After sitting with Steve last year on the Hannut Rally in Belgium I jumped at the chance to sit with him again, but this time in Holland on the Zuiderzee International Rally in Emeloord just North West of Amsterdam. We were booked on the midnight ferry from Harwich on the Thursday, a bit different to the one hour sprint across the channel as usual. This was eight hours, but with an en-suite cabin, evening meal and breakfast, oh and the bar doesn`t shut.

We got held up on the Amsterdam ring road by the rush hour traffic and roadworks, just an hour later though we were booking into our hotel which was also the rally HQ. The start ramp and service area were right in front of the hotel on the towns main car park and square. Nick who was on the spanners quickly set up the canopy and service van in no time. Next minute the hire car turned up, so it was off to do the recce. Sixteen stages, but we could not do them in order, so they had us running all over the area. There had been a recce the week before and there had been loads of complaints so driving standards were watched very closely. Honest Steve didn`t go over the 60 kph limit in the mighty Polo, but it did have cruise control for those very long straights. The first two stages which were to run later that evening were on industrial estates and mainly for the spectators, multi laps using a series of 90 degree left, rights and long straights. How many times do we pass that Post Office........? Luckily most of the stages were out on fast flowing lanes which cover the whole area.

So it was time for documentation and scruitineering,very sneaky get you sign on and pay your entry fees only for your car to fail scruitineering, but not for us, we passed. All turbo cars, had them removed for the restrictors to be checked, quite a few angry competitors. First car was off at 20:30 hrs and we were running car 45. On the first stage start line we could see the other cars coming round on there laps, at the merge it looked more touring cars than rallying. 54321 and we were off .... disaster, about five corners in a combination of cold tyres and a greasy surface and we were off into the crowd, under the tape which was wrapped around barbed wire. Well they did look cold and bored, Steve said they needed warming up. We probably lost about 40 secs but it seemed longer. The next stage was the same as the first, but......How many times do we pass that Post Ofice???

After leg 1 we were lying 35th o/a and first in class, so it was off to the bar for liquid refreshment, the beer was first class except the glasses are too small, a few hand signs to the bar staff and sorted, bigger glasses. Leg 2 started wet so it was full wets on for the first loop of stages and thats how it stayed for the rest of the day. Steve drove steadily all day,pushing it when road and weather conditions allowed it. Four things stick in my mind after the event, seeing a subaru off in a canal, two frogmen waving us on sat on a farm gate, a crest in one of the industrial estate stages which you got some major air off and finally dicing with one of the west euro volvo`s.

We finished 37th o/a and first in group B, off to the bar to celebrate, especially now we had the glass size problem sorted. At the bar we found out that Nick had managed to watch us on some of the stages......sat in reception with a beer, watching the live television link. A few sore heads the next morning...what time does breakfast finish??? Time for home, the weather was glorious, just our luck. We were home for 21:30 hrs not bad at all.

I`d like to thank Steve for letting me take up the vacant seat and for not getting my feet wet,Nick for the endless ham and cheese rolls,tea and finally getting that smear out of Steves side of the windscreen.