Jim and Sasha on the Legend Fires North West Stages, well 17 stages out of 27 at least...

Post date: Feb 9, 2015 10:29:42 PM

For me, this was my first time on the North West Stages. I had heard mixed reports about the event, but was determined to make my own opinion! Jim, on the other hand was no stranger to this rally and was familiar with many of the stages.

The event started on Friday night in the dark (so I got to use my potti!). We left the ceremonial start from Rally HQ – the Norbeck Castle Hotel (which has more resemblance of a fort than a castle) at around 6:45pm and we headed out to the first venue, Weeton military ground. This resembled a more traditional single venue stage with 2 and a half laps of the 4.9 mile route. The stage plan was fairly straight forward and consisted of short 100m and200m straights followed by square rights or lefts with a few hairpins thrown in for good measure! For most of the stages, there were 2 runs, the first time you start on the full minute, then after the stage finish control you drove straight back to the start (via a very swift management stop) to start the stage immediately again on 30 seconds. This means you are generally starting 30 seconds behind a slower car.

5-4-3-2-1-GO! ...and at the 2^nd square right we ended up to my surprise in the bushes! It seems that the reflective cones, arrows and fluorescent marshals deceived us and we ended up at the wrong side of the bushes...at least there was no damage to the car, but we lost a crucial 20 seconds or so. The second run of the stage was much better and we were a good 30 seconds quicker. Stage 3 was TRAX kart track, which was exactly as described – a kart track and not really fit for full blown rally cars! But a short 2 laps round here and it was complete. The final 2 stages of the evening were the Promenade stages along the sea front. I can give a description of the stage:

80/R1 into tyt HPL 50 L2 350 to chicane (R entry) 550 to chicane (R entry) 250 R4 L1 into tyt HPL.HPR 150/L1 over finish

So, it was quite straight forward and fast – but on the first run we lost a good 10 seconds as we didn't manage to make it round the first hairpin in one go! We redeemed ourselves with the other hairpins and it was certainly good for the spectators and we set a much faster time on the second run through.

At the end of the first leg we were sitting 47^th overall. Not where we wanted to be, but there was a long way to go...We arrived back at the Norbeck, straight into Parc Ferme and then it was supper time in the ballroom – honesty, not a glamorous as it sounds :)

We left straight for service at around 8:45 am, changed the tyres, refuelled and spanner checked. Everything was in order and we drove straight to Lytham Hall. This was a much more flowing 1.7 mile stage which went along the tracks of a stately home, past the house and through the grounds. It was great fun and we set some good top 10 times. Jim had found his pace which he kept for the rest of the day! After the second run of Lytham, we next made our second visit to Weeton. The stage was more or less the reverse of the previous night, and daylight proved to be a huge advantage! We next had a 10 mile drive north to Fleetwood for 2 stages – the docks and along the promenade. I had heard from several people that the road sections were going to be tight, and with the combination of a huge amounts of traffic, traffic lights everywhere and road works, we booked in 4 minutes into our lateness and we were not even quarter of the way through the event! No-one passed us, so assumed everybody was in the same boat...

The stages were 1.7 and 1.9 miles respectively, each with one split and merge – they were short, back to back, and a huge amount of fun! Jim was obviously enjoying himself and we set a top 3 time on the first Docks run! On Fleetwood promenade we were baulked on both runs by slower cars, but with no where to overtake, there was nothing that could be done. It was then back to service where we again found more traffic than you could possibly imagine and booked in a further 6 minutes into our lateness. (On stage rallies you normally have 15 minutes cumulative lateness for each leg and we had already used 10 minutes through no fault of our own!)

Again, there were no issues with the car. In 30 minutes we refuelled, changed the tyres, spanner checked and even had time for a quick snack! It was helmets straight on and it was time for the 2 longer Promenade stages. These were extended versions of the previous nights stages. On the second run through I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out the sights Blackpool is famous for...(as Jim was doing so well on his own)...there was the tower, the sea, the piers, the seagulls...Fortunately Jim remembered to follow the sea wall and we managed a quicker time without too much input from me on this occasion! At the end passage check, we received a note from the organisers (to my relief) that lateness was going to be extended to 30 minutes. On my calculation, this would take into account any more delays due to traffic – phew!

Then is it was back to Weeton...again! A similar route to the morning runs with a few extra hairpins thrown in, it was another long 5.6 miler. On the first run through there seemed to be a lot of stranded/retired cars – the stages were obviously taking their toll... but now familiar with the stage layout, we set a decent time. At this point we had crawled up from 47^th to 17^th overall. A top 15 placing was looking comfortable!

Then on stage 17, otherwise known as Weeton 6, disaster struck...I heard Jim say something (well this is not unusual when he is driving as he tends to swear a lot...) but this time he was really not happy. I looked up, saw smoke coming from the under the bonnet and smelled burning oil. Rally over. We limped off the stage and fortunately found our management crew straight away. Something had made oil spill out over the engine – what actually broke is still to be determined...

So that was the end of the rally for Jim, Me and our fantastic service crew, Rodney and Kevin who had done a fantastic job for us all day.

So, what did I think of the rally? Well I thought it was absolutely excellent! Where else in the country can you rally at a seaside resort as rally friendly as Blackpool? The stages, although short, were varied and intense and left no room for mistakes, the road sections were short (despite the traffic), the organisation was first class, the marshals were great and it was fantastic to have so many spectators! A truly great event for competitors, marshals and spectators alike. Lets do it again next year Jim! Our next rally is the Tour of Epynt, where we will be back on pace notes on smooth tarmac. I can't wait!