Well, in the end it was pretty easy. There was a bit of a moment when the computer system went down, but aside from that the process went as planned and we even got into Argentina a little ahead of schedule. There was a slight moment of panic for Michael Strasser + Eveline Erni, crew of car 15, when their documents were taken by a mystery man wearing border force uniform to an unknown location, that nobody who worked there seemed to know about, but after a slightly nervous wait it turned out that everything was fine, and he wasn’t an imposter.

The only other incident of note in the customs office was some outrageous queue jumping, orchestrated by Manuel Dubs and his navigator Leunam Sbud, who showed no remorse when pushing in front of American pairing Tim Eades + Jim McLaren. I’d be running scared if I were you Manuel, it’s a well-known fact that Jim taught Mike Tyson how to punch and Tim is a black belt in the art of ‘I’m gonna mess you right up’.

So, we were all across the border, competitors and crew and nobody left behind, even Brian Palmer + Mark Townson made it across, despite doing their best to get marooned in Bolivia when their Peugeot 504 Coupe showed symptoms of a blown head gasket. Still, they crawled across the frontier and then had the machine trailered the rest of the way. Bolivia? Completed it mate, and all here to account for it. Hang on, actually, has anyone seen car 20? Luigi! Luigi!??

Once into Argentina there was some ground that had to be covered, and so began a few hundred kilometres of largely straight roads, a fact that would have pleased Raj Judge in his Bentley, who declared at the end of day 10 that he was ‘done with hairpins, man’. The constant direction changes through the mountains have certainly taken their toll on the Bentley’s tyres, and Raj’s shoulders, and rumour has it that he’s being lined up to star in the new Incredible Hulk movie.

It wasn’t all just straight running though, there was some competition to look forward to at the end of the day, with a late afternoon regularity on a wonderfully slick dust road around a lake. The sinking sun glinted on the water on a beautiful spring afternoon, as the cars put plumes of dust into the air, that looked incredible backlit and the whole thing had a safari vibe about it, as the competitors danced their machines through the forest lined track.

The reward for completing the reg was a brilliant stretch of road through dense forest canopy, and whilst it was a little on the narrow side it was mostly quiet and the sight of all the greenery stretching into the distance was a welcome antidote to the desert conditions that had been a signature of Bolivia. It felt almost jungle like and was a fabulous introduction to Argentina, where our adventure will continue in the morning.

Syd Stelvio

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38 – Bob Harrod (GB) + Dana Hradecka (CZ) , Porsche 911 , 1974

42 – Filip Engelen (BE) + Ann Gillis (BE) , Porsche Targa 911 , 1975

18 – Bertie van Houtte (FR) + Charlotte van Houtte (GB) , Porsche 911 , 1965

9 – Manuel Dubs (CH) + Robi Huber (CH) , Ford Coupe , 1940

10 – Herman Wielfaert (BE) + Katrien Tremerie (BE) , Bentley Speed 8 , 1932

4 – Mark Oates (GB) + Catherine Fielding (GB) , Chevrolet Fangio Coupe , 1936

43 – Gerd Buehler (DE) + Thomas Feierabend (DE) , Mercedes Benz 450 SLC , 1976

17 – Phillip Blunden (AU) + Lynda Blunden (AU) , Holden EH Special , 1963

24 – Daniele Poretti (CH) + Ronnie Svizzero (CH) , Ford Mustang , 1968