Syd Stelvio Day 2 – Valence to Millau – 371km
“Today is gonna be a big day” said Will Rutherford, the man who has conjured up the route for this year’s Classic Marathon. Indeed, it was Will’s prestidigitation during the regularities yesterday that had caused so much map-based angst for some, especially on that tricky reg two. So, with 6 regs planned for the second leg, and a test to boot, it was indeed set to be a big day. That was the plan, anyway.
The weather was certainly on point, with yesterday’s cloud and rain replaced by beautiful sunshine, lighting up the avenues of lime trees on the roads out of Valence. We wouldn’t quite be hitting the heights of the previous day, but as we crossed the Rhone and headed towards the days first competitive section there would still be plenty of climbing, and plenty of Bonafide rally country to play in as well, especially for the first reg, that was a long 26km blast on the narrow roads that climbed and descended the Ardeche hills. The view was immense, with layers of hills and mountains, early morning mist rising up above the green slopes, and the ethereal glow of the early morning sun. Nobody could see any of that though, as thick was the vegetation around the roads, and besides, with a run time of nearly 40 mins, concentration requirements left no room in the budget for staring at the scenery.
The reg certainly caused issues for some, with George and Rosalind Topp, competing in a stunning Saab 96 V4, possibly suffering the most, and were no doubt delighted to see the time control, located at the famous La Remise restaurant, where they could both top up their sugar levels on some of the cafes famous fruit pie, that is gifted each year to the crews of the Monte Carlo Rallye as they pass through.
The morning had unfortunately seen the first retirement of the rally, with the MK2 Jaguar of Anders and Lisa Hendriksen being retired. There was also trouble ahead for the rally as a whole, with a blockage on reg 2 causing that to be cancelled, with the subsequent delay also meaning that the third reg of the day needed to be scrubbed to allow cars and marshals to catch up. It was a shame, as both were stunners, though no doubt some of the competitors who had made it through reg two were secretly pleased that their time accruals would not count against them!
No doubt the middle-of-the-day time control on the slopes of Mont Lozere was a welcome respite for some, and a chance to reset before the afternoon. The cool mountain air was welcome, with the sun hot in the valleys and the temperatures rising in some of the cockpits. There was a strange mechanical issue for the number 53 TR8 of Malcolm Dunderdale and Anita Wickins. It was showing symptoms of fuel starvation, perhaps some of the fermented avocado used to paint the green machine had gotten into the fuel tank, or perhaps it was some sort of electrical issue, whatever the problem was it was only rearing its head on the competitive sections, and as yet, remains undiagnosed.
The Sweeps were busy, as it happened, but not with anything major, just with bitty problems, which are all part and parcel of the marathon, and they would be in demand at the end of the day as well. Before that though, there was a busy afternoon to get through, with three regs and a test before the final time control of the day. The most spectacular of these was named Le Tarn, with a large part of it on the switchbacks descending into the Tarn Gorge. This road, as many of the roads had been today, was a riot. Technically challenging and wonderfully rewarding, and with the walls of the gorge reverberating to the sound of the different engine notes as the cars passed through one by one. Whilst there would be some very good performances, and a lot of competitors only chalking up a second of penalty, nobody managed to nail a perfect score, as nobody had all day. Nobody, that is, except for Dick and Harry Baines, who picked up no penalties on reg number 4. In contrast, the overnight leaders in car number 1 had suffered a nightmare on reg one, managing to forget to write a time down at the start of the reg, and thus incurring a minute penalty.
Reg five would turn out to be the final one of the day after another blockage and subsequent delay, but what would a rally through France be without a bunch of Route Barree’s? I don’t know who this Barry fella is, but he is always in the way… However, there was time for a test at a kart circuit within sight of the famous Millau Bridge. There was one final delay to proceedings though, when Peter Moore ripped the centre out of one of the back wheels on the tiny Austin Healey Sprite, but with some trackside bending and mending he managed to get the Sprite back underway again, and the car that refuses to die lives to fight another day. Fastest around the test were Thomas Koerner and Udo Schauss again, but the most spectacular circulation of the circuit had to go to Michael Moss and Tony Brooks, with the VW Golf making shapes a front wheel drive car shouldn’t make.
After a tumultuous day on the road, there was upheaval in the results as well, with Paul Bloxidge and Ian Canavan torpedoing to the top of the table after having the best of the day by quite some way, picking up just 19 seconds of penalty, and taking a ten second advantage over Lincolnshire’s Fastest Farmers, Dick and Harry Baines, who have consolidated their second place overall. Behind them are Vincent Hayes and Peter Rushforth, in the somewhat unhinged Renault 4, that despite having a small oil leak and brake issues, has shot up the order after only picking up 29 seconds of penalty over leg 2. They have also not used their joker yet. Only one other crew outside of the top three managed a sub minute day, and so congratulations must also go to Richard and Arati De Watts, achieving 55 seconds in the MG B. Tomorrow, we leave Millau and head to Carcassonne, and with less than a minute separating the top ten, the lead could easily change again.
Syd
