Days 6 and 7- Arctic Winter Trial

Day 6, the Rally's first rest day, was welcomed with anticipation and relief, although some participants were in particular need of some recuperative respite, after having over-indulged in some "après-skid" at the pool table the previous evening. In particular, the younger Redwood's remarkable stamina, displayed at the bar on Friday night, had fast disappeared by Saturday morning, resulting in his retiring at midday "to take a nap". Friday night also saw the first reported sighting, by John Haden, of the Northern Lights.

The rest day turned out to be action-packed and full of thrills. Best of Lapland, the company organising the day, had arranged a host of activities, including snowmobile tours, snowmobile racing and husky sledding. There were fun and games on the snowmobile tour, especially when certain participants (mentioning no names) went off-piste, and then found themselves stranded in deep snow, having to be rescued by the tour guide. Luckily no penalty points were handed out.

This was followed by a trip to the Kiruna iron ore mines, where coaches took the participants down 514 m on roads hewn out of sheer rock. A tour of the famed Ice Hotel at Jukkasjärvi ensued, and the participants had an opportunity to sip vodka from ice shot glasses at the ice bar and enjoy the spectacular ice sculptures in the hotel rooms. Despite the beautiful and unusual surroundings, a romantic interlude might prove interesting, with temperatures of between -5°C and -8°C and no doors on the bedrooms...

Participants then kicksled their way to the local tepee for a traditional Lapp dinner of roasted reindeer on a spit, before catching the coach back to the hotel for a welcome night's sleep.

An early start followed on day 7 as the crews left the Scandic Ferrum Hotel in Kiruna, heading towards the fjords of northern Norway. During the first Regularity Section of the day, car 21 (the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo driven by Mary-Jo I'Anson) took the wooden spoon for the longest slide, demonstrating how ABS ("Arctic Breaking Slide") technology is not always an advantage.

Deputy Clerk of the Course, Peter Rushforth, was up to his old tricks again, catching a number of the competitors out at the last timing point on the second Regularity. We shall see how this affects the results...

The Rally finished with a run into Tromsø for the night's halt at the Radisson SAS Hotel.

© Jeray and Antler 9.3.03