RtG The Daily Dispatch - Carrera Andalucia - day 00 - Flipbook - Page 16
22 June to 3 July 2025
Day 9
Carmona to Cádiz (291km)
1 July 2025
Today a trip to the seaside seemed the perfect way to enjoy the fantastic weather. From a windy
Parador we struck south to a Passage Control in El Madroñal and then to a Time Control in the
Estación de Coripe, where freshly-cut homemade sandwiches were the order of the day.
Photo: gerardbrown.co.uk
It was plain sailing for most of us, although Gavin and
Diana Henderson were slightly delayed after they picked
up a puncture 55km from the start.
The rolling landscape was a beguiling patchwork of
cereals, olives, sunflowers and cherries. But this was not
simply a run to the ocean, looking at the scenery and,
after taking on some refreshments, we turned the page
to reveal the first of four Regularities. The first one, from
El Mojón, was short and steep and, although challenging
in its own right, it served as a perfect warm-up for the
next Regularity over the 1357m Puerto de las Palomas in
the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.
This was a truly magnificent piece of road with some
of the best views we’ve had so far as we climbed away
from the whitewashed town of Zahara to the summit
under a deep blue, cloudless sky. A well-earned descent
followed and, some 34km later, a slightly breathless rally
arrived at lunch and the Time Control in the Hotel Sierra
de Ubrique.
Two more pacy Regularities after lunch drew the rally
closer to the coast. First a section over the Puerto de
Gáliz, followed immediately by the Rio Barbate. Rejoining
the highway we breezed over the Bay of Cádiz on the
mighty La Constitución de 1812 bridge and into the city
toward the night halt in the Parador on the very edge of
the Atlantic Ocean and the home of the Spanish Navy.
We’re getting close to the end of the Carrera Andalucía
now and crews and cars are beginning to feel the
pressure. Everyone wants to make it to Málaga, so the car
park was a busy place tonight. As ever the sweep team
was in the thick of it, dealing with a troublesome wheel
bearing in Matthew English and Kristy Porter’s Porsche
356. Steve and Jenny Verrall’s Frazer Nash-BMW has been
running hot so, as the leaders of the Pre-war category,
some preventative plumbing was called for in an attempt
to make the old cooling system a little more efficient.
Finally, Doug and Deb Joseph’s Renault Alpine A110
needed some work to secure the all-important engine
mounting.
Andrew and Ann Boland, 1960 Jaguar XK150S
www.rallytheglobe.com
