Just two weeks after round one of the Heart of England Championship and it’s time for round two. The much-loved venue at Down Ampney did not disappoint crews out this weekend, with some very testing conditions bringing caution to even the most experienced drivers.

We arrived at Down Ampney at 6am just in time to see the sun rise, however it was still icy underfoot in the service area. We unloaded the car and did the usual scrutineering, then found our spot with our friends Ade Mayall and Rob Hayden in the Alfa 33. They were seeded seven cars behind us, so we joked that we would meet them on the merge for what is becoming a common battle!

Pete and I watched the first cars go off the start line and into the first chicane. Cars were struggling for grip and some struggling to slow before the chicane. It looked muddy, icy and very slippery.

Our due time for SS1 arrived, so we got suited up and went on our way. The previous car, a mk2 Escort, had no grip off the line so we knew we would need to be cautious. Even with much caution, we still had a couple of moments where we lost grip. The conditions were the worst I’ve ever known them at Down Ampney but we crossed the finish line with the car in one piece.

SS2 was a repeat of the first Stage. From the off we could see that parts of the stage had dried out where the sun had got to, but under the trees was still icy and muddy. We managed to do SS2 fifty-seven seconds quicker on this run, taking advantage of those dryer sections.

The sun was well and truly up now, and the morning was starting to get warmer. We decided to change tyres ready for SS3, choosing Khumo soft compound all round. It was a good choice as the ice had gone and nearly all the mud had been moved aside by all the cars. We had two good runs on both SS3 and SS4. In fact, by SS4 we were pushing on when, you guessed it, we saw the Alfa 33 of Ade and Rob join us on the merge! It was the opposite of our Donington Park battle, and they were just ahead of us from the merge. It was time to put the pressure on them! Ade however, being the experienced driver that he is, was not fazed by us but we gave chase for a mile before we split in different directions. As always, it was great fun!

SS5 was a similar stage so we had another good clean run. We actually had our fastest competitive run compared to other 1400 crews during this stage. This might have had something to do with Roger Titley chasing us through the ‘fifty pence’ section in his 2.8 BMW. A terrifying moment to see that car approaching you in the rear-view mirror, right before a tight section! I just wanted to be out of his way, so my foot was firmly planted and I couldn’t have peddled the car any faster. We’d managed to move up a place to 6^th in class too.

Stage six, was fairly uneventful in the dry conditions and we set a time we could be happy with in the modest little Rover. However, on arrival into service after SS6, dark clouds were starting to roll in towards the venue. Our due time was approaching but we made a decision to make a quick tyre change. Sure enough. It was the right choice with rain arriving by the time we arrived at the start of SS7.

Off we went, and once again we were met with muddy and slippery conditions. We were a little cautious to start but we soon found some pace in the wet. We caught the previous car, which frustratingly held us up for about a mile. Once we got past, I was trying to make up for lost time and unfortunately the conditions got the better of me and we found ourselves sliding towards and hitting a bale side on. There goes the other silver wing mirror! I’d guess we lost a further 10 seconds literally twenty meters from the stage finish.

We had another look at the results so far. We could see that the 1400 championship car of Toby and Mark Burton were in front of us overall by 40 seconds. We would never make that up over two stages so we decided for the last two stages we would take things a little easier.

Having crossed the finish line on the final stage, and finishing another rally, we had maintained our 6^th in class position, and finished the rally 35^th overall. This would mean we finished 4^th in our class in the Heart of England Rally Championship. Provisionally, that means I am third in class A championship driver and Pete is 2nd in class A Co-driver.

We now have six weeks until our next championship round, which is again at this fantastic venue. There is some work to do on the Rover with a few dented panels that are overdue replacement, and maybe it’s time to look for some DTM style wing mirrors.