5^th June: Newry & Mourne

The last tarmac round of the championship. Three stages ran three times on closed roads. After clutch trouble in the Sperrins a strong finish was needed. But unfortunately from the first loop of stages the gearbox was giving trouble, as second gear was ‘popping’ out. After making it in to first service, we made the decision to go easy on the gears, and try to finish the rally, picking up what points were available. On the next three stages we were getting decent times despite the gearbox situation deteriorating. At second service we learned that we were hanging on to 4^th in the class. But on the last loop of stages we lost first and second gear completely! This left a very hard task to finish, but we nursed it home nevertheless, finishing 5^th in the class. A good result considering our problems, and more experience gained behind the wheel!

Halfway Through Season

Halfway through my first season in motorsport, I’m lying 2^nd in Class 3 in the Hankook Northern Ireland Rally Championship, and only four points behind first! Five finishes from five starts, with my highest scoring rounds coming on the Bishopscourt Stages and the Circuit Of Ireland.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors: Solo Petroleum, Calor Gas, Henderson Group, Strathroy Milk, Cash & Carry Farm Supplies and Proton NI Dealers.

Also, I would like to thank Hankook Tyres for the recent, very beneficial training day, and I look forward to the next one!

The championship now enters the gravel rounds, beginning with The Dogleap Stages on 7^th August. We are now in the process of changing the car to forestry spec. Having never driven on gravel before, it will be a totally different experience – but one which I’m really looking forward to…