28 October 2001 - Michael Schumacher
Our first full day in Italy, and we quickly discover that Italian breakfasts are no good at curing hangovers. The plan for the day is explained to us at the pre-event briefing. It is made very very clear to us that this isn't a race! We are to spend the next four days 'navigational rallying' around the local region. This means that every morning we are given a new set of routes for the day, and have to reach the checkpoints at a specific time after our departure. If we are early or late, we get penalised with penalty points. Terribly complicated, especially with a steaming hangover!

Our scheduled departure time was posted as 14:24 and 30 seconds. That gave us just enough time for a quick pre-rally snooze.

And then we were off! Alex was selected to drive the first leg of the day, mainly due to the fact that his head was the least painful. Our first 'stage' would take us to the Minardi Formula 1 factory near Imola. Progress was good, maybe a litte too good though, as we reached the Minardi factory almost half an hour early! No problems we thought, and promptly disappeared off down a side road and hid the car behind a rosebush....

After a quick break, we set off for the finish line, on target for a well timed finish. Our smug grins quickly disappeared as we pulled up to the finish line to a huge queue of mini's, all lining up waiting to cross the line at the right time. Looks like the crafty approach wasn't necessary!

After a quick tour around the Minardi factory (it's amazing how much money they spend and STILL come last in every race!), stage 2 of the day was underway. This time we were off to the centre of Imola itself. Bad traffic meant we had to take a small diversion (up the verge to be precise) in order to get there on time! Arriving in the town square, we were met by hundreds of bemused Italian people, wondering why the hell so many people had driven all the way from england to visit their town... I guess we must be mad!

Next stop the Imola race circuit. Dan took over control of the mini, after all it's his car and a quick burn around a race track is too good to miss. A poor attempt at a wheel spin on the first lap, along with the pace cars keeping us at a reasonable speed, meant the first lap was fun, but could have been better! One more lap, and Alex very kindly offered his lap to Dan who obviously wasn't going to be complaining!! The second lap was a little swifter, with all the drivers getting a little more confident. A beautifully controlled wheelspin off the line, followed by some fantastically negotiated corners resulted in big cheesy grins all round.

Returning to the hotel with our police escort keeping us all under control, we swiftly went straight to bar to brag about our exploits at the circuit!

Another heavy night on the beer and wine brought the day to an end. Will we ever get any sleep, probably not!!

More soon....



Finally, our self appointed team manager, Nic Costa, has been telling the press about our exploits, so keep an eye out for us in the papers. You never know, we might soon be famous!!

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