Last modified: 14/07/2002

No 55 Crew Service Crew

Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v Aron Brown Cal McElhinney Andrew Mitchell / Nick Brown

To say that the Jersey rally was "eventful" is a bit of an understatement, especially from Car 55's (Tomsport A) point of view.

Aron's confidence for the rally was slightly below normal due to the fact that the Astra's set up was completely wrong. "The weekend prior to the rally we realised that something was wrong with the tarmac front suspension i.e., the car resembled the handling of a bouncy ball". The problem was found to be that all the gas had leaked out of the Bilstien front struts. The problem we were then faced with was that we didn't have the time or the money to replace the struts, so the decision was made to fit the Astra with the forest suspension and lower the ride height. We eventually completed the finishing touches to the Astra on the Monday evening prior the rally.

Friday 19th October

Friday morning dawned dry and bright, myself Cal, and our back up team of Andy and Nick (my old man, who proved he could still keep up with the boys!) joined George, Alan, Lawrence and Nikki for the short trip to scrutineering. The Astra flew through noise thanks to the new back box. Scrutineering generally went OK apart from the Astra suddenly wouldn't start? After a bump start we got the Astra back to the hotel, where Andy and Nick did a sterling job of sorting the starting problem and wiring the spotlights. Whilst Cal & Alan plotted maps and sorted service schedules.

At 1pm Cal George Alan, & myself joined Erik West & Andy Corner for the drivers briefing. During the briefing we were informed that the weather forecast for coming evening was to be mostly dry with only light showers (how wrong could they be?!). We all then tried to relax and catch up on some sleep in readiness for the coming evenings action.

At 5pm our service crew's set off for service whilst the Astra & 309 made their way to start, the quality of some of the islander's cars were almost concourse condition, especially the other Black Astra GTE driven by two attractive young ladies, still, we did have a 16v Astra!! Our start time soon arrived, and we made our way to first service, Andy & Nick stuck to the agreed service schedule until the spotlights packed up. We soon had them working again, and Cal and I set off for SS1 in a confident mood.

SS1 was a fast flowing stage some of it along the sea front with lots of spectators, Cal was working well on the maps and we finished the stage with our adrenaline levels as high as a kite! This was real tarmac rallying! SS2 was more tight and twisty which didn't suit the Astra well, we were loosing too much traction out of the corners due the forest suspension. Cal was unhappy with the maps (as was many of the other co-drivers). We eventually made it back to service where Andy and Nick beefed up the wiring on the spotlights and did a standard spanner check. 

On the run to SS3 everything seemed fine and we were really starting to enjoy ourselves until it started to spit with rain, I flicked the wipers and the fuse box lit up - a blown fuse. We only had a 10amp spare fuse with us, which seemed to do the trick, we cleared SS3 8 seconds quicker than our 1st run. On the road section between SS3 to SS4 we noticed the sky occasionally lighting up, Cal seemed to think it was Camera flashes, I wasn't so sure? On the approach to SS4 the heavens opened, the flashes turned out to be some amazing lighting strikes I turned the wipers on - nothing. We were now actually sitting on the start line, we started SS4 with no wipers and at a Sunday morning drive kind of pace. Then about 2 miles before the end of SS4 the lights kept flashing on and off, and then eventually went altogether, we pulled up at the side of the road, Cal and I frantically checked fuses, relay's, switches, all to no avail. We eventually decided that with no wipers, or lights and with the appalling weather conditions (we were both now soaked to the skin) it was too dangerous to continue, we would retire from the rally and try and start the Trophy rally tomorrow. We radioed our location through to Andy & Nick who meet us at the end of the stage in the Focus, they then spend the next 2 hours in the pouring rain rectifying the problem.

Once we had sorted the problem, we drove the Astra back to the hotel and retired to the bar, to discuss the plan of action for tomorrow.

Saturday 20th October

Saturday morning dawned early - damn early, Andy was up at 5:30 and by the time the rest of the team arrived at the car he had already sorted the Focus and was working on the Astra. After a long wait we eventually got the Astra scrutineered, whilst Andy and Nick went back to the hotel for breakfast (thanks for bacon sarnies guys - NOT!). We were soon on our way to the first stage of the Trophy rally, and now running last car on the road. The first stage flew by with some interesting moments, one on a hairpin right, when the handbrake had to be called into play, and a long broadside slide ensued, judging by the reaction of the spectators, it must have looked impressive from the outside, sorry Cal! And clocking 120mph across the finish line of stage 2. After the second stage of the day we arrived in service a problem with the intercom was sorted. A fill up with fuel, and a spanner check and we were on our way.

We were now really starting to settle down and enjoy ourselves, Driver and Navigator were working well, stage 3 flew by with no major problems. Then came stage 4, with the intercom still not working properly we started the stage, all was going well until about halfway through the stage on a tight and twisty, high banked, downhill section of the stage, we launched the Astra in to the air over a bump, unfortunately the car did not land squarely. The n/s front wheel hit the stone bank, which then launched us into the bank on the other side, again the front wheel took most of the impact, eventually we came to rest about 200 yards further down the stage, through the intercom Cal was keen to carry on "will it drive, will it drive", "er, no" I replied. We got out and both front wheels were pointing in the wrong direction, our rally was over.

The problem now was that we were blocking the stage, as luck would have it we retired by the entrance to a driveway, the owner was a keen motorsport enthusiast and had a Toyota Land Cruiser, which dragged the Astra up his driveway off the stage. Cal and I watched the rest of the cars go through and waited for Andy & Nick to come and recover us. The boys then amazingly got the car mobile again and we retired back to the hotel.

It was a sad end to what was starting to be a very enjoyable rally, thanks must go to Cal for navigating, Andy and Nick for some sterling service work (often in appalling conditions). Special thanks must go to Ashley & Marianne Le Sech for letting us use their drive to repair the car, and keeping us fed and watered with coffee and biscuits!

Congratulations must go Erik and Andy Corner for an impressive 1st in class and 12th overall, and to George and Alan for yet another finish, especially Alan on his first ever multi venue rally.

Cal was working well on the maps and we finished the stage with our adrenaline levels as high as a kite! This was real tarmac rallying!

Cal and I frantically checked fuses, relay's, switches, all to no avail.

... clocking 120mph across the finish line of stage 2.

... launched the Astra in to the air over a bump,