Round 6: Manx Rally (7th-9th September 2000)
A storming career-best of 3rd overall on the Manx International was unfortunately not enough to stop Mats Andersson in the Proton clinching the 2000 "Super 1600" Championship.
From the outset, we knew to retain the championship, we had to win the Manx and Mats must finish lower than 2nd. However, with all the other registered contenders dropping out before the halfway point, all that remained was for Mats to cruise round to claim the title.
The rally had started well, David Higgins in the other Peugeot a couple of seconds ahead of ourselves after the opening two stages. However, a succession of gearbox problems saw David retire from the event before the day was out - with exactly the same problem which forced us out of the Jim Clark rally earlier in the year. The first day also saw the demise of other front-running Super 1600 contenders Niall McShea and Marko Ramenen, pushing the championship further from our grasp.
Day 2 started a bit damp and Mats almost threw it all away when he skidded of the road for 11 minutes on the opening stage, but luckily for him, spectators were on hand to get him going again.
By midway through the day, we held a solid 3rd overall and were given strict instructions to bring the car back in one piece for a podium position, rather than chase after 2nd. From then on it became a long rally - it becomes so much easier to make a silly mistake when you are not driving flat out. The gearbox started to go during the last few stages, so we did a precautionary 'box change during the final 45 minute service.
The final day started with a few dramas - the brakes locked on on the way to the first stage and the new gearbox jammed in gear only 2 miles from the stage start. Luckily these problems didn't re-occur and despite a small spin on the second stage, the finish was now in sight. A very steady run over the last stage saw us claim a dominant class victory and 3rd overall, despite giving away almost 100 bhp to the 2-litre and turbo-charged GpN cars - the best result for a 1600cc car on the Manx for the last 20 years!
The final round of the British Championship - the Manx Rally - is now just a week away. We will be travelling to the Isle of Man at the weekend to start our preparation for the event. We will have a couple of days to recce the stages - many are the same as last year, but several are being run in the opposite direction which means we will have to make some new pacenotes.
The event starts with 7 stages on the Thursday evening, followed by 11 stages on Friday and concluding with a further 9 stages on Saturday.
Once again, it looks like the Super 1600 category will be extremely competitive. the championship battle will be between ourselves and Mats Andersson (Proton). David Higgins in the other "works" Peugeot 106 will be keen to get on good result on his home event and Niall McShea (Citroen Saxo) is always a quick and spectacular driver. In addition, local stars Shaun Fox (Vauxhall Nova) and Nigel Cannell (Vauxhall Corsa) will be hoping to embarrass the "works" teams.
Round 5: MSA Rally (15th July 2000)
Although originally billed as a tarmac event, most stages on the MSA Rally were very rough, giving a big advantage to the "Group N" (4x4) cars. Following the one-day recce, it was clear that tyre-choice was going to be critical. After spending the night before the event worrying what tyre-choice to make, we decided to start the event on gravel tyres with a mixed tarmac/gravel suspension set-up.
This seemed to be the right choice and as the day progressed and the stages got rougher we changed more and more - ending up with the car in exactly the same specification as it finished the Scottish Rally!
Although it is not a "classic" event, winning the class here was extremely important as it means we can go to the Manx Rally with a real chance of retaining the "Super 1600" title for a second year.
The MSA Rally was a rapid addition to this year's British Rally Championship following the surprise withdrawal of the Ulster Rally. The event - based in Gratham - has been widely criticised. With less than 45 miles of stages, the longest being just over 3 miles, it is going to be very different from the usual British Championship events.
That said, this is still an event we have to take seriously. After the disappointment of the Jim Clark Rally last week (see below) we desparately need the points to be in with a change of retaining the championship. Although we have yet to see the stages (the recce is the day before the rally), reports so far suggest they are not dissimilar to the Carlisle Aiport stages on the Pirelli Rally. We managed 3rd fastest in Carlisle, so realistically (with a bit of luck) we could see a 1600cc car take a podium position in Gratham!
Round 4: Jim Clark Memorial Rally (31st June - 1st July 2000)
This was the third year we had tackled the only closed-road event in the UK. We were holding a comfortable lead in the class, while also holding 5th overall against much more powerful competition. Unfortunately, on Stage 20 (out of 24), the gearbox blew up. We initially though it was a drive-shaft and tried to drive to the end of the stage. However, the gearbox oil was leaking onto the exhaust and so caught fire. We stopped pretty quickly and luckily were able to put the fire out. However, that was the end of the rally for us.
Further News...
Further details of our British Championship campaign, please see the offical Peugeot Sport UK Website
