Well done matey and good luck for the weekend.
When we have started a rally in the past, we have always tried to beat our seeding. Being a number 8 is a new experience for us but I am sure that the same rules still apply.
I would guess our target for the day is a top 5 finish!!!
You have to remember that we have been practising recently but only for the clockwise stages!
Hopefully it should be dry and the car & crew manage to keep it on the black stuff.
We’ll let you know how we get on.
Gareth
Best of luck, I hope we get some video 
Unfortunately Adrian we do not have a video in-car. This is for a obvious litigation reason in that if I give a wrong call on the notes and Wes is unfortunate enough to crash, then then without one, its my word against his!!!
We have thought about it but never got round to fitting one. Maybe at a later date or unless someone has one which they would like to lend for the day?
Happy to lend you my mini DV and camera mount, easy to fit bolts in seconds to the harness bar. If you can collect before the weekend or on your way to Anglesey, i’m not far from Chester.
Graham.
Graham, thanks for the very generous offer of the loan of your DV. We’ve got an early 5 am start so we won’t have time to pick up. I must get myself one soon. Although the last time I was in a car with a camera we went backwards through the tyre wall at Cascades… I wasn’t driving!
Exiges Rock 
Hint:- The direction of the wheels is not the direction of travel!
What a debut Rally at Angelsey on the Lee Holland Memorial Stages, we’re still grinning. We set a target of a top ten finish and came in 8th overall and 2nd in the 2000cc class. Even better considering we were the only standard production car running.
Importantly the car ran without fault, we checked the tyre pressure before the start, checked the oil at lunchtime and didn’t even refuel it! Non of the spanners came out of the service car (apart from the two sat in the seats).
The weather was just like the Exiges day, damp start then quickly drying up. While most crews were selecting the appropriate tyre for the conditions (Dunlop X22 super softs) we bagged a bacon buttie and pondered about my knackered A048’s that were nearly on the wear bars.
It’s hard to believe the organisers can turn Angelsey into such a complex maze of loops and sections. Hopefully Gareth can post a picture of the stage diagrams. On the last few stages they split the track and infield roads into three loops and you had to do each loop twice then split off into the next loop. Fortunately Gareth did a top job on the notes and counted every split correctly as well as calling the corners.
The first stage was a total puzzle, hammering through Church onto the straight when Gareth shouts 90 right? In front is a wall of truck tyres across the track and a dead end, only then do I see what looks like a narrow footpath linking the straight back to the pit lane. After a signifiant application of the reverse thrusters we manage to thread our way through the gap, through the pit lane and back onto the main track.
The next killer were the artifical chicanes on the straights, 3 walls of truck tyres that you have to weave through. Not a pleasant sight if you like your paintwork and body panels.
Basically I threw away time on the first stage by driving like a queen. SS2 was a repeat run and I took 20 seconds off our first run (6.1 mile stage).
The top section of the stages used the concrete spectator roads above the Tom Price straight. That was very loose with gravel and we had some wild slides. You come piling round Peel at the top of the hill then hard on the anchors into a 90 left through a gateway into a flat out blind crest. I very nearly lost it at Peel, had to apply the doggy paddle steering technique to recover it.
Running sections of the track in reverse was also interesting. I hope they brush up at Rocket as everyone decided the quickest route was a massive cut across the grass and kerbs, there was an inch of gravel on the circuit.
It was also an interesting concept entering the pit lane flat in third then standing it on it’s nose for the finish board next to the radio tower, not quite the behaviour that Jonny BaT would approve of.
As you can tell we had a fantastic day. I’m so chuffed I decided to go back to driving a Lotus. The grin factor was imense and the interest in the car was huge. Hopefully there’s some good photos to follow, we’ve appeared on the Britsh Rally Forum site already this morning.
The overall winner was Stuart Deeley (as normal) in his amazingly quick Lotus Europa with a 2.5 Duratec and Hewland box. The car that beat us in class was a very nice MkII Escort with a dry sumped 2000cc Vauxhall with Quaife pro box. He was complaining about topping out at 100mph in 5th at 9000rpm on the straights - I never got into 5th!
It was interesting to see where we gained and lost time. I was a little shy on braking for the chicanes as I like my bodywork. The tyres were the biggest limiter as it was easy to lock up under hard braking. Due to the short stages (6 miles) you do need a softer compound as there isn’t time to get the heat into them. Some of the stages were faster and more flowing and it was here that we made good times on the long fast corners. On the stop start stages with the chicanes we lost out due to lack of power and long gear ratios.
We can’t wait until the next event. Gareth was buzzing, he did a great job on the notes and time keeping. He was also on the mirrors as well telling me when the supersonic MkII Escorts with 2.4 Scholar Duratecs were catching us at the splits so we could move over. The driving standards with the top boys were great, there’s no point buggering up either of your stage times by fighting in corners, much better to cooperate and move across on the next straight to let the rapid cars through.
Not sure where the next event will be. Maybe Rockingham or somewhere else that suits the car. Next time we will have to fit a camera in the car - but without the in car commentry, as it may not be pleasant on the ears. Hopefully one of the other competitors will post something on you tube. I’ll put the photo links up soon.
Here’s some good photos on this site - [color:#33FF33]speedsportphotography [/color]
Sideways fun
Motorsport ARB required!
Benchmark
Entertainment
Unfortunately this link isn’t footage of the Exige but is for F1000 which are 1000cc cars. It will show you the layout of the stages though. The first few minutes are from a different rally and then it changes to yesterdays event.
- YouTube
I will scan in a stage diagram tomorrow and post.
Cool, some of those tyres look huge!
Well done Ladz - great result! 
Very Cool!! Well done!!!
Yep great guys, enjoyed the read no end. Well done 
Can’t get over the track 
Out of interest what were your damper settings?
Excellent result! Just need some in car footage next time
I left the dampers on my final settings from the Exiges day, that was 4 clicks of compression all round. Previously they were on the softer setting of 14. It feels very planted but a pig on the road.
I’m going to buy a Muvi camera for in car. I was hoping some other competitors may have posted their footage but nothing on the net yet.
Anyway, other expenses first, the windscreen has just cracked, probably thanks to the councils recarpeting of our road with chippings, and I need a full set of new tyres after 2 trips to Angelsey. R888 or A048 ? Any good deals at the minute?
Apparently one of the Anglesey rules is that you are not allowed to publish footage on youtube! Here is a link though to some I have found. Unfortunately it finished just as we are on the start line. Notice how quick the blue escort changes gear though…can we have a gearbox like that Wes?
Ty croes rally start - YouTube
Cool man, gotta love Mk2 Escorts!!!
The mkII that won our class is for sale on pistonheads at a very reasonable 25k. The blue one in the vid that stops in the hairpin was awesome, basically a mkII WRC car. It had touring car rear seating positions, WRC Reiger dampers, paddle shift etc, maybe a 80k plus car. Built with the help of an Msport technician apparently.
Wonder if there are many spare “decent” Mk2 2 doors sheels around anymore? I’d love another
Adrian,
In answer to your question they are getting rarer all the time. As a result the prices have gone a bit silly, especially for a decent shell. Lots find their way to Ireland as they are particularly fond of them. You can find quite a few cars at the �20K-30-40+ mark. If I was you, I’d stick with an Exige, stick a cage in it and come join us on the next event!