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Richard from R E Motorsport was asked to help out with Geoff Jones Motorsport on the Ulster Rally last weekend, looking after one of the new up and coming drivers of the future - Nick Kenny. I also looked after Rob Swann, who is running third in the British Rally Championship.
British Rally Championship young guns Nick Kenny and George Gwynn struggled with differential problems on last weekends Ulster Rally but, showing true grit and determination, persevered to come home eighth in class.

Telford based Nick and Machynlleth resident George were both visiting the Ulster Rally for the first time and as such were looking to keep their noses clean and just gain experience of the notoriously difficult event. However, very early on Nick reported handling anomalies with the K-motion backed Subaru. Despite a full diagnostics check by the Geoff Jones Motorsport technicians no apparent problems could be identified.

The pair persevered into the second leg but the handling problems worsened until the front differential eventually gave up, leaving the Subaru with only rear wheel drive. This made life entertaining as Nick adapted his driving style and did well to bring the car back to service unscathed. A swift diff change by the Geoff Jones Motorsport crew saw the pair return to the stages with only minimal time penalties but the early time loss would prove to be a great handicap.

Leg 1 was really frustrating as we could feel that something was not right, and yet there was nothing apparent… until the diff gave up! The Ulster Rally has a fierce reputation and having contested it we can see why! There is a lot of dirt pulled onto the roads and the level of grip changes from bend to bend but we learnt so much this weekend.

The Subaru will now be converted back to gravel specifications as the British Rally Championship heads next to the International Rally of Yorkshire. Nick and George will prepare for the return to gravel by running as course car on the forthcoming Plains Rally which is based in Welshpool.

Strong run for Swann on Ulster

The two Revolution Wheels backed competitors on last weekends Philip White Tyres Ulster Rally could not have had more different events. Whilst David Meredith, on board a Mitsubishi Evo 9, struggled with a lack of confidence in his notes and a poorly co-driver, Subaru pilot Rob Swann did not put a foot wrong en route to a fine fifth in the BRC standings!

Rob, who hails from Bishop Stortford, and is co-driven by Pwllheli resident Darren Garrod, only had one ‘major moment’ and that was on the corner where local rallying ace Phillip Morrow crashed out the year before. Fortunately Rob got away unscathed and returned to the finish in Armagh in a fantastic fifth overall in the BRC. This great result moves him up to third overall in the British Rally Championship standings with two rounds to go!

Darren and I had a good rally this weekend. The car performed brilliantly, full credit to Geoff Jones Motorsport, and despite the tricky conditions we were able to push pretty hard. We had one moment and ended up clipping a rock, but thanks to the strength of the Revolution rims we did not pick up a puncture, a sure testimony to their high quality!

Welshman David Meredith, on the other hand, experienced a trying first visit to the rally. With co-driver Jemma Bellingham not feeling well David was driving blind a lot of the time, and this, coupled with a spin early on the first stage, had dented his confidence slightly. Just as the pair were beginning to pick up the pace they suffered a driveshaft failure, eventually finishing 13th in the BRC standings.

This rally was really tricky. The conditions were extremely changeable and I was struggling to commit to the notes. Also poor Jemma was feeling pretty unwell for the first half of the rally. The driveshaft failure just summed up the whole event really!

Both crews now have 5 weeks to convert their cars back to gravel trim as the season moves to the penultimate round, the International Rally of Yorkshire.

credit for the attached photos to Geoff Mayes Media (Geoff Mayes Media)









R E Motorsport (based at Elvington) have been asked to help out at the Trackrod event @ Pickering in October, so if anybody wants to come over and see how an Impreza should be driven in the forest and to experience the noise of the Antilag popping and banging through the woods then this is an event not to be missed!