Syd Stelvio Day 6 – Pau to Biarritz – 262km

262km to go, nothing really, like going from Bristol to Manchester, a nice leisurely drive. Yeah right, this isn’t a schlep up the M5, it’s the final day of the Classic Marathon, and today’s route takes in the narrow and tricky roads of the Pyrenees. There are switchbacks tight enough to fox a Mini, climbs to test even the most powerful of powerplants, and don’t forget the Vultures.

Not just the huge variety of them in the skies above these mountains, but also the Vultures clipping at your heels, harrying you, chasing you, urging a mistake before they take their opportunity to jump on your limping challenge for a win. With the top three separated by just 14 seconds going into the final day, it isn’t going to take much of an error to flip the order around, defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, is it? We will see.

Five regularities were all that remained to decide who would be tasting victory champagne, the competition looked to be a three-horse race between Paul Bloxidge and Ian Canavan, Dick and Harry Baines, and, after somewhat of a rebirth, Mark Godfrey and Bart den Hartog had put themselves well within reach of repeating Mark’s 2023 triumph. The Vultures were waiting though, to snap up any offering if the top three dropped major time.

The first two regs were down in the lanes to the west of Pau, tight and niggly, classic rallying lanes. There were some tricky bits of navigation, and they were costing people time. The discussions at the first time control of the day were animated and seemed to be centred on some blue signs. Arms were waved, shoulders shrugged and then, one by one the crews departed for the next reg, time to get on with the job. Reg three was a tough one, a tremendous hill climb, with the battle for time playing out against the most tremendous backdrop, not that anyone had any time to look at that as they wrestled their cars to the summit. Here there were actual vultures, a great swarm of them ripping a carcass apart on the valley floor, their unrecognisable quarry only visible as the cars came past, causing the great birds to scramble to the air – or perhaps they could sense more carrion.

the air – or perhaps they could sense more carrion.

The chasing Vultures seemed to be doing their best to let the top three get away, and by lunch almost all of the chasing pack had fallen away and only Vincent Hayes and Peter Rushforth had managed to claw a few seconds back on the podium positions. Out front Blox and Canavan still had first spot, but only by six seconds, with Mark Godfrey and Bart den Hartog now in second after clearing the Baines. They had made the best of the morning, and, perhaps crucially, were yet to play their Joker.  Elsewhere in the table there were crucial class positions being decided, and positions were swapping all over the place, with barely 25% of the crews staying in the position they had begun the day in. It was frantic.

Two more regularities remained to be contested in the afternoon, 32 km of competitive distance to decide who would lay claim to first place. These regs were both mountainous ones, in the Col d’Ilrey and around the Pic d’Arradoy, a final opportunity to reach the summit of the leaderboard. The Baines wouldn’t do enough, adding 24 seconds to their daily total during the afternoon, but they would do enough to secure a fantastic third position.

The fight for first and second though was getting tight, and the new partnership of Godfrey and den Hartog were doing all they could to secure a win. Bloxidge and Canavan were haemorrhaging more time than the chasing MG B, including losing ten seconds after getting blocked by a medical emergency involving one of the rally marshals no less. They would lose 56 seconds on the day, and their pursuers would drop only 41 on the day. It wasn’t enough though, the win going to Paul Bloxidge and Ian Canavan by just one second. They were delighted at the finish, their closest challenger less so. Paul Bloxidge and Ian Canavan have won many things in their careers, but they have also finished second plenty of times as well and have finished as runners up by just one second themselves on three other occasions. This win then was perhaps one of the sweetest, Paul declaring that he was over the moon and Ian following by saying this was everything he wanted in an event.

So then, to the winners the spoils, to everyone else hearty congratulations on completing a tremendous challenge. This evening it is time to celebrate, to share stories of all that has happened, before we look forward to doing it all again in 2027.

Syd