The Armstrong Massey Rally didn't quite have the desired result but it was still heartening! Tyre problems kept us off the leading pace, we only had tarmac tyres and the venue's muddy nature suited forest M&S tyres far, far better. Those problems resulted a couple of time consuming spins and a general lack of grip on the muddy (and rough) gravel sections.
At lunch we were 3rd overall and expecting to stay there with no chance of moving up and little competition from behind. We reinforced our position and were actually in second overall as stage 7 started. The first 6 runs through the stages had resulted in very rough conditions on the gravel sections forcing Adrian to slow and drive around holes and troughs rather than drive with full commitment. These conditions weren't popular in the car and we were exceptionally happy to be where we were overall!
Sadly stage 7 saw us push the car onto the trailer and head home. The clutch wasn't functioning quite as it should and it was decided that we would be better served by retiring and stripping the car than pushing for a second place trophy and risking damage. Conditions had also resulted in the worst retirement and damage rate I've seen at any single venue rally so we were relieved to still have a fully functioning, virtually undamaged car to push back onto the trailer!!
Our stage time were consistantly far quicker than those using comparable tyres and at points we were astoundingly close to those running with full forest tyres so we're delighted with our performance # which may seem a little strange. The team are also pleased that we still have a car in 1 piece that should be ready for another event once the muck and sludge had been washed off. The two pictures show just how bad conditions were, they were taken by Matthew Rudd of matthewruddphotography.co.uk. Visit his site here to see more of his excellent pictures.
Notice the frontal damage caused by the water and ruts.
At lunch we were 3rd overall and expecting to stay there with no chance of moving up and little competition from behind. We reinforced our position and were actually in second overall as stage 7 started. The first 6 runs through the stages had resulted in very rough conditions on the gravel sections forcing Adrian to slow and drive around holes and troughs rather than drive with full commitment. These conditions weren't popular in the car and we were exceptionally happy to be where we were overall!
Sadly stage 7 saw us push the car onto the trailer and head home. The clutch wasn't functioning quite as it should and it was decided that we would be better served by retiring and stripping the car than pushing for a second place trophy and risking damage. Conditions had also resulted in the worst retirement and damage rate I've seen at any single venue rally so we were relieved to still have a fully functioning, virtually undamaged car to push back onto the trailer!!
Our stage time were consistantly far quicker than those using comparable tyres and at points we were astoundingly close to those running with full forest tyres so we're delighted with our performance # which may seem a little strange. The team are also pleased that we still have a car in 1 piece that should be ready for another event once the muck and sludge had been washed off. The two pictures show just how bad conditions were, they were taken by Matthew Rudd of matthewruddphotography.co.uk. Visit his site here to see more of his excellent pictures.
Notice the frontal damage caused by the water and ruts.