Ryan Wilding/Lucy Wilding – 44th overall, 2nd in class
A steady day for the team with a couple of issues in the first two stages with the car struggling to select a gear costing the pair a bit of time in their Vauxhall Nova however a clutch adjustment back in service sorted the problem. Unfortunately a lost intercom at the end of stage 3 also hampered their progress a little so a careful drive, saving the car for the Three Shires Stages in a couple of weeks, was the order of the day.
Jay Stanley/Dan Petrie – DNF
After a twelve month layoff it was good to see Jay back out on the stages in his immaculate, newly built Ford Escort Mk 2. The first rally together for the pair saw them set a sixth fastest time on stage 1 but unfortunately it went downhill from there, literally!
A spin off onto the grass on the next stage saw them approach the hairpin backwards, clouting the back end of the car considerably. They eventually managed to get going again only to be caught out just before the quarry which saw them off the road with luckily no additional damage. They extracted the car with some brute force and joined the event again missing the next loop of stages. All was going well, using the event as a test prior to the Three Shires Stages, until the car stepped out again on the notorious Burmah Road putting a wheel on the grass. This resulted in the stricken escort hitting a bank, catapulting the car firmly into a tree with an immediate stop at pace. Both crew were battered and bruised although the car unfortunately suffered a worse fate requiring a re-shell with the hope of returning to the stages at the end of the year.
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