Wilks reveals ash cloud travel woes

Intercontinental Rally Challenge title contender Guy Wilks has revealed how he almost got stranded abroad as the Icelandic volcano ash cloud engulfed European airspace last week.

Wilks was returning from a pre-Rally Islas Canarias test near San Bernardo di Conio in the mountains above Sanremo when the mass cancellation of flights began on April 15.

Like the many thousands of passengers trying to get back to the United Kingdom, Wilks discovered that his flight from Nice had been cancelled. However, the Škoda UK Motorsport driver managed to get an internal flight to Paris, where he was able to buy one of the few remaining Eurostar tickets to London.

After catching another two trains in England, Wilks eventually made it back to his Durham home just after midnight on April 16. It had taken him just over 10 hours to complete the 1852-kilometre journey.

“When I arrived at Nice airport, I could see that the situation was only going to get worse and the best thing to do was head north as soon as possible,” said Wilks. “I had to run to make some of my train connections. I was pleased to get home because I could easily have been stuck in Nice airport for more than a week like so many other passengers.”

Wilks is due to travel to Gran Canaria this weekend to prepare for Rally Islas Canarias, round four of the IRC, which starts on April 30. Had the flight restrictions over Europe not been lifted, Wilks and his co-driver Phil Pugh had been contemplating taking a train to Madrid and then a 40-hour ferry crossing from Cadiz.