Andrew hops in the car, he had already assessed that the first navigation instruction was wrong, and this was confirmed by the rally organisers who had put out marker arrows to ensure we all got out ok, rather than navigation mistakes right at the start of the day.  

Our day is 528kms which is our longest so far and we are looking forward to getting into the desert and off the main roads… except the first thing we get is a complete route change for the first half of the day. No desert road driving for us. So we had 119.45 kms of motorway instead. 

We believe that the police were not happy with us using the road that Chris had planned for us. I felt sorry for him because he takes sure care in planning the routes to ensure they are challenging and fun and he knows that routes like this are why most of us are on the rally. 

However, it did give us a chance to test Eleanor on a long drive, and we were thrilled with her performance. We have had her 6 cylinder engine reconditioned and boy am I happy! In 2019 her top speed was 95kms and even then I didn’t like having her at that speed for sustained periods of time. Now I am sailing along at 115kms with room in the pedal to go higher as needed, over taking mostly. We tootled along at around 105kms quite comfortably. The road are fantastic and with very little traffic on them. Sometimes we find ourselves with trucks to overtake, but mostly it’s just the odd car. The trucks are not very large, not like last time where we were having to pass, or were being passed, by enormous B-train trucks. A massive truck with a massive trailer rushing past at 100kms per hour, on a desert highway when the wind is whipping up sand and creating a strong pull as you slip into the lee of the truck and then are pushed back out again. 

As we raced along, very pleased with our journey, we could however see the desert road that Chris had planned for us weaving in and out of the hills and under the road from time to time and part of the way it followed the road for quite a long time. It looked amazing. It was disappointing to have a motorway run instead. 

We got to a point on the route where we were supposed to turn left, but we missed the exit and so had to turn around. We missed it despite there being a policeman on the road to show us where you go! I had to do a 3 point turn on a main road with trucks but we got through it quick enough, though Eleanor did not come out unscathed. She is now sporting a graze on her rear! 

We had fun on our speed test and you can see the video about this on our YouTube channel here. 

You can see here the line we join as we each wait our turn to start, one minute apart. 

And this photo shows you the navigation calculations Andrew does to help us manage the test on time. You have to ensure you arrive on your time, not before and not after to get no penalties. It’s quite hard! 

After the test, the drive for the day mostly took us through some desert however, it was incredible the way we would be driving through barren desert then we went through a tunnel and then suddenly we were in an oasis with a mixture of old style mud brick houses, and new ones, built alongside as the village gentrifies itself. It was very interesting to watch the difference. We drove past small plots of vegetables in all sorts of green and rice paddy fields. We were navigating along the Yellow River. You can see this in the photo showing the river on the garmin.

Andrew is driving by this point because after a while I began to feel quite tired and so he took over the driving, the navigation at that point was not too complex and I could easily do it and have a rest.

As we were driving along we came to an area where they were promoting the local efforts to stop the desertification with plantings and dune stabilisation. They had big signs and there seemed to be quite a lot of activity about this. 

It was so easy in fact I fell asleep and stayed that way for a good 50 kms. We were continuing to drive through beautiful countryside and so I was sad to miss it, but really needed the snooze. 

We arrived at the time check, it had changed from a MTC, where we all have to arrive at our time and we leave at an allotted time, (this is used to keep the cars in their positions and at a measured pace), to a passage check, where you arrive and check out straight away in the order that you arrived. However, so many cars arrived within a short time, the organisation team could not keep up with checking everyone out. Tempers start to get a little frazzled. 

After we pulled out, our friend Richard flagged that our tyre was looking a little unwell. We continued on down the road to get out of the way and on to a place where we could pull over easily – which wasn’t as easy as you might think. Andrew was still driving and it certainly got to the point where we had to stop, one very flat tyre! So it was into the boot to get the jack, on to the roof to get the tyre, and then the lovely Patrick and Pam stopped and with Patrick’s help we very quickly were back on the road and on our way to camp. 

I was very excited about the camping, it was such good fun last time and also in such amazing places, beautiful and peaceful, once you got used to the sound of the generators! We pulled into the road the camp was on and what a disappointment. Just like with our road change from the authorities, the organisers had to move this camp, with only two weeks to go. Camp 1 was on the side of the road, in a carpark (sand floor) next to a small section of shops. I deliberately took a photo away from the mess, facing the sand dunes, so the memory is of this not the other.

We dropped the tyre at the truck that is on site at the camps, which is specifically there to help with just the sort of problem we had. Andrew stayed with them until the tyre was fixed and parted with $20 for their efforts. Job done! 

I backed the car into position in the camp. It was very tight. Normally the tents are spread out and you can drive your car easily alongside and get out easily in the morning. This camp had us all backed in lines along the lines of the tents and was very – snug. Goodness knows how we are all going to get out in the morning for our start times, but I’m sure it will all work out. I have two of the three cars in front of me are New Zealanders, so that is a lucky break. The car behind is also a New Zealander. Go figure, of all the cars we have managed to be placed together for the night.

I got the camping things set up in the tent, but it was way to hot to be doing anything else. I grabbed us a couple of beers from the camp “bar” and rather than sit with everyone in the patch of shade next to the truck, we perched on our camp chairs behind our tent in our own small patch of shade.  

Andrew was still not well, however, he sat in the shade for a while and then had to lie down in the tent, despite it being too hot really. I worked on the car and got everything ready for the next day, got the tyre up on the roof, with Martin’s help and I found that the oil dip stick had broken off and so went on the hunt for another Chevrolet with one the same size. Richard Crabb had just such a thing. He had owned Eleanor in between us selling her and buying her back, so he gave me a full run down of the work he had done, and lent me is dip stick. 

I cleaned up in the showers and then went to the mess tent to have my dinner with the crew. I then took Andrew a bowl of soup and sat with him while he managed to eat it, then he was off to sleep. I packed the car up and then hopped into bed myself. This is where I found that our self-inflating mats are not as good as I had hoped. Never mind, it was too hot for the sleeping bag so I used that additionally. 

And off to sleep I went. 

Or road like this, which, though sealed have speed bumps, pot holes or uneven surfaces.

Heading into Ordos, my chief navigator decided the route in the book was again not great, in fact, this time it was just plain wrong and so I kept my mouth shut and he did his best work and navigated us through the city CORRECTLY! We were certainly not the only ones who picked this up but talking with others at the end of the day, there were plenty who did not.

So AB is feeling pretty pleased with himself, and rightly so. We arrived at the track, nice and early.

The last test of the day was at a motorcycle track. AB and I swapped seats and he took the wheel, throwing the car around one tight bend after another. Eleanor is not built for this sort of driving, she loves the open roads, and with our spare wheel on the roof, her balance is not great. However, AB did a great job and our time was fairly good for our sort of car. About half the cars one the rally are called classics - Porsches, Escorts, Mercedes. Many of which are low profile and sweep around these sort of tests with joy!

Back at the hotel we did some regular maintenance, had the mechanics look at our fuel pump because it is a little noisy, but they think it’s fine and then we got back to the room. AB is still not well so he showered and jumped straight into bed. I did our washing and got everything ready for the new day then popped over to the main part of the hotel and had a drink with the crew. The hotel staff helped me take two meals back to the room so AB could stay where he is comfortable.

About half and hour later there was a knock on the door and all four of the medical team where there to find out how AB was going. We head into the desert tomorrow for our first and second camps so they wanted to be sure he was up to it as we are further from help that we are at other times.

We were able to reassure them this was Andrew being Andrew and we expected him to be better tomorrow.

And, yes, tomorrow is the camping - I’m very excited! Though, it is hard to beat the hotels, here is a video of the one here in Ordos, it’s a Crowne Plaza and huge! Here is a video of our room! There is a main hotel and then about 5 smaller buildings, we are in the one nearest the carpark with all our cars, but the furthest from the food. And this is definitely the best buffet we have had on rally so far.

© Charlotte Lockhart 2024. All rights reserved.