For me the rally was definitely not what I had hoped it would be. After testing the car for a week, and working on the engine, Chad and I anxiously awaited to get the event underway. We had made our pace notes the week before, and were ready to go head to head with Nick Gill in his now lighter Mazda Lantis.

On SS1 we had a little scare in the first bends, when we exited the first right/left combo and found sand and 3" rocks in the road, we got a little out of line, but nothing major. I didn't really push it in this stage, especially the section after Canefield bends under the trees, which was very rough, and not a place to take chances so early in the rally. Unfortunately I was not able to compare times on this run due to poor radio communication between finish and finish/finish.

Anyhow it was on to SS2, French Village to Four Hills, one of my favourite stages. I left the start line, through the flat left, over brow into right 2, then 200 flat of crest. We got a little air on the crest and then onto the right 2, which we took cleanly. Flat over brow into left 2 and right 2. Then it was 400 flat over brow into flat left and right all down hill. Through the left 2 right 2 combination and down the straight to Orange Hill plantation. Through the sharp left and flat right, and then onto the flat downhill section. As we rushed towards the left 3 doing about 130kph, Chad called the note "Left 3 don't cut" (there's a rock in the apex of the bend.) I continued to hold the 4th gear till I was about 80ft away from the bend. Then downshifted to 3rd and went for the brakes. That's when it all went wrong. The break pedal was rock hard and no matter how hard I stood on it, it wouldn't slow. I tossed the car into the left bend and tried to hold it as best I could. The car went into a four wheel slide towards the cane ground on the right, then the rear came out and the back right wheel smacked the embankment, causing the whole back of the car to lift about 2 or 3ft in the air. I had in all the opposite lock and foot still flat in 3rd, when the tyres got some traction and pulled the front around (thank goodness for Toyo T1S). The back came down, and we shot off down the road to the hairpin. The car still felt okay, and when I test pumped the brakes before the hairpin they felt fine. I turned into the left hairpin and pulled the handbrake, and heard a horrible grinding noise, and the smell of burning rubber. This was the case in every left bend for the remainder of the stage. When I got out of the stage and checked the rear, at a glance everything appeared fine. We went to SS3 and drove Haggets to Dark Hole without making any repairs. So in all the left bends I could hear something grinding on the back right corner. We made it back to service and discovered what was causing the rubbing. The impact on the right rear corner had bent the bottom arm and pushed the right wheel 2" into the wheel arch. We were about to set about repairing it when we were told that due to the rally running late, our service had been shortened and we had to leave now. So were forced to drive another three stages with the bent arm and rubbing tyre on the shock. So I did my best to post semi respectable times while trying to preserve the car for the next service stop. I drove hard on the straights, and right hand bends, and shut it down for left handers. On route to SS6 I noticed that the brakes were fading, and I drove that stage with hardly any brakes, having to use 2nd and occasionally 1st gears to slow the car down. In the transit route to the service / lunch stop, I could hear a grinding of metal on metal coming from the front wheels, and upon arrival at service, discovered that the front brake pads were shot and had started scoring the discs. We set about trying to fix the car in the 45 mins we had. Hats off the Damian from Pro Auto works for getting the bottom arm off, straightened, and back in place in under 10 mins. Also thanks to Best for driving to Percy King to try and get a set of pads for me. Unfortunately Percy was closed, and no one had any spares I could use, so I was forced drop out after completing six of the 11 stages. Not how I had hoped to end the day, but everything happens for a reason, and chances are, if I had continued, the starlet may have been added to the list of crashes.

Thanks to my sponsors, Nassco, Philips Lighting. St. James Travel and Mobil 1 for their support this year, and I hope to improve on this result in the next event, as both Graham Gittens and I eagerly await to drive at VRW on April 6th.