Day 0 - Hampton Court Palace to Portsmouth

This is known as Day 0 as results do not count to the overall rally score - it is more of a practice day and a chance to get a feel for how the rally proper will operate - and it is a more interesting way of getting to the ferry!.

It was an early start to be at scrutineering by 9am, just around the corner from the start line at Hampton Court Palace. There were 3 groups being scrutineered - the Touring Trial cars, travelling to Lisbon also but in more precious cars and not on the same time schedule or roads as us (rally plates start with TT then a number), and the Victory Run group, travelling to Portsmouth only, and specifically aimed at anyone new to rallying. All cars were being checked for both safety and authenticity, and that they conformed to noise regulations - as usual we just snuck in on that one!

Documentation was next, at the palace itself - armloads of information and forms, plus road books containing each days route, and amendments to the route already! Luckily, the sun was out and we had a chance to sit outside and catch our breath while taking it all in. Nice to see some familiar faces amongst the 75 other competitors, from the last London-Lisbon and the other rallies we have competed in since.

We decided to form a team entry with the other Sunbeam Tiger, driven by George Baird (Ireland) and navigated by his wife Elizabeth, and a beautiful 1954 Sunbeam Alpine, driven by David Harris and navigated by Mina Clarke. Rather than call the team something obvious like 'Team Sunbeam' we decided on 'Three Islands', to sum up the Irish, English and Australian composition of the group. (Note from SM: It should be noted that we had to enter as an Australian crew, as only 1 nationality is noted and it is that of the driver. This was done under both protest and duress, and I need to stress that the flag on the side of the car next to my name was a New Zealand one!!)

Above: Familiar cars at the start - on the left is 'Rodney' - a Volvo 1800S driven by Barbara and navigated by Sylvia (aka 'The Two Old Birds in the Volvo').

At precisely 12.17 we were clocked out and drove down the main driveway to start the afternoon route. It was a fairly uneventful run, useful to blow the cobwebs away, and through the beautiful rolling hills of the South Downs. We had a time control at a village called Wisborough Green, which was manned by members of the British Lawnmower Racing Association - they host the 12 hour endurance event each year (!). Arrived at Portsmouth in mid afternoon and had time for a wander before boarding. Two years ago we had a very rough sailing (the Bay of Biscay is renowned for it's bad weather), so we were pleasantly surprised to have a smooth and trouble-free crossing this time.

Day 1 - Bilbao to Santander

A very early start, as the ferry docked at 7am and we had to have the cars ready to disembark before the foot passengers. We then had to drive to a private castle at Torre Loizaga in the hills above Bilbao and had about an hour and a half before the official restart to get there. At this point, we would also be meeting up with other competitors who had chosen to join the rally here, rather than take the ferry.

The castle was amazing, but it was what was hidden in the grounds that really made your jaw drop. In various sheds on the property were hundreds of classic cars from the private collection of the castle owner - literally one of each model of Rolls Royce ever made and then some. It was great having the time to wander around and have a good look, and I have no idea how the rally organisers found out about the place.

Above: One of the 'sheds' full of older Rolls Royces

Restarting at 10.50 in brilliant sunshine, we drove straight to a local Go-Kart track for the first driving test - there was going to be at least 1 of these a day, with the fastest time given 0 points and then 1 penalty being added for each second slower than this 'bogey' time. This initial test was a straight out speed test around the track, which was very twisty in places, but on later tests, cones and/or straw bales were introduced to make things more interesting. We found the tests a good way to break the long distance driving, and it also introduced a very competitive element amongst the drivers, to say the least!

After some beautiful roads through lower mountains, we stopped for a group lunch in a restored 18th century nobleman's house, now a hotel. It was wonderful sitting out by the pool in full sun, and the white bean stew with local sausages was absolutely delicious - very rustic.

Above: Hotel Torre Ruesga

After lunch we climbed to about 1350 metres in the lower mountains and also struck the first of many major road works. Luckily, running fairly early in the field we were still a novelty, and they were moving diggers and trucks to let us through and all waving (in fact not much work being done at all) - however some of the later runners weren't so lucky!

Late afternoon we arrived in Santander, which is the other major ferry port on the Northern Spanish coast. We actually finished in the municipal reserve on the waterfront, amongst the palm trees and beaches, which was lovely, but the best was yet to come with our hotel, the Hotel Real, pictured below.

Hotel Real, Santander

Picos de Europa, Day 2

Day 2 - Santander to Gijon

Straight out of town this morning to another Go Kart track, the test this time with both cones and a reverse park in it, so very interesting. Onto a very narrow gorge with overhanging rocks VERY close for a regularity section, where you have to maintain a constant speed to the second at any given point, which we seemed to do ok at.

Lots of climbing before lunch up to about 1600 metres in a national park, where the great slabs of rock are bright green from constant dampness. Then straight down what appeared to be a goat track to a tiny village (Posada de Valdeon) in the middle of nowhere for a lunch provided by the locals. What a feast! We had a wonderful stew with enormous chunks of meat in it, served with great slabs of fresh local bread - again very rustic and the people, who spoke no English were just lovely.

Obviously the excellent hospitality at lunch had relaxed a certain Mr P Lloyd, as he proceeded to put 12 litres of DIESEL into the car at the next fuel stop. The car itself was running fine, although competitors behind us were complaining that they couldn't see past a massive cloud of blue smoke! We topped up the tank with proper petrol at every opportunity, and within a day or so the cloud had subsided - let's face it, with only a 45 litre tank, we fill up quite often!

In the afternoon we dropped back down to more narrow gorges and overhanging rocks, then turned off onto a track even narrower than before - in fact, there was grass growing up the middle, so it was obviously not in daily use! The average speed on this section was dropped to 25 kph for over 20 km, so you can use your imagination on this one! We also came face to face with various wildlife, mainly cattle and goats and the occasional sleeping dog - obviously not usually disturbed.

Last stop before the hotel in Gijon was the local velodrome for another speed test - we were amazed at the huge crowd that had gathered to offer support, and the grandstands were actually quite full. After a quick blast around the track in about 36 seconds, we just got to the hotel before a torrential downpour, which sadly was to be the first of many.

Day 3 - Gijon to Ponferrada

Another Kart track and another test this morning, although the rain was making things interesting and the marshals warned us that one car had already spun off by the time we were ready to start. Again, major road works made the first leg today quite tedious, and the heavy rain added to the mess they were making.

A short but tough regularity section straight up in a regional park, again with only a few penalties, and the start of a new saying. As we finished, we saw car 23, a white MGA rejoining our road from another direction. After speaking to Dean, the novice navigator at lunch, we decided that an appropriate code for this error of judgement was to be 'going to visit an Aunty'. Unfortunately, there were many more aunties, in fact whole families to be visited yet....!

After lunch, we had the tightest road section yet, and had to cover 34.75 km in 42 minutes. On a normal road this wouldn't be a problem, but as we turned the first, unsealed corner and saw the road ahead we knew it would be extremely tough. Also, there was a town at the end that we had to get through to get to the time control, so knew we would have to have a few spare minutes up our sleeves. To say it was a nightmare would be an understatement - and there was a herd of cows and some goats on the way as well. We got into the town with 4 minutes in hand, and turned the last corner to see one of the rally cars (red MGA) wrapped around a lamp post and another (Mercedes 300SL) just being pulled from a tree - a very sobering moment.

We could see that everyone was ok and the locals were all assisting, so rather than add to the chaos we pressed on. Next was a regularity straight up a mountain, and on the first corner a digger was in the way, but kindly lifted his bucket to let us pass under - we still lost 20 seconds here though, which is the upper limit of penalties at a timing control to maintain a gold medal - phew!

In the hotel that night we heard that many cars didn't make THAT time control , and that in fact there had been quite a few near misses throughout the day. The driver of the red MGA (in his seventies and has been rallying for 50 years), admitted he was pushing too hard in the town, and then told us how the actual light off the lamp post had fallen on top of the car after they hit the post! The only injury was to the navigator of the Mercedes, who had to have stitches in her head after hitting the windscreen frame. The two old birds in the Volvo had also driven Rodney into a ditch, and one of the Austin Healey's had spun and lost a door and the steering.

We had already had the feeling that this was an extremely competitive rally, that was really being driven on the edge, but to see some of these broken cars and shaken people was very difficult. We started to wonder what was to come tomorrow......

Day 4 - Ponferrada to Ourense

Something very unexpected on this morning's section - snow! We climbed up towards the skifields of the Montes de Leon, and hit the snowline fairly early on. By the time we reached the highest point at 1969 metres we were in deep fog and there was thick frost and ice all around - very bizarre and not what we had really expected. Another unexpected sight just ahead was the red MGA involved in yesterday's accident. Apparently because they had hit the power pole straight on, the engine was largely undamaged and they had been able to continue.

Another regularity section followed, and this time it was our turn to visit an Aunty, after taking a right fork rather than a left one. We realised our error almost straight away, but the road was so narrow there was nowhere to turn around so we had to keep going. By the time we righted the wrong and were back on the right route, we were 6 minutes down on time - and maximum lateness for a gold medal is 20 seconds! As we start these sections one minute apart, we knew we had to pass 6 cars, who were doing an average speed of 31.08 mph. Hardly a challenge on a two lane motorway, but on a single track road with no edges and no barriers, half way up a mountain?? To say I just hung on and gave the odd instruction is an understatement, and if there had been a marshal checkpoint we would have been sunk, but luck (and superb driving) and courteous competitors were on our side, and we caught up the time. Needless to say, at lunchtime we made a point of thanking those six cars profusely!

The afternoon was fairly uneventful after the morning excitement (thank goodness), and we spent most of the rest of the day skirting around massive hydro electric dams in the forests near Ourense. Our arrival in the city was via a pedestrianised walk in the centre of town, and again there were a huge number of locals out to cheer us on. And what a surprise to get to our hotel and meet our receptionist, who was from Melbourne!

Day 5 - Ourense to Vila Real

More rain this morning as we headed for the Portugese border, and more road works. Apparently, Spain and Portugal have just been granted millions of Euros to upgrade their roads, and they are certainly using the money! A quick coffee stop (we have been living off the best espressos in Spain) and into yet another regularity, which by now we are feeling pretty confident with - only a few penalties each day on these.

Across the border (a non-event as it is not even manned, although the time changes by an hour, creating mass confusion on the rally), and through some tiny villages, all cobble stoned, with lots of locals out cheering madly. We learned later that there were a few more scrapes here.

Another speed test at another Kart circuit - although this one was 1.3 km long, so a really good opportunity for a blast around! We then had a lunch stop in the hills above the city of Braga at Bom Jesus - a granite Baroque church that is the goal of all the pilgrims on this route.

An extremely long regularity section this afternoon, over an hour long, uphill, in fog, at speeds ranging from 26.10 mph to 31.08 mph, with notes in the road book like 'CARE - BIG DROP', so again, use your imagination as to what you think the road might have been like. In a way, I am lucky that my eyes are fixed on both the stopwatch and the tripmeter, and not on the road!!

Our arrival at Vila Real was spectacular, as they are fanatical about motor sport here. Until the 1970's there was a street circuit here, and you can still see some of the old grandstands today. (Mind you, some of the circuit is on cobblestones). We were directed to park in the town square, where officials had marked out spaces with tape - complete with a mound of sand in each one, to go under the engine. After parking, the mayor held a reception for us at the Town Hall, and some of their old racing drivers were there too, although at the end of a long day's rallying, it is very hard to stand still and be attentive!

Lunch Day 2

Vila Real town square

Part Two

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