This weekend was the first rally for my Rally teams GroupA Escort Cosworth for almost a year due to the cancellation of events due to Foot and Mouth disease. We were competing on the woodpecker stages, a round of the BTRDA forest rally championship.

The car was looking immaculate as usual, we had replaced the tail gate and bonnet with lightweight WRC items, all the glass removed and replaced with lightweight Perspex bar the heated screen. We had been suffering an intermittent electrical problem so we went through the loom and replaced all the possible switches etc that could have contributed to the problem. Intermittent electrical problems are very hard to find on a forest rally car. We had to replace the two front 50mm struts as one was damaged on our last event; we had changed the spring’s rates also on the front. Usual mid event work to keep a top spec rally car working. We were ready.

Being only the 3rd event for us with the current car and being such a long time since our last rally the plan was to check out the electrical problems were sorted and use the event to bed ourselves back in. The event had 180 cars, this is an event we have finished 3rd on in the past. Our seeding for the day was 21st, in front of us were nothing but WRC and GroupA high spec cars including ex works Impreza’s, EVO’s, Celica’s and Escorts.

After 3 stages we were joint 20th which we were happy with, everything going to plan. The car was working great, electrical issues resolved and the new spring rates were working well. We were confident of running top 10 from now on; the team was having fun too. It’s great to be back out competing again.

300yards into stage 4, oops! Simon slid wide on corner exit leaving the road at just 5MPH and what can happen on occasion happened. The car dug in and rolled over slowly. Unfortunately for us some trees had been felled there and the car rolled over some large tree stumps before coming to rest on its wheels.

Basically every single panel on the car bar the tailgate is damaged. The roll cage did its job properly but is bent around the Codrivers head area. We need to replace the roof skin, both front wings, bonnet, parts of the cage, heated screen, door skin. We expect to be able to pull out both the rear wing panels. The good news is the car drives straight so it looks like the mechanical's have escaped intact.

We have been there before, this kind of thing is part of the sport and we are not down about this at all. We are going to use this as an opportunity to make some positive changes to the car. One of the things I love about being part of a front running rally team is that I get to spend time with like minded positive people who instantly think of ways to go forward and not about the negative side to any incident.

Our next event is the Cambrian Rally at the start of November. We are going to do this one in our team sponsor, Phil Blakeman’s new car. He has had a groupN top spec Impreza built by Bill Gwynne for his own use. Looks like we are going to break that in. LOL

We will have the car back looking immaculate as usual ready for next year’s BTRDA championship. We led this championship for 6 months in 1999 in our home built Sapphire Cosworth against ex works WRC cars costing £400,000 plus. We intend to do that again in 2002. Watch this space.

Before.











After.









Saturday night involved some alcohol LOL
Did we have a great night though! England 5 Germany 1 woooohoooo
I have a headache

 

A bit of a short post for you John

Ouch, fairly impressive to damage quite so many panels, just a shame your sport is back before November I'm sure you could have entered that

 

I might just buy my Sport from the Company and opt out of the car scheme. It's a great car and as fast as a Turbo in my hands. LOL

Running the GroupN Impreza for an event should be interesting. We haven't rallied an Impreza yet so i am looking forward to getting to grips with that car.

I am trying to get the car down to the rallyX BBQ, phil is up for it but is mega busy so fingers crossed.

 

Sad John but these things happen in the sport (small "S" ). As always, cars can be fixed, people can't.

Looks like it might have been a "drivers 5mph" accident

If its any consolation (and it probably won't be) a certain Mr McRae planted a Puma course car in a ditch in Clashindarroch on the Speyside yesterday

 

Erm, John ever thought of resizing the photos for the poor buggers on modems?

I made it down after lunch and met up with Rich. We came looking for you in the service area later on after we'd had a beer but I think you'd gone by then. Let us know where you are running in the future.

Here's a Nova getting it wrong in the forest...

 

Oh yeah, I'm still finding dust from the forest in places I didn't know dust could get to..

It's painfull getting shot-blasted by that mental 306 at close quarters.

ChrisB.

 

Bugger Rich.

After you'd gone, I walked back into the stage to just below where we had stood - that's where I took the picture of the Nova above.

I waited for the top 10 runners to come through and then headed off home to watch the footy.

Never mind.

ChrisB.

 

Can someone PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE

tell the Mancunian to reduce the size of his errrrmm

Oh Piccies

 

LOL Mr Squire!

Are they keeping you short on bandwidth over the water then?

 

Ouch.

Glad you are ok though.

Ian

 

.......good to see you guys out in the forest chris I tried to find u again after we parted cos Matt Oz turned up on the moped and we met Jonny F in the forest just up from the speccie point......never made it back for the england game but enjoyed a few beers and women in worcester after big shout out to Jon F,Matt Oz,chrisB,Luke,Mel and all the others that were out on the event and well done to Theo for winning it.....

 

john saw you go J6 SS4 thought ouch!! at the time.didn't know you rode with simon.
knew simon vaguely when they had the manta we ran an escort 1600 then.
good luck on the cambrian might come out and watch if its not persisting down!

 

john
if you need any spares try

 

Hi mr navigator

I dont ride with Simon, his brother Alister does although i have sat with him back in the Manta days, that car was fun.

I have been Simons mechanic/chase car/service crew mwmber since 1993.

I have repaired a few bent cars in that time i can tell you.

Worst has to be the Manta on the 1995 Wydean rally, head on into a tree at 80MPH on the last stage when lying 3rd overall. We still went on to win the 2 litre BTRDA championship that year in the same car. Well the rear half was the same. LOL

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by johnfelstead:
<B>It's a great car and as fast as a Turbo in my hands. LOL
[/quote]

You really must learn how to drive a Turbo one of these days John

Hope you get the Scooby down to the rallyx bbq thing (SDB, still looking out for that thread ) but I don't think it'd be very fair to enter it in the rallyx

LOL @ the rear half being the same

 

Just finished sorting out my photo's from the Woodpecker Stages.