The Team In Action At Smeatharpe www.grahamrobins.net

Mark II Motorsport was back in action last weekend, taking part in the 3 Counties Rally, the second round of the ACSMC Rally 2007 championship at Smeatharpe near Honiton.

As Smeatharpe is the same venue as Mark II’s first event in the new car last October, driver Mark Welch was keen to see what effect some miles under his belt combined with improvements to the car would make.

“We’ve done a few competitive miles now and we’ve had new front brakes fitted to the car. The previous result on the Emerald Stages showed we’re nearly back on winning pace, so I’m looking forward to this event”.

However, the weather that greeted the teams on Sunday morning was atrocious. Heavy winds and horizontal rain lashed the former WW2 airbase making conditions treacherous. Seeded at 1 was the husband and wife team of Steve and Yvonne Furzeland in their Subaru Impreza WRC followed at 2 by an empty space which should have been filled by Duncan Holder and Nick Reeves in a Metro 6R4. Illness meant the Metro crew stayed away. At 3 debuting his Hyundai Accent WRC was Mike Threlfall and just behind him was another of the powerful 6R4’s driven by local ace, Karl Broad.

Mark II lined up at 5 but was also looking out for threats from Steve Hollis and Sarah Carcillo in an Escort Cosworth WRC and Dave Jones/Paul Saunders in a very smart Mitsubishi Evo 8.

With Regular co driver Mark Norris engaged on other duties, Mark was partnered by James Sunderland. As the duo left the start line into the grey murk on SS1, confidence levels were unusually high despite the car running out of fuel on the way to scrutineering. The pace of Mark II was excellent, that was until near the end of the stage. With Threlfall’s Hyundai looming large in front of them (caught for a minute), the Mark II Cosworth got off line and aquaplaned towards a hefty mud bank.

By an amazing stroke of luck and a little bit of skill, the Cosworth emerged through a gap in the bank with only minor damage. It took the crew what seemed like an age to get the car started again, but start it did and they continued to the finish of SS1 losing some 48 seconds to the leaders, Colin and Jan Knott driving an Impreza. So after SS1, Mark II was down in 14th.

The same part of the stage claimed Hollis who hit the bank head on, and the fast Mk1 Escort of Martin Williams who not only hit the bank, but vaulted over it!

SS2 saw more drama – another wild aquaplane moment saw Mark and James exit the stage onto the grass again. Only a few seconds were lost and the crew were amazed to see that they had posted 3rd fastest stage time and had moved up to 6th place overall.

In service, Bruce the service crew aided by Mark Sims and Barry Guess made some changes to the set up of the car as well as putting new boots on the rear. The result was a transformation that saw the team take fastest time on the next 3 stages moving up to 3rd place behind Knott and Jones but significantly, ahead of Broad (who retired shortly afterwards) and the Furzelands.

The weather persisted and Mark II found themselves briefly off the road again on SS6 but still managed 2nd fastest behind Jones. They also had a scare when the car wouldn’t fire up at the stage start necessitating a push from the marshals’.

With 2 stages left, Mark and James were still 23 seconds behind Jones and 16 seconds behind the Knott’s who had slipped to second place.

Not to be out done, the team really put the hammer down taking another fastest stage time on SS7 and overhauling Jones who had his turn of drama, spinning at high speed. Second fastest on the final 8th stage meant the team all but caught the Knott’s at the end, a mere 4 seconds off the win.

“If someone had offered us 2nd place at the start of the event, I would have taken it “said Mark, “but to lose out by 4 seconds in these conditions is a bit disappointing”.

On reflection it was an excellent result. 2 Finishes in 2007 and 2 trophies is a great start to the new season. The team’s next event is the National Tour of Cornwall on 23rd and 24th March. More news soon!

Mark II Motorsport Would Like To Thank Their Sponsors :-

Posted 7th March 2007