parallax background

Rally Live: Grand Prix of South America, Day 6

Rally Live: Grand Prix of South America, Day 6

Salta to Huaclera

Let’s start today with a quick review of the results.
Leading crew
Day 1: Car 5 McInerney Ford Coupe V8
Day 2: Car 5 McInerney Ford Coupe V8
Day 3: Car 6 Peter Pollet Bentley
Day 4: Car 9 Gerd Buehler Porche
Current Leaderboard after day 4
1: Car 9      Gerd Buehler             Porche          480 marks
2: Car 2      Andrew Davies         Chrysler 75   498 marks
3: Car 6      Peter Pollet.              Bentley          1023 marks
So, after 1,990kms there is 18 marks (or seconds) between first and second place.

On to today. All participants gathered outside the Sheraton Hotel for a 9am start as we left in convoy for the Salta racetrack. It was an inspiring sight as the cars travelled nose to tail through the city centre. There was certainly an air of excitement and anticipation as crews entered the pit lane for their sighting lap. Off we went, again in convoy for all crews to get their bearings. Once done, the participants left one by one to set a lap at their own pace. This was followed by crews completing two more laps, trying to match their first lap time as closely as possible. Go fast or slow, your choice, but get there on your second!

After the laps were completed, and the participants managed to stop grinning…..much like the Cheshire Cat, we returned to the hotel for a lovely lunch, then off we went again.
After a relatively short tarmac section of 16km we turned off the road and onto a wide, fast and flowing super smooth gravel section…..what an extraordinary 9km of pure fun. The wide road with perfectly placed cambers and opportunities to cut corners gave the pilots a flowing driving experience. The navigators were also challenged to keep the timings as perfect as possible. If crews had the time to admire the scenery…..which they didn’t!! They would have noticed they were following the lake shore, very pretty.
Once the gravel section was completed we crossed a dam and returned to the road, where we climbed to 2,600m above sea level. The views and the driving experience was truly spectacular as the sun shone down on sheer gravelly cliff faces and one could clearly see where the road was carved out of the conical hills. In sharp contrast, lush green fields could be glimpsed on the valley floor, where farmers worked tending crops and apparently lots of goats. Mine’s a curry please.
So after 210kms total – a short, but perfect day, participants and crew repaired to the delightful Huacalera Hotel for an early night in preparation for an early start tomorrow.