Rallying takes you to some epic places, and Gill recounts his adventures at the China round of the APRC

"It’s an amazing experience to be involved with like-minded people working, or should I say pursuing a common passion – rallying."

THE WORLD IS FULL OF AMAZING PLACES

Tand they're not easy to get to. But then as they say, rallying is the greatest motoring adventure ever. Apart from the beautiful, rallying also takes you to some of the weirdest places and all of them are awesome! Rallying has always been associated with adventure along with the gruesome test of man and machine, going through some of the most bizarre and scenic routes that a regular traveller would not really attempt! I’ve been rallying and testing in different parts of the world for ten years now, right from the USA to Europe, to Scandinavia to Inner Mongolia, and the out-there Pacific islands. It is indeed an amazing experience to be involved with like-minded people, working, or should I say pursuing, a common passion – rallying. It is not like racing where you get out of a plane and in to a car to drive straight to a man-made race-circuit and drive the hell out of a race car.

Shit gets real here! I recently flew in to China for the third round of the APRC and it was one hell of an experience to be there, although the journey isn't quite as easy as it may sound. First, try getting airline tickets to that part of the world. In my case I had to change three, yes three!, flights within China to get myself to Zhangye, the northernmost city in China bordering Mongolia. Or as the Chinese term it, Inner Mongolia. I thought getting there was the only challenge until I saw a few thousand Chinese people who didn't speak a word of English! It is usually a delight to see your teammates, especially when they're picking you up from a tiny airport in the middle of a desert in 45-degree scorching dry heat. The first thing we did when we met each other is ask, “Where the hell are we?".

So this is it then. We are in Zhangye, Gansu Province. The Chinese name Zhangye stands for “The Arm”, that extends in to the western regions of the country and this city proudly hosts not one, but two of the biggest motorsport events in China – the APRC and the Silk Way cross-country rally, which is a part of the World Cross-Country Rally Championship. Zhangye lies in the Hexi Corridor which means the all-important, legendary Silk Route passes through this city, hence the name Silk Way Rally.

After settling in for two days, I headed for the reconnaissance in to the Inner Mongolia district which is nothing but desert and mud-land and it was completely deserted with not a soul to be seen. After driving a few more kilometres you suddenly see this massive expressway coming up in the middle of nowhere, connecting Inner Mongolia to Mongolia for the Silk Way! We drove up the non-existent roads heading in to some mud dunes, and then our first stage of the rally. It is quite hard to describe the geographical layout of the region through this column, but it was indeed very unique, even for me as an Indian who has travelled to Leh. The rally route was through the desert on a road specially created for the event. During the rally, we would often hit the rev-limiter at around 190+ kmph! This is one of the most unique events I have been to. In the middle of nowhere I came across this massive stadium built next to the dunes for a Super Special Stage which had seating capacity for up to 5000 people! It is hard to imagine how the government built a full-spec over-bridge stage for just one or two rally events a year in the region. Having said that, the rally attracts over 175 competitors! But only allows 145 to participate and so the rest of the crew turn in to spectators.

The rally was spread over three days, all on man-made stages using a grader and paver to make some fine roads on day one while day two and three, saw us hitting the actual Silk route with crazy average speeds through the desert, dodging camels, donkeys and even mirages. Never have I driven a rally car so fast, consistently through terrain that gives you no real reference of corners, with dips and bumps big enough to throw you off the road. Having done all that, we notched up our third win of the season and scored maximum points but it was one hell of a rally in the middle of nowhere. And people ask me why I do what I do.