Day 13 - Rocky roads

Joe 90 retires hurt but unbowed

Although NZ’s main roads are sinuously, seductively smooth, the rally only makes such use of them as necessary to entice us from one back country trail to the next. Once on the gravel routes some are superbly graded, dust being the only issue. But today our long suffering cars, even the youngest well into their fifth decade, endured a long upland transit via a rocky trail signposted ‘4x4 recommended’. Walking wounded from Day 13’s beasting included the surviving Healey (fractured chassis - now plated and welded), and our own attention seeking TR4 which Mario had to drive clutchless for the last hour after the slave cylinder pipe worked itself loose and leaked dry. Meanwhile up in Auckland Talbot Joe 90, which picked up its blighty number way back last week, is now in the tender care of CARS Europe for medevac back to Ayrshire. Meanwhile, Rosie did PP and PP proud, helping them to gain a ‘lollipop’ (zero penalties at a time check) during the morning’s regularities.