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Great stuff Pete, keep it up.........looking foward to episode 2
Good luck to all the team.
Oo-ee-oo Luton Airport as the song goes. And off we went with the orange and white team 'plane. But not before Roger had been fully searched, and we waited while they found his instructions to get to the track, and promptly lost them! Never mind, the view of the Alps was quite spectacular.
On the ground in sunny Italy, and we collect the Ford C-Max Formula One hire car - well it growls like one anyway! Off to find the track, which we reckon we can sniff out from the vague recollections of a couple of old farts and a bizarre collection of Italian signposts. Some hope! After following the railway line form Turin to Geneva and back again (we know it's next to the railway line) we give up. Back to the hire car depot for a fresh set of tyres, all bo*****sed from a hundred and fifty smoking u-turns, and we find the hotel.
Hey, this is the puppies plums. Air con, speak-a de English staff, flushing loos and running water - oh, sorry, that's Kev going to the loo! We've drunk enough water to cure a Sudanese drought, and eaten more curly sandwiches than is advised by the World Health Authority guidelines! No matter, we step into the self-service restaurante and down spag bol, Coke, fruit and ice cream for less than a fiver - we like this already!
So now here we are, real (and I mean real) cappucino and beers in hand, sitting at the terminal hoping you'll all wish you were here. So far this has cost less than a National and we've seen half of Italy!
Track is big, layout is like Crewe but with two extra carpet widths (funny that, as Jim and Glyn sent them an entire kit to build a track!!) and there is a killer corner off the straight. We'll tee up big Russ to sort that in the morning!
Tomorrow it is going to be... hot!! Gotta do the local supermarket for water and food, register at the track, eat, drink, eat again, drink again... tough life. Enjoy the daily grind, suckers!!
The Gob
'PJ' Winton
Great stuff Pete, keep it up.........looking foward to episode 2
Good luck to all the team.
CentralBooking|Modeltech|Corally|STCC Organiser|TrakTech|Nomadio
LOL, finding the track is one hell of a challenge if you don't know where it is. My partner in crime went to the Euros warm up that year, and it took about 3 hours to find it!!! We did find a supermarket that sold big 16 inch fans on stands - very handy for the Italian summer!!
Best of luck to all the Team
...on these and click 'Turin 12th Worlds' in case you are on your third beer and not sure why The Gob is here - well I am and I can't remember why I am here either!!
OK, pics are of the team 'plane, and the glorious surroundings of Luton Airport. The hotel is posh (get those marble stairs!!) and the lads behind the desk squeeze a mean orange juice (Kev, not me!)
Enjoy.
The Gob
Confused eh?!! Well, here we are on our fourth beer, and the nice guys at the desk have been running around like an Italian tank in retreat serving the seven of us. Still 25degC, at least the beer's still cold.
Bear with us on the photos, having a little trouble getting them all uploaded from the wireless link in the hotel! Laters, my little Englanders!!
The Gob
'PJ' Winton
Good Luck Men ! and you Mr.Mainbearing.Funny you smoked the tyres on the hire car,did the same with a volvo tonight ,went well but those jumps OUCH! still quick fit should sort it.
agh, the palatial surroundings of the HIP. Remember it well. Seem to remember the beer being very nice!!
Seem to remember one of the guys behind the desk not being too happy trying to book us some taxi's to go into town!!!
Sleep-a good, no 'orses 'ead in da bed. Go to shops, collect-a da food. 'Ave to talk to hire car peeps again, say stop-a fit deese bambino-sh*t tyres. Getta da slicks wid-a funnly leetle grooves; ees much-a better.
Have-a good breakfast. Rog "The Navigator" 'e check-a da loo - ees no pop-pop gun in da cistern, but-a we no sitta near-a da window. We go-a to track, no JCB at-a end-a tunnel, so get-a there OK. Kev "The Force" 'e get-a good-a parking space; we send-a da flowers to-a Mrs. Parking Attendant. Wadda he expect-a, he touch-a da car, we smash-a da face.
So, 'ees a good-a day. Caio
Gob-a "Da Don"
'PJ' Winton
Sorry about the slight interruption, seems better to let the guys with the violin cases and the dark glasses go first!!
We swelterd today, 32degC in the shade and almost unbearable in the sun. Pits area is outdoor, so you sit and melt at the same rate as your cells! Track hall is cooler, and looks OK. Still lots of confusion about the heat lists for tomorrow, but they have modified the track to remove the 90deg corner off the straight; it was under a basketball net and the bets were on...
Bad news is that the Brits flying out today on sleazyJet had the flight cancelled, and are coming in tonight (Paul and Russ) via Nice, or tomorrow (Mark, Nigel and Mick) via Ryanair to Turin. The Ryanair guys have to get to Stanstead and stay over, and will arrive half-way through practice on Saturday. Mark Stiles text would get me banned instantly - not happy campers!
Enties are now up to 95 as far as we can tell, so 12th is on the up. What with the weather and all, I don't envy anyone watching the TC event next week, they'll be fried!
Off to find a telly for the footie, then more cheap excellent food, then more cheap beers then... how did I end up there last night...!
The Gob
'PJ' Winton
Ditto...Originally Posted by acurry
Keep us updated. I might not race 12th at the moment but i'm still keen to know what's going on!
Liam
Have just spoke to Mark Jewitt he got on the Nice flight and is about 65 mile from the venue.
Mark said that the rest are going out on Saturday he thinks unless things changed after he got on the flight.
