A New Venue
With the foot and mouth "inspired" concentrated rally program drawing towards a close for another season, Mark II Motorsport headed south last weekend to compete in the RNAC's Solent Stages held at the excellent Bovington test track.

A One Man Service Crew!
This was an unfamiliar venue for the team, so others with previous knowledge would have an early advantage. Seeded at 4, the teams Escort Cosworth, or "Yellow Peril" as its now become affectionately known, was driven as usual by Mark Welch with Bruce Taylor again swapping his overalls and spanners for the hot seat. The servicing this time was carried out by Barry Guess single handed - what a star!

A Strong field & A Good Start
Early morning rain greeted the teams arrival at SS1. Car 2, Steve Furzelands mighty Metro 6R4 headed the field off, followed by Tom Lambert in his Darrian and then Mark II. Car 1, last years winner John Vey in a Mitsubishi, was a non-starter. The first stage was a 2-mile blast around a small section of the track. Mud, stones and standing water were hazards as Furzeland took fastest. Mark and Bruce erred on caution and came in 5th, a few seconds down.

Disaster!!
SS2 was a 6-mile blast around the main circuit, with fast flowing corners, big drops and some very inviting high-speed chicanes. After a few hundred yards into the stage, Yellow Peril hit trouble. Welch explained "there was a load pop followed by a feeling that someone had applied the brakes. I looked at the turbo boost gauge and it registered zero". Clearly something had rendered the turbo u/s, so the remainder of the stage was completed at a very slow pace. The normally 300bhp car was reduced to around 70bhp! Back in service, the fault was quickly traced to a loose hose from turbo to intercooler. A new 30 pence jubilee clip was fitted and the car restored to full health. With 1 minute, 30 seconds lost to the leaders, Mark II was languishing in close to last place with 50 or so cars in front of them. Time for a fightback!

Fightback
SS3 was a repeat of 1, the team clawing back 10 seconds on their first run. SS4 was a repeat of the 6 miler where disaster struck. Yellow Peril completed the run nearly 2 minutes quicker than previously, and 3 seconds shy of Furzeland to take second fastest. SS5 and 6 were longer still with a very slippery watersplash. 2 more second fastest times. At lunch, the team were back to 15th but still had plenty to do. With 4 7-mile stages to complete in the afternoon, it was possible to achieve a top ten result. 4 more second fastest times, never more than 4 seconds back from the flying Furzelands 6R4, wrestled Yellow Peril back to an amazing 5th overall and first in class!

Bruce commented "we were flying this afternoon! The final 2 stages were superb, there was nothing left!" Another good result for the team. In the final analysis, it was clear that the turbo mishap cost them at least second place and who knows, maybe the top spot!

Many Thanks
Mark II Motorsport would like to thank their sponsors: - Penzoil (Bluecol), GetZetGo / Get Rallying, Springwood Aviation Services, RallyGallery, The Car Enthusiast & FUSE. They would also like to thank Barry for his single handed servicing and Simsie for the photos.