16/12/2008
Armed Forces Rally Team WRGB report

Mixed Emotions on Wales Rally GB for the Armed Forces Rally Team

The Armed Forces Rally Team competed in the Wales Rally GB, but it was a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Team of 6 competing crews and the service crew.

The Team arrived at the base for the duration of the event, which was the TA Centre in Mumbles near Swansea, on Thursday 4 December.  So after the camp beds and inflatable mattresses had all been set up it was time for any last minute preparation on the rally vehicles before going to scrutineering.  The Team had recently taken delivery of brand new seats and harnesses for all of the vehicles, so these were all fitted prior to the start of the event.  Just after midday the Team set off for the service area in Swansea to complete the documentation required for the event and to have a thorough inspection by the scrutineers to ensure all of the vehicles were fit to compete.  Of course, no problems were found and it was back to the accommodation for a brief rest before heading for the start ramp later that evening in Cardiff.

The Team set off for Cardiff in plenty of time so we could all take in the electric atmosphere that would await us on the start ramp.  But on the way down the M4 a message came over the radios “R1 has lost all power, rolling to a stop in the hard shoulder!”  This was the crew of Flt Lt Steve Partridge and stand in Co-driver, Cpl Curtis McKerlie.  A wire had come loose from the fuel injection pump and a few minutes later the problem was fixed.  This was of course a great relief to everyone that all 6 Land Rovers would be going over the start ramp for the final round of the World Rally Championship.

The holding area just before the start ramp gave the Team the perfect opportunity to raise even more money for the “Help for Heroes” charity, by selling Prize Draw tickets to the hundreds of people who lined the barriers cheering us on.  All 6 crews crossed the start ramp to a very warm and enthusiastic reception from the general public, who were very pleased to see Her Majesty’s finest representing the Armed Forces on the world’s stage.

After the ceremonial start it was back to Swansea for a well earned rest and to prepare for what awaited us the following morning.  The first day of the rally had brought sub-zero temperatures to all of Wales, which caused havoc with the rally route.  It was announced by the organisers that on safety grounds, the first and second loop of stages were to be shortened.  So after the very long road section up into mid-Wales the crews made their way through the forest to the start line of the first stage, a 3.67km run through Hafren.  But again drama would greet the crews on the way through the forest, because of the treacherous ice on one particular hill, many of the two-wheel drive cars couldn’t make it up the hill to the stage start.  So it was the Armed Force Rally Team to the rescue!  The crews helped out as many people as they could by towing them up the icy hills and pushing them out of ditches.  But at times even the Land Rovers could not get up the hill; it was simply sheet ice on the ground, which reinforced the organisers’ decision to shorten the stages as they did.  When the crews eventually reached the start of the first stage we were told it had been cancelled, as it was simply not safe to run the stage at competitive speed.  So all crews drove very tentatively through the stage, then it was off to Sweet Lamb for the second stage of the rally.  This had also been shortened for safety reasons to 4.28km. A very fast stage with open corners and long downhill stretches topped off with a couple of hairpins made for a nice first competitive test for the crews.  A couple of little incidents, Sgt Ewen Christie and Mike Eldridge had a spin and, in a separate incident, ran wide and into a ditch but drove out with no damage sustained.  Flt Lt Steve Partridge and Cpl Curtis Mckerlie struggled to get into the groove which gave them a 2nd place finish on the Tempest Rally a few weeks earlier.  An early gauntlet was thrown down by Maj Alan Paramore and Cpl James Dempsey who completed the stage fastest by 10.3 seconds.

Onto the third stage of the rally which was Myherin, in a very dense forest with a wind farm situated at the forest’s highest point.  It was the roads that contractors use to access the wind farm that the stage would be run on.  But once again the conditions claimed another stage of the rally, much to the disappointment of the competitors.  A road section followed by a remote service halt would hopefully see the conditions improve.  But no such joy, as the crews returned to Hafren (Stage 4) it was again too icy so organisers cancelled the stage.  So it was back for a second run through Sweet Lamb (Stage 5) after which the leader board looked like this:

Stage 6 (Myherin) proved to be one of the hardest tests of the rally, conditions again playing a vital role.  The start of the 18.28km stage, which was relatively low in the valley, was completely clear of any fog and rain.  But as you got further into the stage that situation soon changed, visibility was down to less than 20m due to very thick low level cloud.  First into the stage would be Ewen and Mike followed by Steve and Curtis a minute later, after that it was the R3 crew of Alan and James, again with another minute interval.  But that minute between R3 and R1 was wiped out after 9km when Alan caught and passed Steve in the stage.  As Alan and James were coming into the finish they also caught Ewen but didn’t pass him.  The stage times reflected how committed the R3 crew were through the stage, setting a time some 1min 37secs quicker than the others.  Cpl George Morrison and SAC(T) Tom Aldridge, Cpl Duncan Lilwall and Flt Lt Teasdale and SSgt Del Hope with LCpl Mal Lofthouse all got caught up in the stage due to an earlier car that had caught fire so received notional times.  Ewen and Mike reported that their light pod wasn’t set up as well as it could have been, not that it would have made any difference as crews found it easier to see if they switched their full beam off!  That’s how bad the visibility was.

On the way to the next stage, Ewen and Mike had an incident which could and should have put them out of the rally, were it not for the teamwork and determination (which is what the Armed Forces Rally Team is all about) of the crews of R1 and R3.  On the road section between the stages Ewen hit black ice and slid off the road, but when Ewen has an incident he likes to do it properly.  Where he was heading during skidding had also claimed an earlier competitor in a Mitsubishi Evolution 9.  So when the vehicle left the road and slid down the 8-10ft bank it landed in very marshy ground at 90° to the road, Ewen very kindly decided he would park nice and close to the Mitsubishi.  Ewen’s front bumper was separated by only 6inches of mud that he had managed to gather going down the bank.  Thankfully there was no damage to the other car but Ewen was well and truly stuck fast in deep marshy ground.  First on the scene were Alan and James who made sure the crew were ok then went about planning an extraction.  It was clear that one Land Rover alone would not be able to pull Ewen and Mike out, so as Steve and Curtis rounded the corner James connected all three Land Rovers with tow ropes and Alan and Steve started to pull them out.  After a lot of shouting instructions between the 3 Land Rovers, Ewen was back on the road with only a bent wing and a lot of Welsh mud all over his vehicle.  With time being very tight Alan went on to the next stage.  The bumper on R2 had been bent onto the tyre so needed pulling free, so a tow rope was attached to the bumper and Steve pulled it free enabling them to carry on.  That wasn’t the end of the drama between the stages, on the dual carriageway the bonnet decided that it no longer wanted to be part of Ewen “McCrash’s” rally, so Mike was sent back down the road to retrieve the offending item which was subsequently strapped down.

The day’s stages would be completed with two runs through the 2.3km Walters Arena Stage (Stages 7 & 8).  Although very heavily affected by ice, these were completed with only a few minor incidents reported.  Alan and James had an overshoot at a square left which cost them about 10 seconds.  Steve and Curtis along with George and Tom had trouble free runs, improving their times on their second run through the stage by 3 seconds.  The day ended with the long drive back to the Swansea service area, this would be a very busy one for the ever dependable and thoroughly professional service crew.  After the 45 minute service the vehicles checked into Parc Fermé (an overnight holding area).

The start of the second day brought varied conditions.  Overnight there had again been sub-zero temperatures, but at least the sun was out aiding the de-icing of the day’s stages.  It would be a big wake up call for all competitors as the stage that awaited them first thing was the longest stage of the rally.  The morning’s loop of stages comprised Resolfen (Stage 9), Halfway (Stage 10) and Crychan (Stage 11), all classic Wales Rally GB stages.  After the overnight reseeding, the running order was determined by the previous day’s finishing order so the Land Rovers would start the day as follows: - R3 (Alan & James), R2 (Ewen & Mike), R4 (Duncan & Craig), R1 (Steve & Curtis), R5 (Del & Mal) and finally R6 (George & Tom).

So first stage of the morning loop was Resolfen, with conditions improving as the morning went on it would make for a very fast stage.  Alan and James again set the quickest time through the stage, closely followed by Duncan and Craig just 15.3 seconds slower.  Duncan reported a couple of minor mistakes, a small overshoot at a hairpin and another overshoot later on in the stage showed that the R4 crew were really pushing, “That stage was brilliant, flat in 5th at speeds reaching 140kph…amazing!”.  Ewen was clearly doing something right through the stage as his co-driver Mike couldn’t remember anything about the 25 minute ordeal.  Steve and Curtis also had a couple of moments, “We nearly hit 2 cars that had gone off, they were surrounded by spectators, very close!”  They also had a few “tank slappers” mid-way through the test.  The ever reliable R6 crew had a trouble free run and were happy to reach the end of the stage in one piece.

After Resolfen it was off to Halfway (Stage 10) on the Sennybridge Military Training area.  This year the stage was being run in reverse direction to previous years so it was a completely new challenge for all of the competitors.  Most of the AFRT crews reported “marshal scattering” incidents, Alan and James made them dive for cover when they ran wide on a corner and cleared a 3ft ditch.  “I saw the whites of their eyes!” said Alan; Duncan and Craig came over the jump at Dixie’s only for Duncan to become too involved at waving at his fiancée and friends thus putting him into a ditch on the outside of the corner, again marshals bomb-bursting out of the way, but he kept the power on and popped out the other side.  Ewen and Mike had a big moment when they locked the wheels under braking into a square right, this resulted in a spin and once again marshals diving for cover.  Steve and Curtis felt they had a good run through and enjoyed the stage, in fact the times showed that they had worked up from 4th to 2nd in class.  All they had to do was keep that place to win the Championship.  However, this position was short lived…

After the stage finish it was a short road section to the next stage, Crychan (Stage 11).  But Steve and Curtis would not reach the stage start because of a collision with a Belgium minibus.  All the people involved were unhurt but the Land Rover would not be going any further due to significant damage.  With the accident being on a public road, the police arrived and assisted with the formalities.  A particularly low point in the rally for the whole Team, what with all the bad luck that Steve has had throughout the season mainly due to the engine gremlins that could not be found, it was a sad way for his season to end.

Crychan (Stage 11) was next on the list for the remaining crews.  This particular stage would see the apple cart somewhat upset, with Ewen taking the stage win away from Alan by just 0.1 of a second.  When asked about the time Alan said “There was no need to push, we have a suitable lead and after the incident today it would be reckless to lose any more vehicles due to pushing too hard through the stages”.  After that it was back to Swansea for a service halt before returning to the same loop of stages for an early evening run through.  The second run through Stages 11, 12 and 13 proved to be uneventful with all crews completing them safely and with no problems.  To finish the day it would be a very short blast round the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.  At just over 1km in length, the stage wasn’t very long but it gave the crews the perfect opportunity to showcase their talents to the 28,500 spectators inside the stadium.  Alan and James were once again back on top of the timesheets with a time that was only 16.6 seconds slower than the current World Rally Champion and eventual rally winner Sebastien Loeb.  All of the crews had their moment in the spotlight as, at the stage finish, each and every one of them climbed out of the vehicles and received a well deserved emphatic cheer and blast of air horns from the spectators in the stadium.  The beaming smiles from all of the AFRT crews spoke volumes as they came out of the stage; it was a real highlight of the season for the Team.

A long road section back to the Swansea service area would bring the second day of competition to a close.  But it was a busy one for the service crew, Duncan and Craig needed a water pump change and this was done in just under 25 minutes.  Alan and James needed a windscreen change due to a low hanging branch of a tree, this was completed with just over 3 minutes to spare, a real testament to the hard work that the service crew put in!  The crews checked in to the overnight Parc Fermé and the whole Team headed back to the accommodation for a well earned rest.

Day 3 of the rally would see two runs through Rheola (Stages 16 & 18) and Port Talbot (Stages 17 & 19).  With the overall finishing positions pretty much decided it would just be a case of completing the day’s final stages with caution. But the first stage of the day claimed yet another crew.  Duncan and Craig made it through most of the stage and the Walters Arena section, but shortly after that would be the end of their rally.  As they came over a crest they started to brake for a right-left combination at the bottom of the hill, but began to slide straight away.  Duncan was on and off the brakes trying to regain control but no joy.  By the time they had reached the corner they were doing a very small speed, no more than 10mph, but both had time to brace as they went over a mud bank and hit a tree head on.  The tree punctured the radiator and the R4 crew were going no further.  The crew had to inform the following competitors of the ice and the stricken Land Rover.  So Duncan went back up the hill to put the warning triangle out, but as he did so, Ewen and Mike came over the crest and spun in front of him.  Earlier on in the stage, Ewen and Mike had been getting better acquainted with the Welsh scenery again.  In the Walters Arena itself there is a big lake that the cars go round as part of the stage, R2 had a spin and was only stopped from going into the lake by a post.  As George and Tom came past Duncan and Craig they managed to pull them off the mud bank and back onto the stage so they would be ready for recovery.

The second stage of the day, Port Talbot, was an absolutely brilliant test.  The remaining crews really enjoyed the flowing corners and the thousands of spectators lining the stage.  Near the end of the stage was a massive jump in the middle of a 500m straight, so there was plenty of time to get a good head of speed up to fly over it at full chat, the crowd going wild as the Land Rovers bounced down the stage after landing.

After a quick service halt it was back out for the final two stages of the rally.  Alan and James gave the crowd good reason to stay to watch the Team through, flamboyantly throwing the Land Rover into every corner and giving it maximum effort, which is nothing less than was expected by the jubilant spectators.  Everyone really enjoyed the final stages and rightly so, however there were some loose ends to tie up!  The Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ championships were still to be decided.  If Del finished above Ewen, Del would win the Drivers’ Championship and his co-driver Mal, the Co-drivers’ Championship.  But not having the best of rallies Del settled for 3rd thus giving Ewen the Driver’s title.  James had to win the event with Alan and needed Mal to finish 3rd or below to take the Co-drivers’ title and this is exactly what happened.  It was a long wait as Alan and James watched to see if Ewen and Mike made it to the end of the stage.  But as Ewen made his way round the final corner it was time for the new Co-drivers’ Champion to celebrate.  Both Alan and James congratulated each other and then went straight over to congratulate Ewen on his new title.  With the marshals and police at the end of the stage on hand with cheers and rounds of applause it made for a fitting end of stage atmosphere.

Del and Mal came home in 3rd and George and Tom in 4th, a very tough event that the crews should be very proud that they finished.  Only one thing remained to do before the close of the event and that was the ceremonial finish in Cardiff.  A quick blast down the M4 to Cardiff would see the Team take position with the rest of the competitors to cross the finish ramp.  As usual, as the crews all crossed the ramp, we got a very warm Cardiff cheer.  A short interview and lots of photos later it brought to a close a very eventful Wales Rally GB 2008.  The final time sheet looked like this:

* Notional overall positions have been derived by combining the WRGB Land Rover Challenge results with the WRGB main results, giving a total of 85 starters.

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Press contact: Simon Moss
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e: simonmoss@rallybrc.co.uk
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