by Roberto Chiodi
May 26 – Technically it’s true, but when you put it that way it’s almost fake news. In reality, stage number 10 had many winners, as it was a day without special tests; it was enough to respect the departure time control, the arrival time control and to have an intermediate stamp control on the timetable to certify that no shortcuts had been taken. But do it all with a 500 It wasn't as easy as it seems at all. Especially for a stretch of 16 kilometers on dirt road “ondulé” where Il Cinquino struggled for three hours to get out of it. The others passed quickly, almost gliding. We, with suspension, ground clearance and springs in the norm (even if well reinforced) had a lot of difficulty, but in the end we managed to clock in within the allowed time. The Salter father and son (American la France, 14.500 cc) and Jim Valentine (AMX 5.700 cc) failed to do so; we saw their powerful racing cars – very sadly – on the broom truck.
In short, today zero penalties like almost all the others. But the rubber at the base of the mechanism that supports the engine it's worn out a lot, every jolt now is a dull noise that worries us a lot. Is there anyone on the road to Urumqi who can lend us one?
