My annual event took place last weekend. It was a rally that my team held in the highest area of Shikoku, one of the four big islands of Japan. Teppen means the highest spot in Japanese. I'm a member of DCR, one of the JAF(Japan Automobile Federation) authorized rally teams, and attended the event as a marshal. I'm also a doctor, so I was placed in the most dangerous section. The picture taken in the forest shows the scene as we were preparing our checkpoint.
If you know a little about the rally, you'd understand that I was not always busy there. The rally cars passed our checkpoint three times, but I was free other than when the cars passed. I really enjoyed the sunshine through the leaves and trees deep in the forest.
By the way, the rally cars are categorised into three classes according to the displacement of the engines by Japanese domestic regulations. Most rally cars are designed not to waste power and to transmit all the engine power to the drivetrain. For that purpose, most cars, especially small cars, weren't equipped with an air-conditioner. Moreover, by the regulations, the crews had to wear helmets and close the windows in the special stages even under the blistering sunbeams. I was afraid that I'd have to treat lots of heat stroke cases, but fortunately the only patient was a woman who was a navigator.
- (Vocabulary)
- take place 〈催し物などが〉行われる, 開かれる,〈事件などが〉起こる
- The next meeting will take place on Thursday. 次回の会議は木曜日に開きます．
- displacement （自動車のエンジンの）排気量
- regulation 《[C]通例複数形で》規則, 法規, 規定
- drivetrain（車などの）駆動系
- sunbeam [C] 太陽光線
向こうに見えるテントがＳＳの受けで我々は次のＳＳのスタートを受け持つ
The tent that you can see in the distance was the goal of a special stage, and our check point was the starting point of the next special stage.
車検待ちの車が並んでいる。
They are waiting for the inspection of the cars.
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