Day 07 – Lloret de Mar to the Circuit & Back!

So, Day 7…. what can we tell you about today that was different to yesterday?

We started off with all good intentions, alarm set for 7am. Got up and showered, and was sat in the car by 7.50am, ready to cruise. Except something didn't feel quite right as well pulled off.

A quick visual inspection confirmed our worst fears..

Great! Just what we needed to throw our finely timed schedule out of the window! (yes, yes, i know, its only flat at the bottom...)

We got the air compressor out of the boot and pumped it up again

…although the visual hole accompanied by the sound of air leaking out of it didn't bode too well from the outset.

Having no spare, and not being keen to destroy a perfectly good and somewhat expensive lump of rubber with the supplied puncture repair kit, action needed to be taken.

However, once we established from the porter that the nearest garage wouldn't be open until 9am, we decided to take a relaxing breakfast outside on the terrace, where we fed the wildlife..

..and watched the seagulls having their morning drink…

We also found a giant monster on the patio…

Whilst supping our coffee, I sent a quick text message to our friendly Red Bull Technician (aka Will Courtenay) to see if they had a spare Pit Crew they could send over, however it seemed they were a little busy preparing for DC to break a car in order that they could repair it again.

So, off into town we went, and found one of these just before the tyre went flat again..

It turned out they were the official Opel Service agent, and we were most impressed by their latest service rescue vehicle that they were proudly displaying outside the showroom..

Before long, the nice man from the garage was repairing our stricken tyre, although I must confess we were both a little shocked when he plunged a metal spike into the tyre and wiggled it around, making the hole bigger than ever, and the poor tyre was in so much pain, it can be seen below, bleeding (blue blood, just like its paint)

We had naively been expecting him to take the tyre off and repair it from the inside. (I guess for 7euros, we were being a bit hopeful); can anyone confirm or deny if this is normal practice, or should I be assuming the tyre will blow out at high speed?! Answers on a postcard – well, actually, the Guest Book please. (Or a text message if it's to say "SLOW DOWN NOW, SHE'S GONNA BLOW!")

Anyway, only two hours behind schedule, (and I for one was a little relieved not to be scouring Spain for a Yokohama tyre that only appears to be available in Japan), we continued on our merry way.

We even passed my old self at one of the toll booths..

At one point we were presented with a conundrum; when is a car not a car?

The answer of course, when it's a coach!

Arriving at the circuit at 11.45am meant we'd all but missed the mornings F1 practice session, so we decided to have a coffee and a snack before entering the circuit, although we did manage to get a quick glimpse of DC as we walked. (obviously one of his very early laps!!)

We found our way to our grandstand for the day (the finger marks the spot…)

..and sat ourselves down in the somewhat dirty and not especially comfortable seats..

The next item on the agenda was Porcshe Super Cup Qualifying, so we got to watch a few of these go round the track..

..although this chappy got things a little wrong and made a bit of a mess on the track with gravel..

..which meant these guys had to come onto the circuit once they had finished, to polish the track for the F1 boys!!

Before long, the Porsches had finished their play time, and the big boys were due on track, so the medical car did a quick circuit..

..the local red arrows gave us a brief display..

..and then it was time for Qualifying!

Which meant we saw a few more of these…(the locals seemed to like this fella)

And these…

And unfortunately, DC on the back of one of these..

Still, that, along with Klein not qualifying in the top 10 meant our mate Will could have an early finish, although as Strategy Engineer for both cars, his work is probably cut out for tomorrow!

With the local hero (Alonso, for those that don't follow F1) Qualifying on Pole (He's Spanish, for those that don't know where we are), the Grandstand was alive with excitable Spaniards..

… so we legged it back to the car over a rather rickety concrete bridge (which bounced with the weight of people)

..checked the tyre was still inflated..

..then spent the next hour in traffic, rather wishing we had one of these little toys..

Still, air con working well, decent music to listen to, and we were soon back on the motorway, and heading back through Chavsville..

..passing the odd "lady" on the side of the road (we have no idea why she is just sat there…)

…and back past the scissor lifts (playing the "I'm taller than you" game…)

And soon it was home sweet home again..

..and we were enjoying a relaxing break in the Jacuzzi, Swimming Pool, Steam Room and Sauna (have we mentioned we have Spa facilities at all?)

Next up is dinner in our rather lovely restaurant. Indeed, a restaurant SO upmarket, even the olive oil is tuned..

Mind you, we were tempted to go down the local…

An early start for us tomorrow – 5.30am alarm, intention being to be on the road by 6am (punctures and other mechanical failures omitting), so we'll bid you a good night, and speak to you after the race!

And here once again for your enjoyment, our days route; remarkably similar to yesterdays you might think.


Garry and Mike.