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03/11/06 - Exeter Stages 'Lessons Learned'
The boys then started to try and pick up their pace, however, the fact that Chris hadn't been in the car for sometime was pretty clear. Some experimentation on a couple of corners resulted in two spins over 3 stages. The boys were finding the car didn't have a lot of grip but were trying to make up time where they could.
Pic: The Bogey on SS3.
Stage times did get a bit better as the day went on and Chris was finding his feet with the amount of speed he could carry into corners.
As usual the Bogey was creeping up the overall results list as a large number of mechanical failures caused other cars to pull out.
The Bogey kept screaming down the straights and was sounding great!
By the end of the day, the lads had managed to scrape their first top 50 finish which was great news. However, plans for next season now need to be hard thought about. There's a brand new LSD box in the garage for the Fiesta, however, the biys are itching to get on to gravel.
Hopefully, Chris's new job will see them through to something more adventurous in 2007!!
The boys then started to try and pick up their pace, however, the fact that Chris hadn't been in the car for sometime was pretty clear. Some experimentation on a couple of corners resulted in two spins over 3 stages. The boys were finding the car didn't have a lot of grip but were trying to make up time where they could.
Pic: The Bogey on SS3.
Stage times did get a bit better as the day went on and Chris was finding his feet with the amount of speed he could carry into corners.
As usual the Bogey was creeping up the overall results list as a large number of mechanical failures caused other cars to pull out.
The Bogey kept screaming down the straights and was sounding great!
By the end of the day, the lads had managed to scrape their first top 50 finish which was great news. However, plans for next season now need to be hard thought about. There's a brand new LSD box in the garage for the Fiesta, however, the biys are itching to get on to gravel.
Hopefully, Chris's new job will see them through to something more adventurous in 2007!!
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The Bogey's first outing proved to be a successful one seeing the boys not only finish the testing two day rally at Brean, but also come home with their first silverwear.
This event attracts some of the top drivers from the South West.
The boys proved their worth by completing all 12 Stages unscathed where many others had crashed out. For full details see the local website:
Regency Stages - Day 1
Regency Stages - Day 2
For their efforts the crew were awarded the prestigious 'Spirit of the Rally' trophy.
Preparation had been a bit more time consuming than originally expected, however, come the Friday night the Bogey had been trailered and all the kit was ready to be loaded into the Service van first thing in the morning.
Nick Farmer (Mechanic) arrived at 5.45am on the Saturday and the crew set off for Brean Leisure Park. First stop was noise test and scrutineering which went relatively smoothly with a few minor adjustments to be made.
Running at the back of the field the crew saw the front runners leave and return to the service area before lining up at SS1. These included British Tarmac contender David Kynaston in his A3.
Pic: Kynaston at Millbrook in 2005.
These initial stages saw some of the top drivers come un stuck with some very costly mistakes, both in terms of the leader board and their wallets.
A classic MK1 Chevette and an Escort Cosworth were among the wreckage, however, the Bogey remained on track and started to increase pace as the day went on.
A few spins saw the tidy driving of Chris pay off and at the end of Day 1 the Bogey crew lay 64th overall climbing 20 places over just 5 stages. All in all a fantastic first day for the MK1 Fiesta.
Day 2
The next morning's early start saw even more icey patches, a lot of which was black ice. At the last service of Day 1, one of the crew noticed some cracks in the brake discs so as the frost broke the Service Team (Nick Farmer and Alan Selwood) worked impressively quickly to get on a new set.
Pic: Nick Farmer changing brake discs.
Service now became a bit more intense but the crew were up to it and over the next few stages the manifold was welded and re-welded to keep the team going.
Tim and Chris then battled on over the last few stages still putting in some very respectable times with a vastly underperforming car.
At then end of SS12 the two returned to the Service Area releaved and extatic with the completion of their first outing. Other than a minor indescretion Chris had driven very neatly and Tim's notes and time keeping had been impecible.
The biggest surprise, however, was yet to come. After coming in 56th overall, the team unexpectedly received the 'Spirit of the Rally' trophy due to their relentless effort on their first outing. Most of the team's jaws dropped when this was announced but the boys went home very, very happy with their first piece of silverwear.
Planning has now started for the next event however, the team are yet to decide when this will be. They are hoping to be back out in two months time.
Despite their venture into the ASWMC Chamionship this season, Chris is also pursuing his dream of rallying in other avenues. Earlier this year he entered the prestigious Rally School UK Scholarship and made the long drive up to Bradford for Round 1 of the competition. There were a variety of assessments: mechanics, co-driving, driving and personality, and Chris found the day a great experience.
Pic: On Stage at Rally School UK
At Rally School UK you step into a 250bhp Subaru Impreza and head off into the 7 miles of private forest stage that the venue provides - AWESOME!
After passing the first set of assessments with flying colours Chris is heading back for Round 2 in September. With a prize of 6 events in the British Rally Championship next year - Fingers Crossed!
After dissappointment at their last entered event (Wildlife Stages - Smeatharpe) being cancelled, the Boys have now confirmed their next outing will be at Colerne Airfield in the Azimghur Stages on 15/07/06.
Pic: The Flying Bogey in Action
The car has had a new 4-branch manifold fitted and is now running twin Webber 40's. After a recent rolling road is now nearly topping 110bhp at the wheels.
This once Lombard RAC venue promises to be a high speed afair which will hopefully prove another good test for the crew after the tight and slippy stages at Brean.
The boys have returned from another successful outing, this time at Colerne Airfield in Wiltshire. The Azimghur Stages provided a very different challenge for the Bogey crew following the outing early this year at Brean. It was hot, dry and very fast in places so this would provide a good test of the cars top end performance and reliability.
Pic: The Service Area at Colerne
The day began well with the usual logistics being organised by Tim on the Friday evening as Chris travelled back from London. It was another early start on the Saturday morning and the team and the service crew set off up the M5.
The team arrived at the venue on time as usual and flew through scrutineering. It was then a bit of a mad dash to get the stage maps noted and get set for SS1.
The boys got off to a good start and showed confidence with their breaking and cornering over the first couple of stages. The layout was fairly repetative and they soon realised where they could try and reduce the impact of their power defecit by being braver in the technical parts of the stage.
Pic: The Bogey Pre-Event.
SS4 saw another first time event for the crew - the Bogey's first victim. This was one of the longer stages and the boys managed to catch and overtake a Peugot 106 and a 205. The later of the two, being a touch hairy out breaking them into a chicane.
You can catch some footage of the boys in action by clicking here.
The rest of the day ran pretty smoothly and once again the Bogey proved its 'ultra-reliability'.
The crew were a bit concerned that the extra power they now have would cause problems to the standard transmission but the Bogey watched almost half of the field fall by the wayside.
The day ended with the boys battling it out for a Top 50 spot, which, given the rest of the field would have been a great achievement. However, following a small driver error on the last stage they lost a precious couple of seconds and ended the day 51st out of 87 starters.
Click here see the full results. So what's next......the boys plan to make some alterations over the next couple of months and then its off to Smeatharpe for the Exeter Stages in October.