In the car park in the morning I met someone who had had help with their clutch from the official rally assistance crew. I made a mental note that, if necessary, perhaps I could get them to help us later.
The 356 was still stuttering as we were flagged off together with the 200 other "crews". We made our way out of the town, following a group of Cs. On the motorway, once again she cleared, and the A had no trouble staying with them. But with the first hard climb the engine started missing, badly at times.
But the scenery, high up in the Dolomites was breathtaking, and we eventually made it up to the lunch stop, which turned out to be a stunning place for everyone to enjoy seeing so many 356s in one outstanding location.
It must have been difficult for the Dutch people we sat beside at lunch. We may be having problems, but they had come to Merano in a hired car. Their 356 broke down on the way, and they were stranded for 8 and a half hours waiting for rescue.
As you go on meeting people at these events your 356 world begins to grow - if you like it's one of the real benefits of coming on them if you get the chance.
Another story we heard of people travelling down here soon revealed just who was the driver of the Brit 356 we parked beside at the Porsche Museum.
Well known owner of Karmann Konnection Richard King and his wife Angie were actually travelling down in their two 356s, but the one parked beside us developed a knock in the engine and they wisely decided to stop driving it and it was waiting to be trailered back to the UK. They travelled, four of them, in a speedster! I took a picture of them with Trish after hearing Angie's version of events. If you know Angie, you'll know she's one of the really entertaining people on the 356 scene.
After a brilliant lunch at the summit (the food at all the events was really good and reflected the excellent organisation of the whole affair) we made our way carefully back down the twisting passes. Time to get the engine sorted.
