Car 46 - Select Daily Reports as the rally progresses

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Day 1

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Post-Rally

REPORT DAY 3 - Tuesday 11 September 2007 Bregenz, Austria - Cortina, Italy THE DAY 3 CHALLENGE To photograph specific landmarks en-route through 3 major passes rising to 2,200 metres!

09.15hrs UK time - Text in - We are going through three passes today - the Sella (Ed. see stock image left), Gardena and Falzarego. Up to 2,200 metres (that's 6,000+ feet!). But it's all going well. Today will test cars though. The Day Three challenge is to photograph certain landmarks - yesterday's photo challenge is being scored for this evening. Hope we all get there okay - this is going to be a tester, for sure! Rallyinfo - Gardena Pass (Stock Images) Rallyinfo - Falzarego Pass (Stock Image)

11.25hrs UK time - Text in -  Just passed the 1,000 miles mark since leaving Tipton, West Midlands - all's well - magnificent scenery - car running good.   14.20hrs UK time - Attached image just taken by Alex... Sella / /Falzarego area  (See below)

14.25hrs UK time - Phone Call In - Just got through the Sella Pass  - Wow!  There's coaches and lorries and cars all manoeuvering around these hairpins - could do with a set of air-horns! Got some brilliant photographs. We're just changing drivers - Dan is in the Office now. Must admit had some worries over if the Car would take this stage - but for a fifteen year old car (what's that in human lives?) she is certainly doing us proud up to now. Speak to you soon - thank everyone for their help and support ! Rallyinfo - Don't forget web-visitors - if you'd like to send messages of support or ask any questions of 'Drive It Like You Stole It' or Rallyinfo, email us at: info@rallyinfo.co.uk

17.45hrs UK time - Phone Call In from Alex - What a fantastic day's drive. These passes were everything I'd been led to believe they would be and more. But the pleasure in driving them, and having such (apparently - up to now) such a firm, reliable car underneath us - I'm almost tempted to forgo the flight back from Krakow... should we make it OK; we're realistic and understand the realities... and maybe drive Car 46 home and do another Rally in her. But that's for the future. For the moment, I just wanted to drive this area, and thank you, Dan, for allowing me the opportunity to indulge this dream. Dan let me drive more than my fair share of the routes today, because he knew it was special to me.

Rallyinfo - Drive It Like You Stole It checked in at 17.15hrs / 17.30hrs local time (We have to check this time - red-faced here, we lost the logs - so may have to revise). However, we are informed they were, once again, for the third day, first on the road to finish - And we know it's not a race; and Car 46 is not racing and breaking legal limits or driving regulations - but just living up to the team name. (Ed. "... that's my story, occifer, an' I'm stickin' to it...") There was one other Team checked in before them - but they had sadly lost their power steering fluid, and so reluctanctly opted to default for the day's route and headed for Cortina by the most straightforward / direct route.

Ed. note at this point - A tough call (see my comments re-mechanical failures at the beginning of the Disaster? report) - but probably the wise choice. I'll guarantee the "straightforward" route was hellish with no PAS, anyway, and 100% respect to you for making it. We hope you can get the issue sorted for the following legs - update us, please, Alex & Dan - sorry, don't at this stage know the Team - but if they want to contact us with further info, that would be welcome. info@rallyinfo.co.uk - in private or for publication as you wish. Rallyinfo - So to finish this report, congratulations to everyone who made it. A tale to tell the kids/grandkids, for sure. This is a tough, tough, surprisingly tough area - and for years and years rallies have lulled entrants into a false sense of security and confidence with the preceding days through France, Germany, Netherlands, and even parts of Austria, before hitting them with the Classic Italian Stages. We salute you all! Ahem! - And there is - more to come. Back to top

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