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Running Report 5
Simple log cabins on a dramatic headland jutting out into the Indian Ocean near St. Johns made for another memorable night�s stay, and it was back on the road again to the Safari Lodges of Shamwari � one of the longest hauls of 500 kms from the coastal village of Mbotyi to our final and perhaps most luxurious safari lodges of all.
We left the sights of white-Rhino, antelope, giraffe and elephants to pound down the coastal road to Knysna.
There have been two further Medal Sections, which saw Paul and Sandra Merryweather set best time on the first in their Mercedes 230SL � again � but on the second, a long, twisty uphill gravel section, Martti and Pirkko Kiikka, also in a Merc SL, set best time by ten seconds. Ralph Auchincloss and Hilary Cheese continued to do well in the big Jag Mark Two saloon, and the final results of the Classic Category now have Paul and Sandra leading with no loss of penalties, the Jaguar second, one minute behind having incurred road penalties, and Richard and Judy Ingham now slip to third having been second in their big Mercedes 450SL. Martti having had an unfortunate first medal section that saw navigation problems mount up some penalties, are now fourth, and Richard Auchincloss in another Mark Two Jaguar is fifth.
In the Vintageants, Roger and Gillian Goodwin had held the lead in their 6.5 Bentley, but trouble hit them early on this morning when they suffered mechanical gremlins, and Etienne and Lidy Veen in their ex-Peking Paris Mercedes 630K Sports Tourer are now first overall, with the Goodwins second. Herman Layher and Marcus Kern in another Mercedes 630K are third, Dirk Lindenbergh and Esther Van Vooren are fourth in their Bentley Speed Six.
Hero of yesterday was the performance put up by the Rolls Royce 1913 Silver Ghost. Anna Nun had to pump hard to keep up pressure in the fuel tank, working the brass lever under the dash constantly for 300 kilometres after a small fuel leak was enough to cause a drop of pressure in the tank. They got in, refusing a tow from the Banhams, and then had the mobile workshop crew take out the tank and repair it, requiring clever use of a leather washer, made up of chopping a slice out of the Rolls Royce�s luggage strap, and a bit more from the leather trousers of Herman the German. �Germany helps rescue Rolls Royce,� says Herman� �just another example of Germany helping the enemy.�
Other chit-chat:
Michael and Anne Wilkinson roll onwards to Cape Town with no more troubles with the white Riley, Jean Claude Tourn was up early this morning to swim in the pool at the Shamwari safari camp while others were out game watching, The Finns also took an early morning dip, and out over the stretch of scrub, we could just make out the sight of a lion chasing a buffalo for a breakfast kill as the morning sun forced its way over the mountains. Action all around us then with yet another long day under our belts. We are now off to a gourmet dinner in the Pezula Resort � we don�t expect to see Richard Taylor and he was off on the golf-course as soon as he arrived � but the rest of us are fit and well, looking forward to trundling down the Garden Route tomorrow to the Stellenbosch for perhaps the finest hotel of all.
The two Saabs dropped penalties today because a game of golf took precedence, and tomorrow could see this diversion repeating itself.
Detlef Heyer is marshalling for us in a hire car having re-joined the rally, the Bentley of Jan and Marleen Dingemans sounds great but inches over the rough-stuff rather slowly, and is in fifth position in the Vintageant category, and the Incredible Hulk � the green Chevy Coupe of David and Sadie Williamson looks the worst for wear, but the looks have been improved with a mystery artist painting a cow on the side of the right hand door with a large cross through it�Herman Layer has seen this and says Battle of Britain customs could be revived with a row of RAF Roundels appearing on the German Mercs before Cape Town. Someone should tell him we�ll have the rest of his trousers if he doesn�t stop mentioning the war.
There is one more Medal Section tomorrow to look forward to, so the results could change some more � although a lot will be needed to shake the commanding lead in the Vintageants Category of the Veens, who lead by something like an hour and half, but there is a needle-match to be sorted in the Classic Category, with the Jaguars putting in a surprise performance.
HOME >>Event Reports >>Running Report 5
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