RTG AlMex Daily Dispatch - FINAL - Flipbook - Page 35
27 August to
26 September 2023
Day 20 Moab to Bluff (345km)
16 September 2023
There was plenty to think about while they waited for their
‘due time’, with two passage Controls, two regularities, two
Time Controls and one Test to deal with before they’d see
their beds this evening. The first passage Control, aptly
called Moab View, occurred 28km from the hotel and offered
a panorama of an otherworldly landscape of mountains,
canyons, cliffs and arches. russ Smith and Jamie Turner
stamped timecards before we rolled on to the Geyser pass
regularity that took us higher into the mountains via a wide
gravel road, lined with gnarled oak trees.
It was stark and epic, but not plain sailing for everyone.
The Goodwin’s Bentley suffered a puncture. The experienced
crew didn’t panic though and, whilst Graham set to with his
tool kit, Marina directed traffic safely around the work zone.
In a time that would make an f1 team blush, the Cricklewood
cruiser was back on four wheels and heading towards
loren price and owen Turner’s timing point situated at a
breathless 3,200m.
Porsche 911s: Stan Gold and Brant Parsons...
photos: Marcus rowe - gerardbrown.co.uk
like many of their cars, the post rest-day crews
creaked into action this morning to take their
place on the starting line as the sun rose over the
glorious surroundings of Moab.
...and Tobias and Silvia Koenig
The landscape dramatically changed as we left the wooded
slopes of the la Sal mountains and dropped to the valley
floor. Sandy scrub and huge rock formations loomed large
on the way to the Test at eight Mile rock, a sand-strewn
section of track with a few twists and turns added for good
measure. Just as crews thought they had seen the best of
Utah, they were treated to the most spectacular reveal of the
entire route, a breathtaking canyon punctuated by pinnacles
and stratified shelves, stretching as far as the eye could see.
A Time Control at the needles overlook allowed the rally
some time to drink in the scene, with a 360-degree view of
the best that geology has to offer.
lunch at the Granary Mill Time Control was a further
75km along the road where a delicious buffet was laid out in
an old granary building. The final regularity of the day was
run along a narrow gravel track through Indian Creek and
twisted its way upwards through trees until the final few
switchbacks revealed an alpine scene with rolling meadows
peppered with neat pine trees.
The last passage Control at Comb ridge had to be
cancelled due to an impassible river, leaving the rally
running straight for the teepees of the Bluff dwellings night
halt which were, according to Catherine Scowcroft, “the best
www.rallytheglobe.com