“E’ sbucato dalla destra all’improvviso, noi andavamo sui cento all’ora, assolutamente impossibile evitarlo”. Michael Darcey ricorda solo questo dell’incidente di oggi. Un kudu, antilope maschio di 4-500 chili, gli è piombato addosso dalla boscaglia; l’MG numero 25, una delle quattro vetture a punteggio pieno, l’ha centrato con l’anteriore destro. Parabrezza in frantumi, parafango e portiera ammaccati. Niente di rotto per Darcey, che è stato medicato soltanto per le ferite al volto provocate dalle schegge. Il kudu ha volteggiato sopra la vettura, è morto sul colpo nell’impatto. Ieri ne avevamo visti a centinaia, ma oggi nessuno della carovana ha incontrato simili animali. Lasciato il meraviglioso Etosha park, ci siamo diretti verso Rundu. La speciale consisteva in un tratto sterrato di 175 chilometri, tempo-base 80 km/h. Ma la pista era scorrevolissima e noi abbiamo completato la tratta in due ore esatte, incontrando lungo tutto il percorso soltanto due automobili, quattro ragazzi in bicicletta, un carretto trainato da tre asini e milioni di farfalle. Questa è la Namibia, paesaggi mozzafiato, due abitanti per chilometro quadrato e le chiatte sul fiume Okawango che rischiano di affondare: la nostra ha cominciato a imbarcare acqua a prua, attimi di panico, giubbotti di salvataggio e ancoraggio di fortuna sulla sponda. Almeno oggi, coccodrilli a digiuno. In classifica, tranquilli all’undicesimo posto e sempre “gold” per il rispetto di medie e controlli.
ANTELOPE STRIKES AGAINST MG
“It turned up from our right side, we were travelling at about 100 kilometres per hour, it leaped out so suddenly that we could do nothing to avoid it”. That’s all Michael Darcey remembers about the car accident he’s had today. A kudu, a male antelope about 4-5 hundred kilos heavy, jumped out from a bush. The MG racing with number 25, one of the four cars with the maximum score, hit it violently with its right front side. The windscreen shattered, the mud flap and the door got dented. It was all right for Darcey: he got cuts on his face caused by the splinters but his injuries were soon dressed. The kudu was hurled off the car onto the ground and died instantly on the impact. We saw so many, yesterday but none of us met one today. We left the wonderful Ethosa Park and headed for Rundu. The special track was a 175-kilometre dusty way; our low average speed was 80 kilometres per hour. The way was really smooth, though and we made it in two hours; two cars, four young boys riding a bicycle, a cart pulled by three donkeys and thousands of butterflies is all we found on our long way. This is Namibia: breathtaking scenery, two inhabitants in 1000 square metres and the barges drifting on the Okawango River and always looking like they are about to sink. The one we were on began to ship water on bow; we were panic-stricken for a while and had to wear life jackets but eventually made it with an emergency landing on shore. No snacks for crocodiles, today. As for the race, we’re placed eleventh so far and are gold again for speed and checks observance.
