Rally - Tadpoles day out

After a disappointing run on the International section of the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB, David Bogie and Kevin Rae, remained quite upbeat. They took a number of positives out of their adventure after retiring on the first day with a steering arm breakage and rejoining under Rally2 rules.

This was the third year in a row the duo had trouble. Last year it was a burst oil cooler and the year before a string of punctures left them stranded in the middle of nowhere with no spares.

"It's all been good," said David, "after hitting that rock! It was on the second pass of Myherin a couple of miles in and we bent a steering arm. We were actually carrying an outer arm as a spare but it was the inner part which broke. Saturday's stages were good and we were very happy with our times taking time out of the factory cars."

They finished in 23rd place overall and got pretty close to Eric Camilli and Quentin Gilbert's stage times and were giving Jan Kopecky, Fredrik Ahlin, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen a run for their Euros, and was also quicker than most of the other Brits.

"We had an overheating problem on Sunday morning though," added David, "so we put a couple of cans of Radweld in it and that sealed it up, but we had no water to top up the radiator. We used a drinks bottle strapped to the cage, but that wasn't enough so Kevin ran to a nearby burn and filled it up a couple of times and that did it. Then he filled it up again to carry on board just in case."

"It was only when we got back to the finish that we realised there was something else in the water. It was pretty murky stuff, but there were tadpoles in it. So goodness knows how many are swimming around the engine!"

Also contesting the internationals was Edinburgh born Tony Jardine, and once again, Amy Williams, the Olympic gold medal winning downhill skeleton racer, was co-driving. As if she hadn't had enough when we first saw them on the Colin McRae Stages Rally 3 years ago!

Anyway, the duo had a decent run finishing 39th place overall but they both looked quite clarty at the finish. Their previously pristine white overalls showing the results of wheel changing in the Welsh mud - two punctures and a steering arm.

And Richard Crozier co-driving for Bob Ceen in a Fiesta R5 finished 33rd overall. He came bounding up to us at the finish just happy to see some shiny Scottish faces after mixing with furriners all event!

And you know what? When Sebastien Ogier did a do'nut in the middle of Mostyn Street, long before he got to the ramp, the Welsh Polis turned a blind eye. They even ignored the antics of Stephane Lefebvre who stopped at the far end of the street and waited for his mate Eric Camilli - and they had a drag race up to the Marshals. The engine notes rose as one, the tyres gripped and spun, the noses rose high in unison and they blasted off up the street. Then the noses hit the tarmac as they braked - just in time.

The crowds erupted and cheered. And the Polis just smiled. Nice one.