THE INCA TRAIL

the big South American adventure rally

Anton aan de Stegge hustles his amazingly decorated Mercedes 280SE cabriolet around Londrina race circuit

Crews had the chance to enjoy a circuit test at the Autodromo Ayrton Senna before saying goodbye to Londrina: five laps to be run at a consistent speed. Penalties kick in if crews fail to meet their target time at the rate of one per second, plus more if crews fail to achieve times within a certain 'window'.. One or two crews were pretty unlucky: Alan Smith / Willie Caruana lost their carburettor on the final lap, just keeping going long enough to reach the exit lane.


From Londrina the cars had a very straight, easy drive down the main road to reach Foz do Iguacu and the waterfalls where three countries meet. Iguazu Falls are part of the 'Big Three along with Victoria and Niagara. After heavy rain the extraordinary power of the water as it fell was stunning. The first of the event's big attractions didn't disappoint. Tomorrow we cross the river marking the border between Brazil and Argentina ­ the first of many borders the rally crosses even though we are only driving through six countries.

HOW many?

Phil 'Fingers' Surtees probably wasn't the best marshal to put in charge of seeing crews onto the track at the start of their 5-lap stint. Ironically, Phil lost a likely LE JOG Gold Medal a couple of years ago by miscounting the number of laps he did at Knockhill Circuit.

'So, Phil, how many times do they go round here?' 'Just like Knockhill.'
'So, HOW many?' Instant collapse of 'Fingers' as he realised the hole he'd just dropped into.

Welcome back ...

To Geoff and Jenny Dorey, who are back after long adventures with a holed sump, incurred in an encounter with a sleeping policeman at Ouro Preto. And to the Ford Mustang of Jan van Geen / Julienne Straatman, who have had 'a lot of problems' ­ hopefully now fixed.