Thoughts on the 1996 Season

The intention was for Sue to have Lesley Hooley in the left seat for most events in 1996. Sue and Lesley won 1st in class in the Motoring News last year, so a repeat performance was on the cards this year, until Lesley found that she was due to become a mum before the end of the season! Lesley also decided to revert back to her maiden name of Higginbothom, which does not easily fit into a name tag on a small car like a Rover Metro. Not for the first time, Graham was to be in the hot seat for a season with Sue. As in previous years, Dave Gough of TI Motorsport was contracted to prepare the car and provide a service crew for all the events.

Cheviot Rally - A cold start to the season in February! The Cheviot was the last event we did in 1995 and the first event in 1996! The date was changed by the Motoring News organisers after the Mewla National was moved from January to August.

The Cheviot was the first event for SCC's Neil Cloughly and Catherine Phillipson in the Group N Renault Clio, which was also prepared and run by TI Motorsport. Both crews decided to stay in the same accommodation, which was a nice way to start the season. The warm welcome and hot food at the Wagon Inn was excellent preparation for the ordeal on the Cheviot. One of the early stages was re-routed because of severe ice on the roads. Apparently, when the officials first arrived at the service area, nobody could stay standing or walk because of the ice! There was a rapid thaw though, as the day progressed, and most of the stages were fine, until the last stage. We have never competed in snow before, and it is not recommended on intermediates! The 18 mile final stage was fine at the start, but the snow got worse and worse as time went on. At the end of the stage, there were no tracks left by the car in front, just snow everywhere! We were well relieved to finish in one piece, and get home as well. To finish 2nd in class (to a Honda Civic VTi) and 39th overall was an excellent start to the season.

West Cork Rally - We have had an excellent time both years we have visited Clonakilty, and this year was no exception. We again stayed at the Ard na Greine guesthouse, and again we were defeated by the huge Irish breakfasts and dinners. This is the only place we stay in which the service crew say no to more food! West Cork is a two day event, with a total of 90 stage miles in three loops on each day. The weather was brilliant, the rallying superb, and the atmosphere excellent. The excitement was heightened by the local horse Imperial Call winning The Derby a few days before the rally. The Irish are crazy about horses and motorsport. The car hardly missed a beat, and we were pleased to finish 57th overall and 2nd in class (again to a Civic) from 130 starters.

Our flight from Tenerife was delayed (inevitably), and we were lucky to arrive at Gatwick only 2 hours late. We then picked up a hire car, the engine of the Cavalier still in pieces in Maidenhead, having an expensive rebuild. We arrived at Andover at around 11.30pm, and all seemed well. We awoke early on the Saturday morning to find Julie doubled up in severe pain after a visit to a Chinese restaurant the previous night. It was obvious that she would not be fit to co-drive. Graham was also unfit, with a frozen shoulder that suddenly appeared a week before the holiday. The only option was for Paul Marshall, Lesley's boyfriend, to step into the hot seat. Paul and Lesley were at Imber to help the service crew, little did they know! Paul is an experienced driver, who had never co-driven, and had no overalls or helmet! After a few hectic hours, Sue and Paul had signed on, overalls and helmet had been borrowed, and the Metro was heading to Middle Wallop with Sue and Paul inside to start the first stage.

Sue and Paul worked surprisingly well together on what is a tricky event that uses pace notes supplied by the organisers. After a few hairy moments and a good days motorsport, all was to end in tears for using Michelin tyres supplied by EARS that were judged to be illegal. A total of 10 crews were excluded for tyre infringements. The stupidity is that the same tyres are legal in every other country, and are legal in the UK on International events. Also, most legal tyres in the UK are illegal on FIA events! We were very unimpressed, especially after all the drama leading up to the event. To add to the gloom, Neil and Catherine also failed to finish. After a good start, the Clio stopped with a blown head gasket, and this was with just a few stages left to complete. Our mood was worsened by the news that the Metro GTi driven by John Winchester had rolled heavily on Imber plain. This resulted in co-driver Paul Winchester being sent to hospital by helicopter. It is unlikely that Paul will be able to walk again. We had only known John and Paul for half a season, but it was a great shock to everyone.

Tour of Cornwall - A second visit to one of the most scenic of locations to do an event. Both of us are from the West Country, so a journey to Cornwall in April is a pleasant place to compete. After a competitive start, we hit a string of problems - all on the Pencalenick airfield stage. First there was a nasty rattle from under the bonnet, a broken engine mount was diagnosed. Next time round there was a slow puncture on a front tyre that had to be changed. The third time round, the car shuddered to a halt with a broken wheel bearing. All three failures were on the front near side of the car. Two DNF's in a row. We thought that the season was over. We had five hours to think about this, before the car could be retrieved!