Very Early Exit in the Lakes

Robert Fagg retired from the Malcolm Wilson Stages while parntering Matthew Bettridge in what was the opening round of the Ford Rallye Sport Ka Championship.   Based in Cockermouth, there were six stages run in forests 10 miles outside the town including two in the Grizedale complex.   With 45 stage miles ahead, we left TC1 at M-Sport for the official start in Main Street, Cockermouth, looking forward to the day.

Unfortunately, the first stage would prove to be our only one of the event as just two tenths of a mile from the flying finish the Ka lost all drive.   Checking there was no obvious cause of the problem, we were out of the event.

With the car towed back to the service area and the crew diagnosing the fault, it appears to be a problem within the gearbox.   With such an early exit we didn't have time to gain experience as a team or of the forest stages.   Without even one stage time it was also impossible to make any comparisons with other Ka crews.

So now we look forward to the end of the month and the North Humberside Forest Rally in the North Yorkshire Forests, hoping for much better fortune.

Thanks for support on the event goes to: Manx Motorsport Youth Trust, Bettridge Motors, Magic Carpets, Manx Automobile Assistance, Integrated Capabilities, Manx Telecom, www.manx.net and Aon (IOM) Ltd