PETE AND LIAM RALLYING

5th February - Due to the bad weather we had to withdraw our entry from the Mallory Park Eastwood Stages Rally as we couldnt get the rally car and trailer off the estate, never mind what the roads would have been like at 5am all the way to Mallory Park. We were of course disappointed, but we already have an entry in for the Flying Fortress Stages then after that probably the Hallamshire Stages.

31st January - Seeding for Mallory Stages Rally out today. Car 32 and second in class one, lets hope we can finish that well !

28th January - Event preparation for our first event of 2012 the Mallory Stages on 5th February is now completed. This included replacing perfectly good and little used harnesses due to the crazy MSA rules ! Still at least Liam had won the cash prize as Dukeries Under 25 Champion Driver, so that made the cost more manageable. We have also fitted new bonnet catches after the problem at Blyton, so we are as ready as we can be, the only other thing we need is for the weather to be kind.

18th January - In-Car video from the Dukeries track day at Blyton, can be seen in the "Gallery - Dukeries Track Day 2012" section at the bottom of the page. Also photographs added in this section, thanks to Rob Spence, top quailty !

17th January - The PAL Rallying entry is in for Flying Fortress Stages on March 18th at Grafton Underwood.

15th January - A better track day this year, some good laps to familiarise driver and car ready for the Mallory Stages on 5th February. Fast rides for Darran and Lea of DS Travel, thanks to them for the help they give us. Only one small problem this year with a loose bonnet catch but no harm done. The Nova is now back in the PAL garage for a check up and general preparation work for Mallory.

6th January 2012 - Happy new year to all the PAL Rallying followers ! We will be taking the Nova to the Dukeries Motor Club Trackday on 15th January at Blyton Park to give our sponsor DS Travel and the club marshals some high speed thrills, this year we will try and keep it on the road and not end up on its side in a field, as we did last year.

15th December - We have sent the entry in for our first event of 2012, the Eastwood Stages at Mallory Park on 5th February.

4th December - A weekend in the garage has revealed a few under car area's which now need repainting due to the protective coating being chipped off in the forest, but generally no significant damage. Another trip to the rolling road is required to cure the low revs performace issues, then the tarmac suspension requires refitting ready for the next planned event in 2012.

20th November - PAL Rallying would like to thank all those involved in assisting us to our 4th in class in the Premier Rally on Sunday, especially Rikki and Julian, our service crew who kept the Nova running for the six stages. A few early problems improved as the day progressed and we had a well controlled drive, not pushing too hard as it was the first time in the forest with the Nova, an enjoyable day back on the stages again.

15th October - Our entry is in for the Premier Stages Rally on 20th November, this year running in a new format as a single venue rally in Sherwood Forest with no road sections. Preparations are underway to ready the Nova for its first outing in the woods after the refurbishment earlier in the year, we are hoping the car will perform better even if the crew are a little rusty !

10th September - Nova had rolling road check and set up, 108hp at 6500rpm at the wheels. Liam on holiday for two weeks so will be a bit longer before we have a chance to try it out !

7th September - It seems a while since we started, but the Nova is now completely rebuilt with refurbished engine, manifold and heater unit, we have also bought some Revolution RFX wheels and new tyres ready for our future outings. The MOT has been passed, just the engine to set up on the rolling road and we are all ready for a test day and the premier rally.

12th August 2011 - Well after a long break for various reasons, the Nova is having the repaired and rebuilt engine fitted into the car, along with the new stainless steel manifold and micro heater demisting system, to list a few of the modifications. The next step is to arrange a test day to run in and test the engine, followed by a rally (Liam is on holiday for two weeks, so the time schedule for events will be restricted). More details to follow !!

23rd July 2011 - Pete was co-driving for Emlyn again, this time at the Opposite Lock Rally at Manby. Further details of this and the Dukeries Rally can be found on the "PAL In Other Cars" page, in the "Event Reviews" section.

11th June 2011 - Pete was co-driving for first time forest rally driver Emlyn Evans (who is a mechanic for the Seat BTCC Team) in a Peugeot 306 on the Dukeries Rally. A clean and precise drive which got faster as the day progressed with no major issues and a good finish.
 
9th March 2011 - The engine has been stripped down following the broken valve at our last event. The piston has some damage and is being replaced along with eight new valves and a new cylinder head.

20th February 2011 - Another DNF at Manby, this venue seems to be unlucky for us ! We were 2nd in class until we broke a valve in the engine, in some of the worst weather conditions at Manby for quite some time. See the "Event Reviews" section for more details.

12th February 2011 - Preparation work on the Nova for the Bill Cammack Rally today, front bumper and grill refitted with new wing mirrors, tyres changed onto our usual wheels, set up work for our new in car camera (the last one got a little wet at the Manby watersplash). Still to do, new mudflaps to fit (as per new regs), new front brakes to fit, new air filter to fit, new bulkhead wiring connector, when checking the car we also found the exhaust manifold had broken again and will require welding up before the next event and replacing asap.

30th January 2011 - After a not too sucessful track day, we have some more work to do on the Nova. The problems were our own fault, Pete was
driving on the circuit and took a corner too fast, the rear of the car broke away but was being controlled, unfortunately we ran out of tarmac when sliding sideways, went down a small bank into a field which then rolled the car onto its side. Luckily due to the soft earth the only exterior damage was a broken wing mirror and a small dint in the rear quarter. However later in the day the car was not handling as it should and we had some sprarks in the drivers footwell, so we have taken the car to Alpha Motorsport for a full check over before our next event.

15th January 2011 - Pete and Liam attended the EMAMC Dinner and collected their 3rd in Class 1 Awards. A picture of us collecting the award
has been added to the slide show on the home page.

17th November 2010 - PAL Rallying have won awards in the Rainworth Skoda East Midlands Association of Motor Clubs (EMAMC) Championship 2010 for 3rd in Class One Driver and 3rd in Class One Co-Driver

24th October 2010 - Following the DNF at the Harold Palin Rally, we have fitted a new ignition coil (the cause of the failure) and distributor unit.
We are also having a modification to the power steering (thanks to Alpha Motorsport) by fitting a hydraulic system from a Saxo with a new steering rack, this is to hopefully remove the issue of heavy steering in slow corners and should save us a few seconds each lap.

3rd October 2010 - After a day of up's and down's including a small engine bay fire, a high speed off and 360 spin, some very fast driving and being second in class one most of the day (from SS1 to SS7), we finally ended our day at the Harold Palin Memorial Rally on SS9 with an electrical problem causing the engine to stop and not restart. The second event at Manby in our new car brought our second DNF, lets hope our next event at this location will beat the Manby gremlins !!!
For more details and images please visit the "Event Review" and "Gallery" sections of our website.
*** A slide show of the high speed spin can now be viewed in the Harold Palin Gallery section at the bottom of the page - Many thanks to Rob Spence for catching the action with such high quality photographs ***

1st October 2010 - PAL Rallying are all ready for tomorrows event at Manby airfield. we are seeded 35th out of 66 known starters for the North Lincolnshire event, and we are hoping that the rain stops and the sun comes out to shine on us again. The car will be looked after by Matt and Alan at Alpha Motorsport with Ralph Cooke returning to help out once more. Can we repeat another class podium? Check back here to find out how the event went

28th August 2010 - We have sent in our entry for the Harold Palin Memorial Rally at Manby on 2nd October, before then we have some preparation work to continue, along with some damage to repair from the Centenary Rally.
Liam has created a Facebook page for the PAL Rallying team, to access this you can use the button on our website homepage, add us to your friends list as another way to keep up to date with what we are doing and where we are going.

23rd August 2010 - SECOND IN CLASS ONE !  - PAL Rallying have won their first trophy as a team rallying together (though they have both won before as individual competitors). A great day in the newly built Nova, it makes all the hard work, time and expense worth it, see the "Event Review" page for a full report, photos and in-car video will be posted shortly.

14th August 2010 - After fitting the replacement engine we took the car to Blyton airfield for testing and general familiarisation. The weather conditions were terrible lots of standing water and heavy rain. Liam took the car for a run and was pleased with its performance, a few small issues with handling and car set up on the newly fitted tarmac suspension and maybe a little twitchy at high speed, but it is a Nova ! A lot of water leaking into the car which require sealing and the windscreen misting up (no electric windscreen fitted yet), also the carbs were picking up a bit of water making the engine splutter from time to time. All in all a good days testing with a few issues to resolve, but thats what testing is for.

10th August 2010 - Bad news for the 1600 engine ! To get it in running order will require a considerable expense and time, so we are considering a long term change of class to a 1400 engine, this would also fit in with out long term plans for the BTRDA championship. We have fitted the borrowed a 1400 engine which has a multiple class winning record, many thanks to Dave Woods at Alpha Motorsport. We will shortly be arranging a test day for the new car & engine set up, with a view to keeping the engine in the car. So we have entered the Centenary Rally but in Class One, back to the same class as our Peugeot 106.

25th July 2010 - Our first rally in the Nova resulted in a DNF, see the "Event Review" page for details, and the "Gallery" page for photos.

21st July 2010 - We have submitted our entry for the Opposite Lock Rally !
Thanks to a week of non stop work by Matt Wood, assisted by Pete and Liam, the Nova is finally ready so we will be competing on our first rally in our new car. However, as we haven't done any testing and as yet Liam hasn't even driven the car, so the rally will be a big learning curve.

14th June 2010 - PAL Rallying would like to send its best wishes out to the family and friends of Martyn Lewis, who unfortunately died following an accident whilst competing on The Rainworth Skoda Dukeries Rally. This tragic loss has affected the PAL team as they competed in the 1400s with Martyn being at the sharper end. Liam also looked for inspiration from Martyn in how to drive whilst on the stages. Rest In Peace Martyn Lewis.

28th May 2010 - A lot of work has been put into the building of the Nova this month, the results are now looking good, new pictures posted,
there is still a fair bit of work to complete (mainly wiring) but the finish line is approaching !!!

6th April 2010 - Event Review and Gallery pages now updated and added. This weekend (10th April) sees the PAL Rallying Nova finally come back home with its steering modification and new 1600 16v engine fitted after its top and tail check. This means Pete and Liam can now crack on building the car hopefully in time for May 16th, their first planned event in the new car.

2nd April 2010 - The car has been returned to the workshop fully sprayed. We have now started to rebuild it into a rally car !
So far the suspension and underside of the car has been refitted (its now a rolling shell), whilst bolting on various small items the engine is being checked over with a new paddle clutch and cambelt being fitted, before the engine is mounted into the car. A new pair of Redtop fuel pumps have been fitted, with the next job being to pipe up the pumps and braking system of the car.

8th March 2010 - The shell preparation and strengthening work is now complete, the car is going off for the spraying today, just a matter of putting it all together when it gets back !