WTCC Moscow Part 2

The last part of our journey through Latvia was on 50km of some of the worst roads that we had encountered. Maximum driving speed was 45kmh due to the large holes and very poor road surface. At 1800 hours, we arrived at a town near the Latvia/Russia border on the Monday evening and decided to park the trucks for the night. Just as we were about to finish work for the day, we had a problem. One of the teams had a rented van and a trailer which had travelled up from Austria. One of the trailer tyres had started to disintegrate and we had to find a tyre shop so that we could get a new one. We were then told by our shipping agent that the van did not have the correct paperwork and the Russian customs would not allow it to enter their country. There was plenty of space in all the trucks to move the equipment from the van but we had to be careful that our shipping documentation was still correct.
So.......two problems solved and we had not even got to the Russian customs.

Meeting point in Latvia before we cross into Russia

The following morning was the start of of a very hot day. 30 degrees Celsius. This was a big contrast from the thunder and lightning of the previous evening. A 30km drive up to the border crossing and we began our long wait. The amount of mosquitoes that were here was amazing and everybody was using mosquito repellent or they would have bitten you and made you crazy.






Latvian police and border procedures were easy but they worked at a very slow pace.
Once that was completed, a short drive to the Russian police and customs and we started the whole process, all over again.

The last bit of English we can read before we enter Russia

Unlike alot of countries who have signs in English, this place has none and the customs and officials only speak Russian. We were meant to have a Russian translator but for some reason, he was not allowed into the customs area today. He had been here for the last two days to help the other teams who had to cross the border but luck was not with us today. We parked the trucks and made our way to the customs office.



They do have have a big computer screen to tell you how your customs clearance is proceeding, BUT IT,S IN RUSSIAN.
Finally, we all had our paperwork checked and everything was going ok until they said that some paperwork needed translating.
AND OUR TRANSLATOR WAS NOT STILL NOT ALLOWED IN.

Russian customs check the trucks

The hours ticked by until we were told that we were clear to go to the scanner/X-ray machine. Eagerly, we got in our trucks, drove a short distance and joined another queue. We were almost at the front of this queue when a customs official came out and told us that we COULD NOT go through the scanner and we would have to return to the parking area.
WHY????
I do not know.

The very last checkpoint as we enter into Russia

After 12 hours in customs, we make the short drive to some secure parking area for the night. So much aggravation and we have not even started driving in Russia.
Some news from the teams who have cleared customs before us and are now driving towards the Moscow Raceway. The roads are even worse than Latvia and sometimes they can only drive at 20kmh. The Eurosport truck has had 2 tyre punctures and everybody is telling me stories of good and bad experiences with the Russian customs.


Read the final installment and check out the photo special edition  ............SOON.