Monday 18 July 2011

The Rock is back!

Hi all,
A very emotional day is all I can describe the 26th of June this year. Six years after my Father Ray won the Ravens Rock for the first time, I was winning mine. The 15 year old back in 2005 destined for years on the racing circuits never dreamed of doing such a feat, but boy does it feel good now! I remember looking in awe at my Father when he won, looking back over the list of previous winners and seeing him more as an idol than my Father!
So as you can see, the Ravens Rock Rally is HUGE with me, far more important to me than any of my successes to date. It was a great event, okay a lot of the top guys pulled out over the days leading up to the event, but for me it didn't take away any of the pride. We were fastest on all but one of the nine stages, building a very comfortable lead and then just enjoying the spin in the S2000 again. I then headed away the following day to Portugal for a few days rest, it was a nice feeling I must admit!
So, at the weekend it was back to serious business, but back in the R2 car. Rally Estonia came as a perfect test for Rally Finland next week, so we set off to try and get a good setup in the test car that we could carry over onto the Academy Car next week. We ran on a Pirelli K4 tyre which is the control tyre for the Academy, which maybe wasn't the most competitive for the event, but defiantly was the right option to be in good shape for Finland. We had a great rally, 28th O/A and 2nd in class. More importantly we're all set for Finland.
So, Finland , the home of Rallying, and we're ready to win! We've had a disappointing WRC Academy Season so far, but I'm so keen on getting it back on track. Points for stage wins should really help our case, so we know what we have to do.
And now, some great news, we have decided to get back in the S2000 car and go to the IRC Barum Rally in Czech Republic in late August. It's a great event which is meant to be some bit similar to our roads here in Ireland, and I cannot wait to get there! It's the first tarmac rally I've done in the S2000 car outside of Ireland and the UK, and with the IRC competition as fierce as it is, it will be a great bench mark to see where we are on tarmac with the best S2000 drivers.
But for now, it's head down and time to get ready to fly in Finland! :)
Keep an eye out on twitter as per!
All the best,
Craig