It’s important to get your priorities right on Mothers day, that’s why Gareth and I spent the day rallying in the Exige at Blyton. I’m sure we will pay for it later! It was 17 years since I last rallied at Blyton, in fact I did my first ever stage rally there.
When we got there I thought we had mistakenly arrived at a Siberian wasteland. Stood on the old airfield it was zero degrees with a howling wind, icy wet tarmac and flurries of snow – not quite Exige territory.
There was a very competitive entry list of quick MKII Escorts, Evo’s, Scoobys and a funky looking Murtuya which is basically a Subaru kit car. Our class consisted of some rapid Escorts, Fiestas and a very nice Clio race car with Sadev sequential box and a K-Tec engine, exactly what I’d have built if I hadn’t gone with the Exige.
The stages were a mix of good tarmac, old tarmac and concrete, randomly covered in loose gravel and crap. Although it was cold and wet it wasn’t raining so I opted to run super soft slick tyres on the rear and soft intermediates on the front. A decision I regretted on the first 2 stages.
I was a bit rusty when I got in the Exige as I haven’t sat in it for 5 months since the last event. Straight off the start line I struggled to get any grip but once I got some bite then I had the next problem, slowing it down for the first muddy chicance. With all 4 wheels locked I just managed to slow down enough to avoid the barrels and concrete blocks. … and so it continued throughout the stage. Approaching the corners I just couldn’t get any turn in then once I did I was fighting the car to stop it swopping ends, the spectators loved it but I was not impressed. At least with the new LSD fitted we could hold some very spectacular drifts – Ken Block, who’s he?
Cars start the stage at 30 second intervals and do 3 laps of the stage. I was catching the Pug 205 in front as we entered the hairpin, he had a spin and I threw the Exige sideways to avoid hitting him. We ended up going off piste through the cones and rejoining the track in front of him. At the next chicane I couldn’t get any turn in again, locked up, ploughed through more cones and following my co-drivers instructions carried on up and over the X-games style gravel ramp that they use for off road events!
At the end of the stage it was a quick turnaround and back in the queue for a repeat run for stage 2. Gareth had lots of helpful tips like ‘you do know that sideways isn’t the fastest way to drive’. Let’s just say it was more of the same technique, lots of doggy paddle steering, near misses with cones and concrete, leery sideways action and a very average stage time. The net result 13th overall, not good. I had fun on the last hairpin, I got it a bit too sideways and in an effort to avoid going off into the field I ploughed right through the flying finish sign launching it up over the bonnet and roof.
Back in service Gareth gave me another helpful coaching session. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way Wes but perhaps this car has now exceeded your driving abilities’. To be honest I couldn’t argue with him. It’s a shame we didn’t have an in car camera as the footage would have been quite amusing.
After an hours service halt the stages were starting to dry up a bit and I was calming down. I drove the next stage a bit more racing rather than rally style and the smoothness paid off. I was starting to gain confidence with a bit more heat in the tyres, better turn in on the tight corners and pushing hard through the long corners. We finished the stage 5th fastest. From there on it just got better and better. I was now going flat through the long corner, lifting off for the tightening right hairpin to tuck the nose in, then feeding in a controlled drift through the corner followed by a lift off flick into the next left hand hairpin. Big grins all round.
Not only was the car starting to feel good but we were climbing up the leader board. On the last four stages we set 3rd fastest overall stage time. It was enough to put us in 4th place overall and we won the 2000cc class. Our best result in 17 years of rallying !!
When I analysed the time sheets we were only 18 seconds off 3rd place and we were taking 10 sec per stage off the car ahead of us. I had lost 55 seconds on the opening two stages due to my over exuberance and lack of confidence.
I still think it was the right decision to choose the Honda Exige as a rally car. It drew plenty of attention and the spectators loved the sideways action. It was totally reliable, we didn’t put a spanner on it all day. If I can learn to master it on wet and loose surfaces then the results will be even better.
The next event will be at MIRA on 13th April. There’s a few minor improvements that I will make to the car. The modified Ohlins are back from Aurok and ready to fit in lieu of the Nitrons. At the same time I need to balance the ride heights and corner weights, it’s a bit light on the nose. I will also go for super soft slicks all round as the car is so light on tyre wear. However, if its cold and damp then I might run full wets so I can at least get some grip and confidence. Modifications for the driver…smaller right foot and bigger gonads.
Thanks to Gareth for his expert navigation and control of his wayward driver. Also a big thanks to my friend Mark for helping with the car preparation.
N/A Rocks!! 
