Syd Stelvio, Peking to Paris 24 | Day 26 – Tbilisi to Erzurum – 600km

Another day, another border, gluttons for punishment are we. Surely today's boundary crossing would be fine, I mean, surely, they should all be fine, right? Just show your documents, get your stamp and go, right? Well, not in this world. It wasn’t the worst border in the world, but it wasn’t the best, either.

That would come later though, in fact, it was 2/3rds of the way through the 600km day before the first cars approached that most ominous of outposts. The day would start with a brilliant test, on the outskirts of Tbilisi in the grounds of a long-abandoned tourist attraction. Perched high on a barrow, there was a castle of sorts, and in the grounds stood the ruins of what might have been shops or restaurants, with the odd bit of long silent fairground swings – it was all a bit Chernobyl.

The mixture of gravel and tarmac paths that ran through the place, and provided the route for the test though were ace. A mixture of surfaces and traction, probably more rally cross than the rally cross track we had visited the previous evening. Multitudes of stray dogs were camped out around the track, largely minding their own business, whilst a herd of rather sad looking Cows wandered about, munching on the unkempt grass as the cars zipped through the test. The wildlife wouldn’t cause too much trouble, although Matt Bryson had to take a bit of evasive action with one of the cattle, if anything it was the domesticated canines that were causing an issue, as a pair of them, who presumably belonged to one of the watching crowd of fans, chased the cars every time they approached their position. Endless fun for the Dogs, who were completely oblivious to what the result of a car connecting with soft tissue and bone would be.

Still, they were having fun, as were the crowd who had probably never imagined this patch of abandoned enterprise could serve such a purpose. In terms of times, it was the livestock dodging Leyland of Bryson and Pink that was quickest, five seconds clear of Mk1 Escort of Tony Peterson and Richard Crabb.

The run to the border was a delightful drive, once the highway had been cleared. The road dropped into a valley alongside the river Mtkvari, flanked by mountains and the towns and villages were more Swiss Ski Resort than Soviet Squalor. There was plenty of Georgia’s older history on display as well, with a good number of medieval castles to look at, for anyone that wasn’t nervous about the upcoming border, anyway.

The border itself was in a landscape straight out of the Sound of Music, but we were all just hoping not to get von Trapped in ever increasing circles of bureaucratic mess. There was the usual gargantuan line of parked trucks, and we would surely get through quicker than them, even if things moved slowly. Reports from the front had been good, the course car had gotten through in ten minutes according to Guy, although you’re welcome to debate amongst yourselves how good a handle on time Mr Woodcock has.

Things were slowing down now though, as the waiting lanes began to fill. More help was sent, which just seemed to hold things up further, but slowly and surely the process got quicker. It was probably a 3.5 out of ten on trip advisor, with a waiting time of between one and two hours. At least it didn’t take as long to get into Türkiye, as it takes to cook one.

Once over the imaginary line, the scenery continued to impress, as we climbed high into the mountains, almost level with the snow-capped peaks in the distance. The road was tremendous, especially so after all of the rough driving we have conquered in the past few weeks. To have some smooth asphalt to play on was a delight, especially as it evolved into canyon twisties after the post border time control. There was plenty of satisfying tyre squeals to get after, as long as you kept a keen eye out for the Police, of which there were plenty. They’re hot on speeding in Türkiye, so it’s best to keep that in the back of your mind when the road is egging you on, especially those who may already have had a brush with the law today, such as car 105, who had been given a tug for overtaking in a village and a fine of 100 bucks for the trouble.

The time for playing soon came to an end though, as there was a final regularity to contest, which consisted of a wonderful mountain loop off of the main highway. The scenery was stunning, as the road carved a ridge around a breath-taking canyon. At least the marshals who had spent the day waiting for the cars to arrive after clearing the border had been given something to look at, and despite the heat, the lush, green backdrop, with a riverbank lined with Cypress Trees offered a spectacular backdrop to the competition.

Amongst the top three in the Classic Category there hadn’t been much movement, although the big Leyland had put a little bit more distance between itself and those who would derail her. In the fight for the overall win, the day had begun well for Richard Walker and Faith Douglas, faster than their competitors in the test once again. It appeared they had carried that speed into the regularity as well though, dropping over a minute in early arrival penalties, and allowing the Bentley in second and the Dodge in third to gain around a minute of ground back each on the bright red Chevy.

Tomorrow we can all enjoy a day without needing our passports for anything, as the rally heads into its 27th day and onward to Sivas, with just the 504km to cover. We’re almost inside the ten-day countdown to the finish now, which seems quite astounding to say, but, as ever, there is plenty of tarmac left to cover.

Syd.