A little turbulance!

Hi All, Last time I spoke to you I was finished Sweden and looking forward to Portugal. We added my home rally, the Willie Loughman Memorial Rally, which we won by over 3 minutes. Our perfect season was progressing and I was really happy! So, after a fantastic start of the year, our last SWRC event in Portugal was, well a washout really. The pre-event test was all in perfect sunny conditions, as was the recce. Usual Portugese conditions, apart from the weather forcast! Heavy rain was forcast for Thursday evening, and they weren't far wrong. The rally started in Lisbon on Thursday morning, with a super special stage on tarmac. We started well, setting fastest SWRC time in the blistering heat of Lisbon. As we headed south for three gravel stages in darkness, the weather changed dramatically. The heavy rain that was predicted came in, and made the three stages very tricky. After a long regroup we set out into the darkness. The first stage was going well, until we arrived at a ford a few km's in. Some water got into the spark plugs and the car ran on three cylinders for the remainder of the stage. With the problem cured we pushed hard on the second stage and set a time 9th quickest O/A and 1st S2000 car, and gained some time back on the leader, Haydon Paddon. On the final stage of the day we had a problem with our intercom and dropped a few seconds back, but we were glad to have made it back to service and be ready to stard the next leg. Friday morning and the conditions were horrific. The rain stayed constant all night, leaving a muddy murky mess on the Portugese stages. We started the first stage of the day, set to try and get into the lead of the SWRC. After 1km we passed Haydons car and were promoted to the lead, all we had to do know was drive sensible. However just 4Km down the road, we were to hit trouble too. As we went through one of the many fords on the water logged stage, the car stalled and wouldn't re-start. We spent 20 mins clearing water from the cylinder before finally getting it going again. We got to the end of that stage, and set off into the next. However only 8Km into the next stage the same problem hit again, accept this time it was terminal. It was a very bitter blow, considering our speed on the only clear stage we had. But unfortunatly there was nothing we can do, just prepare for our next SWRC event in Finland in August. Amongst all the SWRC outings, we were delighted to sign a deal with Sainteloc Racing and Peugeot Sport in the IRC for at least four rounds. It was great to get a deal to be back in the IRC after our good showings last year in Zlin and in Scotland. The first round in the Peugeot 207 S2000 for me and Gareth was my home IRC rally, the Circuit of Ireland. I was really excited about the prospect of doing an event at IRC level so close to home. However starting with a new car and new team wasn't going to be easy for me. We had a test in Monaghan before the rally, and I was resonably happy with my setup, given the limeted amount of time in the car, and was looking forward to the weekend. The rally started on Friday evening, and after the first 3 stages we sat in a comfertable 4th overall, and looking forward on increasing our speed. Unfortunatly, on the way back to the service car, we had a fuel pump fail and we lost 1 and a half minutes of road penalties for being late back to service. This dropped us back to 7th, but I was keen on making back up lost ground. Unfortunatly only one stage ran that evening and we had to settle with 7th place overnight. Back up and running on day two, and we made lots of progress. There was some small bits and pieces that I wanted to try out, and it seemed the perfect time to try them. We made some really big steps throughout the day, and I learned a lot about the car and my new team also. By the end of the event we were back up to 5th O/A, which would have been 4th O/A without our time penalty. I think it was a good weekend considering everything, and now I just can't wait to get back out again! My next event is in Corsica in two weeks time, and to say I'm excited is an understatment. Corsica has been one of my favourite events to watch on the TV as a kid, and to finally go there and compete is a dream come through. Peugeot Sport won there last year with Thierry Neuville, so I expect the will want a top performance again this time round! For now, all I can to is focus and train to the maximum, I will be giving it everything, I promise! All the best, Craig