To adapt a much-used football metaphor, the 2003 Manx International Rally was an event of three thirds - conveniently dividing into the three actual legs.
Leg 1 started in the square at Castletown (the Isle of Man’s historic capital) at 4.00pm on Thursday evening. It consisted of three stages totalling 18 miles; a regroup at the famous TT Grandstand (also the location of Rally HQ and central service throughout the event); then three more stages, including two banzai runs around Castletown harbour - a further eight miles only.
Although the weather was atrocious, especially over the highest points where low cloud was a real problem, the field behaved itself fairly well, with the exception of Production class contender Roy White who put his GpN Evo7 off on the second stage, as did John Lloyd in his Impreza. Other incidents involved the unfortunate Kate and Paul Heath, whose Seat Ibiza lost a wheel whilst negotiating the harbour, and a wayward Group B Renault Turbo, which inexplicably wiped off all four corners on an unyielding stone wall whilst doing a supposedly gentle demonstration run.
Everyone knows that the Manx is probably the toughest of all the Pirelli British Championship events, and that 206 competitive miles over the Island’s extremely demanding roads, with their jumps and fast, tricky bends demand a steady pace rather than an all-out max attack - but obviously this understanding didn’t get through to all the crews.
