Day 21 Sat 2 Jul 2016 Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) 436 Kms.

 Along the Volga

No competition today and a fine warm day.  The roads were generally a little better, but there were still occasional sections of badly broken tar where cars wandered everywhere trying the miss the worst of it.
The countryside looks good.  Out of town, you could be in southern NSW in a good season.  However, the villages are very run down.  There are masses of people still watching and waving us along. 

The Mini (above left) which locals with no English, can be heard saying  "Mr Bean, Mr Bean"

At one roundabout, it looked like we were in a huge traffic jam of trucks, but one of the trucks left us a gap and pointed to go up the inside.  We were out of the chaos in one minute flat. We saw trucks queued up for two kilometres as we left the roundabout.

The time control in Nizhny Novgorod was in Victory Park, full of old Soviet Military equipment. 

We were again given a glossy book about the town (Nizhny Novgorod is the 5^th largest city in Russia. Population is 1.25 million).  The library in the back of the Datsun is starting to get heavy.

For more details  on the day's travel, see the official Rally report at: http://www2.endurorally.com/pp2016/reports.html

Our fairly basic accommodation for the night in Nizhny Novgorod

Day 20 Rest Day, Kazan (Russia)

Quote Wikipedia:
“Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,535, it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia.”

Yes, it does seem pretty big but we will only see a small part of it. 

The first thing I did on arrival yesterday was ask to see the tyres that we put so much effort into sending here.  Seeing them was the only way I was going to believe that they had actually made it here. It took probably 30 minutes after my inquiry at the desk before someone arrived who knew anything about them. Another 30 minutes before they were able to locate them in a store room. 

The hotel we are at, the Kronston Tower, is big and very like hotels in Las Vegas.  In the basement is a car wash which Mark used yesterday.  (When I say used, he watched while the car was washed.) 

This morning when we asked about somewhere to change tyres, we were told “in the basement” and sure enough, without leaving the hotel, we had 6 tyres removed and 6 replacements fitted. So we haven’t left the hotel yet.

I believe one of the other competitore is considering using our discarded tyres.  He hasn't been happy with his light truck tyres.

Having a look at yesterday results, we are gaining time on the gravel sections from our nearest rivals without too much trouble. We were generally second fastest behind Joost/Jaques who are out of contention for an outright place because of earlier engine problems.  They will now chase the European Cup (the prize for the best performance across Europe).  

Second place Rob Garnsworthy/John Teasdale beat us by a second on the Kazan tar circuit. The Mustang has horsepower and tarmac tyres.  Looking at this morning’s standings we have a 9 min 15sec gap to Rob.

Team mates Gerry and Matt in the P76 are now in 4th spot.  A pretty good effort considering the results at Day 3 had them close to last. I expect they will make it to be one of the top three.

Our other Belgian friends and teammates, Eric and Renee in the fairly standard 240z are performing very well.  I don’t believe they have put a foot wrong anywhere and they are in 6th spot.

From out hotel room on the 18th floor, it’s amazing the crowds of people who show interest in the cars. They frequently try to ask questions but interestingly, when we appear not to understand, they seem to feel that if they say it louder we might. Luckily we don’t take offence at being yelled at.

(Later)
Some tourist photos from today:

above and below: The Kremlin at Kazan - Kremlin is a term meaning "fort" - this one was built on the orders of Ivan the Terrible/

above and below: 

The biggest mosque in Europe, the Qolşärif Mosque opened in 2005

Sunset over the Volga River from our hotel

Day 19 Thu 30 Jun 2016 Perm to Kazan (Russia) 590 Kms

The crowd outside the hotel, to see the cars

Today has been the biggest day of rallying so far.  There were three Tests (sections timed to the second) this morning and one this afternoon.  In addition, the overall time allowed was also tight and many crews would have been late.  They will probably waive these penalties.

The three sections this morning were open forest, but muddy and slippery.  Mark enjoyed these.  There was then a long run to the outskirts of Kazan where cars were started at 30 second intervals on a Race circuit.  This was fun too. 

The Escort that was in third place had a rear axle problem and has travelled on a truck to Kazan.  Rob Garnsworthy is still in second.  In fact, four of the first five places in the Classic category (and thus the de facto overall Outright) are Aussies.

The long drive through the day was on the roughest tar road I’ve ever been on.  There were huge potholes and washaways which had to be negotiated at snail’s pace to avoid damage. Trucks and cars wander all over the road trying to find the best path through. 

Tomorrow is a rest day, and as I write this Mark is down getting the car washed.  We have six new tyres here to get fitted tomorrow as well.  

Hopefully, tomorrow’s rest day won’t be as busy as the rest day in Novosibirsk after Mongolia.

The hotel we are at is the Korston Tower. It’s a bit like a Las Vegas hotel.  Lots of lights and glitz.