Tom Cave admits he is feeling a little apprehensive ahead of next weekend's Rally of Scotland, the final round in the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Next weekend will see teenage rally driver Tom Cave round out his most ambitious season yet, as the 17 year-old heads for the finale of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Rally of Scotland.
The event will be the last for Cave and co-driver Craig Parry in 2009 and the last at the wheel of his Group N Ford Fiesta ST, as the youngster will definitely be making a step up for the following season.
The two-day event, based in Stirling will be another unknown for Cave, as has been the case with most of the nine events he has contested this season so far. However, despite this, he is looking forward to completing his third year of competition and the second in the Fiesta on a high.
"I'm definitely looking forward to Scotland," Cave noted. "However, I am a little apprehensive about the stages. As I haven't really competed in Scotland, other than the Jim Clark earlier this year, I don't know them at all so it will be another big learning experience.
"One thing I do know though is that Drummond Hill is renowned as one of the best stages in the world but also, one of the most challenging. There's also the 33.5Km Loch Ard test that's run twice on Saturday, so it's not going to be a walk in the park by any means.
"My objective for the weekend will be to get a decent, solid finish. I've seen the entry list and while on paper, it looks as if we should be in with a good chance, as we know from Rally GB, anything can happen. I think the plan will be to try to stay out of trouble and avoid punctures, as I gather the conditions could be quite rough.
"While I haven't done the event before, Craig has so I'm hoping that once again, his experience will help us to get a good result."
Even though this is the final event of the season and for Cave with the Fiesta, the team has spared no effort in making sure the car is in perfect form, especially after the roll it suffered on last month's Rally GB and the gearbox issue on the second day. Cave has been working alongside the technicians to make sure that, like him, the car is in the best shape for it's 2009 swansong.
"I've been down at the Davies Motorsport workshops this week, helping the team put the finishing touches to the car and it's looking in very good shape. We've had an engine rebuild and a complete chassis overhaul following Rally GB and the car looks a lot happier than it did by the time we finished in Cardiff. I'm just hoping we can have a clean run and end this year on a good note," he summed-up.
