Syd Stelvio - London to Lisbon Day 10
Vidago to Curia – 357km
Our first day in Portugal today was also the penultimate day of this year’s London to Lisbon rally. The sand is now slipping between the chambers at a seemingly increasing rate, because as we all know, time is the most elastic constant there is. London feels like forever ago, and when we were there Lisbon seemed infinitely far away, but now we find ourselves on the precipice of the end. Time is running out.
There were points today when time also felt never ending, such was the volume of competition. There were four regularities and two tests, and one of the regs was a monster, 32km in length. They were tricky too, with lots of climbs on roads that seemed so steep it felt like we were attempting to take off for the stars, whilst all the while the road behind did its best to hold us back.
But whilst we relentlessly pursued the seconds, outside of our bubble Portugal continued at barely walking pace on a hot Friday, during a week in which temperatures in the country have exceeded 40 degrees. As the cars thundered through the regs, the rest of the world went about its business; construction workers chipped aged and worn screed from a house, old men drank coffee outside rural cafes and high in the mountains on reg one a woman wept as she tended a grave, a moment of remembrance of an entire lifetime that had passed, as we worried about seconds and minutes. A humbling juxtaposition indeed.
But time for us was of the essence, and it was getting away from everyone. Not in terms of penalties, but more in the volume of the competition. There were delays and closed roads, and the group of competitors that has often been snapping at the heels of the course car were now starting to slip the other way.
On the regularities though, there were some very impressive performances, particularly as the sections were demanding on both mind and machine. Regularity number 2 was certainly a memorable drive, with a 32km section of competition with six timing points on a route that wound up and down through the terraced Quinta’s of the Douro. The surroundings were beautiful, not that anyone had time to look, as full concentration was needed on the tulips and the trip.
There were some good scores, on a section that was never supposed to be completed clean. The Blumenstein’s in the Fiat shipped just 7 seconds, a great performance from the team in 32nd place. At the other end of the table, Dave Maryon and Henry Carr in third managed 6 seconds, a feat matched by Stephen Hardwick and Ian Riley in car 25. Mike and Sarah Thorne and Jan and Hannes Malmgreen went one better, leaving the section with just 5 seconds owed. Evandro Gueiros and Ivo Tavares managed a near perfect run, with 3 seconds of penalty in the Porsche 911. But Dick and Harry Baines trumped the lot, with a perfect run through this most challenging of competition sections, a tremendous performance.
Another tricky uphill reg followed, after a lengthy run across country, that included a re-route, before heading to Caramulo, the famous hill climb, where two tests would take place downhill, running the famous tarmac in the opposite direction. It’s fair to say that the rally leaders have had mixed results on this year’s tests, and with a tough class it has been a place where the chasing cars can claw a few seconds back. Today it was a story of two halves for the Baines, with a class winning time on the first test, whereas on the second they finished sixth in class and picked up 6 seconds of penalty. This offered a bit of hope to Graham Platts and Neil Ripley in second, who left Caramulo with a clean slate. By now time really was getting on, and the closed road test was completed with minutes to spare before the Police reopened the road.
There was just one regularity left on the day, and after climbing back up Caramulo, this time at a more sedate speed, and chuckling at the skid marks left on the tarmac from our previous misadventures, it was time to head into the Eucalyptus Forests for the final act of a challenging day. The reg wasn’t especially taxing, but there was the added intrigue of needing to navigate around logging trucks that were operating on the route as swathes of forest were cleared to make way for new trees. For this final bit of competition, the only perfect score was delivered by Tom and Rachel Woodcock in the Datsun 240z, as they pushed to enter the top ten.
As the curtain came down on the second to last day, the results showed that the Baines in first place had achieved a small amount of daylight between them and Graham Platts and Neil Ripley in second. 23 seconds is the margin heading into the final day, leaving the silver Porsche as the favourite to clinch the win. But time is a fickle mistress, and it only takes one moment for the results to flip. There are still three regularities and a test before we make it to Lisbon. Time to make a difference, or a case of time is never time enough. We will find out tomorrow.
Syd.