RTG Carrera Iberia The Daily Dispatch - all days - Flipbook - Page 7
7 to 17 October 2019
Day 3
Alcaniz - Cuenca (395km)
10 October 2019
High life
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Nothing beats waking up in a high vaulted
bedroom, in a castle, on a hill and walking through
its ancient stone corridors to a thoroughly modern
coffee machine and a good Spanish breakfast. Such
was the situation this morning for the Carrera
Iberia crews who were preparing themselves for
another epic day on the road.
As befits the season it was cool (but dry) this morning as we
set a south westerly course through a dramatic landscape
of canyons and tunnels alongside a vivid turquoise lake
feeding into, and running out of the lazy Rio Guadalupe.
The road had been cut into deep folds of sedimentary
rock and it was in a valley such as this that the first
Regularity was run. The “road that time forgot” had long
been bypassed by its wider and smoother sibling, but for us
it was perfect and the 5km of intermittent broken tarmac
gave the crews a great ride.
The finish of this section then led the rally to a “hidden”
Passage Control - for a bit of fun - and thence to an
altogether more serious Time Control in a cafe Cantavieja
with impressive coffee and views to match.
The following long and fast road section was, thanks
to an ongoing program of roadworks in the region, much
improved since the recce and the straightened and well
metalled surface fairly expedited our passage over a very
misty Sierra de Gudar to the Masia la Torre, the lunch Time
Control where the establishment had laid on a great spread
of salad, lamb and fish.
Sadly Gavin and Diana Henderson never made it this far
as their Bentley developed a magneto failure. They finished
the day on a grua and are this evening looking at their
options. Repair, retire, rent. We all hope it’s the former.
Roy and Rachel Stephenson did make it into lunch
however but were slightly delayed into the night halt
because their Mustang broke down soon after lunch. The
sweep team of Jamie Turner and Jack Amies however were
quickly at their side just after we crossed into the beautiful
‘Province of Valencia’.
Otakar Chládek & Jindriška Zemlicková, 1971 Mercedes-Benz 350SL Cabrio
Christof Ley and Len Treeter, 1958 Mercedes-Benz Ponton
www.rallytheglobe.com
