The £7700 Corvette C6
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YouTube short
The first, short video from Norway. Clive is heading north, he's covered 2000 miles so far with no faults.
I can't get the video to embed in this post.
The first, short video from Norway. Clive is heading north, he's covered 2000 miles so far with no faults.
I can't get the video to embed in this post.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Friday 28th June 21:14
Huge post alert!
Having previously travelled across the States and down to the Sahara Desert, it was time for Clive to pile on some more miles, this time heading north, really far north, for the biggest adventure yet.
Back in 2007 I did a few days filming work at a race circuit in southern Norway, loved it and vowed to return someday. It’s a beautiful country, but widely regarded as the most expensive in Europe. There is no longer a direct ferry from the UK to Scandinavia, so any attempt to reach Norway would require time and money just to get the journey proper underway.
Ideas started forming after returning from the Sahara in late 2022, although it took a while to pay off the credit cards! At first, I set a target of reaching the Arctic Circle, but project creep soon saw the plan grow larger. I wondered whether I could reach the very top of Europe, after all, it’s only an extra couple of inches on the map, right? The snags were a limited budget and only two weeks off work.
Whilst I’ve always enjoyed taking hundreds of photos of my road trips and documenting them on social media as I go, they do inevitably all have a first person feel to them, plus it extends already very long days. So, this time, I decided to record the trip in style, inviting not only my mate and fellow C6 owner Felix, but paying the expenses of Videographer Marc and Social Media man Joe too. A route was plotted, with myself and Felix driving Clive The Corvette over the whole trip, with the more time limited Marc and Joe flying in and covering the most interesting, middle 6 or 7 days. They would fly to Trondheim, collect a hire car and meet us at the end of day 3.
End of June and early July were chosen to ensure the roads would be snow free, to avoid school holidays and experience the midnight sun.
I carried out a fair bit of pre-event maintenance, including changing the headers for the more ‘friendly’ but depressingly quiet Z06 system with cats. Still, it made it less likely to get damaged, unlike the former, lower-hanging headers which became repeatedly dented on the Africa trip!
I changed the oil again, using the same, bright green Liqui Moly ‘molygen’ 5W30, new oil filter and some silicone grease on the so-called self-lubricating, squeaky Delrin bushes. Heavy duty towing points, front and rear were fitted, from Vorshlag https://vorshlag-store.com/collections/c5-c6-body-... just in case I were to get stuck again, a final spanner check and it was ready to go.
The C6’s trunk/boot space is big for a 2-seater, but with enough luggage for 2, sleeping bags, pillows and towels (Norwegian Airbnb’s don’t all supply them), drone and batteries, full-sized spare and tools, meant there wasn’t any free space.
I was checking the weather religiously on the run up. With a month to go the weather at Nordkapp was still below freezing, with Google maps refusing to plot routes where I wanted to go, as some mountain passes were still blocked by snow.
Fitting things around my work schedule meant I left home on Friday 21st June. A visit to Adams & Page in High Wycombe came first, where they dialled back the negative front camber, so as to make the Yokohama AD09’s less prone to wear on the motorway stretches.
This was the same set of AD09 that I’d competed with, in February. From there, I drove to Silverstone, where I was working all day Saturday, race organising with the CSCC. Everything I’d carefully packed all came out again, as Clive was used as the pace car, starting the CSCC BMW Championship/Liqui Moly Slicks race and Adams & Page Swinging 60s race too.
That Saturday evening, with work over, I was loaded up and headed to Kent, to rendezvous with Felix, whose own C6 was booked in for some service work there.
Sunday 23rd June was a long day, crossing the channel via the tunnel, through France, Belgium, Holland and onto the unlimited speed stretches of the German Autobahns. Nothing crazy, we cruised at 95mph, with the occasional 3 figure blip for fun and to help the hundreds of miles pass by. Hi to the guys we met in the TVR.
100RON Shell Racing Fuel was consumed at a rate, before reaching our overnight point at Flensburg, close to the Danish border.
Monday 24th June was another early start, as we had a lunchtime ferry to catch, from Hirtshals, in Denmark, across to Larvik, Norway.
C6R model in the ferry gift shop.
Just as we were leaving port we were bombed by gulls, not nice, although Felix came off worse.
Not far into Norway we met up with Pit, who we’d met on the Norway Corvette Facebook group. We kicked tyres, admired his C3 and went for a short drive, before continuing north.
Oslo has to be the easiest capital city I’ve ever traversed, with much of the motorway in tunnels, no queues or delays at all.
We paused at Lillehammer, site of the ’94 winter Olympics, looking across at the scary ski jumps from afar.
At the end of a long day, we rendezvoused with Joe and Marc, at an Airbnb in Ringebu.
Plenty of mosquitos to greet and bite us outside in the late evening sunshine, but we were safe once inside. I slept in the same room as the Norwegian Royal family had once stayed. I can only assume the curtains would have been of slightly thicker quality back in the day.
Tuesday 25th June. After two days of crazy long miles, I’d scheduled some shorter days, both to get more filming in, but also to slow the pace down and enjoy the wonderful scenery southern Norway promised to offer. The first part of the day would see us re-trace some of the route the Yaris Hybrid hire car took the previous day, before branching off west, in the direction of Stryn.
Each of us swapped between cars, it was a bit of a challenge for Marc, being shorter in leg length (fixed race seats) and not having driven a manual for years.
The scenery just got better as the day went on, almost spoilt for choice for places to pull over and stare.
We took an impromptu turn off suggested by Felix, onto route 258. This took us right up to the snowline and a frozen, blue lake.
A memorable hour or two climbing up to different vantage points, taking in the peace and quiet, broken only by rushing waterfalls. Something Norway has in abundance is water, both in terms of rain and meltwater, creating waterfalls, they’re everywhere. I already knew I’d made the right choice, both in visiting before the summer holidays, but also in not overplanning, allowing flexibility to follow our noses. I threw a snowball at Marc, direct hit to the plums, haha!
From there, it was down to sea level and a visit to the famous Geiranger Fjord. Clive attracted attention whenever we stopped.
Fortunately for us, there were no cruise ships docked that evening, so pizza’s were enjoyed on the sea front, without any queuing or reservation needed. Whilst it is indeed ‘the sea’, this far up the Fjord the water is as still as any lake, with minimal tidal range.
It was easy to lose track of time, with it just not getting dark, so we moved on to a slightly rundown holiday chalet with bunks, at Eidsdal, ready to cross the Fjord next morning.
The next part of the trip write up will follow soon.
Having previously travelled across the States and down to the Sahara Desert, it was time for Clive to pile on some more miles, this time heading north, really far north, for the biggest adventure yet.
Back in 2007 I did a few days filming work at a race circuit in southern Norway, loved it and vowed to return someday. It’s a beautiful country, but widely regarded as the most expensive in Europe. There is no longer a direct ferry from the UK to Scandinavia, so any attempt to reach Norway would require time and money just to get the journey proper underway.
Ideas started forming after returning from the Sahara in late 2022, although it took a while to pay off the credit cards! At first, I set a target of reaching the Arctic Circle, but project creep soon saw the plan grow larger. I wondered whether I could reach the very top of Europe, after all, it’s only an extra couple of inches on the map, right? The snags were a limited budget and only two weeks off work.
Whilst I’ve always enjoyed taking hundreds of photos of my road trips and documenting them on social media as I go, they do inevitably all have a first person feel to them, plus it extends already very long days. So, this time, I decided to record the trip in style, inviting not only my mate and fellow C6 owner Felix, but paying the expenses of Videographer Marc and Social Media man Joe too. A route was plotted, with myself and Felix driving Clive The Corvette over the whole trip, with the more time limited Marc and Joe flying in and covering the most interesting, middle 6 or 7 days. They would fly to Trondheim, collect a hire car and meet us at the end of day 3.
End of June and early July were chosen to ensure the roads would be snow free, to avoid school holidays and experience the midnight sun.
I carried out a fair bit of pre-event maintenance, including changing the headers for the more ‘friendly’ but depressingly quiet Z06 system with cats. Still, it made it less likely to get damaged, unlike the former, lower-hanging headers which became repeatedly dented on the Africa trip!
I changed the oil again, using the same, bright green Liqui Moly ‘molygen’ 5W30, new oil filter and some silicone grease on the so-called self-lubricating, squeaky Delrin bushes. Heavy duty towing points, front and rear were fitted, from Vorshlag https://vorshlag-store.com/collections/c5-c6-body-... just in case I were to get stuck again, a final spanner check and it was ready to go.
The C6’s trunk/boot space is big for a 2-seater, but with enough luggage for 2, sleeping bags, pillows and towels (Norwegian Airbnb’s don’t all supply them), drone and batteries, full-sized spare and tools, meant there wasn’t any free space.
I was checking the weather religiously on the run up. With a month to go the weather at Nordkapp was still below freezing, with Google maps refusing to plot routes where I wanted to go, as some mountain passes were still blocked by snow.
Fitting things around my work schedule meant I left home on Friday 21st June. A visit to Adams & Page in High Wycombe came first, where they dialled back the negative front camber, so as to make the Yokohama AD09’s less prone to wear on the motorway stretches.
This was the same set of AD09 that I’d competed with, in February. From there, I drove to Silverstone, where I was working all day Saturday, race organising with the CSCC. Everything I’d carefully packed all came out again, as Clive was used as the pace car, starting the CSCC BMW Championship/Liqui Moly Slicks race and Adams & Page Swinging 60s race too.
That Saturday evening, with work over, I was loaded up and headed to Kent, to rendezvous with Felix, whose own C6 was booked in for some service work there.
Sunday 23rd June was a long day, crossing the channel via the tunnel, through France, Belgium, Holland and onto the unlimited speed stretches of the German Autobahns. Nothing crazy, we cruised at 95mph, with the occasional 3 figure blip for fun and to help the hundreds of miles pass by. Hi to the guys we met in the TVR.
100RON Shell Racing Fuel was consumed at a rate, before reaching our overnight point at Flensburg, close to the Danish border.
Monday 24th June was another early start, as we had a lunchtime ferry to catch, from Hirtshals, in Denmark, across to Larvik, Norway.
C6R model in the ferry gift shop.
Just as we were leaving port we were bombed by gulls, not nice, although Felix came off worse.
Not far into Norway we met up with Pit, who we’d met on the Norway Corvette Facebook group. We kicked tyres, admired his C3 and went for a short drive, before continuing north.
Oslo has to be the easiest capital city I’ve ever traversed, with much of the motorway in tunnels, no queues or delays at all.
We paused at Lillehammer, site of the ’94 winter Olympics, looking across at the scary ski jumps from afar.
At the end of a long day, we rendezvoused with Joe and Marc, at an Airbnb in Ringebu.
Plenty of mosquitos to greet and bite us outside in the late evening sunshine, but we were safe once inside. I slept in the same room as the Norwegian Royal family had once stayed. I can only assume the curtains would have been of slightly thicker quality back in the day.
Tuesday 25th June. After two days of crazy long miles, I’d scheduled some shorter days, both to get more filming in, but also to slow the pace down and enjoy the wonderful scenery southern Norway promised to offer. The first part of the day would see us re-trace some of the route the Yaris Hybrid hire car took the previous day, before branching off west, in the direction of Stryn.
Each of us swapped between cars, it was a bit of a challenge for Marc, being shorter in leg length (fixed race seats) and not having driven a manual for years.
The scenery just got better as the day went on, almost spoilt for choice for places to pull over and stare.
We took an impromptu turn off suggested by Felix, onto route 258. This took us right up to the snowline and a frozen, blue lake.
A memorable hour or two climbing up to different vantage points, taking in the peace and quiet, broken only by rushing waterfalls. Something Norway has in abundance is water, both in terms of rain and meltwater, creating waterfalls, they’re everywhere. I already knew I’d made the right choice, both in visiting before the summer holidays, but also in not overplanning, allowing flexibility to follow our noses. I threw a snowball at Marc, direct hit to the plums, haha!
From there, it was down to sea level and a visit to the famous Geiranger Fjord. Clive attracted attention whenever we stopped.
Fortunately for us, there were no cruise ships docked that evening, so pizza’s were enjoyed on the sea front, without any queuing or reservation needed. Whilst it is indeed ‘the sea’, this far up the Fjord the water is as still as any lake, with minimal tidal range.
It was easy to lose track of time, with it just not getting dark, so we moved on to a slightly rundown holiday chalet with bunks, at Eidsdal, ready to cross the Fjord next morning.
The next part of the trip write up will follow soon.
Life has gotten in the way somewhat, so I'll carry on with the Arctic trip part 2.
Wednesday 26th June
This was due to be our shortest day of driving, allowing time both to rest, but also to fully capture the Trollstigen (Trolls Ladder), a fabulous series of switchback turns, perfect for some (sensible) hooning. That night I put the destination in to Google maps, only to find the pass was closed. It turns out that the previous Thursday had seen a rockfall, putting a boulder into a car, therefore the pass has been closed for the rest of the year! This resulted in an 80 mile detour.
So, we decided to head back to Geiranger for breakfast, stopping for photos by a lake.
Time to catch the ferry to Linge.
Some of these photos look like they've been edited and saturated, but they are straight from the phone/camera. We were just lucky with perfect conditions.
We decided to see how far we could get, towards Trollstigen, but it was a waste of time, the road closed in low cloud and before any meaningful hairpin bends, so we carried on with the detour.
More waterfalls
Following the coast to Andalsnes
We found another couple of C6
This was the view from the lounge of our Airbnb
We went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant (no photo), in Andalsnes.
Here is the team. Left to right Joe, Marc, myself and Felix.
Thursday 27th June
The Atlantic Road! A much photographed series of bridges, over low-laying islands, still in the southwest of Norway. This became our shortest day of driving, but one of our favourites.
The plan was to drive back and forth across the bridges, taking photos and videos from many angles. It's a popular tourist trap, so speeds were sensible throughout, the weather was glorious, I got some fairly impressive sunburn.
We started the day with a ferry.
Then on to the Atlantic Road.
After driving back and forth a number of times, we heard a loud V10 approaching!
Ole parked up next to us, he is a Norwegian up from Oslo area, enjoying the local roads. A real nice guy, who was not only happy to convoy with us, but also took Felix out for a joyride too. The Lamborghini's noise really highlighted just how much I regretted taking my longtube headers off.
The time came to part company and we got to enjoy one full throttle rip, up to 3rd gear. I'd love to say the Corvette kept pace, but it was a little slower.
After an ice cream in the sun, looking at Jellyfish and Anemone in the clear water, we moved on to our next overnight and our favourite of the trip. It was a spacious, peaceful house, but it was the location, near Averoy was exceptional. The host recommended a local restaurant, which served the best fish and chips I've ever had (as a Brit that pains me to say).
The view from the restaurant terrace.
A short track, just wide enough for a narrow-bodied C6 led from the house, to this exceptional stage, next to the smallest church I've seen.
This was about 1am, I spent hours sat around the rocks, watching fish and birds, totally peaceful. A day I won't ever forget.
Wednesday 26th June
This was due to be our shortest day of driving, allowing time both to rest, but also to fully capture the Trollstigen (Trolls Ladder), a fabulous series of switchback turns, perfect for some (sensible) hooning. That night I put the destination in to Google maps, only to find the pass was closed. It turns out that the previous Thursday had seen a rockfall, putting a boulder into a car, therefore the pass has been closed for the rest of the year! This resulted in an 80 mile detour.
So, we decided to head back to Geiranger for breakfast, stopping for photos by a lake.
Time to catch the ferry to Linge.
Some of these photos look like they've been edited and saturated, but they are straight from the phone/camera. We were just lucky with perfect conditions.
We decided to see how far we could get, towards Trollstigen, but it was a waste of time, the road closed in low cloud and before any meaningful hairpin bends, so we carried on with the detour.
More waterfalls
Following the coast to Andalsnes
We found another couple of C6
This was the view from the lounge of our Airbnb
We went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant (no photo), in Andalsnes.
Here is the team. Left to right Joe, Marc, myself and Felix.
Thursday 27th June
The Atlantic Road! A much photographed series of bridges, over low-laying islands, still in the southwest of Norway. This became our shortest day of driving, but one of our favourites.
The plan was to drive back and forth across the bridges, taking photos and videos from many angles. It's a popular tourist trap, so speeds were sensible throughout, the weather was glorious, I got some fairly impressive sunburn.
We started the day with a ferry.
Then on to the Atlantic Road.
After driving back and forth a number of times, we heard a loud V10 approaching!
Ole parked up next to us, he is a Norwegian up from Oslo area, enjoying the local roads. A real nice guy, who was not only happy to convoy with us, but also took Felix out for a joyride too. The Lamborghini's noise really highlighted just how much I regretted taking my longtube headers off.
The time came to part company and we got to enjoy one full throttle rip, up to 3rd gear. I'd love to say the Corvette kept pace, but it was a little slower.
After an ice cream in the sun, looking at Jellyfish and Anemone in the clear water, we moved on to our next overnight and our favourite of the trip. It was a spacious, peaceful house, but it was the location, near Averoy was exceptional. The host recommended a local restaurant, which served the best fish and chips I've ever had (as a Brit that pains me to say).
The view from the restaurant terrace.
A short track, just wide enough for a narrow-bodied C6 led from the house, to this exceptional stage, next to the smallest church I've seen.
This was about 1am, I spent hours sat around the rocks, watching fish and birds, totally peaceful. A day I won't ever forget.
Friday 28th June
Time to get our heads down and cover some miles. We had been exceptionally lucky with the weather to this point, so it didn't matter that it was forecast rain for the next couple of days, in fact it might make the journey quicker as we wouldn't be so tempted to stop for photos. For the next four or five days we would only be travelling north.
I woke early, tired but wanted to see that view again, enjoying the peace, with morning coffee and a snack.
It wasn't long before we boarded another ferry.
It rained for hours, we ate lunch under the cover of a bus shelter!
We stopped in 'Hell', a small town north of Trondheim and had a coffee.
The weather improved and was once again warm, as we arrived out our new ski lodge, near Grong. A fabulous place, but for one major problem. We suspect we were one of the first guests and the previous occupant had left the underfloor heating set to 29C. This, coupled with the huge windows, through which the sun streamed made the place unbearably hot. As the evening was without a breath of wind, the midges descended, meaning we had to keep the windows and doors shut. Sleeping was a challenge, a real shame.
Marc, trying to look 'cool'.
This was the lowest the internal temperature got overnight!
Saturday 29th June
A slight breeze the next morning was welcomed, it kept the midges at bay too. Over the previous couple of thousand miles the trusty LS2 had used about 400ml of oil, that was it, all other fluids were good, I checked the wheel nut torque as a precaution.
This was another long day, with two exciting parts. It would sadly be the last full day the four of us would be together, we'd enjoyed some good banter and would miss the photography and video skills that Marc and Joe bring.
The summer may be short in Norway, but nature makes the most of it.
I'm out of time again, but will continue the story next week.
Time to get our heads down and cover some miles. We had been exceptionally lucky with the weather to this point, so it didn't matter that it was forecast rain for the next couple of days, in fact it might make the journey quicker as we wouldn't be so tempted to stop for photos. For the next four or five days we would only be travelling north.
I woke early, tired but wanted to see that view again, enjoying the peace, with morning coffee and a snack.
It wasn't long before we boarded another ferry.
It rained for hours, we ate lunch under the cover of a bus shelter!
We stopped in 'Hell', a small town north of Trondheim and had a coffee.
The weather improved and was once again warm, as we arrived out our new ski lodge, near Grong. A fabulous place, but for one major problem. We suspect we were one of the first guests and the previous occupant had left the underfloor heating set to 29C. This, coupled with the huge windows, through which the sun streamed made the place unbearably hot. As the evening was without a breath of wind, the midges descended, meaning we had to keep the windows and doors shut. Sleeping was a challenge, a real shame.
Marc, trying to look 'cool'.
This was the lowest the internal temperature got overnight!
Saturday 29th June
A slight breeze the next morning was welcomed, it kept the midges at bay too. Over the previous couple of thousand miles the trusty LS2 had used about 400ml of oil, that was it, all other fluids were good, I checked the wheel nut torque as a precaution.
This was another long day, with two exciting parts. It would sadly be the last full day the four of us would be together, we'd enjoyed some good banter and would miss the photography and video skills that Marc and Joe bring.
The summer may be short in Norway, but nature makes the most of it.
I'm out of time again, but will continue the story next week.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 09:59
C5_Steve said:
I'm loving the updates, I was up at CCM last week and Matt was talking about your road trip (he was sorting a few leaks on mine) so it's quite timely you've popped these on here!
You continually inspire me to take mine on some longer drives.
Thank you, that's great to hear. I enjoy following your thread here too. You continually inspire me to take mine on some longer drives.
Saturday 29th June continued.....
After a few hours of driving we were due a stop. We'd passed a layby and I was about to turn back, when Felix saw a brown tourist sign. We took a chance and it paid off, with an enormous, wide waterfall, with restaurant and gift shop. The rain stopped, so out came the drone and cameras. I climbed up to get a better vantage point, took some photos, put the camera down safely, so I could jump down.
The rain started again, so we moved on to our first of two highlights for the day, ACR Arena. The Arctic Circle Raceway is the most northerly race track in the world, sitting just below the circle itself.
I'd contacted the circuit organisers a month or two prior, to ask if we could drop in to see the track and possibly take a few photos. We knew there was an endurance race taking place. The beauty of a circuit in the middle of no-where, with 24 hours of daylight is there is no noise limit and no curfew. When we arrived it was still raining, cold and the race (for lightly modified road cars) had 5 hours still to run.
After looking around, chatting to drivers in the garages and buying souvenirs, I spoke to events co-ordinator Lise about where we might be able to park next to the track, for photos. She returned after ten minutes, having spoken to race control and the team managers. All were agreed we could join in! Felix headed to the top floor of race control, Marc and Joe went out to a Marshals post and I needed to report to Chief Pitlane in ten minutes, ready to go on track! Gulp!
I was told a safety car would be deployed, this would give drivers the chance of a strategic pit stop. I asked if I should join the back of the field and follow them round for a few laps? No, once the field was lined up behind the safety car I should go in front of them!
No pressure then, off I went, at a sensible pace, a spin would have been emabrassing and unacceptable. I caught the back of the pack and they brought the safety car in and everyone sped back to their race pace.
None of the cars were particularly powerful (Astra, Celica, Golf etc.), but these were drivers who had been pounding round the track for 7 hours, used to the conditions. I had no idea where the track went and the conditions were wetter and colder than the AD09's were designed for. I was following a well-driven VW Golf, driven by a guy who was a former Brands Hatch instructor (we'd chatted in the pits). When slower cars pitted, we had almost a lap of flying around at a brisk, but conservative pace.
I'd not been given a specific lap to come in, but given our suitcases were shifting behind me and more than one pick'n'mix had jumped out their bag, on the passenger seat, I thought that was probably enough. Marc and Joe were soaked, on the exposed Marshals post too.
I pulled into the paddock, laughing uncontrollably. I'm a fairly reserved guy, not prone to laughing or talking to myself, but this was just a crazy experience. I'd not signed anything, produced any id, wasn't wearing a helmet, harness or race suit, had no briefing, at an unfamiliar, wet track and the car was full of two weeks worth of spares and cases! This would never be allowed in the UK or States, but is testament to the relaxed, friendly nature of the Norwegians. They weighed us up, knew who we were and took a chance, brilliant!
A short video interview later and we were back in the cars, to our next destination, the Arctic Circle Visitor Center. The scenery was almost devoid of trees, it did look Arctic-like, with snow patches. No Reindeer though, although we knew they were around.
The rain kept up, blown sideways by gusty winds, on the very limit of what the drone could fly in.
Reindeer on jacket potato, followed by a look round the gift shop and a an educational video in a little cinema. The film explained how the Arctic Circle actually moves metres per year, currently heading north, on a 40,000 year cycle. I'd wrongly through it was a fixed line on the map.
I added a Clive sticker, to the hundreds of others on the building.
Back in the cars and we carried in north for another hour or two, to another large airbnb, with a huge record collection (no photo). Another memorable day, but an early start beckoned.
After a few hours of driving we were due a stop. We'd passed a layby and I was about to turn back, when Felix saw a brown tourist sign. We took a chance and it paid off, with an enormous, wide waterfall, with restaurant and gift shop. The rain stopped, so out came the drone and cameras. I climbed up to get a better vantage point, took some photos, put the camera down safely, so I could jump down.
The rain started again, so we moved on to our first of two highlights for the day, ACR Arena. The Arctic Circle Raceway is the most northerly race track in the world, sitting just below the circle itself.
I'd contacted the circuit organisers a month or two prior, to ask if we could drop in to see the track and possibly take a few photos. We knew there was an endurance race taking place. The beauty of a circuit in the middle of no-where, with 24 hours of daylight is there is no noise limit and no curfew. When we arrived it was still raining, cold and the race (for lightly modified road cars) had 5 hours still to run.
After looking around, chatting to drivers in the garages and buying souvenirs, I spoke to events co-ordinator Lise about where we might be able to park next to the track, for photos. She returned after ten minutes, having spoken to race control and the team managers. All were agreed we could join in! Felix headed to the top floor of race control, Marc and Joe went out to a Marshals post and I needed to report to Chief Pitlane in ten minutes, ready to go on track! Gulp!
I was told a safety car would be deployed, this would give drivers the chance of a strategic pit stop. I asked if I should join the back of the field and follow them round for a few laps? No, once the field was lined up behind the safety car I should go in front of them!
No pressure then, off I went, at a sensible pace, a spin would have been emabrassing and unacceptable. I caught the back of the pack and they brought the safety car in and everyone sped back to their race pace.
None of the cars were particularly powerful (Astra, Celica, Golf etc.), but these were drivers who had been pounding round the track for 7 hours, used to the conditions. I had no idea where the track went and the conditions were wetter and colder than the AD09's were designed for. I was following a well-driven VW Golf, driven by a guy who was a former Brands Hatch instructor (we'd chatted in the pits). When slower cars pitted, we had almost a lap of flying around at a brisk, but conservative pace.
I'd not been given a specific lap to come in, but given our suitcases were shifting behind me and more than one pick'n'mix had jumped out their bag, on the passenger seat, I thought that was probably enough. Marc and Joe were soaked, on the exposed Marshals post too.
I pulled into the paddock, laughing uncontrollably. I'm a fairly reserved guy, not prone to laughing or talking to myself, but this was just a crazy experience. I'd not signed anything, produced any id, wasn't wearing a helmet, harness or race suit, had no briefing, at an unfamiliar, wet track and the car was full of two weeks worth of spares and cases! This would never be allowed in the UK or States, but is testament to the relaxed, friendly nature of the Norwegians. They weighed us up, knew who we were and took a chance, brilliant!
A short video interview later and we were back in the cars, to our next destination, the Arctic Circle Visitor Center. The scenery was almost devoid of trees, it did look Arctic-like, with snow patches. No Reindeer though, although we knew they were around.
The rain kept up, blown sideways by gusty winds, on the very limit of what the drone could fly in.
Reindeer on jacket potato, followed by a look round the gift shop and a an educational video in a little cinema. The film explained how the Arctic Circle actually moves metres per year, currently heading north, on a 40,000 year cycle. I'd wrongly through it was a fixed line on the map.
I added a Clive sticker, to the hundreds of others on the building.
Back in the cars and we carried in north for another hour or two, to another large airbnb, with a huge record collection (no photo). Another memorable day, but an early start beckoned.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 10:01
Sunday 30th June
What had been a brilliant Saturday, was slightly spoiled when we carried out the evening ritual of sharing the days photos and video. I was missing something important. I'd mentioned putting my camera down at the large waterfall and jumping down from my photography vantage point, well, it seems I forgot to pick it up again!
If this map shows correctly, we were at 'F', just above the Arctic Circle. The team said goodbye, with the camera crew re-tracing its steps south, in readiness for an early Sunday morning flight from Trondheim back to the UK. Felix and I, in team Corvette had another long day ahead, carrying on north.
I'd asked Joe and Marc to drop in to the waterfall, to see if it was still there. I wasn't hopeful, besides, it's not a waterproof bridge camera and it had rained a lot.
This made quite an impact on what we could capture from then on. Between Felix and I we had a drone that we barely knew how to fly, a fixed, wide-angled lens SLR and our phones.
Still, it wasn't raining, so I treated Clive to a wash, his first for a few days.
Not too bad, about £1.70/$2.20 a litre, for normal unleaded petrol. I couldn't find super unleaded this far north, so used octane booster each fill up.
At times the drive took us back along the coast, the rain started now and again.
Another day, another ferry.
Odd looking, but tasty Pizza.
More rain
A fun way to get away from the weather. We may have driven back and forth in the tunnel a couple of times.
It had been a long day of driving. This was tonight's airbnb, small, but a nice view from the bedrooms windows.
Some good news, the film team had found my camera! It was still at the waterfall where I'd left it. They took it back to England, dried it out and I was reunited with it some weeks later. It works perfectly, hoorah!
Finally, to finish the day, this was the view at midnight.
What had been a brilliant Saturday, was slightly spoiled when we carried out the evening ritual of sharing the days photos and video. I was missing something important. I'd mentioned putting my camera down at the large waterfall and jumping down from my photography vantage point, well, it seems I forgot to pick it up again!
If this map shows correctly, we were at 'F', just above the Arctic Circle. The team said goodbye, with the camera crew re-tracing its steps south, in readiness for an early Sunday morning flight from Trondheim back to the UK. Felix and I, in team Corvette had another long day ahead, carrying on north.
I'd asked Joe and Marc to drop in to the waterfall, to see if it was still there. I wasn't hopeful, besides, it's not a waterproof bridge camera and it had rained a lot.
This made quite an impact on what we could capture from then on. Between Felix and I we had a drone that we barely knew how to fly, a fixed, wide-angled lens SLR and our phones.
Still, it wasn't raining, so I treated Clive to a wash, his first for a few days.
Not too bad, about £1.70/$2.20 a litre, for normal unleaded petrol. I couldn't find super unleaded this far north, so used octane booster each fill up.
At times the drive took us back along the coast, the rain started now and again.
Another day, another ferry.
Odd looking, but tasty Pizza.
More rain
A fun way to get away from the weather. We may have driven back and forth in the tunnel a couple of times.
It had been a long day of driving. This was tonight's airbnb, small, but a nice view from the bedrooms windows.
Some good news, the film team had found my camera! It was still at the waterfall where I'd left it. They took it back to England, dried it out and I was reunited with it some weeks later. It works perfectly, hoorah!
Finally, to finish the day, this was the view at midnight.
Edited by Fishy Dave on Thursday 28th November 10:03
FelixP said:
Loved reading through this and reliving the trip, still so much more to come!
Steve I wish I nabbed the pint glass with that 2 in 1 pizza, who needs google maps?
OMG that's amazing! Given how friendly and welcoming the place has been though I'd have felt guilty nicking it (unlike a Brewdog where the glass comes free). I may have actually offered to buy one from them though, I've done that in a bar before. Only so many pint glasses you need at home though Steve I wish I nabbed the pint glass with that 2 in 1 pizza, who needs google maps?
daqinggregg said:
You certainly put the effort into the enjoying the car, it seems to reward you return, handsomely.
Thank you for taking the time to document it all, very enjoyable.
Thank you, I'm just pleased people are still reading this. Thank you for taking the time to document it all, very enjoyable.
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