After a difficult (and early) start to the day we had a great run to finish 27th overall and 4th in class on the Premier Rally in Sherwood Pines forest.
The rain lashed down all the way down the A1 and conditions were awful when we arrived; sticky, ankle deep mud everywhere and a continuous deluge up to about 10 am.
Logistical communication issues meant that we set up without Pete’s famous stewpot and other key foodstuffs ! It also meant that Nathan, Oli and Jamie had a few miles to walk through the forest to the service area, thanks lads, think of it as a fitness test – you all passed.
The narrow tarmac service road resembled a partially flooded car park and the crew and kit soon got very wet and very muddy.
Nerves were tested only 5 mins before we were due to leave service by a wheel nut shearing as the crew were doing their final torque checks..
Dave and the crew worked in the pouring rain to remove the sheared end of the bolt to no avail and we entered our first forest stage with only 3 wheel studs in our front nearside driven wheel and a keen desire to get to the end in one piece !
After a tense but controlled run through stage 1 we got back to service where the lads quickly got the bolt out and fitted a new one much to Jon and Gary’s relief.
Jon was driving steadily through the morning stages as he felt for the grip in the mud and slime of the shaded forest tracks. Restrained by Gary from time to time he kept everything between the trees and ditches. Tidy driving was the order of the day as the rain slowly abated.
At the lunchtime break we were only 5 seconds from 3rd in class.
Pete saved the day and hot bacon and sausage sandwiches appeared which were devoured by the dripping wet and cold team. This was turning out to be a fun day !
Tactics after lunch remained the same as the stages were restructured; Jon and Gary had an incident free run through the early afternoon stages.
By now others had fallen by the wayside and a top 30 place was looking promising.
KRU media man Neil had braved the elements and conditions and was in the stages capturing our progress. On one corner he got a bit excited at seeing KRU coming towards him and stepped dangerously close to the edge of the stage, until he realised that Jon was properly flying at this point and was arriving sideways into the corner and heading towards him.
He beat a hasty and undignified retreat into a large patch of brambles as Jon and Gary chuckled away as they passed our stricken hero. Great effort Neil !
The organisers were tightly pulling the remaining crews together for the last stage which meant that we only had 10 minutes for final service.
A decision was made to fit our new and very expensive lamp pod and we needed a fuel top up. The pressure was on.
The crew were brilliant and fitted the pod and refuelled with seconds to spare. A rapid drive out of service into the time control ensued (hoping none of the Marshalls were dry enough to notice) but thankfully Gary had done his sums correctly and KRU arrived still within our maximum lateness. We were still in the event.
Just 20 seconds behind our rival for 3rd in class we entered the final stage. By now darkness had fallen and the stage start was a rutted mess. Our strategy all along had been to acquire a finish on the event to get another upgrade signature on our licence so moderation was the key. Jon held it together without jeopardising the car and we ended 34 seconds behind them.
Finishing in the dark was a first but it didn’t hinder the team’s enjoyment of the result. After a non-finish on the Pendragon Rally the team were delighted with the result, especially considering all the factors involved; first forest event, weather conditions were awful, first service and drive in the dark and the problems early on the day.
After a long and tiring pack up procedure we took the 2 hr return drive back to Yorkshire. All in one piece and happy with the result though with a car that has a hundredweight of mud added to it’s livery and underside !
We shall debrief the event as we always do and there is learning for the team as we progress.
Much thanks to the Marshalls and team at the Dukeries M C, they remained cheerful and supportive despite the soaking they all got.
As ever thanks go to a great team: Jon (Phew we were a bit close through those narrow steel gate posts ! ), Gary (what gate posts ? ), Dave (I haven’t walked this much in ages), Nathan (sorry I was dozing there for a few seconds) , Oli, (You have no idea where I’ve been with this lamp-pod), Jamie (I’ve cleaned the windows twice already), Neil (ouch – those are brambles) and Pete (WHERE THE HELL HAS MY STEW GONE ?).
Next up – the Swift Signs Christmas Stages Rally on Sunday 28th December 2014 at Croft Circuit.
Watch this space !