Sandstorms, sniffer dogs and hanging out with the Russian President. All in a day's work for Hans Harich as he blogs from the Silk Way Rally...
Day 6: Another day in the office
On the morning of the sixth day on the Silk Way Rally across Russia, it becomes clear in the morning that we have finally reached warmer climes. While in Vyazam, it was still a ‘cool’ 6ºC, but the beginning of the sixth stage sees us basking in a pleasant 18ºC. All in all, a nice, sunny way to start the day – but then we go back to the dark side with a sandstorm.
After the start, at which point Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz lead, we are on the A156 on our way towards the tiny republic of Kalmykia. The directions in the road book for this are quite simple: ‘go straight.’ The road stretches over 320km, the landscape right and left of the asphalt strip is ironed flat and there are no landmarks except cows, which occasionally wander unhurriedly right across our route.
Slowly but surely, the sky darkens, and suddenly in the distance a cloud moves inexorably towards us, and the sand descends. Visibility worsens, but we are still able to drive without major problems. It’s pretty uncomfortable during a 400km special stage, though, particularly for the drivers among us.
The locals in Kalmykia have jumped into their traditional costumes and receive us warmly with open arms, but the storm sets in. On my arrival, I wasn’t sure if I’d need the ‘sand glasses’ that I have in the glovebox of our VW Touareg, but as far as working today is concerned, life is a great deal easier despite the storm. We have a proper workspace in the form of a Media Centre in which we are housed – working in tents, like the previous days, would have been fatal for any laptop today.
Even if the weather is not so friendly, the people here are in any case. One of the girls says that old women have requested a safe journey for us from the spirits. But who do they want to win? “Clearly, KAMAZ. We don’t really care whichever of the drivers wins. We are a peaceful people, but we support Russia above all else.”
Hans Harich
Day 7: A V.I.P. guest arrives
The battle is fought. After more than 4000km we have reached Sochi, which resembles a huge construction site at the moment as they prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Stage seven, from Elista to Maykop is just over 660kms, but the streets here are not exactly well signposted and the road we need to take is closed with no detour instrcutions. We circle around the city three times until we eventually find a route that isn't blocked off!
Our Russian mobile phone then beeps with a message: "We should not hesitate to wash all the cars!" Why? No idea? Once in the camp in Maykop, we quickly learned the reason. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has announced that he's visiting.
There are secret agents everywhere, who are not so secret because we could see them with their headphones in their ears quite easily. Our suspicions of the previous days that we have been kept under continuous observation are upheld. And because of the increased security our cars are searched by sniffer dogs trained to detect bombs, who thoroughly check all over the trucks.
Putin is announced to arrive at 20:00 hours and you can see the organisers running around quite nervously, however, we take it calmly and see his plane land with a loud roar from the camp only two hundred metres away. A few minutes later, Putin is here and he casts an eye over the Volkswagen Race Touareg of Carlos Sainz and Carlos explains everything about the car to the President.
Wearing a casual leather jacket with jeans, Putin wants to know how much is such a car worth? "With 500,000 Euros it's yours," Sainz said and after a short speech on the festival stage he's back on the road to his next appointment.
Day 8: Homeward bound
Day eight is comparitively relaxed, even though it's a nervous one for the drivers. The nerves did not affect Carlos Sainz however, who completes the final Special Stage 24 (water crossings) in first place overall and celebrates his second Silk Way victory in a row.
Tomorrow will be the journey from Sochi to Moscow towards home, and let's see what fun we can have with the securites and airlines. I'm curious.
Volkswagen Motorsport
Read Hans Harich's other blogs from the Silk Way Rally at our event page
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