Saturday, June 15, 2013
Earlier start than usual, 07.49, and about 585kms
today, passing through several passage checks but no competitive sections.
Weather bright and sunny, and quite hot late in the afternoon.
After a short drive on main roads almost all the day
is spent on country roads and some fairly smooth gravel. We pass villages and
towns small and large.
Strange arrival in Samara, firstly we have to put
the clocks back by two hours, so after arriving at 5 pm it is actually 3pm.
John takes advantage of this by heading off to a
recommended workshop to have the non or erratically working turn signals
(indicators to some) and steering/alignment fixed/adjusted.
Brett, who learned to drive in Miami, thinks the
whole idea of using turn signals is ridiculous.
Dad’s a bit more old school. Off comes the steering wheel to reveal the
turn signal contacts caked in Mongolian dust.
A relatively easy fix.
Famed
VW/Porsche guru Francis Tuthill has flown out to Samara from the UK to rebuild
the engine of Car #49 Porsche 356 we have nicknamed the The Swiss Army Knife
Porsche because of its white Swiss flag on the red paint. Francis Tuthill’s reputation for reliable
rally cars was cemented in 1977, when Francis raced the London to Sydney Rally
in a fully prepped Volkswagen Beetle.
Francis stops working on the Porsche engine to inspect and assist with Little
Red. A few deft turns of a wrench and a
screwdriver and the steering is greatly improved. After several minutes of
inspection, Francis looks at me a says “Nice preparation!”
We realize that we are now just past halfway through
our adventure, with 7138 kms of the anticipated 12,400 kms covered to date.
