Thursday 24 June 2010

A bad weekend all round...

Hi all,
Last weekend in Donegal started perfect, a great recce, and an excellent start, 6 stages on Friday wen't as smooth as ever, and we ended the day in a comfertable 2nd overall. It was the happiest I have been in a long time with my pace and overall package. However, little did I know when I woke on Saturday morning, that I was arising to one of the dullest days in my life so far.
An average first stage dropped us back to 3rd behind Tim McNulty, but as I learned before, it's best just to leave the WRC boys to it! I went into SS8 Fanad Head with a lot of hope, as it was a stage I really enjoyed from last year. We were having a really good run, as we approached a high speed section of the stage. There was a late medium left followed by a flat right hander. I just cut the inside of the left a little too much and hit a stone and puntured instantly, unfortunatly I could not negotiate the following corner, and we hit a pier of a house at high speed. It was a bitter blow, and again I was denied a great result.
The car was bad, and I dwelled for a while how the team and I were going to be able to afford to get out of this, however soon after, the car became the least of mine or anyones worries. My friend Thomas Maguire, tragically lost his life after an accident while co-driving for another friend of mine Shane Buckley. Thomas was a "sound lad", kept himself to himself, and got on with doing a good job with his co-driving. My thoughts and prayers are with the Maguire family, and also with Shane, who is still seriously ill in hospital in Dublin.
As for myself, we all now need to pull together and try and get us to the start ramp in the Isle of Man
All the best,
Craig

Wednesday 9 June 2010

A great weekend!

Hi all,
We travelled to Chesterfield at the weekend for the Rally Show at Chatsworth. The show was sponsored by Kick Energy, and we were invited to bring the Fiesta there to take part. It was a race against time the get the car ready, but all credit to M-Sport, they had the engine ready just in time, and Tom fitted it in Dovenby Hall on Friday.
The weather on Saturday was fantastic, bright sunshine and a really good fun stage was a great crowd pleaser. We had some guest runs in my own car, and then halfway during the day Steve Perez kindly gave me a spin in his Focus WRC, followed by his Datsun Safari car, and last but by no means least his immaculate Lancia Stratos. It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to drive such prestigious cars at a young age, and I can't be greatful enough to Steve for giving me the chance! We took part in event 5, the FIA event, against Steve in his Focus WRC. We led after the first day, but we were no match to Steve on day 2, and we ended up finishing a distant second. All in all, it was a really enjoyable weekend, and I'm looking forward to next year already!
I was in Letterkenny yesterday for an interview with RTE before the Donegal International Rally in two weeks. It's going to be aired next week at some point next week on the sports section on RTE News.
Looking forward to Donegal now, getting myself prepared both physically and mentally, and can't wait for recce to start next week.
I'll be keeping the twitter up to date so keep a look out.
All the best,
Craig