RtG Ypres-Istanbul Daily Dispatch - complete - web - Flipbook - Page 26
13 June to 3 July 2022
Day 12
Arad to Sibiu (420 km)
25 June 2022
Judging by the bleary eyes over breakfast last night’s high-octane activities left their mark on a few of
the more enthusiastic crews. In the city centre, our erstwhile playground for the previous evening, the
trams were running again and there wasn’t a scrap of warning tape left.
By mid-afternoon it was reported that they’d need to stay
there for a day or so, whilst a new gearbox was sourced.
The Arad Plateau and the Zărand Mountains provided
some amazing views from the windscreen and the rear view
mirror ahead of the second Regularity around Frumușeni.
Then we struck eastwards along the valley of the River
Mureș to the third Regularity at Lalașinț. This long, off-road
section, was tough, rough and gritty, running through the
deepest of woodland on the narrowest of tracks. It was the
kingdom of the confident navigator who, above all, was
charged with being in the right place at the right time and
delivering the car into the lunch Time Control in Casa Bata
for a simple and satisfying meal of chicken and chips.
The road along the Mureș flowed in to the Time Control
in the La Căsuță Restaurant in Șoimuș. The fourth and
final Regularity of the day from Boholt looped up and over
the rolling hills of the Certeju de Sus, a collection of nine
Transylvanian villages. Once the section had been cleared
the crews rejoined the riverside road. Only a Route Check in
Geogui and a Passage Control in Poplaca stood between them
and the night halt in Sibiu, a very pleasant old city with ancient
Saxon roots and some surprising German architecture.
Text & photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Design: K-Design
Out of the car park we slid through the wide, empty, boulevards
to an easy run through the fields to a Passage Control where
we were welcomed by the Mayor of Șiria, Valentin Bot. The
Anglo/Romanian friendship society had been busy again and
were about to pull another rabbit from the hat.
In the foothills of the Transylvanian mountains two Tests
were to be tackled with an ingenious downhill Regularity
sandwiched between them. The cars had two attempts at
a long hill climb to the ruins of a 13th century Citadel.
Thanks to the efforts of the mayor, and his obliging police
department, the road had been closed off to all other
traffic. And, after the last control on the second ascent, we
were greeted by the townsfolk who had laid on a superb
mid-morning buffet with plates of cold meats, crates of
cold drinks, fresh salad and jugs of locally made cognac.
It was another hot morning and the crews were thirsty but,
as the sun was nowhere near the yard arm, it was only soft
drinks and bottled water which disappeared.
Sadly Richard and Catherine Phillipson’s Alvis ran out of
gears on the second turn up the hill. Despite the best efforts
of both sets of sweeps, as the rest of the rally tucked into
the feast, this crew were busy seeking a tow back to Arad.
The Bentleys of Graham and Marina Goodwin (left) and Clint and Dawn Smith
www.rallytheglobe.com