The Other Side of the Moon... Day 26 Gorgan to Rasht

OCTOBER 5TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

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Dany and Joel Rollinger - Alfa Romeo Mata

Today started in darkness. It had been a remarkable night, even by rallying standards. On arrival at the hotel, we had been told that the President would be paying a visit to Gorgan, and therefore all the rooms would be taken over by his troop of bodyguards. So, the Iran Automobile Federation go into bat, and this is cancelled – we can have our rooms back.

Something got lost in the translation and when push came to shove – and it’s now late into the night – we find the entire rally of over 200 people has on offer just 15 rooms. This was sorted rapidly by Heidi and the camaraderie and goodwill of the rally, who all agreed that each room would be shared by eight. This was lightened somewhat when 20 agreed to erect their tents on the flat roof of the hotel.

Adrian and Barbara Shooter - Ford Model A

Some of the crews got in very late, and the sweeps, Peter and Betty Banham arrived at 4.30am, snatched half an hour of sleep before starting off again.

So, at just gone 5.0am this morning, the first car fired into life for the run from Gorgan to our coastal resort by beach of the Caspian Sea, another long haul of some 650 kilometres. Car 50, Detlev Borner and Peter Gillespie’s ’29 Studebaker President, rolled out of the hotel car park. The two were to have an eventful day, as they were to stop four times with the unusual problem of wheels breaking up. They opted to take the “coast road” route using the map-book supplied to each crew, instead of the suggested roads of the route-book which ran over a mountain range, and through some stunning scenery, on brilliant tarmac – not a pothole in sight – and traffic-free.

The roads in the hills just inland from the coast road of the Caspian Sea might as well be on the far side of the Moon – you sweep from corner to corner on perfectly maintained road surfaces, a big contrast to everything that has gone before us. As you drive through villages, locals all join in impromptu waves…wherever we go, we get the feeling that local Iranians are pleased to see us. One village had put up a series of hand-drawn banners across the streets.

Quite a few other crews opted for the shorter route of the coast, and by 7.0am, most were now on the road.

We have arrived at a town near Rasht that nobody has heard of, where Alastair Caldwell immediately jumped onto his Alfa engine to begin the tedious task of trying to change the head gasket in the dark. To make matters more trying, it has also started to rain heavily.

Our hotel is greatly improved, some of us are in villas in the garden overlooking the sandy beach, and we have all tucked into lamb kofta and rice, or local fish.

Iran Rolls Out the Welcome Carpet... Day 25 Ashqabat to Gorgan

OCTOBER 4TH, 2010

Peking to Paris Motor Challenge update. More about the race here

Peter Roberts and Colin Beasley - Delage Tourer - emerge from the Iran border formalities.

“It’s a bit like the Mille Miglia,” said Rudi Friedrichs, the Alvis driver who was among the first to arrive at Gorgan at the end of a long hot 600 kms drive.

People waved, children cheered, police cars gave impromptu personal escorts through towns to individual cars…and whenever a rallycar stopped, a crowd quickly grew of admirers keen to welcome the Peking to Paris.

It has been totally organic, a warmth that only comes from impulsive and impromptu response to a rally driving through a community. When Clerk of the Course Kim Bannister stopped at a petrol-station to refuel the diesel Toyota pick-up, a truck driver at a nearby pump put his nozzle into the Toyota, filled our tank, and then refused any payment! Extraordinary stories of similar generosity have filtered through the rally ranks now that we are arriving in the hotels in Gorgan.

Hugo Upton and Nigel Gambier were welcomed by two teenagers on a motorbike who performed long wheelies, balancing precariously on one wheel right alongside their Lagonda as they left traffic lights coming into town here.
Driving the Impossible

Rupert Marks and Simon Mackenzie-Smith - Ford Model A

Our day started early, and it was another very hot day in bright sunshine. We climbed up a smooth tarmac road that swept and turned around the side of a mountain to reach the exit-border of Turkmenistan. There were no declaration papers for immigration, and it took some time for these to be found… it was just the start of the typical border frustrations.

At the entry to Iran, we were greeted by local members of the Iran Motor Federation who had turned up to give us a display of their own classic cars, and there was a loud round of applause when the first few cars inched their way through into the final compound.

We have been helped extensively in our organisation here by the Iran Motor Federation who have carried out a brilliant logistical exercise, as all cars were excused the need for a Carnet de Passage, and lots of pre-planning to help ease our way… at every town we were saluted by police patrolmen parked up by their cars, clearly whoever carried the route-authorisation on our behalf has done a thorough job.

The first 300 kilometres was through stunning countryside, brilliantly-smooth tarmac… as one driver remarked, “it’s the same grade of tarmac you see at race circuits like Silverstone”, and we found ourselves driving through deep mountain valleys, and at times had the road to ourselves. It’s the first time since Beijing the cars have been on perfectly smooth tarmac roads of real quality. A real driver’s road, the moment you leave the border.

We have reached the town of Gorgan, near the coast of the Caspian Sea, and tomorrow see some more of Iran.

Our hotel administration has caused some heart-burn as arrangements were suddenly changed when the President of Iran’s entourage took over our hotels, forcing our rooms to be cancelled… this has, we think, now been sorted, as the bodyguards have agreed to change their booking and so re-release to us our rooms, but if not, we will have to resort to our sleeping bags again and crash down in the corridors. The rooms are empty, and we are here, so, you might think, “where’s the problem?” Ah, understanding the ways of Iranian red-tape is not something that can be understood in an instant.