THE INCA TRAIL
the big South American adventure rally
John Bayliss's secret timing point on the Sucre Regularity attracted a lot of fans |
The Porsche of Jan Smith and Ian Brawn receives a rousing welcome at the Regularity finish in Sucre |
The short day's drive allowed for a late start ideal for crews who needed to sort cars out after yesterday's tough drive. Garages were willing to open even on a Sunday, and some started late on Saturday and worked through to get the job done in time for the restart. Poor John Blanckley had a bit of a scare, though. By the time he went to collect his car, the man had gone for his lunch. But John found him, he opened up, and he made the start OK.
Highlight of the day for 4x4s was a 45klm long Otuyo Explorer Section, running through some remote landscapes and villages, and finishing in a spectacular descent towards Sucre.
For the classics, there was the Gran Premio de Sucre Regularity. The local motor club organises and annual race through the streets and gravel roads around the town. The finish line is directly in front of the Town Hall in the central square. The Inca Trail ran along about half of it, starting with a twisty gravel section in the hills above the town, then dropping down for a mad dash the central streets specially closed for us. What a privilege! At the end, crowds cheered, the band played, every crew that arrived was instantly beseiged by TV, radio and newspaper journalists. Later, there was a special reception in the central square. Another tremendous welcome.
Colin Francis summed it up 'What a regularity fantastic. And what a greeting from all these people.' But Jane and Paul Wignall came to grief badly. After the gentle ascents of yesterday, the regularity put cars to the test in the rarified atmosphere. They had to take a running start at the beginning, and then, going up a steep incline later on, the car just stopped. They got maximum penalties as other cars went on past, and so their chance of a Gold medal was lost.
Another early start tomorrow, and another longish tough day.