It was after midnight by the time we were recovered. When we got back to service it was decided the car would be ok to re-start on leg 2 and we could try to pick up some points. The good news was that, despite our major problems through stage 1, we still set the third fastest time, only a few seconds off the leader. The FX crew were fantastic and sorted the car out perfectly for the next day.
On the second day of the event we just drove with his heads, making sure we looked after the car through the rough stages while expecting the other Suzuki competitors to have problems. Being half an hour behind the other Suzukis after re-starting under the Superally, it’s all we could really do.
We set top end times through the day and we tried to balance speed with a bit of tactics and, as the other guys had problems or crashed out, we found ourselves slowly climbing back up the leaderboard. We eventually took second place in the Suzuki Cup behind Gordon Nichol. What a turn around!
I was totally gutted after the problems I had on Friday, after spending so much time preparing it was heartbreaking. However it was clear that as soon we got back to the FX service area no one was giving up.
From then on we kept our heads down and pushed where we felt we could, but also made sure we had a clean run. It was clear that running down the order the stages were not holding up well and it was critical to drive to the conditions. I think we judged it quite well as we never had any mechanical problems on Saturday apart from a bent steering arm which the FX guys sorted out perfectly.
Tim did a fantastic job, and I am happy I was able to help FX Motor Sports secure a double podium on the team’s first event, with David also taking third overall in his Subaru.
Next on the list is the
Jim Clark International Rally in a few weeks time, then we head off the next day for the first round of the Chinese Rally Championship. It’s going to be a fantastic month!
Nick
To find out more about Nick visit his personal website:
http://www.nickrowland.co.uk/ or simply
CLICK HERE.
