Round 1 2011 Richard Egger MSA National Tarmac Championship Tour of Epynt

David said.... After what seemed like an eternity, the new season has finally started with the first round of 2011 Richard Egger MSA National Tarmac Championship, the Tour of Epynt. This season will be both my first time sitting alongside George Cooke, as well as being my first attempt at the National Tarmac Championship. As this Championship includes events on Epynt, Isle of Man, as well as the Jim Clark, my eagerness for the season to start could be justified. After a couple of weeks helping George prepare the car to conform with the new regulations brought in at the start of the year, the weekend of the event had crept up on us a little quickly as a couple of jobs didn't quite get completed. An early alarm call on Saturday was required as this event allows crews to recce the stages the day before the event, meaning we had to be in Brecon to unhitch the trailer and get up to the ranges by mid morning. Whilst we were completing the recce, Trevor & Steve put the rear mud flaps on car, although, having seen some of the other competitors later at scrutineering, this probably wasn't necessary. But at least it helped them pass the time whilst waiting for us to return!! After signing on, it was off to find the hotel, before heading off into Brecon for something to eat and a few beers. I always find this to be an essential part of the rally preparation - helping me sleep as I always seem to have to share a room with the one that snores!!! Sunday arrived and a quick check of the weather saw that it had rained overnight , meaning that the first few stages could be wet. Not really what I wanted being inexperienced over Epynt, but at least it was brightening up a bit and it had the chance to dry up through the day. A number of other crews were also staying at our hotel and the conversation turned to the days event over breakfast. A quick pep talk from Den Golding, regular navigator to Mark Soloway of Historic Rallysport and an Epynt expert, didn't exactly help to settle my nerves, but he assured me we would be ok if we took it steady. As we were after a good start to the championship, this was what we were going to do any way. Nick & Kev then arrived, as they had travelling down on the morning to help out and it was time to set off for the ranges. The roads were still damp but it was the mist that gave me more concern as we drove towards the quarry which was being used for the service area on this event. Fortunately, this soon cleared and even the roads dried up slightly by the time we left service for stage one. A total of 17.7 miles made up the first two stages, which went without incident, except for the broken wing mirror on the passenger side - which became a regular occurrence throughout the day - and it was back to service. It was pleasing to see, that despite it being our first time together and that we were taking it steady, we had moved up a few places to 78th from our start number of 84. Being the only entrant in N2 meant that I didn't have to keep tabs on any other competitors throughout the day, just concentrate on ourselves and getting to the finish. The stages were now drying out nicely and stages 3 & 4 were a repeat of the first two stages of the day. Repeated stages are always a bit of a worry, as drivers seem to think they know where they are going and this is when incidents occur. This proved to be the case here, when we had a 'moment' approaching the square left at Dixie's. The back of the car seemed to get unsettled over the small crest before the junction, which was shaded by the bank, meaning that it was still damp from the overnight rain. This made the car start to slide left, George reacted, but we were now sliding the other way, straight towards the Armco. Just when I thought this was going to be it - right in front of the spectators - George managed to get the car turned and around the corner we went, much to my relief. After second service, it was on to stage 5 was the longest of the event at 17.92 miles and was a combination of stages 1 & 2. This stage passed without incident and it was back into service for something to eat. We were now up to 68th overall and two stages away from getting the finish that we both wanted. Having competed over Epynt for the first time last year and failing to get to the finish, I was keen to make sure that the same didn't happen on this event. The afternoon stages were run in the opposite direction to the morning and were repeated both times. At 15.2 miles each, getting to the finish wasn't going to be guaranteed, as we were to find out on SS6. George had set up the camcorder to get some incar footage during lunch service and he explained that this was when he usually started showing off and therefore things could happen. Stage 6 was no exception to this, as we had our second 'moment' of the event. The stage was more or less a repeat of stage 5, but run in the opposite direction. As we approached the hairpin mid way through the stage, George pulled on the handbrake to assist in getting the car round the corner. Unfortunately the car didn't react quite as expected and we ended up heading for the grass on the opposite side of the road. For the second time of the day, I thought that this was game over as there was a ditch looming quickly on my side of the car, but George managed to manoeuvre the car away from this and head towards the photographers instead, who no doubt had some closer shots than they might have anticipated, before getting the car turned around and back onto the road. This was also one of the spots used for the TV coverage, luckily though, we weren't shown at this location, this saving a little embarrassment. Stage seven was a slightly calmer affair, as we looked to make sure we finished the event getting the car to the finish and score a maximum number of points in the N2 class. After a celebratory drink at the finish venue whilst waiting for the results to go final, we collected our awards for winning the class, happy with 60th overall. Our next scheduled event was to be the Manx National, but unfortunately our plans have had to change, so our next time out will be in June for local event, Rally of the Midlands. Huge thanks need to go to Trevor & Steve for giving up their weekend to help out, Nick & Kev who came down early on Sunday to service and to Paul of Courier Link UK for use of the van. Role on June!!