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SPRING CLASSIC |
THIS RALLY, as is usual with my Spanish events, is built around the projected sailings of Brittany Ferries from the UK down to Santander, with sailing days that have not changed for years. If they do now, we're in trouble. For people not wishing to use these ferries, perhaps because they are not travelling down from the UK, perhaps because they don't like Brittany Ferries, perhaps because they just don't like ferries, arrangements at the beginning and the end of the event could be modified accordingly.
The nine-night event (not counting the journey there) will have four nights in Portugal, five therefore in Spain, with the full number of days divided up into six rally days, one as practice and five as (gulp!) the real thing, with three days off, one just the day of arrival, one to cover distance on a particular day, and one a complete break in Santiago de Compostela to give you a short holiday in that historic town without having to bother about cars. There is also for those concerned (see timetable below) time for the ferry and to get to the start.
On most nights dinner will be supplied as part of the package, though sometimes you are left to yourselves because no one wants to be regimented all of the time. Normally if there are two nights in a town, the first night, the arrival, will include dinner, the second will allow you to choose for yourselves. The exception is in Santillana, where dinner is provided for both nights. Thus the projected timetable will be as follows:
Exact final costs for this event cannot be calculated yet, mainly because hotel prices for 2011 are not yet fixed (this is being written Nov 2009), but the cost is expected to be similar to the Andalucía event at around €3000, not bad when you consider pretty well the same amount in sterling is charged by other events for a mere six days as opposed to nine or ten, while most of the continental ones charge double that and more. I've just seen copies of regs for the Rallye des Alpes in June 2010 taking a mere five days, yes five, where the cost is around seven and a half thousand euros. Honestly. So how do I do it?
So please turn to the CONTACT/ENTRY FORMS page and download that if you wish, or just notify me in some way. Whatever is done later, though, this Application Fee of £250 must be in sterling and by good old-fashioned cheque - while such things still exist.
Monday April 4th: Arrival at Santander at the end of the morning. It's a long way to Oporto (though nowhere near as long as it was on the recent Al-Andalus rally when everyone had to get all the way to Granada), so as on that occasion the journey is broken by an overnight stay at a four-star hotel in Léon, and included in the overall package for those concerned.
Tuesday April 5th: Arrival in Oporto in the five-star hotel for a two-night stay. Please note, this is the actual start of the rally. Wherever competitors are coming from, they are expected to be here today.
Wednesday April 6th: Practice Day in the region of Oporto, returning in the afternoon for a second night at the hotel there.
Thursday April 7th and Friday April 8th: Two days of rallying are followed by two nights in the splendid Pousada overlooking the port-city of Viana do Castelo.
Saturday April 9th and Sunday April 10th: A day of rallying now takes you back into Spain to the magnificent town of Santiago de Compostela, steeped in history, where the second day of your stay is completely free for you to discover the town for yourselves without having to bother with all that inconvenient mucking about in cars getting in the way.
Monday April 11th: This day too is a day off from the rally, but not from driving, as there is a longish distance to cover from Santiago to Gijón along the northern coast, a simple enough thing which you can do in your own time, even by your own route if you wish. The overnight stay will be in a modern four-star hotel overlooking the Cantabrian Sea.
Tuesday April 12th: Right, you've had it too easy for too long, now it's back to the stern stuff. Today rallies on to the twin Paradors at Santillana del Mar, where you will pass two nights.
Wednesday April 13th: The last day of the event around the coastal region near Santillana, and the day ends with the final dinner and awards presentation again in the Parador. This is the actual end of the rally.
Thursday April 14th: For those involved, Santillana is barely fifteen minutes drive, allowing for traffic, from the ferry port in Santander, from where the ferry departs mid-afternoon to arrive back in Plymouth at around 10.00 on Friday morning. Obviously if you are not ferry-ing, then this day is simply the start of your journey to wherever you might be going.
Deeley Classics
50 Uphill Way
Uphill
Weston - super - Mare
Somerset BS23 4TN
England
Tel: +44 (0)1934 626136
Fax: +44 (0) 1934 626146
E mail: deeley.classics@virgin.net
©2007 Deeley Classics Designed by Chris Shrapnel of Momentai
Revised 2/9/07