At the front of the pack, far in the lead, the flying Czech takes the Lekböjen curve. Vitez Rychly widens his lead with an aggressive trait no doubt learned in the hill climb events in his native country. Yet that lead will soon be undercut by his decision to drive the circuit with tire chains rather than spikes. The chains perform admirably on the ice, but once the Czech Bugatti hits the roadway, Rychly will see his commanding position eroded as the other cars close the gap from behind. Yet still, his decision to start the race on chains is largely responsible for the lead he enjoys now. With luck, he will soon be at the hairpin curve that is Hårnålskurva.
Farther back, the pack screams around Storkurvan, presses together closely at the exit as the cars prepare for the dash down the straight toward Lekböjen. At the tail end of the pack, Denmark's famed ice racer gracefully takes the racing line through the curve.... Yet suddenly, the Scottish driver, Alastair MacDougall, races up from behind and collides with the Dane's Alfa Super Sport. The Scot comes away the worse for it as the Alfa shows greater strength of body. Glancing back, Olsen sees the white teeth of the Scottish driver as he curses, barely controlling the skidding Amilcar, his heavy woolen kilt blowing around in the cockpit. Now, Denmark is slated to accelerate away, while the blue Amilcar must still struggle within Storkurvan for position against the following three drivers, France, Finland and Switzerland, who are closely matched despite the different car types. The French Salmson moans mightly, while the heavy roar of the Finnish Chrysler nearly drowns out the high pitched whine of the Bugatti's refined engineering.
Only Sweden's famed Hajen is not yet into the Höksböjen curve, his Alfa Romeo Monza dragging behind short of Storkurvan. It appears that the Swede is purposefully hanging back to preserve his tires and to keep his car undamaged for the lap. He will undoubtedly see great turmoil on the upcoming narrow road portion of the circuit, as the lead pack presses for advantage in hopes of taking the lead.
Only Rychly will likely be free of the melee that is soon to come. As all know, a single misjudgment in the straight ahead will spell disaster for any car that does not drive with care.
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