Syd Stelvio, London to Lisbon Day 2 – St Malo to La Rochelle – 383km

Well, it wasn’t exactly sunny as St Malo came into view early this morning, but it was dry, which I find is the best way to be when travelling by boat! It wasn’t long though until the gang plank was lowered and 46 classic cars could get on with the serious(ish) business of rallying on the continent.

There wasn’t too much dalliance at the border controls, although one queue definitely had the customs work experience boy on the job, taking just that bit longer to thumb his way through the traveller’s passports. Speaking of passports, there was one driver who was to be reunited with his navigator today, as Ralph Reipen, navigator of car number 32 had forgotten his documents, a fact realised when attempting to travel from France to England to begin the rally.

A short run to the first Time Control of the day allowed us all to regroup and reunite, but before beginning the day properly there was time to enjoy the tremendous Manoir de l’Automobile museum at Loheac and its extensive exhibits. There was a bit of everything for people to see, from road cars to F1 Power Boats and an entire grid of Grand Prix cars of various vintages. There were also rally cars, of course, with machines driven by Sebastian’s Loeb and Ogier and a reel of Group B highlights playing, though neither the drivers nor indeed the photographers should let themselves get too many ideas from that!

Automotive appetites satiated, it was time to crack on and get stuck into a pair of regularities in the French farmland. The roads were quiet, with almost nobody around, a stark contrast to the previous day’s escapades. Well, almost nobody, there was the odd bit of farm traffic, and second placed Dick and Harry Baines became stuck behind a Telehandler, losing themselves 18 seconds in the process. I’m sure the irony of the two farmers losing so much time marooned behind one of their French brethren wasn’t lost on them, but it’s still very early days and their misfortune is likely to be experienced by almost everyone in the field at some point with so many miles still to travel.

The two regularities sandwiched a test, the first kart circuit test of the event, and Charles and Andrew Eve, the occupants of the quite frankly gorgeous Alfa Giulia GT clearly had their minds on this, as during the first regularity they performed a perfect 720-degree pirouette around an imaginary cone at a junction – either that or they weren’t entirely sure whether it was left or the other left. It was nicely done though, and the grin on both of their faces once they really were motoring around the test showed they were enjoying themselves.

Tom Smith and Don Polak in the #5 Fiat 124 Spider seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, so much so that they could repeatedly be seen retracing their steps on the regularities, clearly so that they could drive them all over again, or perhaps they were just getting in some extra practice. Whatever the reason they, and everyone else in the field, received the adulation and cheers of the gathered masses at the afternoons coffee stop, at the magnificent Chateau des Marais at Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu, a grand old chateau where one of the local car clubs had assembled to meet the rallyists in all manner of machines, from 2CV’s to E-Types and they lauded applause and Mexican Waves on each pair of competitors as they arrived.

Another test at another kart circuit followed the brief interlude at the Chateau, this time on a slightly more twisty track that seemed to have a little less grip than the previous circuit. There was certainly plenty of sideways action and smoking tyres, although some machines looked a little more planted than others. Fastest time of the test would go to Tony Sutton and Aiden Mawhinney in the big 911 SC, with Paul Crosby and Pete Johnson just a couple of seconds slower in Pauls older 911, although Cros had recorded the fastest time on the days first test by a bigger margin – I’ll leave them to decide whose Porsche is quicker than who’s…

One more reg finished the day off, before the days finish in the wonderful city of La Rochelle, situated on the Atlantic Coast. Once the timekeepers had finished punching the numbers the time sheets confirmed that Crosby and Johnson are still out front, by a margin of four seconds, but now second place belongs to Ken and Sarah Binstead in the #4 Healey 3000 after they posted just 6 seconds of penalties on the day, the best of the field. Macolm Dunderdale and Anita Wickins had also had a decent day at the races, recording 10 seconds of penalty, the second place for the leg, and are now in third overall in the big Merc battle bus.

Tomorrow is our last full day in France, as we make haste for Spanish soil and the target for the evening is Bordeaux. Between there and here there are four regularities, but the day will see a break from test action, for the time being. Until then, adieu…

Syd.