| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Above: Mark & Ben Munne in the drama prone BMW2002 Day 14 Dakhla to Nouadhibou Straight out this morning to a fabulous and challenging test of mixed terrain. The section consisted of smooth flowing gravel curves, rough and undulating sections, many boulder-strewn corners, and even old and new tarmac as well. It was well liked by most drivers although some tricky navigation caused many to experience a hiccup at the passage control by approaching from a multitude of directions. Paul and Lisa Rees, manning the control, described the scene as being like the 'Wacky Racers' with cars screeching to a halt and roaring off in every direction possible. By the test finish there where many dramatic stories to tell of cars being pushed to the limit and beyond. Iain Freestone described hitting a crest so hard that the Escort took clean off, but then being thankful that it had done when looking down at the huge rock he was flying over. The rocks and boulders that adorned the test caused many punctures and the results have, yet again, taken some notable changes. Sensationally, the fastest time of all was taken by Anna McColl and Paul Clark in a Land Rover 90 with 3rd fastest being Martin Collins and Mark Potter who approached the finish whilst fighting the enormous Nissan Patrol from lock to lock - an awesome sight. Mark and Ben Munne had to repair a broken electrical wire near the end of the test and Roger and Michael Stevens, unbeknown at the time, holed their sump on a rock. They discovered the leak much further down the road, when they ran out of oil. Major disaster of the day was to be Paul 'Ginger' Carter and Sarabel 'Wafer' Barquillo's when they had a monster roll in their previously neat looking Land Rover 90. Despite severely reshaping the body, chassis, and even bending an axle, they where repaired and back on the road - shaken not stirred. The rally then passed through miles of white sanded desert and dunes until the Morroccan exit and Mauritanian entry. Border controls are always a hectic time and this was no different, but the passage was made easier by slick border management from rally officials Kim Bannister and Dave Perks. Between the two border posts, in 'no mans land' some of the two wheel drive hatchbacks experienced a little of what was to come by getting stuck in the relatively insignificant sandy patches! We stop the night on another long spit of land, this time the home of Nouadhibou, a busy port town that features a large bay crammed with of all types of rusting ships, awaiting salvage, and the longest train in the World - the Ore Express. This train is a breathtaking 3km long and runs continually between Nouadhibou and Attar, trucking iron ore to the port. Any competitor caught at the railway crossing faced an agonising 10-minute wait while it trundled by. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
