Day 15
After busy days in Novosibirsk, we started out this morning at 08.16, heading for the border to Kazakhstan. The crossing was smooth with no waiting time at all.
For lunch we stopped at German Village, it was raining cats and dogs. Felt sorry for the people in the village who did a great job to welcome us, but it all just drowned in water.
Soon after leaving, we had a time trial, 16 km of mud track. The Nokian Tyres were just perfect, 0’ed the test. It was great fun, just like being a child again.
Apart from that, it was a long day driving the 630 km on bumpy roads.

Day 12/13

Finished the work on the car at Porsche. The problem was only a loose rocker arm! While being in the work shop, every bolt and nut was checked, a few were replaced.
Air filter changed, rubber in the shock absorber mounts replaced. It is a relief not having the squeaking noise of metal to metal any longer.

At 2 pm we left Novosibirsk for Novokuznetsk – a five hours drive on roads in poor conditions.
It was really great to rejoin the rally again. The rocker arm problem resulted in our team slipping from a position as number 4 to number 49. Things can change fast. Most important though: We are back and enjoying the challenges and the good company of the fellow competitors.
The P2P is for sure the hardest rally you will find. The roads and tracks driven are beyond imagination. „Driving the Impossible“ is for sure a right slogan.
Have a look at the photos – these are showing the “faces” of P2P!

Day 11

We arrived in Novosibirsk at 8 am after a 14 hour drive from the Mongolian-Russian border. It was a smooth and pleasant ride.
We immediately started to shovel the dirt and dust of Mongolia out of the car. Engine was cleaned in order for our mechanic Brian Løkke to start working on it upon his arrival, which was at 4 pm. At 5.30 the car was running again. Fortunately it was only a loose rocker arm on the cylinder 5 exhaust side. That was the reason for the backfiring.
Today we will drive back to Novokuznetsk to catch up with the rally tomorrow morning.

Day 9/10

We have had no internet connection the past four days…..and a lot happened since my last report.
We had the worst road conditions we ever experienced, but at the same time it was the most epic drive and it is just amazing where you can actually go with a car! There are time trials every day, average speeds are high and only the fastest cars can make it. In several instances we decided to slow down in order not to destroy the car. Rubber bushings on front shock absorbers are worn out and the noise of metal on metal for hours is annoying. Bolts and nuts are coming loose. On top of that there is dust everywhere, in the car, in the tent in the sleeping bag and you can feel it in your teeth…..
We are in the car for 7 to 10 hours, with no break for anything – tough but manageable.
The last days we have experienced the most beautiful nature, wild life, but what has been disappointing are some of the Mongolians we have encountered.
There have been incidents where local people have been violent, asked for money, thrown stones at the cars while we were driving.
In 2013 we only met very friendly people – such a sad change!
Yesterday on the way to the Mongolian-Russian border, the engine started backfiring on cylinder 5. Hopefully it is only an inlet valve which burned. We got a tow to the border by the Petrolicious film crew. We were determined to cross the border, as there is absolutely nothing on the Mongolian side. The border control closed at 18.00 and would remain so for 36 hours, we passed at 17.45. Several crews got stuck in Mongolia. We removed the plug to the injector valve on cylinder 5 and drove the car across. We immediately got the car loaded on a trailer towed by a Toyota Landcruiser – which is a flashback to P2P 2013. We are heading for Novosibirsk where we shall be arriving at 08.00 after a 14 hour drive. We have an appointment at Porsche, where Brian Løkke will be arriving this morning.
Hopefully the problem can be solved….

Day 8

This has been the toughest day of the rally so far. Road conditions, if you can call it roads at all… I would rather call it dirt tracks. Every night the car is checked and bolts and nuts tightened. Today the bolt holding the catch strap in the rear left wheel got loose and finally disappeared. The rest LT was that the shock absorber broke apart.
There was a hammering noise for 10 km until the finish of the special test. We managed to get in just in time. Fortunately,we carry an additional real shock absorber, it was replaced within 50 minutes.
We have never been driving in such conditions and all the cars are suffering!

Day 6/7
On day 6 we left Ulaanbaatar after a large parade in the main square of the city.Traffic in Ulaanbaatar is terrible and driving 5 km out of the city took an hour, happy to drive an air cooled 911. After a couple of hours driving through a green hilly landscape we went off road and had two special tests – again high average speeds, but it went ok. It is taking its toll on the cars, virtually everybody is having problems and every day another car is out of the rally. Our rubber bushings on the shock absorber mounts are torn apart, it’s making a squeaking noise, but apart from that no problems.
Day 7 started with about 230 km tarmac road and then we went off road again. Road conditions went from bad to worse and the speeds are mad. We decided to go fast, but not to try to reach the set times. The surface is full of rocks and holes. We have never driven in such bad conditions and even with set average speeds of more than 70 km/h. Unfortunately, there was no time to make photos as the driving needs full attention.

Day 6
day 6 was a “rest” day, and I spent the day at Porsche Ulaanbaatar.
We had problems with the halfshaft boots tearing and with the rough driving and the dust. Some had to be replaced immediately to avoid damage to the bearings.
I had a visit from Denmark, namely Brian Løkke who brought another type. Hopefully they will not be damaged after 800 km driving.
The car was completely checked, cleaned, half the Gobi desert was inside the car. Porsche were very friendly, we used the facilities for 8 hours, were invited to have lunch, and they serviced us throughout the day. When we asked for the bill, we got a big smile and all they wanted was a photo of the car.
Thank you so much, you are a great team!
The car is ready for tomorrow and the next days in the desert!

Day 4
Camp to Ulaanbataar
Had a late start at 10.53, total distance of the day was 314 km of which 264 km were special stages. It was off road, gravel, rocks, dried-out river beds and lakes and lots of holes. The average speeds were around 80 km/h, which means that fast driving was required. We drove fast, but kept a good reserve in order not to destroy the car. It was a very tough and intense three and a half hours drive with full attention to the road. We took off a few times and the car did well! It is the toughest drive we have ever done. One 911 rolled and looked like a write-off, the crew are fortunately ok.
A number of cars had technical issues. Unfortunately, we did not have time to make a lot of photos!
Day five is a rest day, we are going to Porsche Ulaanbataar in order to clean the car and check it thoroughly!