This was our first tarmac event and first time on slick tyres so we were a bit nervous before getting to Bont. Then when we did the safety lap before the rally started we were really nervous - the track was very narrow and winding, very hilly, a lot of blind crests and a lot of opportunities to have a big accident. Added to that we were being filmed by the BBC the day after the rally finished so we needed to keep the car in pristine condition.

Our start on SS1 was delayed after a Peugeot rolled 9 times and the driver had to be taken to hospital for a check over.  When we did get going, Wendy did a great job calling the circuit and warning me of potential dangers.  However, a stupid error on my part cost us dearly and ruined any chance of a decent finish on the rally - there was a split in the track at the end of the first lap and despite Wendy calling a right split I took the left split and we duly ended up at stage finish having only completed one of our two laps.  This resulted in us being awarded stage maximum time (8 minutes) - effectively penalising us 3 minutes.   Despite this disappointment there were some positives that came out of the stage - the grip from the Silverstone slick tyres was awesome.

The rest of day one seemed to see us hampered on every stage - we caught a 205 on one stage and car 40 had plonked a load of glass on the tarmac following a roll in the quarry section which cost us about 10 seconds.  We finished the day OK but were ruing the mistake on SS1.

Day 2 and the car still felt good and we set ourselves the target of trying to overhaul the BMW ahead of us (1min 31 secs to make up). We seemed to be flying on the first two stages. Stage 7 saw us come across car 40 on its roof (again!) and the stage stopped.  We got a notional time which I reckon cost us another 10 secs based on our times from the rest of the day. Stage 8 we had a cracker and set 13th fastest time which we were very pleased with. Our efforts also saw us overhaul the BMW and finish 32nd overall. The mistake on SS1 cost us about 10 places in the final standings, a trophy for 5th in class, and 2nd in the team event.

Co-Drivers View

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