Update 2The car is back to full working order. The fan was changed as well as the head gasket as a precaution after the overheating problems last time out. The anti-lag settings were also changed a bit. Other than that it was mainly a full run through that they weren't able to do in the rush a month back. Again the Rally will touch up to 3000m so accurate car settings to compensate for the altitude will be important.
John and Mike pull out at 7:45am to do 159km of pace notes. Then the ceremonial start downtown tomorrow. The stages are about 30 min away which isn't bad, and Oaxaca is pretty easy to navigate. The hotel is nice, surrounded by mountains - very scenic, and 10min away from downtown. The weather has been very rainy and conditions could be wet for the rally. Its about 15 degrees at night and it warms up to about 28 during the day.
Trivino is due in tonight and the battle on Saturday should be hot, as so far most people are anticipating John's pace. The newspapers had a one page article today launching the rally, and the Oaxaca press showed up tonight hoping to do an interview with John but the team is already sleeping so they will catch up tomorrow. Great to see the local press involvement.
Funny we arrived at the garage today and before we even saw the car there were a few of the local mechanics shouting 'Powell, Powell'....
Will send some more pics tomorrow after scrutineering.
This was the first we saw of the car which was shipped down from Puebla. Phil Marks, and Neil Buckley were already hard at the prep while we were catching some extra sleep
The garage was very tight so proper pics of the car will come tomorrow after scrutineering but the Trini decals are finally on
Michael Fennell (co-driver) and Peter Clarke from Jamaica
John and one of the garage supervisors
So while the preps going down on the Evo, we saw this thing peaking out under the cover.
And this immaculate historic VW Rally car was unveiled. 2000cc and ready to rumble as you see it there.
When in Mexico, there are worms in your Mezcal, but 'es OK Señor'