2007 Rallycross season round-up

14/10/07 - Mondello Park

Mondello Park hosted the penultimate round of the MSA British Rallycross championship, but this was not very exciting with half of the circuit missing. Despite this there was plenty of good weather and racing, with Bob managing to finish fifth in the A final and tenth overall. There was a bit of controversy due to drivers running on both Kumho and Avon tyres, but it was inevitable due to the Irish Championship also counting towards the British Championship.

21/10/07 - Croft Circuit

The final round of the 2007 MSA British Rallycross Championship took place at Croft Circuit, a day which dawned very foggy. The practice and first heats were run in thick dust causing major problems for all drivers. Bob had problems throughout the day as the car kept creeping forward during the race starts, but still managed to finish ninth overall - not to bad considering that there was no B final.

01/11/07 - Newcastle Quayside

Newcastle Quayside played host to the media day for the 2007 International Rallycross Superprix at Croft Circuit. 11 top drivers, including 13 times European Rallycross Champion - Kenneth Hansen, Rally legend Per Eklund and Rallycross Open Championship battling duo Tony Bell and Mad Mark took part in the promotional event filmed and televised by ITV. Carol had worked hard in the week leading up to the event to get the car into tip top condition and Bob wowed the crowd with his spectacular driving style.

03/11/07 - Rallycross Superprix - Croft Circuit

The opening day of the Superprix weekend included the final round of the 2007 LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship. The day started well with no problems and Bob was just starting to enjoy himself until the start of the second heats. He was on penultimate row of the grid and the bus driver blasted his way through a nonexistent gap pushing him into the path of Mad Mark and then the pit wall. With a broken steering rack, bent steering arm, compression strut, driveshaft and excessive body damage, the team set to work. Considering that the practice and first timed runs for the Superprix were only an hour away, the teams mechanic - Carol got to work and the car was soon back together and ready to go. We survived qualifying and were ready to start the Superprix on Sunday.

04/11/07 - Rallycross Superprix - Croft Circuit

The main superprix raceday started well but at the start of the second round of heats the rear driveshaft broke once again. Carol soon fixed the problem but then a front shaft went during the Semi final, leaving Bob to do a few doughnuts just before the finish line. Bob still qualified ninth overall for the Superprix and was given an entry into the final using the organisers "Wild Card" option, alongside the winner from the day before - Tony Bardy. With the high quality entry that the event had attracted, Bob was well pleased with his performance and with Hansen, Evans, Procter, Doran, O'Donovan, Manning, Mad Mark, Binks and Bardy all in front him on grid, he decided to sit back and see what happens as they all piled into the first corner. To Bob’s horror - nothing happened - the race went on and Bob passed Pat Doran who's bonnet had flown up. Just before the finish line Bob also found away passed Tony Bardy, so he ended up eight overall in the Superprix - not too bad for a 23 year old car.

PS. Old fords never die!

06/12/07 - London Masters - London ExCeL

Bob took part in the official London Masters Rallycross Media day on Thursday 6th of December. The specially created jump did not suit the Escort at all and the organisers decided to lower it in time for race day.

08/12/07 - London Masters - London ExCeL

After eight months of preparation and organisation the London Masters Rallycross kicked off in style (with plenty of wet weather) - the first specially constructed arena event to take place under floodlights in the UK. Transmission problems ended the event early for Bob leaving him to watch from the sidelines.

09/12/07 - London Masters - London ExCeL

Our racing season was rounded off watching from the sidelines following the team’s problems on the Saturday. Congratulations must go to ex Rally legend Per Eklund for dominating the event with his Saab 9_3 - Per is a credit to the sport and we hope that we see him back in the UK during 2008.

Dinner Dance and awards presentations

Bob was awarded the Tim Milner at the Rallycross Trust Presentation evening and handed an appreciation award at the Rallycross Open Championship dinner dance thanking him for all of his efforts that he has put into Rallycross during 2007.

Bob was classified fifth overall in the BRDA Championship and 14th in the MSA British Rallycross Championship. The team would also like to congratulate ‘Mad Mark’ on winning the 2007 LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship. Please check back shortly to read about our exciting plans for 2008.

Wednesday October 3rd - Rallyday & Lydden Hill

Rallyday was dry with 15000+ spectators in attendance. I only went out on the rally stage once, but at the end of the stage the car caught fire in the pit lane which was quickly put out. At the same time the water header tank exploded - we did not have a spare and that was it for the day. A big thank you to all the other Rallycross drivers who attended.

The following day we moved on to Lydden Hill for the fourth round of the LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship. Carol got the car repaired first thing on Sunday morning and we made our way to the circuit. Practice went well and with Tommy Field on hand making some adjustments to the new engine the day was looking good. The first two heats saw the car running well, with no major problems to report apart from half spin. Heat 3 saw Bob make a very good start flying around the outside of Chessons. He went to take fourth gear on to the tarmac and gear stick came out in his hand - totally pi**ed off he decided to wave the gear stick out of the window and return to the paddock. Looking on the bright side we still qualified sixth on the grid for the A final. The start of A final saw Tony Bell push his way pass Derrick Jobb - Jobb went on to the grass and Bell went pass Jobb, which held Bob up. Jobb came back passed, but by then the others had got away. Bob chased Jobb onto Chessons, with Jobb running a bit wide so Bob went up the inside, only to find Bell sideways across the track. Bob braked hard and threw the car sideways to avoid the stationery Bell. By this time the leading pack were on there way into the Elbow so Bob sat back to finish sixth overall and the winner of the Division 1 Special category. Congratulations go to ‘Mad Mark’ Watson on his first Division 1 win and thanks for the free Hotel room at the Superprix.

Friday September 7th

Well, we had an eventful 6th round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill on Bank Holiday Monday.

Bob has always complained about the lack of efficient braking on the car. In an attempt to alleviate this problem, we spent most of our evenings the previous week removing the pedal box, making adjustments and refitting. Unfortunately this proved to be a fruitless exercise as no significant improvement was achieved, so it's back to the drawing board on that one!

The car went reasonably well in practice, but in the first heat Bob complained of a lack of power (in addition to the lack of braking!). The cause of the problem was a split turbo pipe, which was soon rectified in time for the second heat. Heat two was no less problematic; the car experienced throttle jamming (full on, unfortunately) forcing Bob to switch the engine off instantaneously and being unceremoniously towed back to paddock. This problem wasn't as easy to fix. We initially thought it was due to a sticky throttle cable, but on further investigation we found a breakage in the throttle body itself. Our thanks goes to Scott from Dermot's camp who managed to come up with a temporary fix in order to race in the third heat. Better luck this time; Bob actually managed a win - well, he did race himself. But it's the winning that counts, not who took part!!!

Bob managed to qualify for the B-Final - only two contenders in this race - Bob and Chris Langley. In view of the problems encountered during the day, Bob decided to take it easy and save the car for another day. Chris's Escort flew and won, qualifying for the A-Final and Superfinal. Well done Chris.

So, back in the workshop, the engine & gearbox have again been removed for checking and re-fitting, in time for Rallyday 2007, Castle Combe on the 22nd September, and the fourth round of the 2007 LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship at Lydden Hill on the 23rd.

See you there!

Friday August 10th

We had a wet weekend in Scotland, but still managed to qualify sixth for the A final. At the end of the four laps, Bob finished third overall, receiving a nice trophy and a bottle of bubbly. This qualified Bob sixth on the grid for the superfinal - a race which saw him make a brilliant start, but his good fortune eluded him, when the front wheel collapsed on the third lap, causing the car to turn right, into the tyre wall. Luckily Bob wasn't hurt, but proceedings were brought to a halt. The re-started race (without Bob), was won by Ollie O'Donovan, who claimed his first overall win in Rallycross. Congratulations Ollie!

After the fifth round of the British Rallycross Championship, Bob lies in sixth position in the BRDA Supercar category and 13th overall in MSA British Rallycross Championship.

It is now up to Carol to strip the front suspension, check and realign it ready for the team's next outing at Lydden Hill on Monday August 27th.

Monday July 30th

The fifth round of the 2007 MSA Rallycross Championship takes place this weekend at Knockhill in Scotland (near Edinburgh). The team has temporarily solved the transport problem with a new addition to the fleet - a Ford Transit with a beavertail. The car is just about ready to go, with just a few last minute checks and alterations required.

Bob has also confirmed his entry for the 2007 London Masters Rallycross event, which takes place at the London ExCel on December 8th & 9th.

Wednesday July 4th

We had a successful day at Pembrey last weekend, which was the venue for the fourth round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship. Bob finished 6th in the A-final and 8th in the Superfinal. The car ran faultlessly all day, apart from a minor glitch in the morning with the starter motor.

The team are still having problems with the Kumho tyres - after arriving at Pembrey on the Saturday evening before the meeting, the area suffered torrential rain, which flooded the circuit. It was touch and go whether the meeting would actually go ahead the next day - a scenario which undoubtedly would not have been considered had the cars been allowed to run on their original tyres. Fortunately, the staff at Pembrey managed to drain away most of the water. We experienced only light showers and strong winds on Sunday, helping to disperse the standing water.

The good run of fortune was not to last much longer, when the trailer suffered a blow-out on the journey home, causing it to jack-knife in to the side of a HGV. This wrote off the van and trailer, but the race car survived with only slight damage to the bodywork. We haven't had time to check the car thoroughly for any mechanical damage.

Both Bob and Carol were okay, albeit a little bruised - but it could have been a lot worse. They wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to Thames Valley Police, Gary & Mark from Greenmeadow Commercial Services (for bringing us home in convoy) and Mike Sellar for storing the van & trailer. Special thanks go to Dave of Roadrunner Tyres for meeting us at Sittingbourne in the early hours of the morning, helping us to unload the Iveco and lending us a van to get home.

Wednesday June 27th

Bob took part in the Neil Benfield memorial sprint at Lydden Hill last weekend. The day started badly when he tried to run over his mechanic. Fortunately she did not take it personally and continued to do sterling work throughout the day, helping Bob achieve his class victory. Thanks must go to the McNairs, in particular Mum & wife Jenny, who fed and watered us all day. However, during the incident with my mechanic earlier in the day, Dave did think that it was more important to save his cup of tea than to rescue her. Bob is not quite sure if he will ever be forgiven!

The team will be taking part in Round 4 of the MSA British Rallycross Championship this weekend at Pembrey.

Thursday June 21st

Bob and the team have decided to enter the Neil Benfield sprint at Lydden Hill on Saturday June 23rd. Neil sadley passed away last year after a long illness.

Wednesday May 30th

Round 3 of the MSA British Rallycross Championship took place at Lydden Hill on Monday May 28th. The event was abandoned before the finals due to heavy rain fall, meaning that the only class points were awarded based upon the starting positions for the A finals. No points were awarded for the Superfinal, meaning that drivers will now score in the best six out of seven events.

Bob broke the beams on his Escort in the first and second of heats, which was rectified in time for heat three. The team continued to have problems with the Kumho tyres and obtaining the correct settings, which left Bob in the B final. At the start of the race, the tyres blistered, but Bob still managed to find his way past Terry Briggs and Chris Langley into second place. Bob set off after Ollie O Donovan, but lost control of the Escort entering Paddock bend. Bob rejoined behind Langley to finish third in the B Final.

The team will now focus its attention on Round 3 of the LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship which takes place at Blyton Circuit (Lincolnshire) on Sunday June 17th.

Wednesday May 23rd

Bob took part in the second round of the 2007 LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship last weekend at Blyton Circuit (Lincolnshire). Despite a broken driveshaft in the second round of heats and a misfiring engine, Bob emerged as the winner of the Revivals A category, finishing fourth overall in Division 1. The event was won by Tony Bell (Toyota Corolla), ahead of 'Mad Mark' (Citroen Xsara) and Chris Langley (Ford Escort RS2000).

The team will now take part in the third round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship on Monday at Lydden Hill before returning to Blyton on Sunday June 17th for round three of the LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship.

Thursday May 10th

Round two of the 2007 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship took place at Pembrey last weekend. Bob enjoyed a competitive day of racing, but his hopes of a place in the A final were ended with gearbox problems in the third round of heats. The problems meant that Bob qualified fourth on the grid for the B final, but on the way down to the startline the gearbox failed, ending the weekend for the team.

Andrew Jordan won the event, ahead of Ollie O'Donovan and Dermot Carnegie. 'Mad Mark' Watson is the new Championship leader in his Citroen Xsara.

The next event for the team will be at Blyton Circuit on Sunday May 20th, which includes round two of the 2007 LINGsCARS.com Rallycross Open Championship.

Friday April 26th

The team have been forced to miss the second round of the MDA Rallycross Championship this weekend at Blyton Circuit, due to the team awaiting the remaing parts following the opening round of the Championship at Croft back in February. Bob and the team are confident that the car will be ready in time for Pembrey on Sunday May 7th.

Bob also missed the opening round of the 2007 MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill on bank holiday Monday, as the team have been forced to to fit bigger wheels to Escort due to the control tyre supplier Kumho tyres not making a suitable tyre to fit the car in its current specification.