told swissinfo.ch.

The week-long Cannon Run, which takes its inspiration from the 1981 film The Cannonball Run, saw entrants pay £699 for a road trip across Europe, beginning at Maidstone and ending in Monaco.

As well as the Nurburgring race track in Germany, it was takes in the Ferrari museum in Italy.

“The majority of people taking part are aged 35 to 55, it is a road trip for car enthusiasts who want a bit of luxury. We always try to use the most scenic roads rather than the motorways.”

He says there is a great atmosphere of camaraderie on the trips, where entrants help one another when there were problems.

Mr Cannon says everybody who took part in the trip was briefed about the importance of obeying local traffic laws. At the Swiss border, all drivers were reminded that the country had draconian traffic laws, and that speed limits must be rigorously observed.

He was in his hotel at the Stelvio Pass, in Italy, when he heard what had happened to the three men.

“I was devastated when I heard, Julian is a close friend of mine, and getting a phone call saying your friend’s been sent to prison, and you don’t know why, that’s terrible,” he says.

Despite the ordeal, Mr Cannon says the experience will not deter him from running future trips through Switzerland.

“In the end, 47 out of 50 drivers got through because they did exactly what we told them to do,” he says.

“Switzerland is a beautiful country, the views there, the stuff to see, the experience is second to none.”