High Life

50 品 第二天的赛事名为「导航和城堡」，主要经过以法国女作家乔治·桑闻名的 中部地区贝里，深入考验副驾驶员的敏锐视力。正所谓天公不作美，此时忽然下 起滂沱大雨，并延续了一整天。这样的恶劣天气，对经典老爷车而言可使严峻挑 战，因为玻璃刮水器速度缓慢且效果有限，而经过雨水浸泡后，不少战车更抛 锚。幸好，赛事当局及时提供了技术支援，让大多数战车得以继续作赛，并到达 比赛位于维希的最后阶段。 在当天晚上举行的鸡尾酒上，正副驾驶员均难掩疲态，但士气依然高涨，个 人均希望在明天的赛事中再接再厉。 第三天的赛事向图卢兹迈进，距离长达482公里，是为整个赛事的关键阶 段。困难和挑战固然存在，却不是难以克服，但天意再次弄人，天气环境与昨天 一样恶劣，当车队快要进城市更进一步恶化。鉴于奥布拉克附近出现山体滑坡， 赛事当局给予安全原因取消了某些挑战项目。 滂沱大雨导致不少战车的车厢变成游泳池，进而拖垮了机器零件。当天的下 雨天气并不令人感到意外，但其程度之严重却是始料不及，其所导致的损失更可 以噩梦来形容。 赛事进入第四天，车队在清晨时分进入西班牙境内，明媚的阳光终于重现， 犹如欢迎着历经波折的车手们。比赛一路至此，各位巾帼英雄终于有机会打开车 顶的开蓬，并涂上防晒霜尽情享受阳光。 The second day’s “Navigation and Castles” leg strained the sharp eyes of co-drivers in Berry, Georges Sand country. And with a surprise guest too – the rain! This was no mere morning shower either with torrential downpours throughout the day. Weather like this is a constant concern for classic cars: in addition to the slow-moving windscreen wipers of dubious effectiveness, the cars struggled with the heavy flooding and some actually broke down. But thanks to some speedy assistance and the diligent organizers, most were able to hit the road again and complete the last stage of the leg to reach Vichy. During the evening’s cocktail reception theremayhave been some tired eyes but spirits were high as competitors regaled each other with the day’s exploits. On the third day, the 482-kilometer journey towards Toulouse was seen as a decisive leg, but not an insurmountable one. Alas, the weather that day proved no better than thedaybefore andwent frombad toworse on the approach to the “Pink City” – so much so that actual landslides while passing throughAubrac forced the organizers to cancel some regularity challenges on the grounds of safety. For some teams, these torrents of water transformed their cars into swimming pools and overwhelmed their mechanics. In the end, a day during which heavy rain was expected became a total nightmare. In the early hours of the fourth day, and to celebrate the rally crossing onto Spanish soil, the sun finally decided to emerge in all its finery. For those in the many cabriolets competing this year, it was the perfect opportunity to unlatch the car’s hood and put on some sun cream.