The plan for the final day was to try and nurse it and to take some revs off the car. Unfortunately though two stages from the end it had had enough. The temperatures in the car had got to like 178 degrees and believe it or not it was still running at that temperature!
But it then got to a point where it was not possible to make it any further really. It is a big disappointment.
Crash.net:
Results wise of course this year, as you said, the highlight was your second place finish in the BRC on the
Jim Clark. That must have been especially rewarding, following the disappointment on the Pirelli and the fact the TQ RED Toyota Super 2000 was making its debut on tarmac?
DH:
Yeah, there is loads of potential in there. We have just had stupid problems which have just resulted in us not having as much testing as we would like. We seem to have issues trying to get parts from South Africa for example. But the cars potential is massive.
It was only ever really designed to be a gravel car, which is why often it looks like it is sat very high off the ground. However within the Super 2000 regulations you are very limited on things you can change once the car has been produced to try and obviously keep costs down. It is a case of just trying to get through it. I am fairly confident we can have a lot more pace for the Ulster Rally and then we need to finish strong on the gravel events too.
Crash.net:
What needs to be done to make the Toyota Super 2000 into a real contender?
DH:
We need to get this engine overheating problem sorted. But we believe that is in the mapping, so it shouldn’t be a massive issue. The gear ratios I think are a little bit too long, which makes us very slow out of the tight corners and so we can do something with that. Then it is just basic suspension and handling of the car, where we need to try and get that sorted as much as we can. We need to get the car a little bit lower to try and get some of the body roll out of it too.
Crash.net:
Are wins with the car just around the corner and dependent on getting the reliability right?
DH:
I really hope so. I really wanted to go to the Manx and try and finish. What we thought we needed to win the championship was a win on the Manx and a win on the Ulster. The Trackrod will be a bit difficult for us, because the straights are so long there and we are going to lose out to the Group N cars on gearing there, but as for Rally GB, we want to be in a position where we can try and go and win that one. Obviously we haven’t won on the Manx and now we have to go to Ulster and really try hard to get the win. That is going to be very, very tough. But that is what we need to be doing.
Crash.net:
Does it all just come down to reliability then?
DH:
Yeah we need a bit more reliability. But I need to get a bit more confidence back in the car because on the Manx we really were fighting with the car for the whole rally in terms of set-up and everything else. Once you lose that little bit of confidence it is hard to push. But we have got to go to Ulster, get a good set-up in testing and just go from stage one and nail it really. We haven’t been able to do that so far but I am sure the team is good enough and strong enough to turn it around.
Crash.net:
As you said the second half of the season kicks off with the Ulster Rally at the end of August. What are you hoping to do there? A win by the sounds of it…
