Date:  Saturday 2nd October 2010
Event:  Harold Palin Memorial Stages Rally
Location:  Manby Motorplex, near Louth
Number of entries:  63 in total, 8 in Class One
Seeded:   35th Overall 3rd in Class One
Result: DNF (Electrical Fault on SS9 after 2nd in class and 30th Overall)

Written By Pete

SS1: The stages were very slippery and the watersplash very deep, which was making the windscreen mist up towards the end of the stage, but a good start at 2nd fastest in class one.
SS2: More of the same, with a half spin at the hairpin, a few trips onto the grass and some snaking under heavy braking, but we were increasing our time over third in class.
SS3: The surface was drying out and not so slippery, so we pushed harder, we caught a 1600 peugeot 205 on a straight and overtook it with straight line power and later braking into a 90 degree corner.
SS4: Whilst out on the stage we could hear an unusual banging from the front of the car, but its performance wasn't being affected so we carried on as normal. As we drove into service after the stage and lifted the bonnet we could see flames coming from the bottom of the engine. A quick dash for the extinguisher and the fire was quickly put out. Further investigation showed the exhaust manifold downpipe had broken and was vibrating on the sump guard, the hot exhaust had then set fire to some oil on the sump guard (from a leaking gearbox seal). The exhaust was temporarily welded up, the sump guard was refitted and we were ready to go again.
SS5: The first circuit after the lunch period wasn't up to the usual standard, Liam has relaxed too much during the long break, but after the split we improved and continued at our normal pace.
SS6: This was a repeat of the previous stage, but we improved our time by 14 seconds mainly due to Liam concentrating right from the start !
SS7: A very fast stage, though we didn't need to push as the class leading car was way out of our range, we approached the jump near the service area flat in thrid gear (not second as previously) and as we touched down got out of line on the exit and had a high speed 360 degree spin hitting cones and stage markers with both sides of the car, luckily the damage was only cosmetic and we carried on with the stage. Photographs and a section of in-car video of this event will be posted in the gallery section.
SS8: Just after the start our problems began with the engine stopping then starting again, we completed the stage but lost over a minute and went from 2nd in class to 3rd in class by 2 seconds. In service the problem was checked and thought to be a fuel issue and cured ready for the next stage.
SS9: We set off with car running perfectly again and us determined to make up the lost time and get back the 2nd in class position we had held all day, after some fast and well controlled driving we went onto the gravel section on the second circuit, the engine just stopped and that was the end of our day ! An electrical fault had caused the problem and a frustrating end to a very promising performance which saw us beat most of the other cars in our class.