One week of nothing but extreme rallying is how I would describe the Incas Rally. The last time I did the entire event was 16 years ago and I definitely forgot how rough and demanding this classic rally was.
Rally legend Juha Kankunnen and Seppo Harjanne were competing in the rally for the first time together with Howard and Ruth Patterson, Simon Nutter and Sean Kukula from Great Britain. Journalists Angela and Neil Perkins also came from the UK to cover the event. It was a really good time with all of them as they were all top blocks and fun to hang out with.
Incas Rally is the only city-to-city rally left in the world with five long legs of competition. There was a ‘long’ superspecial stage Friday evening prior to the start and by ‘long’ I mean it lasted about four hours. It took place next to the ocean, so by midnight it was freezing since it is wintertime now in Peru. The event was interesting, though, and my dad and I were opening the route in the zero car with a small VW Golf, which was a lot of fun. Pops might be a retired rally driver but he still has it for sure…we even caught some airtime and everything!
Saturday was a rest day, which came in handy after a long night. That day I received the news from Colin McRae’s helicopter crash and I really couldn’t believe it. I spend most of the afternoon pretty much in a daze and really not wanting to go anywhere the next day, not even the rally.
Sunday morning I was feeling a bit better, though, and we were off at 5am for a week’s worth of adventure. The first leg was Lima to Huancayo on nothing but fast asphalt roads. We were also going to climb the highest point in the rally that day, a little more than 4,800 metres above sea level. I got myself ready with candy, ‘soroche’ pills and oxygen but at the end I didn’t need anything.
Opening the route in Peru is such a challenge, especially in the towns near Lima. Every once in a while we would come across trucks coming in the opposite direction because they were not informed that there was a rally taking place. We had to stop at least three times to tell the truck drivers to park, but by when the first rally car was on the road, there was no traffic at all.
We arrived to Huancayo and there was a bunch of people waiting for us in the Main Square with local drinks and beer. It was great to see such amount of passionate rally fans, not only at the finish, but also on the route.
There was no rest the next day so we had to leave early again. The route from Huancayo to Ayacucho was mostly gravel but towards the end it was asphalt. My dad and I were going pretty loose and even putting a little show for the spectators, but, to be honest, I didn’t even open the road book. Bad move! The little tough Golf gave up all of a sudden after we hit a big ditch. We had broken the oil sump and the oil was coming out in buckets. We had to park the car beside the road and wait for all the rally cars to go by, before we could get someone to pick us up. I felt like I was in the middle of a desert; it was mega hot and we didn’t have any water or food. After a few hours of starvation, I saw a kid riding his bicycle and gave him 10 soles to bring us some crackers and H2O from the closest store. Of course he didn’t come back, even after I offered him more money on his way back, but, it was a risk I had to take as my dad and I were already looking pale and miserable.
Finally, the last rally car went by and the pick up truck from the organisers showed up to pull the Golf with a rope. All I could visualiee on the way to Ayacucho were ice-cold Pisco Sours (a very strong local drink from Peru), so after a nice hot shower I hit the bar with the international party animals.
The first day of rest came, but not for us…we had to leave in the afternoon that same day because Ayacucho-Cuzco was the roughest leg of all and we had to gain time on the competitors. Talk about rough! I have never seen such road conditions. It was all gravel with rocks, ditches, jumps and even donkeys, horses and llamas on the road - all this next to mind-blowing cliffs that no one would dare to look down.
Former rally driver and good friend of ours Gianni Galletti, together with two journalists from Argentina and Mexico, were behind us driving a Jeep. We called Roberto from Mexico ‘Pablo’ as Gianni, for some reason, couldn’t remember his name and decided that was an easier name to remember. Pablo was the master of food, eating every half hour and pretty much anything in sight. Diego, from Argentina, was the quite one from the group but he was as fun as the rest, especially when he would tell us his crazy thoughts going through the steep cliffs that day.
We arrived to Andahuaylas where we spent the night before leaving Wednesday to Cusco. The hotel was very small, but at this point, any room with a descent bed and a shower was going to do.
The morning came and it was my turn to get in the car with the crazy boys from the Jeep as my dad was going to open the route with Peruvian Sports Minister Arturo Woodman. The route was a breeze compared to the day before and it was almost half gravel-half tarmac. But, we did have a moment! We came across a small pool of oil on a sharp corner and we slid slightly off the road. Nothing happened to us but I quickly called my dad so he could alert the organisers and put some kind of caution sign on the road.
At last we arrived to Cusco, somewhere I was really looking forward to go even though I’ve already been there twice. All of us had the day off on Thursday so I decided to take advantage and do some shopping and walk around the city. Initially, I was going to do river rafting in the famous Urubamba River but I was so exhausted from the trip that I completely bailed out. I really wish I could have spent an extra day in Cusco, as there is so much to see and also so many adventurous sports to try out around the city.
We left early the next morning to go to Arequipa, and I have to say it was my favourite leg of the rally. It was mostly gravel with fast and smooth roads. Dad and I had a lot of fun and the ceremonial finish was as cool as the one in Huancayo.
Saturday was the last rest day for all crews, but again, we had to leave that same day to gain some time on the drivers (not many rest days for us as you can see...). That day our goal was to drive all the way to Nazca, but visibility was almost impossible because of fog once we hit the seacoast at night. Our headlights were not working very well either and there were tons of big trucks on the road, so we decided to stay at the ‘Hotel Turistas’ in Camana, a small town by the beach.
Gianni and the boys decided to keep going but they soon realised it was a bit too dangerous to continue driving all the way to Nazca that late in the evening, so around midnight, they showed up at our same hotel. I bet they regretted it later though when my dad started telling us stories about the hotel being hunted. Well, I think it was! When I went to my room to sleep all I could hear where weird noises coming from the room next door. I was really curious about it so I called the front desk to find out if there was somebody occupying room 204 (please make note of this if you ever stop there). The guy told me the room was locked to visitors and when I asked him why, he couldn’t give me a straight answer. Ok then! So I went outside 204 to find out if indeed the noises were coming from there. Hell yes! They were the most bizarre noises I've ever heard.
Next day I went to tell my dad and he told me he felt something strange in that room years ago also. Great dad, thanks for telling me now! When I told the story to Diego and Pablo, they looked more scared than when they were going through the mountains in Cusco and their hair immediately raised. Diego even put the story in his blog... http://diegodurruty.blogspot.com/
So we left the ghosts from Camana and finally started heading to Lima on 100% asphalt roads. We had to pass by Ica, one of the areas affected by the earthquake earlier in the year. It was really sad seeing the houses down on the floor and people asking for money.
The last section of the rally was a long straight road…I mean a ‘looong’ straight road, the kind you can even throw the road book out the window and start singing songs. This would eventually take us to the final podium finish where the superspecial took place earlier. Wow! We made it in one piece! I was completely destroyed, though, and I think I slept almost an entire day after that.
Last but not least, there was a prize giving ceremony on Monday where pretty much all the drivers were present. Diego and Pablo had to speak representing their publications and I had to give a trophy…it was something none of us were expecting to do. The evening was highlighted also by some cheesy dancing from Juha, the one you don't want to do in public.
The last day in Lima was pretty low key. We had a nice lunch at the hotel with Ricardo Dasso (2nd overall in the rally), the Finns, and Ricardo Flores (president of the Automobile Club). It was a good chance to joke around about all the silly things that happened during the event including some of the new words Juha and Seppo learned from Ricardo during their stay. Things like “dos minutos” (two minutes) which actually translated to more than 1 hour, or “una fotito” (one photo), which really meant 20 photos at least. After a few drinks of wine and Pisco Sour, Juha was offering me to co-drive for him next year in a WRCar. Damn! I now regret not having him put it in writing.
Finally it was time to say goodbye! I have to confess the event was very rough but it is very unique and I would recommend it to anybody. The rally is not only a true test to drivers but also it’s a great opportunity to visit the country, which is full of stunning sceneries. I definitely plan to go back next year and who knows maybe as a competitor!
Visit www.myspace.com/rallyworldmagazine for more pictures from my trip to Peru
