Back on Form!

Hi All,
A good time was had in Turkey I must say! It was nice to go to a rally with no pressure and put the disappointment of the Circuit of Ireland behind us. We were having a great event, and lying 16th overall and leading the fiestas by 6 minutes on Saturday evening when a rear hub sheared bringing an end to a promising run. We ended up re-joining under SupeRally rules and finished second fiesta, but I was still happy with my pacenotes, and I am confident to return next year in the S2000.
And then the the toughest challenge, getting home! I hopped on the M-Sport coach home outside the Green Park hotel at 5pm on Monday and travelled non stop until I reached the shakedown for the Pirelli at 3pm on Thursday! It was an adventure travelling thru Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France and finally Britain! I was wrecked tired and after shakedown we went and done the first day of recce straight away. Recce commenced again on Friday morning and the rally finally begun on Friday evening. Immediately there was a problem with dust, and running first on the road became a huge advantage, and we ended the evening 30 seconds off the lead. We had a good run all day Saturday pulling time from Gwyndaf Evans, all the way to the last stage where we had the gap whittled down to 4 seconds. I was quietly confident that we could do the business but 4 miles into the stage we got a puncture and dropped 3 mins. What made it all the more harder was that the leader stopped on the last stage, potentially giving us second or indeed a victory, but unfortunately it was not to be. However I was still very happy to be on the pace, and we set the majority amount of fastest times in the rally.
Next weekend we return to tarmac and possibly the most famous rally in Ireland, the Rally of the Lakes. Were running 3 on the road so no pressure!
Ill try and update again after the recce.
All the best
Craig

Another blow..

Hi all,
I went to Dundalk last weekend, hoping to put the dissapointment of last weekend behind me and move on, but unfortunatly the worst happend. Whilst having a good run on SS3, we got caught out on a high speed section and had a fairly substancial accident. Fortunatly both myself and Gareth are fine, but the car is going to need some attention before its next outing at the Pirelli International rally.
However we are now conentrating our efforts on the WRC Rally of Turkey in two weeks. It's kind of excitng getting back into the ST car again after such a long absense, and I'm looking forward to getting going! Its a learning excersise with the hope being getting a good recce done so that we can retourn next year in the S2000 car, and be prepared. At the same time, it will still be a serious matter.
Keep an eye here as I'll update again soon!
All the best
Craig

Bitter Dissapointment

Hi all,
Well what a dissapointing start to the 2010 BRC season. After all the hard work and effort our rally ended after 2 stages when a fuel pipe corroded and broke in the fuel tank. We were lying second overall behind eventual winner Keith Cronin at the time, and I felt that there was a lot more left to go.
However we have to get over it and prepare for the Circuit of Ireland this weekend. It's looking like a fantastic rally this weekend with a 20 mile stage scheduled to run in the dark, so it's an exciting prospect!
I'll update further in the week
All the best
Craig

Turkey bound!

Hi all,
A small snippet of interesting information. We have done a deal with Castrol Ford Team Turkey to compete in Rally of Turkey WRC round in April in one of their Fiesta ST's. It's a step back in car, but a great oppertunity to get to see the stages and make good pacenotes for when we return in years to come! All the bags are packed for the weekend and I'm just getting myself ready to set off and get the ferry, and I'm really excited about the prospects ahead! This is the first time the car will be seen in Britain competing, and I'm itching to get going!
Keep an eye on twitter, I'll keep it updated, I promise!
Craig

Another podium!

Hi all,
Mayo wen't well last weekend, another positive days testing preparing for the Circuit of Ireland rally. We were experimenting with some different parts which altered the top end speed of the car, and I feel it didn't suit the stages on the day, but this was the time and place to try it! I had an interesting week at M-Sport working on some small jobs on Henning Solberg's car that was being prepared to Jordan, which was good experience. I had a chilled weekend at M-Sport, a calm before the storm if you like. As you know the first round of the BRC is on this weekend, the Bulldog. I am so eagerly awaiting the rally as it's going to be my biggest challenge to date. We're running 5th on the road, so no doubt as to what people are expecting from us! All I can hope for is that I deliver the results from the effort that me and the team of people around me are putting in. There is some real cracking stages, taking in some familiar forests from Rally GB, so hopefully my prior knoledge will give me some help! Keep an eye out on the twitter, I'll do my best to keep you posted.
All the best
Craig

Onwards to Mayo!

`Hi all,
Just a brief update, back home since yesterday and I'm glad of a good night's sleep in my own bed! I'm leaving to go and pick up Dai from the port shortly and make our way to Mayo for the rally this weekend. Im looking forward to getting back out on tar, and in competition, as Galway seems so long ago now! It's looking like it's going to be a tough rally, with all the usual National Rally Championship competitors out in force. It seems ironic that people that played such a key role in Dad's National Championship win in 05' are now my main opposition here this weekend, so it will be interesting to say the least! Looking forward to it, and eagerly awaiting the start!
I'll try and tweet as much as I can and keep you all updated!
All the best
Craig

Off to a good start!

Hi All,
Apologies for the delay, its bein a busy few weeks once again!
We've had a lot of events going on over the recent weeks, coupled with my new job at M-Sport, so it has been exciting times. Firstly we had the launch of our new Fiesta S2000 at Belline Estate in Piltown. This was a fanastic day, and I must hand it to my PR manager Trevor McGrath for putting on a sterling show and gave the year a very professional start!
The day following the launch we took part in the forestry championship test day in Cork. It was a great day to learn the car and get mileage under my belt in the new mount, and I can assure you that I enjoyed it immensely!
Two days later we had our first tarmac test in the car prior to the Galway International Rally. All I can say is that I'm still in awe of what the car can do on a piece of road that I have driven all my rally cars on before. We spent a long day there testing all components and finding the best compound of Pirelli tyre, and I felt very confident with where we ended up.
And then we headed to Galway, for what was to be a tremendous weekend. A good solid start, led to a steadily increasing pace, resulting in 2nd overall, and the first non-WRC car home! It was a dream start to the year, in possibly the most difficult and challenging events of the year. It was nice to get the reward back for all the hard work everyone put in during the preceeding weeks and months, and it really sets up what looks to be a very good year!
Finally yesterday, we performed course car duties on my local rally, the Wille Loughman Memorial. The main aim was to get a good setup for the rapidly approaching Bulldog International rally in just three weeks now! I feel we achieved this, and I was really pleased with where we ended up in the end, and I would like to thank Barry Duggan and his team for allowing me to get perfect test miles in the new car.
Next weekend I am competing in the Mayo Stages rally, a round of the Dunlop National Rally Championship, and it will be Gareth's brother Dai that will Co-drive, as Gareth is on holidays, (well for some!). It will be the first time that I have done a round of this championship that my dad played such a vital role in over the last ten years, so It's nice to get out and do a round of a chamipionship that he won previously!
On a seperate note, work at M-Sport is going well, and I am slowly settling into my new surroundings, whilst learning more and more with each day. I'll keep you informed of anything new and exciting going on with my placement as time progresses!
For now, I must catch my flight back to Manchester for a short weeks work before Mayo next weekend!
All the best,
Craig