Day 4 – Wednesday 9th July

The cars left Merida early Wednesday morning to travel 590 miles across Spain to Barcelona. Prior to leaving all drivers had to take the obligatory daily breathalyzer test. This inevitably meant that we had a couple of late starters as a zero reading was required before departure.

The route to Barcelona took the drivers across the stunning Spanish countryside. The roads had it all; fantastic scenery, great views and winding mountain passes. In 35 degree heat the Cannonballers had never appreciated their air conditioning more!

Drivers were making good progress until they hit a road block 50 miles outside Barcelona. The Catalonian Constabulary were keen to meet the legendary ‘ballers and get a closer look at their stunning machines. The Spanish police pulled over 7 cars and after a few hours of questioning each received a fine and a slap on the wrist.
Andy and Mike’s Mustang encountered mechanical difficulties and had to crawl the entire leg after an over-enthusiastic track outing the previous day. However the boys are confident that they will make it home. Unfortunately Neil and Mark in the XKR won’t be so lucky. Their 2 day wait in Bordeaux for a new tyre proved to be a waste of time as the initial blow out buckled the wheel rim making fitting a new tyre impossible. Gutted to have lost two great Cannonballers, but look forward to catching up with them at the final night party in Brighton.


After all the cars arrived safely at the hotel, some a lot earlier than others, there was time to chill out over a few beers and relive the adventures of the day. In the evening the ‘ballers headed to the Opium Mar, an exclusive beach side restaurant and club to enjoy a delicious meal. After dinner we settled down in the VIP areas reserved to us and partied into the early hours. As the girls were setting up the checkpoint for the 4th stage, some of the guys were only just making their way back into the hotel from the club!