25 October 2007

Dunlop Targa Day 3, Yump! (or How to Scare the Shit out of your Dad Part II)

I'm happy to say that I successfully "yumped" the PV today. I dunno if that term is applicable outside Scandinavia, but it's a Swedish car so I think it qualifies.

Stage 14 this morning had a stretch of 4 consecutive jumps, so the car now officially qualifies as a flying brick, even though ours isn't the boxy kind of Volvo.

We flew over at least two of the jumps, and possibly a third, till I was urged to back off. Gotta say it was incredible.

We made it through another long day which ended at Manfeild this afternoon where we had a blast going around the track - two wheels in places!

Some incredible stages today which rewarded smooth flowing driving. We're not sure exactly where we're placed at the moment but are very happy with our Targa so far.

Highlights were once again, many positive and encouraging comments from spectators and crews alike about the car, which we've been very humbled by. I also enjoyed our last service today, where while we were parked next to a $$$$ Porsche, people were more interested in our car!

The low point of today was during SS15, where a much faster than us Porsche 911 attempted to overtake us and rolled. I had backed off after a brow and a dip in the road to the left, I pulled over on the following straight where I expected him to pass on our right. But instead the mirrors were full of his car going end over end. Instincts told me to stop, but procedure during the stage mean we needed to keep going. I had stopped the car but by this stage another car had arrived on the scene, so we continued to the finish control to notify them of the accident.

Quite a shock to say the least, and a sobering one that managed to linger for most of the day. Thankfully both of the crew came through unscathed and managed to walk away from the wreck that was once their racecar.

Two more days to go, and another long one tomorrow, so sleep now!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow. You guys are having a blast! But seems little scary too.. Glad everyone is ok. All sounds really exciting though. I insist on seeing some footage!!
R

Unknown said...

What an amazing targa you are having. Keep those porsche drivers on their toes!

Unknown said...

Photos please!