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Day five of the 2015 Safari Classic Rally was a rest day for the drivers and co-drivers. But for the Tuthill Porsche mechanics, parts department and tyre guys, it was one of the busiest days of the rally so far.
Now based by Lake Manyara in the beautiful Ngorogoro Crater – a UNESCO World Heritage site – rest day started with a 5.30am alarm call for service crews, an early breakfast overlooking the lake and a 7am start in the service park, where the team worked flat out, all day long.
“This is potentially the most serious day of the rally,” said Richard in his day 4 Youtube video blog ahead of rest day (watch the day 5 vlog below). “The mechanics have six clear hours to fettle the cars at this halfway point, so everything that needs to be checked will be checked before we start the rally’s second leg.
“We take the fuel tanks out. We take the gearboxes out. We check the clutches, we check dampers, we check steering racks, we check the rear arms: so many things. The problem is that, at this stage, the cars are running really well, so what do you touch and what do you leave? We have a list and we’ll just work slowly through that.”
Once the Porsches had been returned to parc fermé, the service trucks were restocked and the parts truck was packed for departure. Twelve hours after starting work, the mechanics returned to their tent lodge. Rest day had been the least restful day of the rally so far, but a calmness now descended on our camp as the rally’s second half approached.
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