RtG Ypres-Istanbul Daily Dispatch - complete - web - Flipbook - Page 16
13 June to 3 July 2022
Day 7
Prague to České Budějovice (288.2 km)
20 June 2022
The phrase ‘time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted’, often attributed to military leaders, easily
applies to a rally organisation. As a result of Fred Gallagher’s efforts today we played our very own
Bohemian Rhapsody and enjoyed some of the best back roads money can buy in a day packed with five
Regularities and a rallycross Test.
white and red poppies making an extraordinary sight under
the leaden skies. The solar powered roasting of the last few
days had turned into a light steaming for the crews as they
made their way through the section towards Fred Gallagher
and Loren Price at the final control.
Next in the road book was the rallycross Test in Sedlčany.
Two laps of a now slippery circuit saw a three way Fiat,
Porsche and Bentley shootout in the RtG “run what you
brung” sliders cup. Local boy Otakar Chládek along with
Jindřiška Žemličková had the crowd behind them as they
willed the big Mercedes through the many turns and jumps
of this fun packed, and only slightly muddy, circuit.
The second Regularity, in the woods around Vládyčín,
was a much calmer affair, but it still managed to cause
something of a kerfuffle in the middle of the pack, when
a logging vehicle resumed work after its morning break.
These are narrow roads and Alison Lewin’s frustration was
palpable - and shared by a few others - when she opined
that she “didn’t mind the fact that he’s depositing the logs
Text & photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Design: K-Design
Prague was a great place for a day off so, as dawn broke, the
well rested crews faced the stark realisation that they really
did have to get up and back on the road. Luckily, on the
way out of town, we were swimming against the Monday
morning tide and eased our way through the amazing
architecture of this beautiful city and into the countryside
without any trouble at all.
It was still hot but, we were told, the weather was going to
change over the course of the day with scattered thundery
showers along the route. Just before the first Time Control
in the Stará Myslivna in Benešov the promised storm
broke complete with thunder, lightning and rain of biblical
proportions. The former hunting lodge of Emperor Franz
Josef turned out to be a fine place to dry out. From the
walls hung with trophies and body parts we could see that,
back in the day, he’d also been a crack shot.
We spent much of the morning in the valley of the Vltava
river, which flows through central Prague. On the way to
the first Regularity in Radic the fields were filled with vivid
Daniel and Barbara Wiedemann, 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL
www.rallytheglobe.com