Around The World In 80 Days Motor Challenge

Marquette, Michigan

After a day to repair and rest, the Around The World Rally is back on the road. Several changes were made to today's route, some prior, some during the running.

A sudden heavy rainshower dampened the morning start in Duluth.

The first test section from Solon Springs to Glidden was dropped before the morning start. Though the timing was dropped, the controls became Passage Controls, which meant the rallyists still had to follow the route as laid out. Members of the Arrowhead Sports Car Club of Duluth, and of SCCA's Land O' Lakes and Lake Superior Regions staffed today's controls, freeing the Around The World staff to relax a bit on the way to Marquette.

The windshield on the Brodericks' Mercedes gets taped following an encounter with a White Tail Deer.

That did not keep the day from being exciting however, as the Brodericks' second place Mercedes-Benz SL was hit by a deer. The accident shattered the windshield and put a couple of dents on the driver's (right) side. Nigel said he never saw the critter, only the broken glass. They were able to tape it up, and John Olson of the SL Market Letter set into action locating a replacement. They were unable to locate one in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but should be able to get one from Detroit by tomorrow at the Bay City overnight stop.

As to the White Tail, later drivers reported seeing it dead alongside the road. This area has a very heavy deer population, and many of them are killed every day in accidents with vehicles.

A control on the deck of the restaurant in Glidden, WI, staffed by ASCC and LOL/SCCA.

After a lunch stop Glidden, the route took the rallyists through Northern Wisconsin and into Upper Michigan. The test section along the Sturgeon River Gorge had to be canceled due to heavier than expected traffic. With the Independence Day holiday weekend, many vacationers had taken to the woods... on ATVs and bicycles, fishing, camping... and it was determined that it would be unsafe to drive the section at speed.

The 1953 Studebaker of Xavier Beaumartin and Phillipe Rochat motors through the Michigan woods.

Another test, from L'Anse via Skanee Road and Highway 510, was dropped altogether and teams transited on M28 to Marquette. Logging operations had chewed the road up and numerous new side roads to logging sites made the route instructions - which were written a couple of months ago - unreliable.

With no tests, the standings remain the same, though penalties for cars that shortcut the route and do not make all of the controls are adding up.

The Holfeld/McCarthy Mustang has been popular with the crowds.

The Balfours' Talbot Alpine has been having generator (or "dynamo" as it is known in England) problems; they took the shortcut today to minimize time on the road. The Clemens/Rinkel M-B 220S has a vibration in the drivetrain, which they hope can be fixed by tightening up the driveshaft center bearing. Again local SCCA members (Lake Superior Region) have come to the rescue of several teams, helping them to take care of repairs and adjustments on a Saturday evening.

Tim Winker