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Day 9: Trondheim to Molde, 7 July 2026
The town of Å came and went as quickly as its name
suggests en-route to the Regularity at Leverdalen. Here
things began to get serious and we found ourselves climbing
into a rugged landscape filled with turf-topped Troll cabins
nestled below jagged cliffs and snow-capped hills. Rough as
it was, the countryside was superb, and the unmade roads
took us deep into the Trollheimen mountain range.
A tarmac section gave us the opportunity to cover some
decent mileage before a Route Check in Hoås that took us
off into the hills once again. This was a short preview of
what was to come after lunch, taken at the Time Control in
the Ødegårds Bistro in Sunndalsøra.
Almost as soon as the plates were cleared away, we
struck out towards the Aursjøvegen, a spectacular and
rugged mountain road along which the Litldalen Regularity
ran across a huge swathe of the Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella
National Park.
On the fringes of a subarctic tundra we rose to just over
930m and the mercury fell to 7°C, with banks of snow and
low cloud combining in a largely treeless landscape – an
entirely otherworldly experience.
There were plenty of options for selfies but, unfortunately,
the weather worked against us, with visibility limited in
places. However, at the Time Control in Eikesdalen this was
not an issue, and there was a buzz among the crews taking
on warm drinks in the Vertshuset. A low-level panoramic
drive along the shores of the freshwater Eikedalsvatnet
followed. Then, by way of another long tunnel, the road led
us seawards and to the Sunndalsfjord and Fannefjorden,
for the day’s final Regularity held along its southern shore.
A final Test at the driving centre in Øvingsbane
Malmedalen featured some low-grip sections. Amidst the
slipping and sliding, we saw Ean and Ali Lewin’s Ford
Escort lose its rear window, which was neatly slotted back
into place before the crew made their way to the night halt
at the mouth of the Fannefjord in the sail-shaped Scandic
Seilet Hotel in Molde, where the rally dropped anchor and
battened down its hatches.
Jonathan and Olivia Turner, 1922 Bentley EXP4 3/4½
Claudine Bloom and Andy Twort, 1965 Volvo 120
Martin Brauns and Rich Walton, 1973 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC
Tamara Box and James Lester, 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL
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