by Geoff Mayes
Stephen Petch Junior continued his steep learning curve on board the SG Petch Motorsport-run Hyundai Accent World Rally Car when he brought the car home twelfth overall and third in class amongst the registered crews after two days of high speed rallying.
With no opportunity to test ahead of his first ever tarmac rally in the car Petch Jr opted for a cautious start but still picked up a puncture in the opening stage, dropping 10 seconds to the leaders.
Playing around with the set-up of the car to try and find the perfect balance saw Stephen on the fringes of the top ten for most of the evening as he enjoyed his first experience of the car on through the high speed lanes, calling it a big go kart.
Saturday morning saw Stephen on the pace of defending champion Marcus Dodd but then, running through a notoriously tricky section in stage 7, he out braked himself on a sharp corner and slid off through a gate, which was fortunately open, and into a field. Although there was no damage to the car it cost him over 30 seconds, as he struggled to engage reverse gear. A misfire later in the morning also cost time but a string of top 15 times showed a level of consistency as Petch Jr focused on bringing the car home in one piece.
"I really enjoyed this rally. I always seem to go well on the Manx as the stages suit my driving style and this year was no exception," he reflected.
"We struggled with a lack of pre-event testing and had to work on the setup as the rally progressed, but we were on the pace of Marcus which is encouraging. The car is great fun to drive on tarmac but I'm really glad it was a dry rally!"
After three rounds of the 2008 MSA Pirelli Gravel Rally Championship Petch Jr and co-driver Michael Wilkinson find themselves lying third in the Class B13 standings, behind only Marcus Dodd and Andy Burton.
