An Icelandic Odyssey
Iceland August 07 update
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Aug 13, 2007 - 1:12:02 PM

Peter spent the first week of August 2007 in Iceland meeting with the Icelandic Motorsport Association, the Tourist Board and various organisations and individuals who will be involved with the event. Support for the event is widespread, and during his visit the office of the Mayor of Reykjavik gave approval for the cars to start from the city centre.

The weather in early August is similar, although temperatures are a little higher, to mid September, and Peter took the opportunity to check out some of the roads and locations that the event will visit next year. The photographs shown with this report show just a few of the sites you can expect to see during the event.

During the visit, Peter deliberately hired a small car with small wheels and low ground clearance and took this along some of the roads we will be using without experiencing any problems. One piece of advice he does want to pass on is that you give your car a good check-over to ensure that suspension and steering joints/fittings etc are secure and are not likely to come loose from vibrations that you are bound to experience on an unmade road. You are strongly recommended to fit a sump guard and to skid the exhaust where appropriate.

Whilst the weather was warm and many people were in short sleeves and shorts, the wind can be moderate to strong in exposed areas and you should take water/wind proof clothing. Peter wore a light-weight ski jacket with a high collar, often over just a polo shirt. Crews in open cars need to remember that traffic will kick up dust on the dirt and ash roads during dry weather and you should wear wrap-around sun glasses or goggles. As with all HERO events, we will be providing a van to handle the event logistics. The van will carry suitcases for crew members between hotels. This means that you need only carry in your competition car items you will need during the day (don’t leave your camera in the luggage van).

Closer to the event crews will be provided with information on driving in Iceland, what to carry in your car, what not to carry, fuel stations, road signs particular to Iceland, shopping (many shops are part of the tax free scheme which allows visitors to claim back the VAT on goods to a value of 4000 Kronar or above purchased in one transaction) etc.

In September 2007 Hywel Thomas will be carrying out the detailed route survey prior to preparation of the road book. It was decided to carry out the survey during September to get an indication of what the roads will be like during the event in 2008. Peter expects to make at least one more visit and more reports will be provided after these trips.