Thirty-one participants lined up at the start of the Icelandic Saga 2015 in front of the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik on April 19, 2015.
The adventure in the land of fire and ice was to be an endurance test for some of the most experienced teams, but also for the newcomers. They came to Iceland from all over the world to compete for six days over 2090 km across Iceland. Philip and Lyndy Blunden had come from Australia in their Morris Mini Cooper S, which had taken over ten weeks to ship from Melbourne to Iceland! George Coelho from the USA and Joao Penido from Brazil also had a long journey in their Volvo Amazon.
A wide range of vehicles with very different vintages were present. For example, a Talbot 105 Vanden Plas Tourer from 1933 by Wouter Panis and Menno de Haan competed, which coped wonderfully with the open roads and the regularity tests, but had some problems with the more complicated sections and tests.
Also taking part was a 1981 Ford Escort XR3 from Andy Twort and Claudine Bloom, who had come from the Hebridean Islands off Scotland. This was the second time they had taken part. Probably the most unusual car at this event was the 1980 Mini Pick-Up of Maurice Slap and Sofie Setterfield from Belgium, who had just competed in a desert race with their Mini and still had sand stuck to the car.
Unique landscapes greeted the participants - Day 1
On the first day, the teams set off from Reykjavik to Borgarnes in the western part of Iceland. This part is very different from the rest of the island in terms of weather and topography. The landscape consists of a multitude of fjords and the typical flat table volcanoes or tuyas that slope steeply down the sides. Iceland has many volcanoes and relatively strong volcanic activity because the American and European tectonic plates meet there.
Paul Crosby and Andy Ballantyne were already the favorites before the start. They started well, but a stuck cone pushed them back to second place, just behind Joel Wykeham and David Brown in their BMW 2002. Daniel Gresly and Christian Prunte in their Porsche 911 were confident; despite some starting difficulties, they were able to maintain third place overall.
Turbulence in the 911 - Day 2
After Borgarnes, they continued towards Akureyri, the northernmost point of the entire event. But the countless gravel roads and difficult driving stages on the way there took their toll on Stephen and Collette Owens' Porsche 911. A problem with the clutch actuator forced them to drive back to Reykjavik. With the help of the Porsche Club Iceland, the car was quickly repaired and the pair drove the 400 kilometers up to Akureyri to be greeted warmly by their teammates at the bar for a well-deserved drink!
For Crosby and Ballantyne the day had not been without its problems either; their otherwise perfectly running 911 had problems with the volcanic dust and the team had managed to reach Akureyri just in time to avoid dropping out of the classification.
Snowstorms and icy roads - Day 3
Day three started with Wykeham/ Brown in the lead and Gresly/ Prunte hot on their heels. From Akureyri the route led to Egilsstadir, where snowy mountains and storms that iced the roads made driving extremely dangerous.
Fortunately, all participants reached their destination unscathed. Gresly and Prunte had taken the lead and were now challenged by Julian Pitts and Graham Briggs in their Lotus Cortina. In fourth place after day three, watching the action at the front, were Steve and Julia Robertson in their MGB GT V8. Nick Mezger briefly lost concentration and missed the passage control in Akureyri, which earned him and his co-driver Tomas de Vargas Machuca 600 penalty points.
The snow stayed in the north - Day 4
After the participants had left Egilsstadir again, a beautiful coastal section followed. The weather situation was constantly monitored, as the local weather forecast was for snow. But to the delight of the participants, it was sunny and beautiful from that day on for the rest of the rally, and the snow fortunately stayed up in the north.
The road the participants drove on is called Route 96 and is the equivalent of the Californian highway in the USA, which is also known for its breathtakingly beautiful scenery with high mountains on one side of the road and the coast on the other.
Afternoon coffee was taken in Dúpivogur, a small fishing village on the east coast of Iceland. We spent the night in Hofn in the shadow of Vatnajokull, Iceland's largest glacier, which covers over 8% of the country. Gresly/ Prunte had taken the lead over Wykeham/ Brown that day, with the Robertsons in third place in their MGB, which they would retain for the rest of the event. The Francis Galashan/ Graeme Dobbie team were battling for fifth and sixth place against Urs and Denise Mezger in their TR4A. The final driving test of the fourth day led to the only retirement of the entire event. Unfortunately, the engine of Stephen and Cherian Roberts' TR6 failed, which spelled the end for the two Englishmen.
Flatland for a change - Day 5
The vast plains and salt marshes of the fifth day were nowhere near what the participants had seen on the previous days, but the teams also enjoyed the drive through slightly different landscapes. A stop at an iceberg lagoon revealed a view of the vast ocean and the huge pieces of ice that slowly drifted past on their way into the Atlantic. Not much changed in the ranking on the penultimate day. Good results in the driving tests earned Clive and Anji Martin the Test Pilot's Trophy for the best performance in this area. Crosby / Ballantyne had counted on their experience to set them apart from rookies Chris Kemp and Sid Sadigue in their Cortina GT MkI. On the final day, Crosby/Ballantyne made a few mistakes which put them in eleventh place overall.
The weather gods were kind - Day 6
Heavy snowfall meant that the final sections on day six were canceled. On the way back to Reykjavik, it quickly became clear that Daniel Gresly and Christian Prunte would take home a well-deserved victory after six days of consistent and good performances. Runners-up were Joel Wykeham and David Brown in their BMW 2002 tii, followed by the Robertsons. Throughout the event the weather gods were amazingly kind, with steel blue skies for at least 50% of the journey around the island.
Iceland is a breathtaking country with beautiful and impressive landscapes and very friendly and open people. The participants will have fond memories of the Icelandic Saga 2015 for a long time to come. If you ever have the chance to visit this country, take it - you won't be disappointed!
