Reigning British Super 1600 Champion Co-driver Rob Fagg took his first Mitsubishi Evo Challenge podium on this weekend’s Swansea Bay National Rally (21st July).

Competing alongside Scottish youngster David Bogie in the Pro-Tec Motorpsort run and prepared Oakbank Services / Kumho Tyres supported Mitsubishi Evo 9 the pairing achieved there primary goal of simply finishing!

Having failed to complete the previous two rounds of the championship it was important for David and Rob to get the car round and add points to those scored earlier in the year. It was also vitally important for the crew to get miles together in the car having only had 35 miles competitively since the end of March.

The first major challenge however was to get to Swansea at all.

With the severe weather hitting the UK causing mayhem on the roads, competitors in the event were forced to bide there time and be patient as they made there way slowly down to the events base. Some did not make it in time or decided to turn back, while recovery crews and marshals were also caught up in the traffic problems. Organisers decided to cancel the shortest stage of the event and deploy the resources to other areas where it was required. The day would now consist of five stages in the Welsh forests which were reported to be extremely slippery.

Bogie and C Tarleton Hodgson & Son Ltd Scholarship recipient Fagg knew the plan for the day was to avoid trouble and bring the car home to the finish. But with 5 miles remaining of the opening test in Margam, the crew picked up a rear right

puncture. They were unable to avoid a rock while committed to their line on a long right hander and the time lost as a result dropped them down the leaderboard.

With two stages remaining before the first service halt of the event, David and Rob knew they must push hard to try and regain some of the time lost. But as the crew approached a hairpin left carrying too much speed, David was forced to try and spin the car to scrub off speed. Unfortunately as they did they slid backwards into a ditch and the engine stalled. David quickly fired

David and Rob over the jump on Margam 1 with a rear right puncture.

the Kumho Tyres shod Evo back to life and they continued on there way reaching the finish of the stage seventh quickest overall and third Mitsubishi crew.On the final stage before service a tidy but quick safe run resulted in another third Mitsubishi and eighth overall time. They had moved back up to 11th overall on the leaderboard and 3rd in the Evo Challenge behind Irishman Philip Morrow and Welshman Julian Reynolds.

A routine service followed and with the fifth stage cancelled the next loop between services was reduced to just one test. Stage 4 though would be the longest of the day, totalling 17 miles. With good conditions in the stage David and Rob produced a clean run to emerge the sixth quickest crew overall and second best Evo. Reynolds had suffered a broken shaft during the stage causing him to drop two minutes and drop down the order. As a result David and Rob climbed the leaderboard into second in the race for Evo Challenge points.

With just one stage remaining, a re-run of the opening Margam test, the crew knew they needed just a clean run through to hold on to second as they held a 23 second lead over Nick Elsmore in third place.

Mid-way through the stage as David launched the Evo over a crest as he had done on the previous run; however they found that the braking area had become very slippery in the wet conditions with increased surface water. David was unable to slow the Evo in the braking area and with the car refusing to respond to his input, they entered a 3 Right tightening to 5 right too quick and they slammed hard into the banking. The impact left the crew facing the wrong way down the stage but they were quickly back facing the correct way and underway.

It soon emerged that the car was down on power, which was later found to have been caused by a damaged turbo intercooler pipe. The incident and power loss resulted in the crew dropping down to ninth overall and third in the Evo Challenge.

David and Rob were understandably disappointed not to have held on to second but were happy to have reached the end of the event and scored points in the Championship.

“It’s great to be at the finish and on the podium collecting some much needed points in the Championship” explained Rob, “We set out today to make sure we made it here after the retirements on the previous two rounds. We have dropped probably 75 seconds today with the puncture and two incidents so the result could have been better but credit to Phil (Morrow) after Julian’s (Reynolds) problems he was out on his own.”

On the lead up to the event Rob was lucky enough to secure support from the Isle of Man’s leading airline Euromanx to add to that of existing sponsors.

“I have to express my thanks to Euromanx for their recent support, getting off the island to compete can become an expensive business and their help means that funds can be used in different areas to benefit me when competing” commented Rob. “I am very fortunate to have support from various companies including my employer Manx Telecom for which I am extremely grateful.”

Rob is also supported by the Isle of Man Sports Aid Foundation who not only provide financial assistance to sportsmen and women from the Isle of Man but also a whole range of services including medical and physio screenings, strength and condition training as well as providing support and advice when needed.

The next event up for Rob is the Ulster International Rally at the start of September, providing a return to the British Rally Championship for the Manxman. Although he and David will not be eligible to score points in the British Championship they will be able to compare times with some of the leading drivers in the country such as reigning British Champion Mark Higgins, former champion Gwyndaf Evans and regular WRC competitor and works Mitsubishi driver Guy Wilks.

Rob has also recently agreed to complete on the Tour of Mull with one of the events front-runners, John Cope, in his Subaru Impreza WRC. The pair first competed together earlier this year on the Isle of Man after John’s original co-driver was unfortunately unable to compete. After finishing second on the event, John was suitably impressed with Rob and asked him if he would like to contest the Tour of Mull. In recent years John has been battling for the podium and 2007 will be nothing different as the pair look to challenge for honours again.

However the Tour of Mull is a substantial commitment and despite agreeing to compete on the event, Rob is still in need of financial support towards the event to help with the costs.

Anyone who may wish to sponsor Rob can contact him at robert@robertfagg.com or call (07624) 451232

Rob is supported in 2007 by the Isle of Man Sports Aid Foundation, C Tarleton Hodgson & Son Ltd, Robert Graham & Co Chartered Quantity Surveyors, www.Mexperience.com, NickyGrist.com, Euromanx – Isle of Man’s Airline, Advanced Autosport Technologies and Manx Telecom.

Media
25/07/2007