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News
Stu and new co-driver (completely
new to rallying!) Chris Atkinson recently competed in and finished 54th
overall (including a 2 min penalty) and 5th in the 1600cc class
on the Mewla Rally over the roads of the Epynt Military ranges, Mid Wales on
Sunday 28th August.
Flying
again!
The main objective of the
event was for Stu and Chris to get as much time in the car as possible, with
it being Chris’ first ever rally and Stu’s first since the Kall Kwik in
2010.
Since the last outing the
car had all new suspension (see Cars section for
updates) so the rally was also used as a shakedown to get used to the new
setup prior to the Mull Rally in October.
The rally went to plan
with no major problems, Chris doing a great job on the notes considering
his complete lack of previous experience and the car returning home without
a scratch on it.
The pair now look forward
to a good result on the Mull Rally on 14th, 15th
& 16th October.
Stu Ingham and Mat Tinker
- 205 Modified Champions 2010!
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Stu and Mat finish Kall Kwik to secure
the Modified championship
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After the slight off on
Mull, it was a race against time for Stuart to straighten out the car in
time for the Kall Kwik Rally, part of the Roger Albert Clark Rally, which
was to take place on 26th / 27th November 2010.
This was the final round
of the 2010 Hankook Tyres 205 Challenge, with Mat back alongside Stu in the
co-drivers seat. The car was fixed
in time and the pair surprisingly found themselves tied on points with
their nearest competitors in the Modified class going into the final round.
The rally provided real
RAC rally conditions with snow and ice set in for the weekend (and weeks to
follow!).
Stu and local co-driver Zak
Hancock tackle 2010 The Mull Rally!
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Stu and Zak flying on Mull
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The weather for Stu’s
first attempt at the notoriously tough Mull Rally with local Dervaig
co-driver Zak Hancock couldn’t have been better, with temperatures around
20 deg C+ making conditions perfect.
After an encouraging
start to the rally, ending SS1 in the top 50 after starting at number 93(!!)
Stu and Zak continued through the night at a steady pace in order to attempt
to simply get to the end of the event, ending the first night in 56th
position overall.
The second leg of the
rally is run in the day and the pair carried on at a comfortable pace,
remaining in 56th position until the final stage of the day,
Loch Scridain…
Roughly a mile from the
start of the stage, it became apparent that a 1L in / C wasn’t actually
what the notes said!
Stu quickly found that
there isn’t much room for error at Mull and ran out of road trying to keep
the back end under control whilst bouncing along a steep banking. The car came to an abrupt halt in a gorse
bush, sending the back end into the air and then landed half on the road,
half on the banking, badly bending the rear susupension in the process!
After some help from a
marshal, Stu and Zak managed to free the car from the bush / ditch but the
rear brakes were locked so were unfortunately forced to retire, the car too
badly damaged to repair back at service.
So in summary a slightly
disappointing end to a great weekend of rallying. Stu will be back in 2011 to have another
go!
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