Day 04 - Monday, 4th September

Day 4 - The final leg

This morning, our last leg starts in Salzburg, from where we will head directly towards The Czech Republic, and our final destination - Prague.

Once we found our way out of Salzburg, the driving through Austria was fairly straightforward, allowing us to build up a head of steam and overtake most of the other teams.

Approaching the border, the traffic began to back up, which as we were about to find out was a bad omen.

At the border, we handed our passports over, and were instructed to pull the car in to the side. There followed a very strict investigation of our documents, including the border guard wanting to see our vehicle's VIN plates - both the riveted on plate in the engine bay, and a stamped one, somewhere else on the vehicle. Having owned the car for only a matter of weeks, we were a bit stumped as to where to find the VIN. The plastic fascia covering the sills came up, but to no avail. Eventually, Southampton Saab came to the rescue again, as Graham helpfully pointed us in the right direction to find the stamped VIN.

Unfortunately, the border guard's initial reaction was to accuse us of faking the VIN. We were not the first team to have this problem - in fact several teams had already been turned away by this stage.

Eventually, after at least an hour stuck at the border, due to us having every single piece of documentation relating to the car since it's manufacture, the paperwork was approved and we were able to carry on with our Journey. After stopping for a running repair, we were finally on our way.


Finding somewhere to have lunch turned into a bit of a quest. Firstly, following the internationally recognised sign - a knife and fork - for 'dinner' we ended up in a village that time (and tarmac) seem to have forgotten. We're not sure who was more surprised - us or the people at the bus stop.

Once we'd decided this village had nothing to offer, it was back to the motorway - which we had to join via the shortest slip road in existence. This made for a 'problematic' joining of the motorway, including a nearer-than-normal miss with a BIG lorry. Rupert almost had to re-apply his witch hazel.

The rally finished in Wenceslas square, with lots of onlookers unsure what to make of the cars blocking up the streets. There was considerable media interest, with Radio, TV and Press journalists there.

The rest of our evening was spent celebrating with a few beers, stopping only to wave off one of the cars as it got towed from outside the restaurant.