Skoda Rally Blog

Today was the Tempest Rally 2013.  It’s an event I’ve done several times before, but this year there would be a change, I’d be navigating for Ricky Aitken, who I’ve known for a few years – he navigates for Gary Hayter in his various cars, and has MOTed my cars on a few occasions.  When I saw him at the start of Rallye Sunseeker, Ricky said he was looking for a navigator for the Tempest to sit in with him in Gary’s 205, and it went from there.

We wanted to get to the event as the service area opened as it’s usually best to avoid the scrutineering queue, and usually something or other turns up that you want to sort on the car, so that meant a 5:15 departure from Ebblake Tyres in Verwood.  Fortunately Ricky had everything ready and loaded with the car on the trailer and the tow car already hitched, it just had to be driven out of the unit and off we went.

We got to the service area early, but there’s always someone earlier than you, and once unloaded we got set up in the service area, at the end where hopefully there would be plenty of space.  We got through scrutineering quickly and without any issues, which is always nice, but it’s always a bit more relaxed when it’s not my car that’s being examined!

Next to us was a Mitsubishi Evo which looked incredible – all carbon fibre, WRC wings, etc.  It sounded like a race motorbike too.  Lovely.

The service area was getting busy by this time, but we still had a couple of hours before we’d be off (at 9:57), so we made some last minute adjustments including the drivers’ seat position which was a bit far back, and got everything else we thought we’d need into the car.  The last thing to do was a bit of a discussion about the day’s aim (to finish!) and how far I should go in terms of egging him on or holding him back if I thought he’d gone AWOL.  We decided on a fairly easy approach, which suited me fine!  We saw Tony Hawkins in his BMW which he’d mentioned had a misfire on Facebook the night before, and alas it still had it, as well as reverse lights permanently on!  Always nice to see Tony, and he’s always full of enthusiasm, so I hoped the misfire wouldn’t ruin his day.  We had a quick chat with the crew in car 59 who were running a 205 but one place in front of us.  However, theirs was a 1.9 with an MI16 engine and a pair of twin 40s on it, so it probably had twice the power of the bog stock 1600 in our car.

Soon enough, the service area started to thin out, and it was time for us to go, having triple-checked we weren’t going without the vital stuff (helmet, road book, time cards, pace notes), and off to our first stage, SS21, Warren 1.   If you’re wondering, the Tempest is divided up into 2WD and 4WD events, with each event getting first run at at several of the stages, and all our stages were in the 20s.  Warren is a fair distance from service, so we had a chance to get comfortable and get prepared for the stage, and we got there in good time and got ready to go.  The weather we’d been promised was miserable, but it was actually fairly bright and not currently raining, so off we went.  It went pretty well; we certainly didn’t set the world on fire, but this was Ricky’s first time driving in a rally, and only the second time competitively (previously he’d done a sprint), so it was definitely a case of shakedown.  The car was working OK, which was good, and the notes flowed OK;  Ricky’s used to “6 fastest” notes, which takes a bit of mental adaptation for me, as I’m used to a 5 or 6 corner being severe, whereas it’s now a 1 or 2 which needs attention, so I’d highlighted them in case I forgot this, but I needn’t have worried; once you get going your brain takes care of the switch quickly, like switching from LHD to RHD and back.  There were no major dramas, and the car behaved OK, and we seemed to be getting on OK in the car.  Good stuff.

Stage 2 was SS22, Pavilion 1, and we only got there in time – there were some delays on the road section due to road works, and while we had some penalty free lateness to use, we’d always rather get there in time, which we just about managed, so it was straight to the start and off we went.  Pavilion was pretty rough; there are a few places where the stage makes a detour to create a ‘large chicane’, maybe going off into the woods and then back onto the gravel track.  The first of these was pretty tight, but fortunately the car has an upright handbrake, so it make easy work of it.  On one of the longer straights we were going pretty well and suddenly there was a HUGE pothole that wasn’t in the notes, and also wasn’t visible until it was too late, and we hit it going pretty much as fast as we could.  The back of the car flew up into the air, having taken a big hit on the way in.  Once Rick got the car back in shape, we pressed on, but something was broken.  The dashboard had broken off!

The part that covers the clocks and provides the air vent had broken clean off on the impact, and was loose.  I couldn’t reach it to hold it in place when strapped in, so we carried on through the stage.  The car seemed otherwise unhurt by this impact, and we carried on. Other bits were rough and each time we hit something else, the dashboard slipped into a more awkward place, but fortunately didn’t stop Ricky from driving the car OK.  We got to the end of the stage, relieved that nothing else had broken, and Ricky took the now completely detached section and chucked it in the back of the car, as we had to shoot off to SS23, Rushmoor.

I say shoot off, we had to wait while we got the timecard back from a couple who seemed to be having a bit of a matrimonial dispute!  Once they’d finished, off we went.

Rushmoor Arena is next to the service area and gives a good viewpoint to anyone in service as well as general spectators.  In the past the transitions between tarmac and gravel/soil have been treacherous, claiming victims of the unwary, so we noted this before the start.  The other unusual thing about it is that it has merges and splits as you do two laps; this isn’t something that happens on many multi-venue events, but Ricky’s done lots of single-venue events as a navigator so they shouldn’t be too strange.  Off we went, and fortunately the merge was clear so we were free to go at the first corner with abandon.  Once again the handbrake did the trick and round we went.  The transision was much better than in previous years, and the stage hadn’t cut up as much as I remembered in the past, which was good.  The notes were pretty good, aside from the “split right” actually being a “drive straight on”, but I guess you can’t please everyone…. one person who wouldn’t be pleased was  the driver of the Mk1 Escort which was now minus a wheel, parked up on one side of the stage.  We got round the first lap and found the merge thankfully clear (indeed, didn’t see anyone else on the stage aside from the beached Escort), and on the second lap headed off into the woods again for the quick blast over the finish, a near jump through gate posts.

The drive back to service was short, but there was a bit of a wait as there was a regroup control on the way in – these are designed to get the event’s cars all back in one “lump”, to allow for the slower cars at the back of the field being slower and to get everyone back at one minute intervals.  During that time we assessed the car (all seemed well aside from this!)…

…and chatted to the others around us about how their day had been going.  We got a results sheet and while the times weren’t stellar, we were still going and having a good time.  It would have been foolish to expect anything more, in fact!

Into service, we checked the car over and there wasn’t really anything to do – everything was as it should be, so we got ourselves ready for the next run, having noted that already there were a few victims – the service area was already thinning out, and quite a few cars hadn’t made it to this point, only a third of the way through the event.

Once everything was done, it was time to go, so we set off to SS24

SS24 was Pavilion 2, and it had cut up fairly badly already – the start was quite “washboard”, and despite being only 150M to the first corner, it seemed to take an age to get going – the ground was so rutted and washboarded that the poor Peugeot just couldn’t get us going.  Fortunately after the first corner it wasn’t as bad, and we made a better stab of it this time; the tight bits were taken well by Ricky, and we knew where the pothole of doom was waiting for us and took appropriate avoiding action.  About half way through the stage the car felt odd – it just felt very loose and spongey; Both of us noticed it, and initially thought we may have a puncture, but carried on through the rest of the stage.  One heavy braking point was quite dicey, but at the end of the stage Ricky checked the car over and all was well.  I’ve had a number of times I’ve been convinced that a car has a puncture, but 90%+ of the time it’s not been the case.  I’d have to add this into that group as well, although I’ve never felt it as a navigator before!

SS25 was Ash 1.  Ash is a stage which I’ve never really enjoyed.  It’s a long fast run for the first part, and then has a square left at the end of an uphill section that has caught many out in the past, but this year there’s a chicane just before it, so it’s unlikely someone would launch their car into the shrubbery at this point.  When we got there it was apparent that something wasn’t right; there were lots of cars there at the stage start, so it was clear there had been a delay.

It later transpired that there had been a couple of fairly big offs, one of which we were warned about as a large black hole had developed on the stage and thrown Julian Wilkes off at considerable speed:

We also later found out that Pat Flynn had also had a big off here.  Fortunately both crews were OK, which is always good news.

The cars coming round for their second run started to appear and queue up, and while we were waiting to go into the (now re-started) stage, they headed off, so we concluded that Ash 2 had been cancelled; the delay meant we weren’t far off the starting time for the second run, and given the stage’s usual reputation and what had clearly happened to two crews, neither of us were particularly sad about that.

Into the stage, it was OK on the first section, but once we got to the danger areas, it was clear what had happened; the stage had cut up considerably, not surprising given the rain leading up to the event, and the crash areas were passed fairly gingerly.  The rest of the stage actually went pretty well, with a couple of small moments but nothing to write home about.  Once we got to the passage control at the end, it was confirmed that we should head off to Longmoor, not re-run Ash, and off we went on the longest road section of the event at around 25 miles.

When things go wrong on a rally, it’s a true test of the organisation of the event; competitors shouldn’t be penalised when there’s not enough space to get into a holding area, and there was quite a glut of cars present when we arrived.  This was well dealt with by the crew there and the organisers, so although there was a bit of a delay for us, it wasn’t a problem.  We had a chat with a few of the other crews while we waited, but soon enough it was time for Longmoor.

This is quite different from the stages used on the Longmoor Loco (which I did with my Sister in the Ibiza), it uses the perimeter road round the camp, and is fairly long at nearly 6 miles.

The start is a long, long, long right turn, and then you’re into a mixture of mud, concrete, tarmac and gravel.  There are some really good parts to the stage, and some interesting and demanding sections too, mixed with areas which are covered by trees and pretty slippy.  Plenty of parts were noted as being slippy in the notes, and they turned out to be even more so, but Ricky did a good job here, and we were near the end of the stage without any real dramas.  There’s a long (700) straight towards the end, and at one point I saw Ricky looking down, it turned out he was checking what gear the car was in as it’s not easy to feel from the lever’s position!  I was slightly concerned when it happened, but there you go.  “85” he commented as we passed that speed, and then braked for the chicane at the end.  Soon enough, we’d finished the stage.  Ricky was pretty pleased, and so was I.  The sun was out, the car was happy and we’d had at least one run of every stage.

Next up, a 40 minute wait at the remote service area next to the stage – this facilitates the running of the event with back-to-back runs of the same stage and avoids a pair of long road sections.  However, it does seem quite at odds with the usual ‘always busy’ feeling that you get on most multi-venue events; usually when you set out you are then busy all the time, but here there were a few gaps (there would have been similar between Ash 1 and Ash 2 if 2 had run).  Either way, we parked up, checked everything on the car and goofed about until it was time to go back in.

Longmoor 2 started the same as the other run, with the long right hander, and the stage ran a bit better for the most part – when you’ve seen a stage once the notes mean more and there are pointers to help you out that you’d never be able to put in written notes.  Ricky pushed a bit harder, and the stage seemed a bit more slippy than before.  There’s an open section where you go over a big crest and need to be in the middle of the road, and we weren’t quite central, and paid the price.

Over the crest itself was OK, but as we went down the far side, we ended up a bit (about half a car’s width) off from where we should have been, and took to the verge as a result.  Our biggest moment, but Ricky got the car back on the grippy bit of the road soon enough, and we kept going.  Just like on the TV when the moment is put behind them, and they just carry on.  The next section was in the trees, and pretty slippy.  We saw a couple of cars off, one was (I think) a 205 which was heavily buried, the crew were out and OK, but the car didn’t look like it’d be going anywhere for a bit.  Caution was taken but still giving it some fair stick, and braking points were taken nearer the corners, particularly at the end of the long straight.  Once again, soon enough, the stage was finished, and Ricky was really happy.  Good work.  Now we needed to get back to service.

On the way back, the terratrip decided to pass out for a while, but seemed OK.  We were making good time, and got back to the regroup with 7 minutes to spare.  Well, 7 minutes until I checked my backup stopwatch, it was actually 4!  Time to turn the terratrip off, as it wasn’t measuring distance all day, and couldn’t be relied on for time either!  Into service, and time to check the car over again, and put the light pod on.

All went nicely, and everyone else was packed or packing up.  We set out for the last two stages, the first of which was under a mile away, Rushmoor 2.

Rushmoor 2 was much like 1; the stage hadn’t cut up as much as in previous years, and now knowing the “split right” was a straight, it was plain sailing.  What wasn’t, however, was the light pod which moved around a fair bit, and the lights went off several times during the stage – seemed to be a loose connection, but difficult to tell.  Still, good stuff, and despite a couple of little issues, we finished pretty quickly, getting a bit of air at the end.

There was now just one stage left, Warren 2, so we set off, and got there in reasonable time, again going through some roadworks before getting there, but by the time we got there  it was dark, and we’d need the lights all the way.

The start of the stage was properly cut up, and this continued throughout.

There’s something special about rallying in the dark.  I’ve always liked it, and yet there are things that I don’t like about it at the same time.  Because you’re doing it late in the day, you know there’s a sense of jeopardy; that all your work so far could still go down the drain – the finish line somehow seems more distant because of this.  Stages tend to be second or third use by this point, so they are generally well used and cut up.  If there have been lots of powerful cars there, they will often be really rough at the start and transitions into or out of tight corners.  Cameramen lurk at many tight corners, and you can be momentarily blinded by a camera flash at an apex of a corner.  People in high-vis clothing can be seen for miles, and sometimes appear out of your line of vision.  Sometimes a stage layout is easier to work out when you can see reflective barriers or marshals a mile away.

Warren 2 proved to have all these and more.  The stage was pretty rutty, but Ricky was on a bit of a mission, and we went pretty well, when we weren’t being vibrated to death by the stage.  The back was pretty loose because of the rough nature of it but there were no serious moments in terms of losing the car.

What was serious was about half way through the stage I thought I saw a spark under the steering column, but kept reading.  And then it was there again, and much worse.  Clearly Bonfire Night had come a bit early to car 60, as there was a sparkler going off under the dashboard.  We lost the lights momentarily, and then the battery light came on.  We kept going to the end, but as soon as we did, Ricky turned the lights off as it looked like the car wasn’t charging.  OK, it was only an 11 mile road section again, but if the battery wasn’t up to snuff, it could well die before we got back.

We got the timecards sorted out, and then headed back, tailing traffic as much as possible, and using sidelights where it was possible.  I turned everything off inside the car that I could, and used my phone as a light for the road book.  There was another delay at the road works, and we were worried that we’d need to turn on the (very high current draw) cooling fan, but fortunately we got going soon enough.  Car 59 got lost in front of us, but we followed another one back to service, and we’d made it, with gauges sagging as the battery went flat, and one spotlight missing that had dropped off in Warren 2.

Tempest 2013 – done!  Car was pretty much in one piece, driver was happy, just a case of loading up and going home.  Ricky has a few things to sort out on the car, but nothing too serious, and many would settle for that at the end of the day.