More of the black stuff!

Hi everyone,

So, lots of tarmac recently, however it didn't start off to well! We traveled to the Jim Clark Rally in May, my first tarmac outing this year, and I was really looking forward to it. I only got a very brief run in the car at shakedown, but it felt great to be back in a front-wheel drive car on tar. We had six stages that evening, two small blasts around Duns Street stage, and two over the moors of Bothwell and Abbey St Bathans. We had a great night, even setting a time good enough for 5th overall on the first run through Abbey! We ended the night 7th overall and 2nd in Formula 2, very happy with our work. We started day two on a familiar stage, Polwarth and again we set the pace in R2, and 7th overall. SS8 however spelled the end, on a medium speed left hander the rear of the car got a little light, spun round and we hit the ditch on the inside, minimal damage, but a broken radiator put us out. I was really dissapointed, fellow WRC Academy driver Alastair Fisher was just starting to get into a good stride and setting great times, so it would have been a great way to get a benchmark for Germany and France, but it was not to be. Alastair went on the win R2 and the Fiesta Sport Trophy, well done to him.

We hadn't much time to dwell however, Tom and his team had the car repaired in a day, and we were off to France. Rallye du Ronde Limousin, a round of the FFSA Rally Championship based in Limoges, central France. . Held over two days with a total of six stages the event was held in central France. Friday evening saw us take on two stages, the first was 23kms and the second was a short 2.34 super special. I was seeded at 136^th but from the off, I moved up the 41^st and over night held 2^nd in R2. Saturday, day two was made up of four stages, nothing special there but the rally was defined by Ronde de Vassiviere stage at 47.3km which was taken on 4 times. Over the first pass I took over the lead in R2 and moved up to 36^th overall. Stage 4 was cancelled but stage 5 saw us move up to 24^th overall and extend our class lead. With the final stage also being cancelled, we rounded off the good day with a class win and 24^th overall. I was really happy with this rally. The FFSA championship is the home of Front-Wheel drive rallying, the best there is. We won our class comfortably, and we even set a time on Stage 5, good enough for 11^th O/A! We had proved our speed on a specialized surface like European Asphalt, we’re moving the right way.

So now, we're back in the big boys car, the S2000 is out for "The Rock". The Ravens Rock is on the weekend, my local rally, and I can't wait! It's been 4 months since I drove the car last, and 8 months since I've driven it on Tarmac at the Cork "20" last year. We've been seeded car 1 on the road, which I am truly honored by. However to return to Kilkenny on Sunday evening still number one will be close to impossible considering the line up behind me. I've got four top of the range Subaru WRC cars breathing down my neck, led by winner of last weekends Donegal International Rally Tim McNulty. However, it's purely an experience excercise for me, and I'll be happy once I make some more progress on Sunday.

That's all for now, keep an eye out on twitter, as always!

Craig

What do we have to do!

Hi all,
Just home from another disappointing weekend in Sardinia. A great start and a steady pace, brought to a premature end by an unseen rock on SS4.
We arrived in Olbia on Sunday the 7th, fresh from our 3rd place finish in Formula 2 at the Pirelli International Rally. We had a guest lecture with Mario Isola and an event briefing on the Monday, and straight into recce on Tuesday morning. It was obvious from the recce that this was going to be the most difficult rally I have ever done. Really demanding twisty technical stages, some set high in the Mountains and Wind-Farms, other on low twisty tracks. We had another guest lecture on Wednesday by none other than Petter Solberg. It was a fascinating 45 minutes, hearing Petters climb to the top of the WRC ladder was truly inspirational.
Anyway, with all the formalities over, it was time to do the shakedown on Thursday morning. It was a very slippery road, not like that of the rally, so we only done 3 runs to make sure the car was ok. We had a ceremonial start in the evening and we were ready to start. Friday AM and we were away, a long run out to a smooth and wide first stage. We took it very steady, and were amazed that we were fastest by 2 seconds. This stage saw the demise of Alastair Fisher with mechanical failure, which was very disappointing. Onto stage two and again, another fastest time, it was all looking so good. Stage 3 was very tricky and slippy, and with a small lead already formed, I decided not to take any chances, dropping just two seconds, our lead was still in hand.
Onto stage 4, and our dreams were shattered. Roughly 8km into the stage there was a slight right hand bend, with a bump on it. The car bottomed out and we made contact with a rock in the ground with the sump, and in turn, broke it. The oil immediately drained and with a quick flick of the oil light, I shut the engine off, saving it from any lasting damage. It turned out I wasn't the only one to hit it, 7 other WRC Academy crews fell fowl of the same rock. We were very lucky to be only one of two of the seven that were able to restart using SupeRally on Saturday, as the rest had suffered terminal engine trouble. We re-started back in 8th place. Saturday started with a very committed fast stage set 120km from Olbia. It was a stage I really liked, and the aim of the game was stage wins. We were quickest in the stage by over 20 seconds, and enforced our pace on the day. We then had a very tough and rocky stage set in the mountains, and only a few corners into the stage, I could see it was going to be extremely tough on the car. I decided to slow right down, knowing that we had gained enough time on the first stage, and save the car. The final stage of the loop, and again very rough. Keeping in mind what had happened the day before, I again took the stage with caution, dropping only a hand full of seconds.
Back to Olbia for a 30 minute service and then to repeat the same loop. The plan to push on the first stage worked once more, quickest by 10 seconds this time, removing any pressure from behind. Then it all started to go horribly wrong. We started the second to last stage, comfortable back up into 5th place and just wanting to get home. Unfortunately, early into the stage we caught up with two slower drivers and were forced to drive in their thick dust for 10km. We dropped back to 6th, but with only 3 seconds to 5th, I was more than confident that we could get it back. However just a few corners into the last stage, the rear hub parted the car without any reason. Our hard work had been undone, and it was just so bitter. However, we did manage to make some make-shift repairs and got back to the finish in Olbia (a mammoth task in its on right) and picked up points, albeit in last place.
So, another horrible end to a WRC Academy round, but I suppose that's the sport that we know and love! But, we have to pick up and move on. In the WRC Academy, you score a point for a fastest stage time, and were off to Finland next so.....You've guessed it, maximum attack! It should be very exciting, but before that, we're back to tarmac for the first time in 8 months, with the Jim Clark Rally, and then the Rallye Ronde Limousine. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the black stuff, and getting a good set-up ahead of Rally Deutschland and Rally de France. We're also going to Rally Estonia for practice before Rally Finland, so some very busy times ahead, but for now the pressure is off, and it's time to prepare!
That's all for now, keep an eye out for tweets! :)
All the best,
Craig

The bitter side!

Hi All,
So, we headed to Portugal on top of our game, at the peak of our confidence and raring to go. We had a great test on the Saturday prior to the rally in our own car. It was fantastic, the road was exactly what the rally stages were made of, and we made lots of progress that day. We were staying in our holiday home in Albufeira which made things feel even more comfortable, it was shaping up to be a cracker. We had a WRC Academy briefing on Monday, guest speaker was Ken Block, what a guy! Tuesday, the recce began, we had a borrowed Renault Twingo, kitted with two trip meters and an in-car camera (it was a sight to behold!). We had two great days recce, I was particularly happy with the first stage on Friday, it was a really nice stage, and I knew straight away this was my stage to push - this molded the whole weekend. On Wednesday evening, we had the official WRC Academy test. I only done two very slow runs to make sure the car was OK, we had done all our hard work on Saturday.
Thursday morning, 6am and we were all loaded onto a coach for a four hour trip to Lisbon for the Super Special Stage. Here, the WRC Academy was officially launched, with guest speakers such as Michele Mouton, and Malcolm Wilson, it was a truly great experience, and I was delighted to be part of it. We done the recce for the stage in golf buggy's (great fun was had I must say!) and we had a few hours to relax before the start. We had a small drivers parade going around in the back of vintage cars, and then the rally started...with a bang! I was in the second group of WRC Academy drivers, just off the start of the stage you had a long straight, and then a six left (a tight 90 degree left corner). It was partially on cobbles, and I just misjudged my braking, came in way to fast and had to fire the car around on the handbrake. Just when I thought I was after getting away with it, I hit a concrete bollard with the rear right wheel, and bent it dramatically. I really thought that was it, I was sure the wheel would fall off, and I didn't think we were allowed fix it in the evening. However, I plodded round, got to the finish, and to my amazement we were 2nd fastest! I have no idea how, but I wasn't complaining! Got the all clear that we could fix the car, time to relax, we got away with it.
Friday AM, and the rally started proper. The famous first stage that I was looking forward to so much was moments away, and I was buzzing. We had a really good stage, finding the rhythm instantly. The car, pacenotes, everything was perfect, and I was doing what I do best. We set a brilliant time, 10 seconds clear of everyone else, and we had laid our marker. However all was not well, when we came to the stop car, the gearbox was making a horrid noise, it sounded like it was going to give up. We had to really nurse the car through the next two stages, avoiding 3rd gear at times, but still we managed to take 10 seconds a stage off of everyone, I was so happy to get to service. We had to change the gearbox in service, a great effort. We lost 10 seconds with a penalty on the way out, but we were still 20 in front.
The same stages repeated, and we were back setting the pace. Fastest by 6 on the first one out, but then more trouble on the next. We broke a gearbox mounting early in the stage and the engine began to move around violently. But, all was not lost, our closest rival Yeray Lemes stopped in the stage, so we were well in front, over a minute. We chose to slow right down, still only loosing 0.1 of a second on the second last one, but over 30 on the last stage of the evening, it was very rough and no reason to push.
Saturday morning, the first stage was very tricky and the end featured a very technical fast section. I chose not to push, dropping 9 seconds to the fastest time, but I was still happy. Second one, and we picked it up a little, quickest by 10, we laid our marker once more. Then, onto the third one and disaster. A really deceptive second gear corner of a narrow crest, and I just got caught out when I got to it, and turned the wrong way on the crest and down a steep embankment. It was all over, stuck and no way of getting out. All we could do was dwell on the outright speed and consistency we had, and work on winning in Sardinia.
We hadn't long to think about it, we were back out the following weekend in the next British Rally Championship round, Bulldog International Rally of North Wales. We fared a lot better, 1st in R2 and 1st in the Fiesta Sport Trophy rally. We were 3rd in Formula 2, but we just couldn't match the speed of the R3 cars of Mark Donnelly and Marty McCormack. Still, I feel we proved our speed once more, and up one more rung on the confidence ladder.
Then last weekend, to round off a trio of rallying weekends, we had the Moonraker Forestry Rally in Ireland. It was a small Irish National Forestry Championship Rally, but more mileage in the R2 car nonetheless. We were having a great day, leading two wheel drive and 3rd overall, but we suffered a puncture on the second last stage, and dropped back to 5th overall. Still, 1st in class, and 1st two wheel drive was a good day.
So now, a break, and time to train for Sardinia. I'm putting a huge push on my training for Sardinia, it's going to be really tough ,the weather looks like it's going to be mega hot- and I can't wait! It looks a very similar rally to Portugal, which bodes really well considering our speed there, so it's all looking good. We still have a round of the British Rally Championship, the Pirelli International Rally in Carslisle, but the big emphasis is on Sardinia, I can't wait!
Anyway, you'll catch me on twitter, I'm off for a run!
See you soon,
Craig

Back to basics!

Hi all!

We've moved back to our new pocket rocket that is the Fiesta R2, and wow, lots and LOTS of fun! We went to Bournemouth firstly for the first round of the BRC, Rallye Sunskeeker. We were part of M-Sport's teams entry, which added to the excitement for the event. It all started well, 3rd fastest on SS1, followed by second fastest on SS2. SS3, and just getting back into the grove of FWD driving, we set a fastest time, and moved into the Formula 2 lead. Unfortunately, in SS4, we were struck by bad luck and suffered a broken water pump. We had to stop and fill the car up with water from a near buy puddle, but unfortunately we lost 3 minutes in the process. We carried on, with the Fiesta Sport Trophy win in our sights, and even with the time loss, our array of fastest stage times on the last couple of stages was enough for us to win the Fiesta section and scoop the £500 prize. A small consolation, but still our speed was there so we have that to be pleased with!
Last weekend we had my local rally in Carrick-on-Suir, the Willie Loughman Memorial Rally. Unfortunately, Gareth was busy, but Barry McNulty was on hand to step in for the event. It was a compact 6 stage route, with 3 stages in daylight, with the same 3 repeated, but this time in darkness. We took a stage or two to settle into each other, and the organizers pacenotes (I've been used to making my own for so long now) but as the day progressed we got faster, and faster. We had a really good loop in the night stages, and we ended up 5th overall and 1st two-wheel drive car. Our last stage time was 2nd fastest overall and only 3 seconds of fastest against the GpN and WRC cars!
Then this last week, I travelled to M-Sport for some training before the start of the WRC Academy next week in Portugal. It was nice to finally meet the rest of the WRC Academy crews, and received some great tuition from the guys at ESP. We also got a chance to drive the proper spec WRC Academy cars, so everything is falling together nicely.
So, Portugal. Possibly everything I've spent my short rallying career gearing towards is about to start next week. I've exhausted every resource in regards to preparation, and I'm am so ready for this! The rally is great, we were there in 2009, and we won so hopefully we will have another repeat!
Anyway, I'll try and get another update before next week, if not, twitter shall rescue me! :)
All the best,
Craig

Snow joke in Sweden!

Hi all,
Apologies for this delayed blog. I had written one while finished the Recce in Sweden, but it seems like Swedish Internet has failed me, it said it had been posted!
So, Sweden was fantastic. Apart from 6 minutes that we lost on SS2, we were right on the pace on every stage, ending up 15th. Knowing without the time loss we could have been 11th is frustrating, but at least we know the speed is there for when we return. And hey, having the first round of the WRC being your favorite has its advantages, ask Mads Ostberg!
The stages were just phenomenal, perfect thick ice base, with large snow banks offering that confidence glance at high speed, a little nudge and your back on the line, safe rallying huh?! It was an honour to listen to so many people comment on how well we were doing, and once again, like Rally GB last year, I felt it was the real me back doing the results I know I can do. Last year was tough, because every time I'd pull myself up, there was an instant knock, and what had started out on a massive high in Galway, turned into a roller-coaster of emotions, finishing back on the same high in Wales. So to say I'm happy now is an understatment, two WRC rallys in a row inside the top 15, battling with Patrik Sandell, possibly one of the fastest S2000 drivers around, in both, why wouldn't I be?! But it's time to bring myself back down to earth, theres more important things to be concentrating on, the WRC Academy. It's creeping up at a rapid pace, and this week marks the start of our preperations. We're off to Bourmouth, right down south, for Rallye Sunseeker, the first round of the BRC, but this time in our new Fiesta R2. It's purely a testing and development exercise, but still we'll be keeping a close eye on the times! It's quite a compact gravel rally, just whats requried to settle myself back in the front-wheel drive. I must say, I'm really looking forward to getting back into the R2 again, because as most of you probably know, the Fiesta R2 has brought me great sucess in the past, and always leaves me with a huge smile on my face! Keep an eye out on twitter over the weekend, hopefully I'll be able to keep you posted.
On another note, I have been asked by Motorsport Ireland, and the Road Safety Authority to become an Ambassodor for Road Safety in Motorsport. It's in light of the new UN "Decade of Action", and everyone in motorsport will be encouraged to wear the new Metal Pin Tag stating "WEAR.BELIEVE.ACT" in a bid to bring awareness to the amount of fatalities on the roads today, and to try and slow down road users. It's a great scheme, and I was thrilled to take on the role as an ambassodor, and hopefully the capaign will have the desired affect that's so badly needed.
That's about it for the moment, I'm busy testing soon for this weekend so hopefully all goes well and we'll be in pole position for Portugal at the end of March!
Speak soon,
Craig

Back on Air!

Hi All,
Well, a quiet christmas period in so far as driving, but I've been plugging away at all the nasty bits! Paperwork and gym have been top of the agenda, as I have returned to work at the family business, Kel-Tech Engineering (Plug, Plug!). However, I had a bit of a taster to the year last weekend, when the CBR supporters club held some activities. On Friday last, we had a race night in the Ramada Hotel in Waterford. It was a roaring sucess, and in true Irish style, the bar remained open until the wee hours of the morning! However, for a few lucky guys and gals, it was an early bath. Part of the night, was a draw for a passenger ride the following day in the S2000.
Saturday we headed for the test road. I had heard so many horror storys of the renouned "Bullets Lane", the small road leading to the one and only Bullet Kehoe's house, that I was more worried heading up there than I was heading to Myhimpha in Finland! It was a tricky lane, lots of mud and gravel, and the odd patch of ice, but it gave a great taster of what it was all about. I even had the pleasure of bringing my wonderfull girlfriend Viv for a spin, which was great as it was a promise made near the start of the relationship and it looked like an oppertunity was never going to become possible, but Saturday served it's purpose well! Altough I'm convinced she thinks she can do better, I could have opened a huge can of worms here! Before I move on, I have to give a huge huge thanks to the organizers of the CBR supporters club; Jamie, Don, Billy, and Bill, are the names that shoot to my mind, but to everyone that helped out, I thank you dearly.
Anyway, Sweden. Were leaving for Norway next Thursday for two days testing with John Haugland, and then travel to Karlstad for the rally. Excited? Doesn't even come close to describe how I'm feeling! I cannot wait, a full snow rally in a Fiesta S2000, what more could a kid like me want?! So I'm counting the hours down to that, and as always keep an eye on twitter for the latest news on Sweden!
After Sweden I know everyone is asking whats the plan. Well, it's decided, but I wan't to wait and let the news come as a media press realease, rather than on here, but lets just say it's interesting!
Anyway, stay safe and come back and visit soon!
Craig

What a way to finish!

Hi all,



Just down from the clouds after a terrific week in Wales, our second world championship event in the S2000. A little more pressure this time as we had acquired a SWRC entry for the event, and moved in with the priority drivers. It was a top class entry, with newly signed Skoda UK driver Andreas Mikkelsen, and championship pace setter Jari Ketomaa on the entry list, it was a perfect opportunity to pace myself against the best S2000 drivers in the world.

We had a great test the weekend before, and with some recent engine developments from M-Sport, I was confident that we could go there and give a good account of ourselves.

The route was similar to last year, some changes, such as 12km of tarmac on Epynt before joining the original Crychan stage, and a new stage to me, Resolfen to replace Rheola which has been struck down by a tree disease.

A good recce and shakedown made way for the most difficult day of the rally in my eyes. Friday consisted of six stages based in Mid-Wales, Hafren (the longest stage of the rally) Sweet Lamb and Myherin. We started with a clean run through Hafren, and Sweet Lamb and were looking forward to rounding off a good morning loop in Myherin. However just 7km into the stage we had a rear puncture, dropping us two minutes. It was a bitter blow so early in to the event, but we tried not to let it affect us too much and we pushed on. We had a better second loop, however we had damaged the rear arch liner after the puncture and this allowed the mud and water to get into the car, leaving us with some soggy feet at the end of the day, but still 5th in SWRC.

Day two was the longest, with a 10km sprint through muddy Radnor (another classic stage new to me) Monument Hill, Four Ways-Crychan, and Halfway (All three based close to the Epynt military ranges). We were quite cautious through Radnor, as it was very tricky, tricky enough to see the demise of rally favourite Seb Ogier. But with really good runs over the Epynt stages, we started our comeback. With Monument Hill catching out third place man Brynildsen, we were up to fourth and getting more into the swing of things. Saturday evening stages brought us into the dark and more progress. Halfway was in complete darkness, and with the absence of the corner pods it was difficult whenever the car was sideways, but still the time was respective. In concentrating so much on what was in front, we hadn't noticed that Patrik Sandell was closing fast after having problems of his own on Friday.
We started Sunday morning one minute ahead of Patrik, and one minute behind third place man Xevi Pons. There were two stages repeated, Resolfen at 30km and the famous Margam stage at just 7km. We had a slow run through Resolfen 1, dropping over 20 seconds to Sandell, however Jari Ketomaa crashed out, promoting us to third in SWRC.We had still taken 20 seconds from Pons so we were still in shouting distance of him. Margam 1, again we took time from Xevi but more importantly Patrik took another 8 seconds, putting him only 25 seconds going into the final loop.
It was the first time in a long time that I had to enter the final stages of a rally and have to push, but I was willing to do anything to keep on the podium. We went to Resolfen 2 and drove the best stage I have ever drove in my life. There were a handful of places where I felt I lost a bit, but everywhere else was 100% and dragging every last drop from the car, and it showed. Patrik only took 6 seconds from us, and at the end of the stage, admitted it was his all too! Another surprise, was toward the end of the stage, we started to catch Xevi, and knowing we were only 40 seconds behind, we pushed that extra bit, and managed to get ahead of him, albeit by just 0.4 of a second. So with just the last Margam stage to go, we had a safe but reasonable run through, keeping ahead of both Xevi and Patrik to secure second in SWRC, and 12th overall.
It was a fantastic way to round off our season. A season plagued with bad luck and misfortune early on, but with our trip to Finland, came the turning point. Aside from the roll in Trackrod, we have enjoyed success after success, with the win in Ulster, qualifying for the PSD Shootout in Sweden, seceding in the PSD Shootout, and now our first SWRC podium.
This bodes well for our new adventure in the WRC Academy in 2011. We had also planned on going to Monte Carlo, but after much thought we have decided that Rally Sweden may be the better option, as I have not done a snow rally before, and at the end of the day, it's the WRC where I want to be in the coming years.
So the winter season is quiet for rallying, but provides the perfect setting for training and recovery before going head first in 2011.
I'll try and have another blog before the new year, but if not, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and don't drink too much!
All the best,
Craig