Posted Friday 25th November 2005

Well then!

That was the Roger Albert Clark Rally 2005 then. It is not that long ago since we said, “it won’t be long now” and the countdown said 40days left!

And now, it has been and gone. What are we going to do with our dark evenings now? Perhaps do that web-site overhaul, and that decorating at home we kept promising to do! As for the Rally Manager, it’ll be down to the maps again for 2006 then!

You have read our accounts from the stages as we went around. We would like to apologise to those Marshals we didn’t see on Monday evening, due to the thick fog, it was impossible to get to you from Dumfries in a reasonable time. So we had to rely on the Rally Manager who was in the forests already.

Despite the weather, often referred to as typical RAC weather, the event passed without any major incidents and all the competitors at the finish were again full of praise for the rally.

As the course closing car crew we would like to pass our thanks to the organisers for a brilliant event.

We also especially want to thank all the marshals and officials who turned out in that awful freezing fog and waited for us to get to them. Your continued enthusiasm and good humour are a credit to the sport and kept us going. I’m sorry that I couldn’t share the warmth of the heater with you though. We hope that we didn’t keep you waiting too long.

We would love to see you all out there again next year, so come and join us next November.  In the meantime we may see some of you on the Kall Kwik in February.

Steve, John and Malcolm Higgins
Course Closing Car, Roger Albert Clark Rally 2005

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Posted Thursday 24th November 2005

Final Results

After four tough days the honours were taken by Mark Higgins and Peter Martin in their Stobart sponsored MkI Escort, closely followed by last year's winners Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni in second place.
 

For full results see Tynemouth Computer Services Results System

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Posted Thursday 24th November 2005

From Carlisle to Sheffield - taking the scenic route...

5:00 AM Carlisle Airport Service Halt:  Wait a minute, haven't we been here before?  Yes the last day of the 2005 R.A.C Rally and the event once again restarts from Carlisle.  Unfortunately it's another damp and foggy morning as the competitors leave for the Kershope.  Reports are already coming in of freezing fog, bringing poor visibility in the forests and black ice on the road sections.  Oh Joy!

As we set off after the last competitor to close Kershope 1 I feel that the conditions have been exaggerated.  That is until we start to rise to higher ground and then it's just as if someone has thrown a veil over the forest road.  Suddenly visibility is down to ten yards in front of the car.  Not being able to see the road and relying entirely on directions read from the OS map, I'm not brave enough to take the speed above about 25 miles an hour.  I now have even more admiration for those competitors who take their lives in their hands and despite the conditions still give it "maximum attack".

We hear over the radio that Jimmy McRae's rally is over due to engine failure on stage 23.  This time unfortunately, this is true and that's the last we hear of the Prepfab Porche.

Wait a minute, how did that MkII end up there?  We come across Ray Bellm standing by the roadside ruefully examining his Escort straddling a ditch having flown backwards into the bank after Ray braked to avoid another stranded car.  The Escort's backend came out and pitched the car backwards across the ditch.  We suggested that Mr Bellm might possibly be retiring and asked for his time card and damage declaration.  The answer cannot be quoted on a public website but if you write to separately I will send his reply under plain cover...

On Pundershaw we had one of those "You had to be there" moments when trying to catch up time I was pressing on and noticed that the colour of the track ahead differed from its surroundings.  Unfortunately I was too slow to realise that it was a substantial hump in the road.  That is until our vehicle took off and landed some yards further up the road.  This caused some consternation inside the car but hilarity in those marshals and spectators watching the spectacle.  I'll mark that in the roadbook for the next run through says my navigator.  Sometime later in the day as we hare through Pundershaw 2 we say in unison, "Isn't that the..."  Cue more hilarity from same marshals and spectators at the re-run of the morning's episode.

The ice is now starting to recede and its place is taken by sticky mud.  I would rather have the ice as I don't like the way the mud clutches at the tyres and threatens to pull us into the trees.

However, there is still enough ice to catch the unwary.  We come across the MkII Escort of Mad Mick Jones and Andy Morgan.  Apparently the crew have had a lucky escape.  The car has leapt an eight foot stream and hangs precariously on the bank looking as if it could slip backwards into the icy water at any time.  I tell the crew that they were lucky and ask what speed they were doing.  "Don't know what speed" says the driver "but we were flat in sixth..."


Onward to Croft and the last stages of the day before the long run back to Sheffield.  Surprised to see so many spectators here on a Tuesday.  As it gets dark, the last competitors attempt the run around Croft and we follow, closing the last stage of the 2005 event with twenty-eight other stages behind us.

My apologies for the late posting of this report.  The reports in this series were hand written in Microsoft OneNote, transposed for the web and uploaded along with digital images using a GPRS modem live from the forests.  Technology failed us when it proved impossible to get a cellular telephone signal in the Kielder area.

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Posted Monday 21st November 2005

Here we go again!

5:00 AM Carlisle Airport Service Halt:  Cars leave the service halt and run out to Ae.  It’s a cold, foggy and frosty morning.  As course closer we have time for a quick bacon sandwich and cup of coffee before we follow the last competing car out of service.

As daylight has not yet brightened the sky it seems a long run out to the first stage of the day but as we arrive at the stage we are reunited with our friends of the day before in car 32.  Yesterday it was a problem with a loose crankshaft pulley; today it’s overheating after their service crew had tried to prevent carburetor icing by shielding the radiator grille – that soon had to come off as within five miles of the restart the water temperature gauge was off the scale!

Arriving at Ae we find out that Jimmy McRae has suffered some sort of mechanical malaise and we should look out for him on our run through.  We take a quick stretch of our legs before attempting the stage and watch the early runners leave the start in a hail of gravel as the tyres scrabble for grip on the icy ground.  A great photo opportunity in the early morning light.

What a great stage Ae is, icy but clear after the fog of last night.  Let’s hope it stays that way all day.  Through the stage with all competitors clear and on their way to Castle O’er.  We didn’t see Jimmy so hopefully he is still in the running (we learn later that Jimmy is indeed still in the running but we are soon to lose the wonderful Stratos as engine problems force Steve Perez’s retirement.

Other memories of the day?

…The mist hanging in the valley as we drove the stage which ran around the rim.

…The patchy fog which seemed to cloak the road at just the wrong moment.

…The beautiful flowing roads through Whitefauld Hill

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Posted Sunday 20th November 2005

And Now, Freezing Fog!

Sunday dawned bright, crisp and cold and everyone got away from Sheffield on time from the restart - apart from the VK team as the Stratos, its Italian temperament showing - appeared a little reluctant to fire up and had to be coaxed into life after the departure control.

An easy run out to Bramham Park to be met with a large number of spectators willing to brave the cold to watch the competitors through this evocative stately home stage.  Everyone through here fine despite the fact that the road was frozen and very slippy.  A couple of cars had brushed with the bales and as we followed car 71 into the stage for its second run we drove through a blizzard of hay wisps being dislodged from the car in front.

Up to Croft circuit for some fast and furious fun and then a long run across the A66 to service at Carlisle airport.  We seem to be getting into the groove now and all competitors still running...Maybe you shouldn't speak too soon as we meet up with car 32.  Can you think back to when you had to work on your Mini?  You probably didn't have a crankshaft pulley come loose and have to fix it at the roadside with clock ticking...

So it's going to be an easy run now through Greystoke albeit a little more grading of the stage wouldn't go amiss!  Now on to Castle O'er, Twiglees and then back to Carlisle for an overnight halt.  However, about a mile out of Greystoke and the freezing fog came down.  Now that's not fun, though it did make the run through Castle O'er, er...interesting!

Twiglees, now what went wrong here?  Just after the first bend, here was Bob Bean, his immaculate Lotus Cortina looking a little less than immaculate straddling a ditch and well grounded.  Bob however was adamant that all it needed was to be pulled back onto the road and a touch over with T-Cut and it would be fine...

Three more cars had flown into the undergrowth in this stage alone and suddenly the entry list was looking a little depleted.  Those who made it safely back to Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to get some rest whilst their cars were fettled ready for a 5:00 AM start tomorrow.  Wait a minute, we're back on the road again at five and I need some sleep.  More from the stages tomorrow.
 

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Posted Saturday 19th November 2005

What a day!

Is the glorious weather that we've experienced today an omen for the event to come?  If you haven't seen the weather forecast, there is a prediction of the same frosty mornings and sunny days - great rally weather!

The Rally Show kick started the day for us all with a substantial increase in spectators over last year, excitedly looking round the various displays.  The Ford Rally simulator was drawing crowds and certainly every time I looked there was a queue to sample the experience.

Roger Albert Clark Rally clothing was selling well but I believe that there will still be an opportunity to buy at the service halts in Carlisle and Dumfries.  For a view of what is on offer, click here.

Forty nine cars left the ceremonial start in the Sheffield centre, flagged away by the Lord Mayor and Judith Clark, widow of the Rally's namesake, Roger Clark.

Following the run back to the Don Valley bowl, the competitors attempted the blast around the short but tricky stage around the edge of the bowl itself, witnessed by spectators in the arena itself

As we watched the cars return to service it was obvious that something out there had been savaging the near-side rear of some of the cars and when we subsequently drove the stage we found the culprit - on junction three we saw the remains of a substantial litter bin complete with contents that had obviously been attacked  by a number of competitors!

All forty-nine crews returned safely to service and lived to fight another day.  If today was a taste of things to come just watch for some spectacular driving over the next few days as the crews reach the forests!

At the end of day one, the leading positions were:

The Roger Albert Clark Rally

 The Roger Albert Clark Open Rally

Results from Tynemouth Computer Services Results System

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Posted Friday 18th November 2005

Well, it's almost here!  As we walked around the area to be used for the Rally Show tomorrow, the area was a hive of activity as the various stands were being erected.  One of the first in place was the Ford Rally Simulator and just seeing that car pushed into pride of place made you realise that this was going to be something special.

If that wasn't enough, the next car through the door was a bright yellow Lancia Stratos, similar to the one that will be driven in anger over the next few days by Steve Perez.

We took a drive through the service area and that was an encampment taking shape as Dunlop arranged area around their monster tyre truck and the Armajaro team set up their familiar blue canopies

If you have been following this web site you know that tomorrow will see the running of a stage around the Don Valley bowl.  Well, we thought we would also go and have a look at that too - as you do!  If you come to Don Valley tomorrow then you're in for a treat. This may not be a long stage but it's going to quite a test.  There are at least two hairpins where the handbrake is going to be de rigeur and a breathtaking lefthander which brings the cars within view of the stadium grandstands!  Without wanting to give too much away, wait until tomorrow and see what I mean. 

More from us tomorrow with some photographs from the Rally Show and the opening stage.

Watch this space!!

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Posted Thursday 3^rd November 2005

Throughout the event we will carry up to the minute news from an official course car as it's crew completes the stages on the
Roger Albert Clark Rally.  Hear from the marshals and spectators along the route and see images from the event posted by the course car crew. 

Updates will appear here from Friday 18^th November as crews start to gather in Sheffield for this year's Rally         

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