"Hello to All;
after an uneventful day travelling through Russia
yesterday we arrived at a rather shitty hotel, that had no ice, no wine and ran out of beer,
needless to say life was looking grim. We awoke to sunshine , a 300 km. dash to
a race track just before the Ukraine border and had a blast running the paved
and dirt circuit, plenty of eye candy all around it was nuts. From there we
drove 40 km to a shopping mall and had lunch, well done. after lunch we
travelled to the border to the Ukraine, wow little if any resistance to leave,
they were happy to see us go. Welcome back to the real world, paraded reception
upon arrival in Karkiev that the Queen
of England would be envious of. Kim however, is quite upset because his fan
club was not allowed inside the ropes, therefore no mingling with the crowd. a
reasonable dinner a few drinks with friends and I find myself here writing to
you.
Good night to all, take care talk at you soon."
-Kim & Len
Leaving the hotel on Day #23 .. right?
Russian Tour Guides: They helped us though, parts, directions, restraints, - Just great people!
Stopped for lunch before the border - this little guy was thrilled!
Len has a new fascination with Corn Fields
Russian- Ukraine Border. I think they were glad to see us go
(lots of laughs)
.JPG)
Kharkiv WELCOME
Lenin Statue at Kharkiv
How cool is this?
Our accommodations - a very nice hotel
Our New Friends:Daniel and his daughter Alexandria - Car #71
Arrived at the track to a big welcome. We did 3 laps on the asphalt & 1 lap on the dirt ( dusted out the car AGAIN) .. We won first
Rack Track Distractions
Monte & Phil at the track - how about those flags?
Following Photos From Rally Photographer Gerard Brown
"We drove across the border from Russia today, leaving behind cheering locals in every village, and with just about every rally-crew holding extraordinary claims of the goodwill we have all received, either with help in getting cars repaired or spares tracked down.
This morning we drove 300 kms to a racing-circuit at
Belgorod, and discovered a compact “Lydden-type” circuit with hardly any
straights to speak of, and several inter-connected bends… get one right and you
think you are doing well, only to find you are into a corkscrew of a series of
bends that now tighten up on you… smooth and steady does it, and when it comes
to displaying smooth, the ultra-cool Peter Lovett in the two-litre Porsche 911
takes command.
These two test sessions proved to be terrific fun, and
highly enjoyable all round. Thick clouds of dust hung over the rally-cross
circuit, and a helicopter took photographers for short rides overhead for
airborne filming. It was good to see the little Renault 4 giving it a
determined thrashing, after all the car has gone through in driving days and
nights from Mongolia to catch up.
The morning was crowned by everyone meeting up a special
lunch organised in an Italian restaurant, before driving on to cross the
frontier into the Ukraine.
Turning into the city of Kharkiv saw us driving down streets
of well-known fashion brands in well-lit shop windows, everything bustling and
bright, and all far removed from the Russia of the last few days. What was
unexpected was the welcome as we turned into the final street for our 5-star
Palace Hotel. The road suddenly was closed off to traffic, except for the
rally… past the barrier, we then turned into a large square, which had two rows
of crowd-control barriers. And what a crowd! The police estimated 3,000 people
had turned up to welcome the cars and cheer us all across the finish line,
under a large arch. No less than five TV crews were present, plus a pack of
photographers, along with girls in traditional dress. A press conference then
followed… “we drove into here feeling like kings, the welcome is awesome,” said
Volvo driver Phil Burgen, “it’s like having Trafalgar Square given over to a
rally finish”.
The Ukraine Motorsport Federation have organised a terrific
welcome for us, and now we are all in one of the best hotels so far - the best
hotel in town - rounding off what has been a great day, slickly run, even the
border formalities ran without a single hitch thanks to the sheets of
advance-information from the Rally Office being visibly ticked off in the
passport control and customs cubicles… things could not have run smoother. With
the pre-planning of the Organisation, a team of blue-shirted interpreters hired
specially to help at crunch-points, the entire rally crossed from Russia into
the Ukraine with each car being held for just a few minutes per car, the
slickest border crossing so far. Things like immigration forms, customs forms,
signatures required on this and that, were all dispensed with, in an example of
how borders are best organised.
So… that’s all for now, as it’s time for dinner… there is
Chicken Kiev on the menu – what else, given we are now on the road to Kiev?"
Peking to Paris Rally Report
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