Day 10 – Saturday 11th May 2013
Another early start with 7am breakfast! We then had a 45 mile drive of approx 1.5hour duration following the roadbook to the Mugello race circuit, although thankfully this trip isn’t timed! We need to be there by 10am at the very latest, so we set off leading with Geoff and Carole behind us, at 7.55am. This journey was pleasant and fairly uneventful and we arrived in plenty of time for another few special stages. The first was having to flatten 6 plastic upside down drink cups held in place with metal discs, and return over the line in exactly 30 seconds, without stopping or reversing. We didn’t do so great on this, we managed to get all 6 cups, but I thought Ian had stopped and whilst I was shouting at him not to stop, we went over our time by a couple of seconds, whoops! I think the Italian Job organisers should have on-site marriage guidance councillors with them on the trip to try to prevent any ensuing divorces!!
The next one was meant to be a blindfold course where the driver is blindfolded and the passenger both times and shouts directions to go around a number of cones. Although we have organised this successfully a number of times for the Manx Mini Meet, the organisers unfortunately didn’t quite get this one right. The course was too complicated, and the spectators were not cordoned off sufficiently far away, after 2 went, who were Roger and Yvonne Hunt, and Brian and Gill Helyer, both experienced Jobbers, they both managed to make a complete hash of it, Brian driving over the top of a traffic cone and removing the front number plate from his Mini. They both also came uncomfortably close to running into the spectators towards the end of their runs, so sadly the organisers decided this was all too risky and abandoned the idea of this SS before we managed to have our go, which was a shame as we were only 2 away from our go and this is something we’ve never tried ourselves although we’ve organised plenty of others to do this several times! I was gutted! The last special stage involved holding a tennis ball on a large spoon out of the window on an outstretched arm (no holding the tennis ball allowed, you had to hold the handle of the large spoon!). You had to go around a cone twice in exactly 25 seconds. We were doing OK on this until Ian got mixed up what time we were supposed to be doing this particular Special Stage in, and as I counted 21, he hoofed it over the line, thinking we needed to do this SS in 20 seconds!!! Oh dear, nevermind, at least it’s one cock-up each today, so the equilibrium is now restored and marriage guidance no longer required – stand down, divorce lawyers, well for now at least!! Aftter that, we were treated to yet more food in a restaurant at the circuit, then we went for 2 laps around the Mugello race circuit in the Minis, which was good fun! We then had to go to Rome by Satnav, which was a drive of over 200 miles away, not the best idea on a full tummy! It was roasting hot in the car, and just keeping awake for this 4 hour drive was a challenge, as well as negotiating Rome traffic for the last 20 minutes, trying to get there for the deadline of 5.30pm. We just about managed that, and after a quick refreshment stop and look at the stunning view from our meeting point looking over Rome, we were taken by escorted police motorbikes to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. This certainly woke us up!!! THEY ARE CRAZY!!! The Rome traffic literally came to a stand still, as we were instructed to all stick together in convoy, completely ignoring traffic lights, one way signs, you name it! Bonkers doesn’t even start to describe it! There seemed to be the entire population of Rome out on the streets waving and clapping as we sped by the Colosseum and various other notable points in the City and beyond. We eventually arrived at the hotel, which is very pleasant and even has a kettle in our room, and after a barbeque-style meal, crashed out for the night, totally cream-crackered after a very long day.
