Imagine being in a car, spinning at high speed and dead-stopping a foot or two from the edge of a perilously steep cliff.

What about traversing Bosnian and Croatian villages and surveying first-hand the widespread destruction of years of ethnic wars?

On a brighter note, how about being the first non-British team to finish one of the world's most prestigious car races and being the tenth rally car ever in Albania?

Such were the diverse and unforgettable experiences of the Bermudian pair of Terry Reynolds and Mike Smith who recently finished 12th in the World Cup Rally from London, England, to Athens, Greece.

For seasoned driver Reynolds, the ten-day journey across Europe provided the adrenaline rush which warms his heart but it was novice navigator Smith whose hair really stood on end - literally.

“I think for Mike to sit through some of those stages where I was literally pounding the car was quite an experience for him. We had one situation where I semi-spun the car coming out of the woods onto moorland, put it sideways to scrub speed off it and it stopped about two feet from the edge of a 500-foot cliff on Mike's side.

“I swore a few times, turned the key, restarted and took off and poor Mike was shaking his head,” recalled Reynolds, smiling as he recounted what occurred during a race stage in Greece.

His partner concurs that the moment was truly a cliff-hanger.

“It took me a few minutes to regain my composure after that,” said Smith, now reflecting on that very close shave with a chuckle.

“There were some pretty hairy moments but I had a lot of confidence in Terry's driving. He drives with the best of them. There's no doubt he is definitely up there.”

Caught up in his mission, Reynolds was often oblivious to the scares.

“I just get so hyped with adrenaline when I am driving that I don't notice these things. I didn't even know where we were some days,” acknowledged the 45-year-old.

Nodding his head, Smith backed that up.

“Some days he would ask me ‘What country are we in?'.”

While such a gas-and-gears pursuit eliminated the luxury of sightseeing, the duo could not help but notice the ravaged state of war-torn Bosnia and Croatia; two of ten countries they passed through between October 5 and 15.

“The biggest impact on us was going through towns and seeing huge evidence of the ethnic cleansing and what happened.

“I mean houses bombed, burnt or with bullet holes. One hotel we stayed at had six or seven mortar-bomb holes in its car park,” said Reynolds.

Another telltale sign was that every Croatian bridge was new.

“Obviously, during the war, they were all shot out and you could see they were recently rebuilt. It was quite humbling,” added Smith.

Thankfully, there were some joyful occasions, none moreso than putting the Island's name in the record books in the 27-stage event. Completing the 5,000 kilometre course in 6:12.23 hours (cumulative time for stages), the Bermudians were the first non-British team in the rankings. Their Ford Focus also landed third prize in the 1400cc engine class. The rally was won by Alastair Caldwell and Gill Cotton of the UK.

“It's a good result overall but we could have done better. We had a few problems, mainly with tyre choice and punctures. We lost a lot of time in Greece because of punctures,” explained Reynolds.

Of course smashing into a Mercedes Benz in Albania didn't help either.

“We got some road penalties for that. We wrecked the side of the Mercedes but our Ford had hardly any damage. It was quite amazing. We paid the owner off with about $300 or $400 which was about three month's wages for them. They were happy and off we went,” added the man behind the wheel.

The pair fared better on the road stages rather than in the hills because their vehicle was “under horsepower” and was therefore slower than other cars.

“On the fast gravel sections we were up in the top 10 in many instances, even with lower horsepower in our engine - and the car handled superbly. It's a fantastic car in those conditions. Also, we had very little maintenance,” noted Reynolds.

Another frustration was that road conditions were sometimes so bad that, according to Reynolds, it was like “going across a construction site”. This slowed their progress from the projected 50 kph.

“On those sections we would drop to 20 or 30 kph but when we hit roads that were fairly good we'd do 80 to 100 kph to make up time,” he said.

Smith, who was armed with maps, time cards and other navigational necessities, enjoyed the passenger-seat duties in his first top-flight rally.

“My navigating went well. I had a few teething problems but after a couple days it became quite natural. Once I started concentrating I really got into it. It was the best time of my life.”

The 39-year-old's sternest challenge was negotiating a forest stage at night in Croatia.

“That was very tricky - going up the side of a mountain and down the other side with nothing but trees around. I had to make quick decisions and be positive but careful,” he said.

Praising Smith's performance, Reynolds noted the experience would stand his partner in great stead in the future and has given Smith greater ability to call corners.

“That was hard for him at first - to judge a corner for me to drive it blind. Towards the end, Mike was getting the confidence to say ‘The corner is opening or the corner is closing'. That kind of thing takes years of experience,” said Reynolds.

The Bermudians were originally part of a Ford team with the New Zealand duo of Keith Sharp and Mark Cooper. However, the latter pair crashed out on the third day, suffering a head-on collision with another rally car that left Sharp in hospital.

Amid all the ups and downs and the knowledge that some cars were “suspect” - flouting race specifications - the Island's team thoroughly enjoyed themselves. While readjusting to the more-confining speed limitations here, both are already dreaming of next year's rally.

“I'll be doing it,” confirmed Reynolds.

Glancing at his friend, Smith chipped in: “If he invites me back, I'll do it too.”