Day 34 - I've had enough!!

A night sleeping on a ferry is bad enough.   But a day without competitive stages is worse.  All three stages today were cancelled.    Hence the SMS that said "I've had enough!!"

The official reason is that the ferry was late arriving in Ancona.  But that is right up there with London Underground's excuse of "leaves on the track".  

Even someone who just likes to participate would be really disgruntled at this point ... having had so few competitive stages over a period of 6 weeks.  But someone who is seriously competitive (not to mention the financial outlay) would not have participated in the world's greatest race just to tootle around the globe in an old car.

This evening there will be lots of grumbling in the bar in Viareggio.   At least there will be lots of wine and beer to numb the senses.

Tomorrow, we will be up at Lac Cenis to wave at Car 72 ... and to offer our encouragement.   However, given the mood in the car ... the normal risk of spectators throwing missiles at the car ... might be reversed  ...  :-)

At least on Friday, there is a special stage at the Circuit de Bresse.   This can not have a 3-legged donkey timing constraint and is very unlikely to be cancelled, so all fury can be vented onto the bitumen that day.   We will be in the grandstands with our camera ... ready to capture the moments!!!

Day 33 - coming ashore in Italy under cover of darkness

Today was the 2nd part of the run across Greece ... complete with 3 more timed stages ... followed by an overnight ferry to Ancona which is halfway up the Adriatic coast of Italy.

We have no information on the events of today, either from Clive or from P2P Central Command, other than an SMS earlier this evening that Car 72 had just boarded the ferry.   Since the ferry would have left Greece over 2 hours ago ... and doesn't dock in Ancona until 10:30 am tomorrow ... we will remain in the dark (excuse the pun) at least until then.

Meanwhile, the official P2P site has a nice clip of Fugly motoring along a wet dirt track toward Erzurum in Turkey.   You can access the video by going to their Video Journal (click here Video Journal) ... and then selecting the video named Erzurum.   First you'll see Fester (the yellow Fangio Coupe) and, then a few cars later, you'll see Fugly.  You can't miss it with that wheel bolted onto the roof.

Hopefully, the official classifications will be updated tomorrow morning ... and we can see whether or not the Greek timed stages were further 3-legged donkey stages ... or seriously competitive stages that would have enabled Clive and Ces to move further up the leaderboard.

For and on behalf of CD and Ces

__________________________________________________________________________________

Early morning update on Wednesday:

Official classifications for yesterday have now been posted.   Car 72 is now 10th overall and 6th in class.

The day's stages were again of the three-legged donkey variety, with most of the able-bodied competitors receiving the same elapsed time.   Presumably somebody who was in the first 10 on Monday had an off or a breakdown on Tuesday ... enabling Clive and Ces to move up a spot.   As any seriously competitive person will tell you, it doesn't matter how you move up the leaderboard, so long as you get there.  

________________________________________________________________________________


PS: 

Fingers crossed for Wednesday evening's blog update ... or more specifically for access to the internet tomorrow evening.   Karen and I will be motoring across Italy today... and staying overnight in a little village at 2,000 metres in the French Alps ... so that we can intercept the P2P as it blatts through on Thursday morning.

We'll be freezing our various extremities ... on the shores of Lac Cenis in the Parc National de la Venoise ... but we'll be waving encouragement to Car 72 as it passes. 

Day 32 - what a waste!!

It's just after 11:00pm in Greece and the telex machine has been silent all day.   However, we can tell from the official despatches that Car 72 has been through the 3 timed stages as well as the finish control.

We also know from the P2P command centre that the maximum times for today's timed stages could be easily achieved by anything faster than a 3-legged donkey.  Hence the first umpteen participants have been accredited with the same time/position on each stage.   More importantly for the competitive drivers, any hope that they might move up the leadership table has been scuppered ... at least for today.

Therefore my theory (for Clive's silence this evening) is that he's blowing off steam in the bar ... and in no mood to be reporting on the waste of a day's competition.

For the sake of the global recovery, let's hope that the time windows on the remaining stages are a little more difficult ... actually a lot more difficult.

For and on behalf of CD and Ces

Day 31 - Moving on up ...

This morning we woke to a heavy frost and snow all around the car.   Luckily it was the start of a transport day during which we were only required to drive from the Abant Lake Hotel to our next overnight stop just North West of Istanbul.

We had set the alarm for 6.00am to ensure that we'd miss the worst of the legendary Istanbul traffic ... but I was awoken at 5.30am by some P2P competitors who were already pulling out of the car.   Now that is dedication.

The journey to Istanbul was uneventful and I drove deliberately slowly (100kph) giving Fugly a day off as well.   The snow turned to rain once we were off the mountain and, as usual, the water poured through the dashboard and soaked my feet, but c'est la vie!   As we moved west, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine.   As a result, the temperature rose to 19C ... not bad for a day that started off in snow.  

Once we realised that we were driving onto an enormous suspension bridge, we knew that we were crossing the famous Bosphorous.   So after several weeks, we had finally left Asia behind ... and we had arrived back in Europe .... fantastic!

Our hotel room has a magnificent view the of the Eastern Mediterranean.   Not that we've had time to enjoy it because, once checked in, we started the routine of work on Fugly.  This included removing the kilos of mud that had accumulated over from the previous days' timed stages.  

In total we spent 5 hours working on the car, whilst other competitors went sight seeing.   Perhaps some of this obsessiveness has contributed to us moving up another slot on the leaderboard ... we're now 11th overall and 6th in class.    I am still chasing a trophy but time is running out.   I spend more and more time thinking about how those 2 coils could have failed us on the 2nd stage on day one!!!!!!!     Oh well, I suppose that's motorsport.

Tomorrow we head into Greece and there are 3 more timed stages, so I hope that the time spent on Fugly today will pay dividents yet again.

There is a cocktail party tonight courtesy of the local car club, so Chin, Chin .... update tomorrow.

CD & Ces

__________________________________________________________________________________

PS from Peter:  Istanbul is one of my favourite cities, so I'm very envious.   Shame they didn't get to see the sights, but then that's why they're competing in the P2P and I'm at home in my armchair.  Maybe they'll be able to stock up at the Spice Market...

... the spices are very practical ... they could even be used for sealing that leaking windscreen.


As you all know, Istanbul used to be known as Constantinople ... as explained in the short historical clip below:

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

__________________________________________________________________________________

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).

Day 29 - I smell blood in the water ...

Late post:

• As of late Friday night, Clive was unaware of the final classifications but there had been talk of the 1st timed stage being excluded from the results because of the accident.
• As of Saturday morning, final classifications from Friday still have not been posted. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

I woke today at 3.30am.   Of course, all I could think of was that this would be a day of competition.  So I couldn't get back to sleep ... such was my level of readiness.

Once we got to breakfast, I sensed that many of my competitors were not relishing the forthcoming day as much as I was.   They were complaining of fatigue, colds and general malaise whereas my mood was bouyant.   

Ces asked     "What's up with you?"

I said             "I smell blood in the water!"

She knew I was ready to race!    I'd been waiting for bloody weeks ....

Once we pulled away from the car park, I immedialty felt that the brake adjustments that I'd carried out the night before were bang-on.   The car was running perfectly.   The only dampener was that rain had started falling.

The rain was falling heavily as we made our way to the 1st stage some 170 kms away from the hotel.   We proceeded to the start line, where we were warned that the conditions high up in the mountains were very slippery. 

After the count down, we flew away from the line and began the climb up into the clouds and along the side of a mountain.  All was running well.   After about 30kms, I approached a hairpin left which marked the end of the mountain and indicated the start of a big drop.  The car started sliding ... almost uncontrollably ... until I steered hard left and released the foot brake ...  in an attempt to make the front bite and turn in.

The car responded, we made the turn, but immediately the back tried to overtake the front.   I had no choice but to steer directly towards the cliff edge.   Once again the front turned in, so now I applied power and maintained the opposite lock to keep us from dropping over the edge.

This "tank slapper" was repeated and repeated and repeated ... four times in total.   By the time we'd emerged from the bend and the car was under control, my early morning passion to win had turned into a simple desire to live!    Over the rest of the stage, the car was sliding everywhere, right and left.   Even on the uphill sections, the wheels would spin and the car would choose it's own route.

Later the same morning I would learn that another car had indeed left the road and this was driven by our friends Mike and Anne Wilkinson.   As I write I understand that the there was "only" a 90 foot drop ... so their injuries are minor.  The car is still being assessed.

The big scare put a halt to my early exhuberant pace ... the 2 later stages were slow but controlled.   I started today 9th in class and 15th overall so time will tell where we are now.

There are 5 short stages tomorrow and Time Controls along the route that you must "make" to avoid penalties.   The total route today including stages was over 700kms and that is a lot for an old car.  Accordingly, we expect some competitors to fall by the wayside tomorrow.  

Fugly is running very well and the radiator is holding position thanks to a number of cable-ties!

CD & Ces

(PS:  Stay safe, Clive.   It's the most important thing.   ... Peter  ... and I believe that I speak for all of your blog-readers)

Motor Sport is Dangerous.  But only while you're still alive.

A photo summary of the last week

As before, the photos are in chronological order ... from top to bottom ... so that you can just scroll down.

 

isn't this where we left off last week ... remember the snow-capped mountains?
Hmmm ... but the road wasn't as good as this!



Hmmm ... money and taste were never synonymous!




Grandad's MG




Clive says that this is Turkmenistan ... ok ... we take your word for it.




Ces looking more elegant than ever ... and Clive looking like the dude!
(George Clooney, look out!!!)




That famous Pontoon Bridge ... where the bloke wanted both USD and TMM
(Remember Turkmenistan Manats)




Turkmenistan ... not sure if it's where Clive barfed or ... well, how can I put it?




Still in Turkmenistan ... but Clive is not able to party
... but at least there's a bed, a light, a phone, a radio!



 

Luxury in Iran .... they had Ahmedinejad to thank for this
... and he never even turned up.





Now where would you get flowers from the local Police ... Iran of course

... but check for radio-microphones all the same.


  

They really know how to make foreigners comfortable!!




A Muslim Mechanic with Lotus-coloured headscarf ...
... and stopwatch ... bravo!



The beard's gone ... hmmm ... was that a statement?







Custom Chevrolet Luggage ... colour-coded to gender ...
radiation resistant ... works in hotel room or just on the floor!






Capturing the hearts and minds of the locals ... while keeping fingers and toes crossed





Mount Ararat ... site of the original Noah's Ark



The Noah's Ark that Clive had in mind!!

Beautiful scenery ... but still accelerating hard to get out of Iran