by Geoff Mayes
Rallying relatives Neil Harrold and Dennis Sanford experienced a disastrous outcome to their thirteenth rally together.
A strong run on the recent Somerset Stages ended somewhat prematurely when a big roll after the flying finish of stage seven left the Subaru badly damaged but thankfully both crew members were shaken and otherwise unhurt.
Harrold and Sandford had not had a chance to test the Space Creator backed car ahead of the Somerset Stages but still arrived in Minehead in confident moods. On their way to the very first stage Harrold noticed that the anti-lag, which helps provide immediate power for the turbo charged engine, was not working properly. Despite this inconvenience the pair were still on the pace as the quick thinking Kent resident adjusted his driving style to overcome the drop in power on corners.
Three strong runs through the opening loop of stages saw the Sciotli Chocolates assisted pair return to the first service in the thick of an intense battle well inside the top 40 overall, not bad for a ten-year-old production car! Next up was something the pair had been looking forward to all year. The two runs up the Porlock tarmac toll road. This would be the first time that the pair had even driven the Subaru in anger on tarmac.
Despite a poor start on their second run, and being slowed after the car ahead crashed, the pair set a pair of similar stage times and returned to second service with big grins.
“With no anti-lag, I'm having to adjust my driving style but it seems to be working,” Harrold said. “Now I know what the drivers of Group B cars had to deal with. But we're loving it, as the stages are great.”
However their strong run in the Subaru would come to a very abrupt halt two stages later.
The finish on stage seven, Croydon, was just before a medium speed right hand bend. Harrold crossed the line flat in fourth gear and took almost the same line through the corner as everyone ahead of them. Unfortunately the pair clipped a stump hidden in the grass which flipped the car up into the air and over onto its roof. Still travelling at speed, the car rolled over again before smashing into a tree on the other side of the road.
![Neil Harrold/Dennis Sanford [Pic credit: www.rally-shots.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/433718.jpg)
