RTG Espana Daily Dispatch - mid-res - Flipbook - Page 5
Day 1: Barcelona to La Seu d’Urgell, 25 April 2022
Once the plates had been cleared away it was back to the
cars and a stunning corniche road which led to the Coll de
Jou, the third and final Regularity of the day. With a height
of 1,480m and views over the Sierra Del Cadi and onwards
to the Principality of Andorra this was a fine way to digest
that fine lunch.
The road to the night halt beckoned with the last Test to
deal with. The kart Circuit at El Pla gave the crews one more
chance to push themselves and their cars to whatever limit
they saw fit before the last 10km into the town of La Seu
d’Urgell and a well deserved dinner in the Castell de Ciutat.
A superb opening day by any measure and the tracks we
enjoyed today gave an indication that the second album
was taking shape quite nicely. But what did the crews think?
Chris and Rita Dillier in their Ford Model A thought that the
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
They were heading for the hills and two Tests and three
Regularities lay ahead of them, including a session on the
magnificent Circuit de Barcelona 30km from the start.
Here Jim Smith and Sarah Ormerod gave the countdown
towards the first straight and the rest of the Grand Prix
experience followed.
Shortly afterwards the cars rolled up to the first Regularity
of the day at Montseny where, the rally notes informed
us, a staggering average of 106.2kph had been achieved
by Peter Schetty in 1969 aboard his 2L Ferrari 212E during
a 16km stage of the European Mountain Championship.
Our times were somewhat slower but, thanks to the rugged
landscape and seemingly endless twists and changes of
direction of the road, probably no less of a challenge in an
old car with a strict schedule to keep to.
The morning Time Control in the Parador de Vic-Sau
allowed the rally to catch its breath, have a coffee and
allow the engines to cool slightly before the next section,
the Regularity to Alpens. As with the first Regularity,
the back roads of Catalonia didn’t let us off easily and,
as the crews checked in with Dr John Llewellyn and Bob
Hargreaves at the final timing point, there were a few who
seemed glad that the next thing to be tackled was lunch.
The Time Control was located in the fantastic Restaurant
Estany Clar where an al fresco buffet and sit down meal
were offered to the competitors with a generous slice of
time allowed for them to fully enjoy it.
Left: Geoff and Penny Rawlings’ 1934 Talbot 95/105 Alpine
Right: Brian and Catherine Scowcroft’s 1954 Lancia Aurelia GT
“Barcelona circuit was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed it
and wanted to do a second, third and fourth lap… but they
wouldn’t let us”. As for the Regularities, “they were very
good, the roads were great and the scenery was fantastic.
Very well organised.”
Federica Mascetti was also keen to let us know how much
she’d enjoyed the “beautiful roads… and no traffic! As for
lunch there was such wonderful food and lovely gardens
to enjoy”. Enrico, her husband didn’t need to tell us how
much he enjoyed the day however - especially the two
track Tests. We could see that by the way he threw his
Lamborghini Urraco into each and every corner.
Tomorrow we’ve been promised more of the same. Amazing
roads and great food on the way to Sos del Rey Católico.
Gerardus Mercator, Dispatch reporter
Enrico Paggi and Federica Mascetti, 1976 Lamborghini Urraco P250 S
www.rallytheglobe.com