Will we end up in a punch up? Are we getting locked behind a gate, never to be seen again? It’s round three of the Heart of England Rally Championship, but this one took an unusual turn!

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a fan of circuit rallying, and I wasn’t looking forward to the event from the start, but we signed up purely for the championship points. It was decided that a campsite would be a good idea, to save such an early start on Sunday morning. I found a lovely campsite online, with a beautiful website and a price tag that suggested it was both legitimate and with facilities of a high standard. They were happy to accommodate the service vans, and cars on trailers so payment was made upfront.

We made the two-hour journey following a sat-nav to what we thought was the campsite. We arrived at the location and there was nothing around. After an internet search it became clear that the sat-nav had taken us to totally the wrong location, in fact we were 30 minutes away from where we had booked. Lunchtime had passed by this point so tensions were high in the van, but we carried on and eventually arrived at the correct campsite.

On arrival, Sam and Steve hopped out at reception to find out where we were going within the site. Within seconds, this escalated into confrontation with a “resident” in a van who was being inpatient as I had temporarily blocked his exit. I jumped out of the van with a very hungry belly and probably a face like thunder, and as soon as the guy made eye contact with me the situation calmed down. I wonder what went through his mind!

We were guided to our camping pitch, which was a very boggy grass field. Some of the residents had to move their cars to allow us onto the grass, and we had to un-hitch the car on the trailer and leave it on the carpark. At this point, I wasn’t feeling too happy about this as anyone could hitch it up and drive off with the rally car.

We were so hungry at this point, so we just agreed and had some lunch. The residents on the site were very friendly and helpful, and were telling us that they were stopping up until 4am to watch the Tyson Fury fight. They were already starting on the beers, no harm in that right?

Things were starting to form a picture in my head and my gut instinct was telling me things aren’t right. I decided to read the campsite reviews, something I should have done before booking, and I was shocked at some of the comments other people had made. Panic was now setting in! I was imagining the scene from Snatch, when they drive off with the caravan and the axle isn’t attached.

I knew we had rallying friends staying in a pub near the venue, so a plan was made to do a runner and meet them for a drink. The trailer was quickly hitched up, and a sharp exit was made. Off we went, as far as the campsite exit. The gate was locked! A man was there, stood starring at us, so I asked him if we could get out. He shouted the warden, who came to see what the problem was. I explained we had a “family crisis” in my best dramatic voice, and that we had to leave early. Thankfully, he was very understanding and opened the gate for us.

We were FREE and on our way to the pub. A round of drinks was consumed, including a large Whiskey for my nerves, and stories were exchanged between us. Steve had been in contact with Helen, one of the event organisers, so he enquired if we could camp over at the circuit. Thankfully, she was happy for us to do that, so thank you Helen! Life saver!

After a good, peaceful, uneventful nights sleep, we were ready to get going. I was still not feeling enthusiastic about it but we just wanted to get a finish.

Off we went on SS1, and SS2 which followed immediately after SS1, and we quickly got into things despite the short stages. The first two stages were slippery, especially on the long hairpin, but on return to service both Sam and I agreed how much we both really enjoyed it. Our attitude had changed and we were excited for the rest of the day.

With each stage we got a little more confident in the tyres, continually changing the pressures until we were happy. We were following car 49 of Glyn Thomas and Ella Tyson, and watched them have a bit of a moment in our side window. Everything was under control, right Glyn? By SS6, the half way point of the day, we had it sussed just before the stages were reversed.

SS7 to SS12 we were really having fun, the reversed stages were much better and include a long fast straight which tightens into a long hairpin. The back end was moving how I like it, so no dramas to report.

We finished the rally 26 ^th Overall and 4^th in class. Only 20 seconds overall from a 3^rd in class trophy! We’re happy with that, and I know where I can be tidier for next year.

We also finished 3 ^rd amongst the Championship crews, giving us a much-needed boost in the tables. Sam and I are now both 1 ^st in Class B driver and co-driver, and we’re both 2^nd overall driver and co-driver. We could not be more pleased with that, on our first time competing in a championship.

Our next event will hopefully be Abingdon Car-nival, assuming it runs later in the year, followed by Donington Park on the 5 ^th December. I’ve now had a bit of seat time on a small circuit in the Rover, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we do.