DD - Flipbook - Page 24
28 June to 10 July 2026
Day 12
Geilo to Holmenkollen (290km)
10 July 2026
All good things must come to an end and today the 2026 Nordic Challenge ran its course. Fittingly the
day dawned bright and clear and, once we’d been cleared for takeoff, we rolled down the runway for
two tests at Dagali Airport, the home of the John Haugland Winter Rally School.
All that now stood between us and the finish arch under
the ski jumps in Holmenkollen was an easy touring run
along the fjord to Oslo, where the chequered flag was
dropped and a long night section began with drinks on
a sunny terrace. At our outdoor prize-giving ceremony,
Ean and Ali Lewin were crowned victors in the Classics
Category, with Manuel and Irene Dubs reigning supreme
in the Pre-War Category. Neither crew is a stranger to the
podium, but both were thrilled with what they’d achieved.
Ean and Ali Lewin are celebrating their third win after
the Alaska to Mexico Marathon in 2023 and the Carrera
Andalucia just last year. As usual, Ean was quick to praise
his navigator and the car, saying that “We built this car for
Alaska to Mexico, and it has been fantastic once again, but
we were surprised that we won the navigator’s award as
well as the overall. I focused on chasing Neil (car 25) in that
Pesky Porsche as we called it”.
Regards the rally itself, Ean said “I’ve never been to
Finland before and going through some of those WRC stages
Ean and Ali Lewin, 1973 Ford Escort RS1600
Manuel and Irene Dubs, 1940 Ford Coupe
Text & photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
A route check in Uvdal alongside a Stavkirke, a Stave Church,
made sure that we were all on the right track for the first
regularity at Saeterdalen, a testing hill climb through a forest
with a loose hairpin seemingly every 200m. We washed
the dust from our throats at the time control in the Veggli
Vertshus and then, via a route check in Rollag, we tasted the
last of the Nordic gravel in a regularity around Lyngdal.
For any crews expecting an armchair ride to the finish,
this was the curveball Anthony Preston is famous for,
featuring an intricate map-reading section with a couple
of well-positioned timing points to keep the navigators on
their toes.
The sweep crews were kept busy as well with Chris and
Heidi Bingham’s Mercedes succumbing to a fuel pump
failure and Martin Dippie’s massive Bentley sliding into a
ditch. Sadly, the former finished on a flatbed whilst the
latter was winched back into contention and sent on its
way to a convivial lunch at the time control in Vikersund
alongside the Tyrifjorden.
Design: K-Design
www.rallytheglobe.com
