Day 30 - Well, I wasn't expecting that ...

The morning started dry and cold.   The spa hotel has been quite good, but it was still Islamic Turkey, so we were limited to one beer last night.  

As Ces signed out for the day's event, we were told that the 1st of today's 5 stages had been cancelled ... for safety reasons.   Apparently, the heavy overnight rain had made some of the passes treacherous ... and after the crash of the Alvis yesterday, the organisers were using extreme caution.

As you might have seen on the official website, the crew were safe and well, but their 1930's Alvis was destroyed.   When they left the road, the car travelled down a steep 90 foot incline and came to a stop on a rock platform.   The bad news was that the rock broke the front axle.   The good news was that beyond the platform, there was a freefall drop of over 1,500 feet!

With this on my mind, I drove just like Miss Daisy on the other 2 stages ... and so was not too hopeful of moving up the leader board.

Today's stages were also fairly slippery and dangerous ... but then that is why I do these holidays.   Unless you live life on the edge, how do you know you're living life at all?    Sitting on a beach does nothing for me, but a rally car skipping along is something to be experienced ... the noise, the smells, the fear .... fantastic!

Today went well and apart from one stage called Canyon, which had big drops, I think we did alright.

However, I wasn't expecting to be practising my snow-driving skills!   The routes were so high that we encountered snow on three of them ... in fact, our hotel is blanketed in snow and fog.

Fugly has taken a real battering over the past few weeks and I've included some pics below to show you:  

Gear lever re-welded



Watertight dashboard ... not really!!
(Clive, so it runs on gas then ... Peter)





A cracking repair to a cracking wing



Not surprisingly, Fugly is covered in snow and mud and looking kind of tired ... as you can see below

In need of a wash and polish ... and the sort of TLC that a 72-year-old is entitled to

The 72-year-old twins ... Fugly and Fester

Turkish Police keeping an eye on the rally

The unexpected ... approaching this evening's hotel

As for Fugly's internals, the manifold/exhaust started blowing today ... but the engines is still going like a train (good job, Howard!).

As I was typing, yesterday's results were posted here in the hotel ... and I am pleased to say that we're now 12th overall and 7th in class ... apparently I was in the top 5 on all stages yesterday ... not bad for Miss Daisy!

CD & Ces

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Late evening update:

Despite what Clive claims about being in 12th overall and 7th in class, the official P2P website places them in 11th and 6th.

• Yesterday they were 5th, 3rd and 4th in the 3 timed stages.
• Today they were 4th, 6th, and 5th on stages 2, 3 and 5 (stages 1 and 4 were cancelled).