What
a day!!!
The adventure started at 9:01am sharply and who could expect
such a turnout of events! The competition was there and it
wasn't about to joke around. All the boys were ready to maul
one another in the stages, before counting down the bottles
of beers which feel singularly stage after stage to be later
enjoyed in a celebrating frenzy shared by most, and the action
was about to begin.
Rolling
to the first stage I could feel the nerves kicking in, maybe
due to the fact that lately I haven't contested many stages
due to the nightmares which have overwhelmed my machinery,
or maybe because it was "Rally Time", something
which had been missing in both my and Max's life for a bit.
As Max and I shared a few jokes, sooner than later I clicked
in to "5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. GO!!" - and oooohh did
she GO! The "Launch Control" on the Focus was wukking!
I remember Max hollering for something, which may not be rated
enough for all audiences, to the feeling of his head snapping
back into the seat at such rapid force!
The stages were insane - no grip almost anywhere and I could
hear a few "Easy
Uh-Uh
. and maybe even "This
might hurt
"" coming from my co-pilot from
time to time, on how sideways and close to the various obstacles
the Focus would reach - to which of course, to the hopeful
pleasure of some, the Focus had to be stepped FULL sideways
through the S's in Dark Hole (our only Tropical Ice Stage!).
..
And then it began once more - just as I had started to settle
and started to think that I would actually maybe come close
to finishing a rally at last, the bad luck struck again! In
the middle of SS3 my 4th gear almost went, and by SS4 there
wasn't even a chance that she would work. We analyzed the
problem and decided that we could continue, but it would mean
that I could sequentially shift up to 3rd gear, dip the clutch,
by-pass 4th and head onto 5th and then sequential to 6th.
This would require extra concentration, but it could possibly
have been done.
We finished the 1st Route by returning to Vaulcluse for Lunch,
and was informed that I had been leading for the whole route,
stage after stage, picking up a few stage wins along the way
- I said to myself
. "not bad
maybe this can
continue".
Determined to continue the trend, we headed for the 2nd and
final route along with our still missing 4th gear. SS7 had
been cancelled (not a favorite anyhow!) and we headed to SS8,
and further to SS9 where I decided to give it all. The level
of concentration was so intense that crossing the finish line
on SS9, I remember shouting over the intercom "Now that
is ******* commitment!" - the result
. 2 secs faster
than my closest rival.
Having
now a lead of about 11 secs to my closest rival, the pressure
started to build, and unfortunately it was time for SS10 (the
non-favourite). At the end of the stage my lead had diminished
back to 8 secs and I started to doubt my chances of glory
.
And then bad luck decided to pay another visit! On SS11 I
now lost 5th gear altogether which meant that I was left to
compete the last stage of the day, with now roughly 7 secs
lead on a sequentially available 1,2,3 and a clutch by-pass
on 4th & 5th leading to 6th. We had a brief chat before
the stage and Max informed me that we would have to pull a
2:16.00 or better to win - the concentration built, the determination
grew fonder and the question pondered "Can I do this?"
- and 3
2
1
GO!! Everything above a 4th
gear corner had now to be turned to a 6th gear corner, whether
on or off the loud pedal. Through the first series of fast
corners it was quite all right, but soon after the bridge
and leading into the continuous rights and lefts, the car
was so sideways that up to now I don't understand how we didn't
go off the road! Out of those corners I saw a marshal raising
a Yellow Flag and found Paul Bourne cleanly pulled off the
road (out of gas
not very lucky himself I guess). I
knew at this point he wasn't going to be a contender for the
win, but at that point in time Manning was my biggest rival
and he was behind me!
As I flew past the S's in Orange Hill and above the cress
leaving to the long stretch before the last two corners I
said to Max "We nearly there boy.." to which the
emotion erupted from him "Go boy Rog! We can do it!"
- 2nd to last corner 2:07
.last corner 2:10
Finish!
- 2:12
.. WINNERS!
What a day - I'm sure you can agree with me!!! I would like
to thank my sponsors McEnearney Quality Motors Inc and M&M
Racing for supporting me this year. I would also like to thank
all the marshals for coming out and supporting our event -
your help is always appreciated. Also Rally Timing for an
extremely well resulted event and the BRC for a flawlessly
ran rally.
Rally Barbados - here we come
..
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