Round three of the Heart of England Rally Championship sees us return to Down Ampney for the Red Dragon IT Stages. Currently 3^rd in Class, we were out to get some much-needed championship points, but we knew it was going to be difficult at this popular venue.

We set off on stage one which was slippery in places. Pete warned some caution was required and that there were some tight chicanes to negotiate. We struggled with grip in parts which slowed us down.

On return to service, we adjusted our tyre pressures before starting SS2. There was a delay in starting the second run due to a number of cars going off on stage one. The day was warming up and we were starting to feel the heat in the car already. We were soon on our way, and with more grip, we knocked 30 seconds off our previous stage time. We were starting to settle into the rally nicely.

Another delay at the start of stage 3 while more cars were recovered, but we got off the line and pushed on from the off. We caught the previous car, but could not get past through the tight sections, so we lost valuable time on the last half mile.

SS4 was a good, clean and quick run. Managing to pass the previous car this time but not without issues. We crossed the finish line with a split hose and steam rising from the bonnet. Back in service, Jon and Steve managed to shorten the hose so we could get back out again. We had an airlock in the coolant system so that was also sorted.

The overheating continued for the remainder of the day, and with all our attention turned to the overheating problem, we forgot a basic element of rallying.... FUEL!

We were half a mile from the end of SS6 when the car started to splutter, but thankfully we nursed it home over the finish line and passed the time control before the car cut out completely. Stephen Pritchard, who was leading the Championship Class and sadly had to retire his Nova, gave us some fuel and we were on our way back to service. True sportsmanship in what is a very friendly championship!

With only two stages left, we have been running with brakes on one side only. The pads on O/S had wasted away so we are taking the last few miles easy, to hopefully get a finish. With so many crews dropping out with problems or damage, we were now 2nd in class HoE 1400 crew so we needed those points. Still having overheating issues though, and Pete and I were roasting in the car with the heater on full!

By the final stage we had no front brakes, and were limited to just the handbrake. The hazards were on and we let crews past in the tight sections, but we were still going well on the fast sections.

Finishing the rally meant we are now 1^st HoE 1400 crew in the championship. We’re happy with that, but with three drop scores being allowed it’s unlikely we will hold onto that place at the end of the season.

There were only two weeks until the next rally, the Abingdon Carnival, and quite a list of jobs to be done.