Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 - Team Brunel on the Malacca motorway

by Robbert-Jan Metselaar on 22 Jan 2015 Volvo Ocean Race Leg 3 update from Team Brunel:

There we sit in our little bright yellow bus! The Malacca motorway is packed with traffic. A sweating Bouwe Bekking sits at the wheel, with Andrew Cape in the co-driver’s seat. Time and again, he tries to tell Bekking which lane he should be taking.

On the rear seat sits Gerd-Jan Poortman with his thumb in his mouth. A row further back, Rokas and Louis are shouting. It’s hot and they’ve wanted to stop for a pee for an hour already. To cheer them up, Jens Dolmer sings out 'We’re almost there but not quite yet'. In vain, because it’s taken far too long already.

The Malacca motorway is a multi-lane highway. In the distance, Bekking sees the orange, red and dark-yellow bus that he’s been trying to overtake for such a long time. The other buses shoot from left to right, sounding their horns as they weave through the traffic. And things aren’t made any easier by the freight transport on this infamous motorway. Andrew Cape hangs out of the window and gesticulates wildly at a truck. The amazing Bekking switches lane and steps on the gas. The speedometer shows 10, 20, 30 km/h.

The other buses are standing still in another queue and we’re approaching quickly. Capey tries not to cheer but his eyes are sparkling. The shouting on the back seat stops suddenly. Dolmer keeps on singing but now slightly softer. There’s an almost neurotic haste.

Just as we’re nearly upon the orange bus in front, our speed drops off. At the wheel of the other bus sits Charlie Enright. He looks up in shock to see us suddenly so close. Bekking grins at him sardonically. But right at that moment, the orange bus’s queue starts to move forward again. To Bekking’s chagrin, he sees the devilish Enright thumb his nose at him before disappearing towards the horizon with the other buses.

Bekking winds down the window to cool off. He knows that it’s going to be difficult now. A few kilometres away lies the Singapore crossroads, after which the queues will rapidly disappear. Then try to overtake three buses that are all moving as fast as each other! Everyone in the little yellow bus seems taken aback. 'Wait a minute though,' says co-driver Capey as he points to the street map. 'If we just take the exit here and then drive back onto the motorway by the minor road, we’re still in with a chance.'

Staring in their rear-view mirrors, the other buses never saw it coming. But just as the queue seems to be dissolving, there comes the Brunel bus racing down the slip road with tyres screaming! With Jens Dolmer still singing but now joined in full throat by the rest of the crew. A fresh breeze blows through the bus. Everyone suddenly brightens up. Just a bit further and we’ll be at the service station, if only because Rokas and Louis really must have that pee.