Day 5 - STELVIO PASS DAY

On leaving our hotel we followed the road as it meandered its way towards Switzerland and even this stretch of road was very good!

We reached the border and queued as the border guards checked cars through. Tim’s RR led then we followed nervously, crawling and changing quickly up through the gears so we didnt upset the noise police (bit anti-car in Switzerland!)

While we thought we where making good progress a brand new F430 Ferrari came upon us and with the exhaust wailing it overtook. It didn’t roll, pitch or move around, just followed the road as if on rails. We tried to follow and keep up for a bit of a laugh but with all the tram lining, pitching and bouncing it was very hard work whilst the F430 effortlessly drove off. Don’t you just hate that! 

We turned off the main route and joined the narrow mountain roads and the pace quickened. We soon caught up with other cars and took a single lane tunnel through the mountain towards the Italian border.

 

The border was situated on a bridge over a large dam and by then we where much higher and I had lost tick-over, which was great in a slow corners with stalls and losing power steering! 

We followed the lake towards the start of the Stelvio Pass winding first left then right around blind bends and craggy outcrops.

Running from the Italian side of the pass was the done thing apparently and that was just what we are doing.

 

 

 

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Reaching the Stelvio Pass (gradient 1 in 9) it was relatively dry. The Stelvio Pass is the second highest motorable pass in Europe with some fifty hairpin bends on both sides of the pass.
We start to climb travelling through a series of 180 degree bends rising at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The pass hugs the mountain face so was predominantly towering rock wall on one side and a sheer drop to the bottom on the other side!

We steadily climbed towards the summit coming upon small single file tunnels complete with blind bends inside! The hairpins are too fast for first gear but a bit tight for second, with the WR getting a bit laggy.

If you can get it right you can hold the car on boost in second with all four wheels drifting gently providing of course that your passenger can crane their neck to see if the road was clear ahead. Many hairpins later we make it to the top where there was no view as we are in the clouds and it was pouring with rain.

Since we’re where now in Italy it seemed appropriate to have lunch in the Italian restaurant at the summit and then set off down the Austrian side of the pass.

On the Austrian side the hairpins are very tight and very, very steep. The rain was drizzling, visibility dull and the road greasy with cyclists abound.

We had to keep our wits about us! and reaching the bottom of the Pass we took the scenic route back to the hotel through Austria.

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