lars

Day 35

We left Liege, driving through the region of the Ardennes, what a beautiful place. It will be a destination to come back to.
There were two challenges along the route to Ypres a time trail and a race through a village, where roads had been closed, both great fun.
The navigation was a challenge throughout the day and the navigator did not have 5 seconds rest.
We drove into Ypres late afternoon and what a reception, hundreds of people there, also several old rally friends. The Belgians had arranged French fries and a free flow of beer and wine – it was great!
Our good friend Anton and his co driver Herman made it on the Contal trike, they closed a chapter in the Peking to Paris history which has been open since 1907.
Peking to Paris 2019 has been a tough rally with many days of challenging driving and competitions. The ERA team has been magnificent, the mechanics did a great effort in keeping the cars running – I believe we will be back, there is still a some unfinished business!
Today we have a non competitive drive into Paris where we will be arriving at around 14.30. It will for sure be emotional and we are looking forward to driving over the finish line!

Day 34
We started out in Wolfsburg at 09.07, had an easy drive out of town. We had some 600 km ahead of us. We went onto the Autobahn, did 160 km/h and made good progress…..until we had to drive through several villages, all overloaded with heavy traffic which resulted in a lot of congestion. There were traffic lights every 300 m which ensured that there was absolutely no flow in the traffic. Having been driving a lot in Germany and knowing how beautiful it can be, I just fail to understand our route, as we did not discover that. Further to pass through the Ruhrpott on a Friday afternoon with the summer holidays commencing did not make things easier. Was happy to drive an air cooled car, as overheating is not an issue, but many of the cars really suffered from the long queues and the warm weather.
We crossed the border into Belgium at the Ardennes, it was scenic, the nature and the villages are beautiful. We went to a mini track of Peugeot with many tight bends. We made a mistake which incurred a penalty of 4 minutes and 30 seconds and had us move from a 1st to a 6th place in the European cup.
We checked in at the hotel at 19.00 after a hard day. Next stop is Ypres and on Sunday we go to Paris, can’t wait…….

Day 33
Great driving day! We started with a race in the old part of Stettin (Szczecin) after which we drove off towards Germany and soon we crossed the border. We passed many small villages, where traces of the former GDR are still to be seen in that part of Germany. We arrived at Groß Doelln, where we had a competition on the race track and the last competition of the day at an airfield with a race on a runway, then off road, which was a great combination. The day ended at Auto Welt/World in Wolfsburg.

Day 32

Started doing the go-cart track which we did on day 31, but backwards. After that we had a great drive heading for Szczecin (Stettin). We had our second test at an old airfield. Needed to navigate and keep an average speed in an off-road track – just the right thing for the Porsche, it went well. We arrived in Szczecin in the afternoon, where we checked in at the port.

It was another great day. Poland is a very beautiful country and people are very friendly.

As part of the daily routine, we checked the car and fortunately there was no damage on the suspension this time!

Day 30

We left Riga and drove 560 km via Lithuania into Poland, where we arrived at Mikolaij in Masuria. Masuria has more than 2000 lakes. It was an amazing drive through picturesque landscapes and villages. It is great to see storks everywhere.

The two tests of the day were race tracks, a fast and great track and a track which can destroy your suspension. Fortunately, we did not have further technical problems apart from the noise from the shock absorbers and the co-driver?

The day ended with a car park party, which was great.

Day 27
The day ended up being a transport day, as the special test was cancelled. The drive out of St. Petersburg was easy, the roads are great and quite impressive. The times for the Time Control were tight, but manageable. We finally arrived at the Russian/Finnish border, where 100 other rally cars were waiting to cross the border. After a couple of hours we were on EU-terrain and drove to Hyvinkää, a very scenic drive, also got to taste a little gravel.

Day 25/26
Just a small addition to day 26. Our accommodation is rather unusual, we are staying in one of the guest houses of the Russian Government and President Putin.
It is a bit of a contrast compared to some of the hotels we have stayed in on this rally. I suppose the house had some 1500 m2, with private pool, workout room and sauna. Various living rooms, offices and a higher hall. The security has a high priority, as the houses are next to Konstantinovsky Palace, which is the St Petersburg residence of President Putin.

Day 24
Another long day, 620 km and only one special test in the morning on NRING, Novgorod. Great track and good fun! Apart from this highlight of the day, we had a lot of traffic and patience was required. We had a 10 hour drive without breaks apart from refueling once.

We passed at least 50 speed cameras and 20 police cars with officers monitoring the traffic.
Still cars are breaking down and a lot of effort is being made in order to keep the cars on the road, the mechanics are doing a great job!