RtG Ypres-Istanbul Daily Dispatch - complete - web - Flipbook - Page 12
13 June to 3 July 2022
Day 5
Weimar to Prague (395.5 km)
18 June 2022
Our last day in Germany and another border to cross as we press on eastwards through the magnificent
landscapes of Central Europe. Germany has been good to us and so has our friend Uwe Schmidt, but
today we say goodbye to both on what has been the hottest day so far.
of this subtle blend of horsepower and traction - or lack
thereof - were impressive. And entirely predictable. But it
was a lot of fun for both the onlookers and the competitors
and certainly had the effect of sharpening the appetite of
the latter group.
The Time Control and lunch halt was some 85km down the
road in the town of Kynšperk nad Ohří . Fortunately plenty
of time had been scheduled to allow both man and machine
to cool down as now the mercury was nudging 31°C. The
recently issued Rally the Globe sunhats were working hard
on the heads of the slowly roasting open car crews.
The day’s second Regularity offered some respite, the
so called Lazy Saturday Afternoon actually finished in a
village of the very same name. Sat at the end of a thickly
wooded road it offered some welcome shade for a few
kilometres at least.
A Passage Control outside of Tisová came and went
without drama, as did the Time Control in Nečtiny, where
cold drinks could be found. The day was coming to an end,
though there was still one more Regularity to deal with
along Berounka River, after which the pull into Prague and
the rest day proved irresistible.
www.rallytheglobe.com
Text & photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
We left Weimar in the relative cool of the morning and,
through fields peppered with poppies and cornflowers,
soon arrived at a Passage Control high above Bibra where
Jack Amies and Russ Smith were well placed to take in the
impressive views over the valley. A relaxing start but, when
the first Regularity from Weira began, the crews began to
feel the heat. This was part gravel, part tarmac, but the
boundaries between the two were sometimes blurred.
With a myriad of farm tracks to choose from, the
tripmeter came into its own through this section, as well
as a pair of sharp eyes to better read the road book and
plan ahead for the next instruction. Dust hanging in the
air meant at least someone else had been along the track,
whether it was the right way remained to be seen, until the
next tulip was ticked off.
The day’s Test, in Schleizer Dreieck, was at least a little
easier for the navigators, although the drivers had their
work cut out. This, the oldest street circuit in Germany,
had given Jim Smith and Sarah Ormerod a section of its
outfield to design two laps of short straights and 90° turns
in and around the paddock. With loose stuff where you
really could have done with some more grip, the results
Design: K-Design
Enrico Paggi and Federica Mascetti, 1971 Fiat 124 Spider BS1