Tension all the way at the fourth round of the Pirelli British Rally Championship with penalties and reliability causeing problems for both Andrew Nesbitt and Jonny Milner.
Even ‘nail-biting' couldn't adequately describe the tension at the penultimate service halt in Duns. As far as we all knew, Pirelli British Rally Championship leader Jonny Milner had just regained the lead after Irish raider Andrew Nesbitt had incurred 30 seconds of road penalties as clutch problems made him late at a time control.
First into the Cuisine de France service area was Nesbitt, parking up alongside a new gearbox strategically placed in case it was needed. Although still posting fast stage times, the clutch wasn't disengaging, so the technical crew didn't know whether the problem could be fixed without changing the ‘box or not. With only 25 minutes for service, that would be quite a challenge.
Then, roaring into the Team Dynamics area just three spaces away came Jonny – with the front of his previously pristine car part-destroyed. Worried about rising water temperature, he had looked across at the gauge on Nicky Beech's side for a mili-second too long, missed his braking area, and smacked into a stone wall, losing 40 seconds and his lead in the process. Time for feverish activity in both camps.
