Rally Sweden 2015

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BUT FROM 7 SAAB'S STARTING,AT LEAST WE GOT TO SEE ALL OF THEM....!!

IT IS NOT USUAL,TO SEE A 99EMS,NOT JUST ANY.....? BUT, 'OLA STROMBERGS' WHITE/BLUE EX-WORKS CAR,PUSHING HARD BEHIND AN ESCORT MK2.....

WE WOULD MEET UP WITH THE CREW,FROM 'OLA' 99 EMS,THE VERY NEXT DAY,FOR A GOOD LONG CHAT.....

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IT IS WELL-KNOWN THAT 'BLOMQVIST' STARTED DRIVING FOR AUDI IN 1983......RATHER LESS SO,THAT AROUND THAT TIME? THAT AUDI DID NOT HAVE,ANY OF THE TURBOCHARGED COUPE,FOR HIM TO DRIVE ON HIS 'HOME' SWEDISH RALLY.....

INSTEAD 'BLOMQVIST' WAS GIVEN A NATURALLY-ASPIRATED(NON TURBO) 4DR SALOON,SIMILAR AS PICTURED BELOW....

HE STILL CAME SECOND OVERALL,BACK THEN......IN THE 'NON TURBO' CAR...... !!!!

MORE 'TURBOCHARGED' QUATTRO......OH,THAT SOUND

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FORGOT TO MENTION 'DOUBLE CLICK' ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE.....

A TOYOTA STARLET,CATCHES THE BIG 'OVLOV'....

911 AND ANOTHER 'EMS'

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COMPARATIVE TO THE 'UK RALLYING' SCENE,A FEW ESCORTS SHOWED UP.....AND THE 'ODD' OPEL .....

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MORE 'UNUSUAL' STUFF..... THE BMW M3 WAS VERY QUICK.....

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WE STAYED,TILL EARLY AFTERNOON....AFTER THE 'HISTORICS' CAME THROUGH,AS THE 'WRC' CARS CAME THROUGH A LITTLE LATER ON,FOR A SECOND RUN....THROUGH THE 'STAGE'.....MORE LOGS,ON THE FIRE !!

THE AFTERNOON LIGHT,SEEMED TO FALL AFTER MIDDAY,AS SNOW FLURRIES CAME AND WEN'T......THE FIRE GENTLY LOWERING ITSELF,DEEPER,AND DEEPER INTO THE MELTING SNOW BENEATH.......

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SATURDAY MORNING,WAS AGAIN A VERY EARLY START...BREAKFAST AT 05.30.
WE HAD STAYED OVERNIGHT NEAR 'ARVIKA,VARMLAND' WITH OUR HOST WHOM I FIRST MET FOUR YEARS AGO....IN A REMOTE LITTLE VILLAGE...

SHE REALLY IS A CHARACTER,NOW 70 YEARS OF AGE,BUT DOESN'T LOOK A YEAR OF IT....PROVIDING EVENING MEAL,' RUM OCH FRUKOST' FOR THE FOUR,(SORRY EMU) FIVE OF US....

WE ALSO STAY WITH HER,IN THE SUMMER,MAYBE SIX,OR SEVEN TIMES NOW....

ON FRIDAYS STAGE,WE HAD MET A 'RALLY DRIVER' FROM LITHUANIA,DEEP IN THE FOREST.....WE SPENT ALL DAY,TALKING,AS HIS ENGLISH WAS QUITE GOOD(NOT SO MY LITHUANIAN).... STORIES OF HIS DAYS GONE BY,RALLYING FOR 'LADA',IN THE EASTERN BLOC....MITSUBISHI,AND SUBARU IN LATER YEARS...

WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT,THAT THE 'RALLY' IS ONLY HALF THE EXPERIENCE,PEOPLE THAT YOU MEET,IN THE DEPTHS OF VARMLAND,OR HEDMARK,NORWAY IS JUST ANOTHER DIMENSION......

AS WE WALKED UP THE FOREST TRACK,IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE WAY TO TRAVEL,FAR EXCEEDED OUR OWN 'LEVEL' OF EQUIPMENT...

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MANY SPECTATORS,SIMPLY ARRIVE THE NIGHT BEFORE,IN THE 'HUSBIL'.....PARK UP IN THE FOREST,AND START THE 'PARTY'....

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ANYHOW,WE HAD TRAVELLED NORTH AROUND JUST OVER AN HOUR,UP TO 'TORNTORP',THE FIRST OF THE SATURDAY MORNING STAGES....THE LAST TWENTY MINUTES OF THE JOURNEY,WAS OFF INTO FOREST ROADS,BEFORE WE ARRIVED AT THE STAGE....SO SLOW GOING...

WE HAD MISSED THE FIRST FEW OF THE 'WRC' CARS,BUT HAD REALLY COME TO SEE THE 'HISTORICS'.....

SITUATED ON A FAST DOWNHILL,THROUGH A BRIDGE....THE ROAD THEN WEN'T OFF CAMBER,AND FAST LEFT...

THE 'WRC' CARS&JUNIORS WERE USING THE SNOWBANKS HERE...SOME NON-INTENTIONALLY

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THERE WAS QUITE AN ATMOSPHHERE,SO EARLY IN THE MORNING.....MAYBE MORE PEOPLE,HAD COME FOR SATURDAY,AS THEY HAD TIME OFF WORK?

OR MAYBE WE HAD JUST BEEN SO FAR 'NORTH' IN NORWAY FRIDAY,THAT IT IS TOO FAR A 'TREK' FROM THE TOWNS...?

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ONCE THE 'WRC' HAD BEEN THROUGH,WE COULD MOVE UP THE STAGE,A LITTLE FURTHER.....AND START TO BUILD 'CAMP'.

I SAY THIS,AS THE SNOW WAS 'WAIST' HIGH !! AND THIS WAS AFTER WE HAD TACKLED THE SNOWBANK,AT THE SIDE OF THE TRACK...

TRAVELLING 'LIGHT' WE HAD NO SNOW SHOVEL,TO CLEAR AN AREA? BUT ONCE THE SLEDGE WAS UNLOADED,I COULD USE THAT TO GREAT EFFECT,TO CLEAR A 6 METRE AREA OF SNOW,SO WE COULD GET THE FIRE GOING.....

THE 'SNOWBANKS' ALSO PROVIDED AN EXCELLENT 'VANTAGE' POINT....IN A 'SAFE' AREA OF COURSE...

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AROUND 10AM,CAME THE 'HISTORICS' ONCE AGAIN.....

BUT,WHOM WOULD BE RUNNING STILL...? SOME OF THE 'FIELD' HAD BEEN LOST,OVER FRIDAYS STAGES....

THE LITTLE 4WD MAZDA 323 TURBOS,SEEMED TO DOMINATING THE PROCEEDINGS....YET AGAIN!

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SOME SAAB'S STILL GOING...

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AND MORE...

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JUST A FEW MK1 ESCORTS ENTERED...


THE QUATTRO'S ALWAYS SEEM PRETTY RELIABLE NOWADAY'S,BACK IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES NOT SO MUCH.......

I HAVE JUST BEEN RELIABLY INFORMED THE 'ORANGE' LICENCE PLATES,ARE 'NEW' SWEDISH LEGISLATION FOR 'COMPETITION VEHICLES'.....