This year’s awards night was held at the Old Halesonian Rubgy Club in Stourbridge and it was another good excuse to have a post-Christmas get together.

The evening was hosted by Heart of England Rally Championship Co-ordinator Matt Walk, with former British Rally Champion Co-driver Mike Broad as guest speaker.

Many of the Championship crews attended and it was great to see so many friendly faces collect their well-deserved awards.

For Pete and I, this year was a good test for us and the Rover 214, with a record number of entrants in the championship. Still running what is basically an almost standard engine, with some other MG parts to give us more horses, we knew we would be well tested this year.

There were a couple of standout things that hindered our progress this year, including running out of fuel on the flying finish, suffering overheating and a failed head gasket, and cooking our front brake pads. We managed to finish all the events despite this, even doing two final stages with no brakes!

The final championship round in October, I had Jen Bartl step in to read the maps as Pete was unable to do the event. We managed a 3 ^rd in class trophy on the day, despite having never been in the car together.

This year was probably the hardest year I’ve had in rallying, so it was nice to feel I achieved something despite this. I picked up six awards this year, including 1^st Overall Heart of England Lady Driver and 2^nd 1400 Class Heart of England Driver. Pete also picked up 1^st in 1400 class Co-driver.

The other four awards were awarded by Quinton Motor Club. 1^st Single Venue Stage Rally Driver, Ladies Champion, 1^st 1400 class driver, and the Quinton Motor Club tray.

I am so thankful to all those who have helped us along the way this year! Whether servicing on events, child minding or taking photos. Without these fantastic people it wouldn’t have been possible and certainly would not have been as much fun.