Sideways with a Scandinavian master Wild weather and slippery conditions added to the drama as reporter Jono Edwards went for a spin before the Otago Rally.
AS the snow pelts down during a test run around Flagstaff in Dunedin yesterday, Norwegian rally driver Mads Ostberg is less than reassuring to a nervous reporter.
‘‘Well, this weather is not really what we wanted, especially not with these tyres. You have no grip on this surface.’’
‘‘Do you promise we won’t crash into a tree?’’ I ask.
‘‘No, I have no promises whatsoever.’’
The gaggle of media and people with important jobs wait under a tent with frozen toes and snowdusted beanies for their turn.
Ostberg’s car for the Otago Rally is a classic Ford Escort RS1800, built in the mid1970s.
‘‘This is very different to what I usually drive. Usually I drive new cars, built for difficult conditions and with a lot more power. This is a lot more mechanical.’’
Someone straps me into the seat tightly, because I have no idea of what I’m doing.
Ostberg mentions how it’s best not to eat breakfast before a morning test run, then stomps the pedal to the floor and turns my morning cereal into mush.
Although slower than we would have been on a dry day, we still slide around the sleety corners at more than 120kmh.
My head bounces around inside my helmet, but it’s obvious he is in complete control.
Ostberg’s hands rapidly switch from wheel to gear stick as if in a manic martial arts exercise.
We drift through slushy puddles and scrape tree branches.
It’s over quickly.
After the run, Ostberg mentions something he failed to beforehand: that he has had many nasty crashes, some at over 160kmh.
‘‘There have been quite a lot of incidents over the years, for sure. It’s a part of what I do. I need to push the limits to try and find where it is.’’
Ostberg says he’s here to have fun, but that he’s eyeing first place in the classic car section.
Otago Rally coorganiser Roger Oakley says the competition runs in either
April or May, to avoid weather like yesterday’s.
‘‘It’s certainly unusual.’’ However, as the 4WD vehicles are made to tackle the elements, rallies are rarely cancelled due to bad conditions, he says.
The event will include 115 competitors from seven countries.
Over the weekend, the drivers will traverse 280km of stages on roads from Palmerston to Lawrence.
Tonight, the stars will display their cars in the Octagon from 5pm.
After 17 stages, the winners will spray champagne at the Railway Station on Sunday, in a ceremony starting at 2.45pm.