DD - Flipbook - Page 9
Day 6: Umeå to Åre, 4 July 2026
Chris and Heidi Bingham, 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL
Nigel Lee and Richard Turner, 1959 Austin Healey 3000 Mk I
Almost unbelievably, for a brand so ostensibly reliable,
the Time Control in Gideå saw a second Personvagnar fall
by the wayside. Dieter and Hilla Baumhaeckel’s PV544
pulled out of the car park and promptly stopped with a
broken differential. With no spares on board this wasn’t
something the sweep teams could repair, so the crew were
left looking for local assistance as we made our way to the
second Regularity.
This was a fast and loose, 13km map-based piste over
the hilly roads from lake Gålsjön, along the banks of the
Ångermanälven, one of Sweden’s longest rivers, towards lunch
at the Time Control in the Hotel Hallstaberget in Sollefteå, the
high point of the rally so far at a giddy 256m. An extensive
buffet, atop a ski jump, topped up our tanks for the vertical
challenge that was the Hammarstrand Hillclimb Test, rising
above the Indalsälven River. This was a satisfyingly loose
piece of road which gave us some great sport. Once we’d
finished, some thankfully tame tarmac rolled us along the
river valley to the Route Check in Borglunda. Then it was on
to a Time Control in Östersund for afternoon refreshments
before the Test in the adjacent Motorstadion.
The longest day was coming to an end, but there was still
one more Regularity at Glösa to tackle, over roads used as
a stage in the early years of the Midnattssolsrallyt.
Only 65km sat between us and the night halt in Åre, the
largest ski resort in Scandinavia, where we were billeted
in the Copperhill Mountain Resort, designed by renowned
architect, Peter Bohlin. Built almost entirely of wood, this
is one of Europe’s largest wooden structures. As the crews
worked through their spanner checks they were pleased to
see Nigel and Sally Woof had managed to repair their car,
thanks to a local workshop, and join us just in time for
dinner. However, Dieter and Hilla Baumhaeckel, have been
forced to retire.
Tony and Rachel Sheach, 1964 Volvo 122S
Departing the rally today, Dieter and Hilla Baumhaeckel, 1961 Volvo PV544
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