September brings the infamous Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, now regular event in the Mini Rally Challenge calendar. The testing stages consist of rough terrain, combined with steep drops and starts with a long challenging night stage on the Friday.
In total 18 Minis entered the event, but unfortunately for two crews it was not meant to be and they didn’t get the start they were hoping for. George Clarke and Stephen Moyses had gearbox troubles straight out of scrutineering, and as a result didn’t make it past MTC1, meaning their rally was over before they even had chance to get started. Andrew Downward and James Coutts made it only metres from SS1 start line when their auxiliary belt snap, leaving them stranded until the early hours, putting an end to their weekend.
For two of our Junior crews however, Oliver Waggett and Julian Fouquet in their R53 and R50 respectively, it was their first time on a forest night stage; both put in respectable times over the 12 miles, no doubt learning a lot about their craft.
Oliver would be plagued with the same issues as Downward the following morning but thankfully with assistance from other crews in the rally paddock they got their car sorted and manged to get themselves out again, only to then be hit with the same trouble again on SS5 (Dalby), ending their campaign. Not the perfect outcome on Oliver’s first forest rally, however he is young, and has plenty of seat time ahead of him.
Saturday brought bright sunshine but still damp conditions to the morning stages, with most crews navigated their way through the morning well, putting in some brilliant runs. Tom and Sue Hynd set a blistering pace early on, once again proving how dynamic they are as a team, and Tom really showing his talent on the loose surface. Jacob and Russell had to do an over night brake, change and went on to set some solid times; then on SS4 they found themselves beached on the outside of a corner, meaning their run of bad luck at gravel events continues and were forced to spectate until they could be recovered.
A similar story for Guy Butler and Adam Fern, where two corners in to SS4 Guy overcooked a corner resulting in the car tipping onto its side against some bushes. Luckily for the pair the following crew of Mark Jones and Mick Munday stopped and managed roll the car back onto all four wheels, before continuing on their way. Unfortunately the stricken R52 was well beached meaning the pair were also spectators, albeit in the blazing sun, until the recovery crew could pull them out.
So what did the results look like at the end of the MRC event. In the R50’s Jack Birch and Mike Jode brought themselves to another class win. Followed by Julian Fouquet and Julia Perry, and closely by Wesley Gilford and Andrew Millington. The R53’s were led by Tom and Sue Hynd, followed by Gareth Humphreys and Adam Burkill, and despite stopping to rescue the R53 on SS4, third place was taken by Mark Jones and Mick Munday.
Now only two rounds remain of the 2024 calendar, with the overall leader having solidified their position however the rest is still to play for, with some crews are yet to play their jokers.
Harlech and Cambrian are two testing rounds, so anything could happen, so watch this space! See you soon at the Harlech stages on the Welsh coast.
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