David and Rob in action on their way to 17th overall and 9th Evo Challenge crew.

Saturday arrived and with it a fresh start to the day with the crew putting behind it the events of Friday night and set about the 12 stages that lay ahead of them. David and Rob made there way to the first stage of the day in the knowledge that they would suffer to there fellow Evo Challenge competitors due to their seeding position of 61, meaning that the stages would be cut up badly in places by the time they went through.

The opening test of the day was shortened due to logging activity that made part of the stage unusable. The reduced 1.35 mile run left David & Rob little chance to get into any kind of rhythm, posting 32^nd fastest time, although they did climb up the leaderboard as a result, to 68^th. This climb continued over the two further stages before service, with David gaining confidence in his new car and Kumho Tyres, setting top 20 times to arrive at service in 39^th position.

After a routine service it was back out for another loop of three stages, this time including a 10.62mile test, the longest of the event. Displaying the pace that has seen David recognised as one of the up and coming stars of British rallying, the pair fired a warning shot to the competition with the 11^th quickest time, 5^th fastest in Group N only headed by the experienced Phillip Morrow, former British Rally Champion Jonny Milner, Julian Reynolds and Jock Armstrong.

Back at the second service of the day and crew were able to look at the results so far and found themselves now in 22^nd place, a good fight back after they set back of the previous day.

A mature drive over the remaining six stages, including an 8^th quickest time on stage 11, saw David and Rob arrive back in Bournemouth in 17^th Overall and 9^th Evo Challenge.

“I have learnt a lot about the car and the tyres this weekend, it has proved to be a real learning experience for me.” commented Bogie at the finish, “The car is great to drive and the preparation has been superb for which I thank Pro-tec and Giles Philips. The Kumho Tyres have also been great in the conditions and given me confidence to push on the slippery surface.” 

After what looked like being a disastrous start to the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge for David, Rob and the team it was very rewarding to fight pull back from almost last position to finish 9th Evo on the opening round of the series and get points on the board.

Thanks for support go to Oakbank Services, Pro-tec Motorsport and Kumho Tyres. Additional thanks must go to Giles Phillips Motorsport for the invaluable technical assistance and support he has provided in the preparation of the car. Their efforts were rewarded with David receiving the “Best Presented Car” award at on this event.

The team now have barely a week left to re-prepare the car for next weekends Malcolm Wilson Rally based in Cockermouth. David and Rob will compete on the event as a test in readiness for the next round of the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge round, the Border Counties Rally on March 17^th.

Media
27/02/2007