Mark and Sash’s 2011 Challenge – the BRC Challenge!

Post date: Dec 7, 2011 9:06:29 AM

The conversation began like this...”Do you fancy navigating on some stage events next year Sash?” I never thought at the time that we would end up doing the BRC rounds in the Challenge Championship!

The BRC Challenge is a championship that runs alongside the full BRC and a cheaper alternative. It’s mainly aimed at young, up and coming drivers but also anyone who has not previously won a championship. We fit into the second category! The main differences between the Challenge and the full BRC are less stage miles, no recce and no remote service – an incentive to make it to main service!

The Car – Mark bought a Peugeot 106 Cup Car, 1600cc, so we were eligible for the 1401cc-1600cc Class, RC3

The first round of the Challenge was the Bulldog, based at Welshpool and used some of the classic Welsh forests. We had already competed on the Mid-Wales rally a month or so earlier as a warm up, so we know what to expect from the stages. There were 26 starters in the Challenge and we were seeded car 17.

SS 2 Penllyn, 8.80miles – 16^th after 1^st stage

SS 3 Dyfnant, 8.81miles – 15^th after 2^nd stage

SS 4 Woodyard, 0.80miles – 15^th 3^rd after stage

SS 5 Gartheiniog, 15.34miles – 13^th after 4^th stage

SS 6 Dyfi Main, 8.61miles – 12^th after 5^th stage

SS 7 Big Ray 1, 5.30miles – 12^th after 6^th stage

The rally took a lot of casualties over the course of the event, most due to mechanical failure, however the reliable Pug got us to the finish and after a consistent run we finished 12^th overall and 1^st in Class.

The second round was another gravel event but in a completely different part of the UK. The Pirelli Rally was based in Carlisle and used the forests in Northumberland around Kielder. The tracks in these forests were much more technical and narrower that in Wales, but the scenery was amazing – although we didn’t get much chance to look at the views!

We were seeded 23 out of 28 starters and again our aim of the day was to make it to the finish and at the same time have a lot of fun!

SS 3 Falstone 1, 6.79miles – 20^th after 1^st stage

SS 4 Bower 1, 13.40miles – 18^th after 2^nd stage

SS 7 Blackaburn, 7.04miles – 17^th after 3^rd stage

SS 8 Shepherdshield, 5.25miles -17^th after 4^th stage

SS 9 Pundershaw, 8.07miles – 16^th after 5^th stage

SS 10 Chirdonhead, 8.76miles -14^th after 6^th stage

After another good run, we managed 14^th out of 18 classified finishers and first in class for the second time in a row!

The first tarmac round of the championship was the Jim Clark Rally – the only closed road rally on mainland UK. Seeded 16 out of 29 starters, this was going to be more like the road rallying we were used to. It started on Friday evening and the first stage was a short 1.2 miles around the town of Duns. It was fantastic feeling - like the star of a show with all the hundreds of spectators! The next 2 stages were in the in the dark. Here Mark had the advantage of night driving! There was drama for us on the third stage (the last stage on the Friday night) when the car in front of us rolled which held us up for 3 minutes. Fortunately we were issued with a notional time, but it put things into perspective seeing a car on its roof (occupants fine and well!)

SS 1 Duns 1, 1.20miles – 20^th after 1^st stage

SS 2 Bothwell 1, 8.26miles – 18^th after 2^nd stage

SS 3 Abbey St Bathans 1, 12.92miles – 14^th after 3^rd stage

SS 7 Polwarth 1, 4.21miles – 13^th after 4^th stage

SS 8 Edrom W-E 1, 7.56miles – 14^th after 5^th stage

SS 9 Ayton 1, 12.45miles – 15^th after 6^th stage

SS 10 Eccles, 13.70miles – 14^th after 7^th stage

SS 11 Swinton, 10.98miles 14^th after 8^th stage

The conversation on Saturday morning was all about tyres – was it going to rain or remain dry? With both sunshine and grey clouds occupying the sky, it was a game of copy cat in the end. We ran with slicks on the front, intermediates on the rear with 2 intermediates in the boot. A good choice in the end!

We finished the rally in 14^th place but had to settle for 2^nd in class on this occasion being beaten to first by a whopping 5m 17s (a code board + 17s when you think about it!)

The 4^th and 5^th rounds of the championship were the Ulster Rally in Northern Ireland. We decided that we would miss these rounds due to budget reasons. With the Trackrod and Manx we would still have enough qualifying rounds!

The 6^th round was the Trackrod – our local event. Mark was really looking forward to this, an event he talked about all year. Just 14 starters in the Challenge, we were seeded 13^th, but got moved up to 8^th on the day. Never let a driver fill in the entry form is the motto here as seeding information can be forgotten! This was probably the most eventful rally – for all the wrong reasons!

Starting at Scarborough, there were 4 stages before lunch/service and 2 stages after. Setting top 10 times on the first 3 stages, we were looking to just finish the rally. If we made it to the finish, regardless what would happen on the Manx, we would secure 1^st overall in class RC3 in the championship.

SS 3 Gale Rigg 2, 5.30miles – 9^th after 1^st stage

SS 4 Cropton, 8.18miles -10^th after 2^nd stage

SS 5 Staindale 1, 5.82miles -10^th after 3^rd stage

SS 6 Langdale 1, 11.38miles -11^th after 4^th stage

SS 7 Dalby 2, 14.14miles - 12^th after 5^th stage

SS 8 Staindale 2, 5.82miles 12^th after 6^th stage

All was going to plan until just after the start of Dalby – the longest stage of the rally. Just off the start line the battery light came on, then at the first chicane the power steering was no more! Mark drove a tough 14 miles with no power to the steering and was having to fight against it! After setting some respectable times, it was just a matter now to get to the finish. The last stage was just less than 6 miles and even though Mark could not feel his arms, we drove the last stage and then headed off for the finish on Scarborough Pier.

By this point we realised the problem was the alternator belt which had snapped which powers both the steering and the battery. We would have made it over the finish line trouble free if it wasn’t for the 20 minute queue up and down the sea front in stationary traffic!

The battery finally gave its last breath just before we made it to the pier and Mark and I had to push it over the finish line! Unbelievably, we were not the only crew to be out of the car for the interview! We had achieved 1^st in class again – even after all the drama.

Due to the cancellation of the Manx Rally, the Trackrod was to be the final round of the championship. 6 rounds were to count to the overall championship and because we opted to do the Manx rather than Ulster, we only managed 4 qualifying rounds. Regardless, we both ended up top 10 in the championship and 1^st class RC3 driver and co-driver.

Huge thanks to Mark who drove me to a class win in the BRC challenge and top 10 in the championship. Mark was great and the car was extremely reliable and given our only issue was the alternator belt - it was a pretty much faultless run.

As an added bonus, the forest events in the Challenge also counted as part of the ANWCC Forest Rally Championship. I ended up 4^th overall in the championship and 1^st novice co-driver and 2^nd in class B (1400cc-1600cc)!

Class RC3 winners in the BRC Challenge – Mark Turner and Sasha Heriot

(seen celebrating with a can of Carling and a very small bottle of wine...)