Auto Rally Delivers Thrills, Laughs

 - by Crispin Sturges

Drivers and spectators gather to
await the start of the first race.
(Photo by Dr, Crispin Sturges)

Although turnout was light, this morning's auto rally and road race rewarded both drivers and spectators with  a madcap race through the streets of Berlin.
 
The course was marked with arrows and barricades and at the call for competitors three drivers took their places at the starting line. A grandstand for spectators had been erected near the finish. The competitors included Frau Yardley, driving her Dixie touring car, Herr Ellis in a city taxi and Dr. Sturges in his Alalante 358 racing car. The race required three laps through the city, with a trophy and a purse of 250RL going to the first racer across the finish.  Some dents and narrow brushes with the banks of the Spree Canal punctuated a fast and closely run race, with Dr. Sturges crossing the line first and declared the winner.
 

Dr. Sturges celebrates his victory and prize after finishing
first in the initial race.
(Photo by Crispin Sturges)

The competitors, not satisfied with but one test, requested another race be held immediately and the judges agreed. The same drivers vied again but with the same results. A third race was declared, and Fr Sonata Morales joined the field in a black and silver luxury touring car. Herr Ellis elected to drive a truck, and Herr Sturges, having won twice and appearing determined to crush the competition this time, drove a retired army Panzerkampfwagon from the war. The cars deftly avoided the slow moving obstacle of the PzKW, although some minor damage was done to shop windows along the course. At the conclusion of the rally, Fr Morales' car was declared the "Most Elegant Vehicle" of the day to the boisterous approval of the crowd. The rally organizers expressed thanks to the drivers and onlookers, and relief that that there were no injuries or major damage. Most expressed their interest in staging another rally and, separately, a bicycle race as well.

Fr Yardley avoids flattening her Dixie under the metal treads of Dr. Sturges'
lumbering ten year old tank.
(Photo by Dr. Crispen Sturges)