Rally - Super Saturday

It was all looking so good for the Brits in Mexico on Saturday. Kris Meeke snatched the rally lead in his Toyota on the opening stage of the day while Elfyn Evans was battling for second place in his Fiesta. It didn't last. Meeke punctured a tyre on the next stage and that man Tänak did what he does best these days, even when he sets out with a disadvantage running first on the road. He caught and passed Evans, but Ogier also did what he does best, lead and win!

 

The third round of the World Rally Championship in Mexico proved eventful as always. Ford driver Teemu Suninen and Citroen's Esapekki Lappi both crashed out while both Dani Sordo in the Hyundai and Jari-Matti Latvala had to run Rally 2 rules after mechanical problems on the Friday.

 

It could so easily have been worse. At mid-day service on the Saturday, the M-Sport technicians discovered some damage to the rear cross member of Elfyn's Fiesta. With 14 minutes on the clock, they changed it and the rear differential – normally, a 25 minute job!

 

On Saturday evening Elfyn said: “It was a pretty good morning for us and a good start to the afternoon, but I was disappointed to have given so much away to Ott [Tänak] on the second pass of Otates [SS14]. I was pushing quite hard, but I just couldn’t get comfortable and didn’t have the feeling to go much faster. The gap isn’t particularly big right now and there’ll be a big fight tomorrow, but if we have a good run I’m confident that we can get the job done. You still have to drive quite smart to be fast here, but at the end of the day we want that second place and we’re going to fight for it.”

 

At the finish on Sunday, Elfyn rued what might have been: "That second pass of Otates cost us pretty dearly, and then we made the wrong call on the tyres this morning!"

There was disappointment too in the Toyota camp where Kris Meeke completed the Saturday's first stage 12 seconds faster than anybody else to take the lead on his first gravel rally in the Yaris WRC. His puncture on the next stage however cost him a minute-and-a-half, and caused suspension damage that forced him to drive cautiously through SS12.

Kris commented: “I really enjoyed the first stage on Saturday, we had really good speed and we took the lead of the rally. Unfortunately, in the second one I picked up a puncture. I decided to continue, which was probably the correct decision in terms of time, but it damaged something in the rear suspension which I had to carry into the next stage. To drop to fifth and have nothing much to fight for was disappointing, but it's important to hold on to these points and score a strong result for the team.”

Final positions:
1. S Ogier / J Ingrassia (Citroën C3) 3hr 37min 08.0sec
2. O Tänak / M Järveoja (Toyota Yaris) +30.2sec
3. E Evans / S Martin (Ford Fiesta) +49.9sec
4. T Neuville / N Gilsoul (Hyundai i20) +1min 27.0sec
5. K Meeke / S Marshall (Toyota Yaris) +6min 06.2sec
6. B Guerra / J Zapata (Skoda Fabia) +15min 35.5sec

(Thanks to M-Sport and Toyota Gazoo for the pics.)

Rally - A little light relief

Tucked away under the bonnet of John Wink’s Hyundai i20 R5 is a rather special wee note. It’s printed on a sticker which is stuck right beside the front o/s strut top. It’s a special message with deep meaning, or perhaps it should be considered more of a warning! We all know rallying can be expensive, but there’s nothing wrong with a gentle reminder, is there? As for the author of such a nefarious note, who knows? No one was saying, far less admitting. Still, with acquaintances like that, who needs friends?  

Rally - Testing Times

The weather was grey, dreich and cold, but the craic was guid, as rally crews gathered at the test day somewhere in Kielder ahead of this weekend’s Malcolm Wilson Stages Rally. Amongst our lot were Johnny ‘Cool’ Wink and Taylor Gibb.

Taylor needed the run out after his Cambrian troubles when the fuel tank in his new Fiesta R2 was ruptured. When Colin and Iain took a look they found the cause had nothing to do with Taylor or stage conditions on the rally, but looked the after-effects of a previous repair. It would appear that gravel had been left between the fuel tank heat shield and the underside of the Fiesta floor. Taylor managed just 20 miles or so before the gravel rubbed its way through the shield and damaged the tank. End of rally.

It was Taylor’s first time in the wet with the Fiesta and although he enjoyed it he did bemoan the lack of grunt out of the corners that he was used to with the Mitsubishi! It has to be said that his plans were ever so slightly delayed as he awaited the arrival of co-driver ‘Penelope Pitstop’ Nicol who exercised her regal right to be late.

One uncharitable suggestion was voiced to the effect that she had got lost, but ever the gallant gentleman, Ken Wood leapt to her defence. He said it was snowing over the northern half of Kielder when he drove down earlier.

Woody was there because ‘Johnny’ wanted to shake down the Hyundai ahead of next weekend’s Border Counties. This was the first time that the R5 had been seen with its new Grampian Graphics applied livery while Matt Edwards was also on hand to offer advice.

However, the biggest drama of the day had nothing to do with either rally car. The Gibb generator refused to fire up so they couldn’t make a pot of tea. Considering the damp conditions this was a serious problem and for half an hour or so, the wee beast’s stubborn-ness defied the efforts of those two engineering geniuses, faither James and the MD of Colin Telfer Engineering. Once again, Woody stepped into the fray and with the applied expertise and knowledge of ‘The Three Bodgers’ the recalcitrant lump of ironmongery was coaxed into smokey life, and the kettle got boilt!

Turns out, the thing had been lying on its ear inside the van and the oil had seeped through the filter into the cylinder. By goad they were fair knackert after taking shifts at the pull-starter persuading the idle lump back into life. It just made the tea taste all the more sweeter, eh?

Rally - An amber light?

Earlier this evening the organisers of the Jim Clark Memorial Rally issued the statement below which I have shown in its entirety.

Last week, the Draft Regulation of a new Bill to allow rallying back on to closed public roads in Scotland was presented to the Scottish Parliament. The MSPs will now vote on it, but there is no exact timetable for this latest stage of the process. Looking back on established precedents, this could take up to 54 days. However, it could take less time, much less - fingers crossed, eh?

We're not out of the woods, or to be more precise back on the roads yet, but at least the traffic lights are on amber. Next stop green - for go!

**

STATEMENT FROM THE ORGANISERS OF THE JIM CLARK MEMORIAL RALLY

The organisers of the Jim Clark Memorial Rally have been greatly encouraged by recent developments in the Scottish Parliament to help overcome the barriers to closed public road rallying in Scotland. Such a move will bring the country into line with other parts of the UK including Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Wales and England.

The recently concluded Public Consultation on the new proposals proved there was an overwhelming desire for such a move which would benefit not only motor sports fans, but also many other sporting interests and pursuits. The Public Consultation process attracted 3,788 replies of which slightly more than 98% were positive.

Business and commercial interests, as well as local authorities, also welcomed these positive steps especially on the Isle of Mull and in the Scottish Borders which led the way in establishing the sport on 'mainland' UK.

To that end, the organisers of the Jim Clark Memorial Rally have been maintaining contact and continued working with Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland in hopeful anticipation that rallying could return sooner rather than later. Arrangements and plans are already in place to facilitate a quick resumption of the sport on completion of the parliamentary process.

Potential rally competitors, officials, volunteers and fans right across the UK are therefore advised to 'pencil in' two important dates, 24^th and 25^th May 2019, and plan their routes to the eastern Scottish Borders.

With a bit of luck and goodwill, it should soon be possible to allow all those interested to confirm their diary date in ink!

The Analysis report can be read at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/public-consultation-analysis-report-motorsports-on-closed-public-roads/

 

Rally - Lookback at Knockhill

The evils of drink and new year resolutions, the consequences of rash bets, and the overlooked danger of brake discs, plus a word of advice - don't go out running without spikes when it's icy underfoot, or least wear a crash helmet if you do! Yup, you've guessed, just another behind-the-scenes look at a Scottish rally:  

https://bit.ly/2Uem8I3