The Mini Sport Rally Team were in rallying action again in February with three of the teams Cooper 'S' BMW Minis over on the Isle of Man for the first round of the Manx Rally Championship.
Daniel Harper, this time partnered by co-driver Paula Swinscoe, John Cressey with co-driver Stan Quirk and Martin Page and Martin Cressey.
This year there were 9 night time stages on the Friday night followed by a further 6 daylight stages on the Saturday. The stages are all held on closed public roads and are a rally enthusiasts dream taking in classic stages such as Druidale and parts of the famous TT Mountain Course.
The crews were going to have to be quick from the outset as they were surrounded by a quality entry of local drivers and others campaigning fourwheel drive turbo and World Rally Cars. A tall order in the 1600cc Cooper S's but the crews are used to mixing it with the 'big lads!'
Conditions remained dry on the night stages but with temperatures below zero, ice had formed on some surfaces making driving a little tricky in places. The two Martins overshot a hairpin at speed on Special Stage 5 giving the marshalls there an opportunity to take to their heels....which they did!
Daniel and Paula were unfortunate early on when having taken time out of one of the World Rally Cars...and just about everyone else, they suffered engine damage which disapointingly put them out of the event.
John and Stan were working well and were 4th overall after stage 3. They continued this storming drive in the dark and with no damage caused, routine maintainance was carried out at second service to both remaining cars by the frozen but extremely dedicated Mini Sport mechanics.
All was prounounced well with just one damaged tyre for the Martins to be wary of on the next stages.
Stage 7 was cancelled due to an off by another competitor and both crews went straight on to Special Stage 8.
The two Martins had a great run through without problems and were really getting into their new pace note system and revelling in some minor changes to the handling of their Mini.
John and Stan however had to stop mid stage when their lamp pod came loose. Stopping to secure it again cost them 30 seconds.
By the end of the last stage, the two Martins had climbed to 16th overall, putting them in a good position for an attack the following day, while John and Stan had gone on a charge of their own and set 3rd fastest time overall.
The crew of the Hyundai World Rally Car who followed them through the stage were quoted as saying "we were then entertained by Mr Cressy who pulled back onto the stage after a lamp pod problem, we followed him for 4 miles at a distance of about 1 metre and from our view he does very well to keep it on the road !!"
A fitting compliment to John and Stan who were really giving it some on the raggedy edge !
At the start of Saturdays stages, the organisers warned all competitors that the first few stages were effected by ice. Low sun was also a problem making it difficult to spot where the ice was lying and a few cars were caught out, crashing out under braking.
The first stage of the day was the very slippery Curraghs stage. A strip of very narrow, broken and very bumpy tarmac leading to an offset crossroads and then a more smoother second half.
John and Stan were well up for it from the word go and set 4th fastest time through here and through Druidale which no doubt left many of the four wheel drive turbo crews scratching their heads.
The Martins had a just one minor scare on the black ice on the first run through the famous Druidale stage with driver Martin admitting to being probably a little too cautious in this stage. So following final service, the intention was to step up the speed on the remaining stages which were mostly free of ice .
Back into Special Stage 12, a repeat of Curraghs and John and Stans' Cooper S split its exhaust manifold which meant the car was almost unbearably noisy but more crucially John could only use half throttle and only 3500 rpm to avoid engine damage. This cost them a good 30 seconds but the car had to be looked after to get repairs made at service after the second run through Druidale.
The Mini Sport mechanics did a great job of the repair at service and sent John and Stan back out penalty free and to hopefully make up some time having now dropped to 6th place overall.
The last stages were dispatched in good form with both cars running well through the narrow twisty lanes with the Martins 19th overall , 1minute 38 seconds ahead of the next car, a chasing Subaru crew. John and Stan came home a superb 6th overall and 2nd in class, also claiming the best 'overseas' crew award.
In a class which comprises all the fourwheel drive turbo cars the Mini Sport Rally Team did an excellent job and the crews would like to thank all the mechanics and supporters for their unwavering enthusiasm and commitment.
Its sometimes said that those in the mechanics overalls have to be at their best when things are at their worst. They are a superb bunch and do a superb job.
2009 TOUR OF MULL
Above - Last service at Craignure
Team Minisport were again on the Isle of Mull this October for the annual closed public road tarmac rally. This year was the 40th running of the event and featured two special stages along the harbour front and through the town of Tobermory. The remaining 15 stages were held over Friday night, Saturday daytime and into the wee small hours of Sunday before all the crews would get some well earned rest.
Team Minisport entered their four BMW Mini Cooper 'S' cars, which featured the Finzean based Martin Page and Dundee based co-driver Martin Cressey.
The first seven wet and slippery stages saw the teams lead car of Daniel Harper and Chris Campbell storm into 4th place ahead of a number of four wheel drive and World Rally Cars, while the number two car of John Cressey and Stan Quirk were unfortunate to lose their gearbox on stage two. Meanwhile, Page and Cressey stuck their Cooper 'S' right on its nose over one of Mulls many humpback bridges but made it to main service with a very ill handling car. Overseen by Framor Garage's Davie Stuart, the Mini Sport mechanics repaired the loose supension and the crew continued free of time penalties.
With only a few hours sleep, Team Minisport took to the stages again, this time during daylight on the second leg of the rally. Harper and Campbell maintained their 4th spot over the next 5 stages and set 3rd fastest times on stages 8 and 10.
An overnight change of gearbox saw Cressey and Quirk return to the Trophy Rally, running alongside the main event and they quickly stormed into an early lead, over 3 minutes ahead of the next car.
Page and Cressey were meantime involved in a tight duel with team mates Ian and Gary Dawes, moving ahead of them by 15 seconds at the end of the daylight stages.
The final leg began again in the dark late on Staurday night and took the crews through the remaining five special stages starting with the 22 mile long Tuath/Calgary Stage. Page and Cressey went into the stage on a charge and were intent on making up more places in the dark.
A '4 left over crest' had Page and Cressey in an unplanned sideways slide down the stage for a brief moment but they got away with it. Harper and Campbell, meanwhile continued to show ferociously determined driving, with a 2nd fastest time on Stage 15. The Mini Sport detemination featured throughout the teams crews with Page and Cressey coming out of stage 14 just 10 seconds slower that that of the Dawes' and having to swerve to miss some loose cattle on another stage.
Final service at Craignure saw all four cars through with only routine checks and re-fueling carried out by the mechanics from Mini Sport. With the Dawes' having now swapped the lead over Page and Cressey by 26 seconds, a focused and determined drive over the final Hill Road Stage was called for if Page and Cressay were to retake their lead in only one stage.
At the top of the Hill Road itself the weather turned nasty and a downpour of biblical proportions ensued. With visibility down to a matter of feet Page and Cressey plunged down the hairpins and along Glen Aros to the finish line, stopping the clocks 1 minute and 53 seconds faster than the Dawes' and securing the 2nd placed Mini Sport car home.
Harper and Campbell went on to finish 3rd overall with an incredible display of speed and car control and John Cressey and Stan Quirk won the Trophy Rally with Page and Dawes completing the four car finish with 16th and 17th in class respectively.
A fantastic result for Team Minisport.com with the whole team crowding onto the finish ramp to assist Harper and Campbell with the Champagne!
The team were out on the first running of the Jack Neal Memorial Rally in May. Heres the story from a first time co-drivers view....
The first running of the Jack Neal Memorial Rally held at Blyton in Lincolnshire was the latest venue for the Mini Sport Rally Team to compete again recently. The Framor Garage Banchory supported Mini Cooper 'S' made the 900 mile round trip to compete to help raise funds for the Pendleside Hospice.
On this occassion, the four car Mini Sport Team had a change from the normal running with head mechanic Mick Anderson driving one of the Minis and co-driven by his 15 year old son Ben. The Dawes brothers Ian and Gary swapped driving and co-driving roles for the day while John Cressey was co-driven by his mechanic Jim Constantine. Our Framor Garage Cooper 'S' was driven by Martin with partner Claire vacating her usual role driving the Management car to make her co-driving debut in the rally car with him.
Here, Claire reports on how it all went in the lesser known side of a rally car - the co-drivers seat.
With 12 tarmac stages to get through and a new mix of crews in the rally cars it was possibly going to be an eventful day.
Having sorted all the paper work for the rally I was a little nervous going into the first stage with the responsibility of calculating times and reading the route through the intercom. I have been involved with the team for a few years now and have seen all the in-car camera footage from each rally but nothing prepares you for the assault on the senses that being in a rally car at full speed gives you. Its very noisy and the car is sliding sideways at ridiculous speeds. Its amazing.
I had a real insight into the job of the co-driver and saw just how important they are in the car. I nearly missed a time control coming out of one of the stages but realised in time and got us back there without any time penalty.
By the second special stage I was a little more confident at calling bends and surface changes but had Martin laughing as for some reason I was compelled to tell him when I thought he should use the handbrake by shouting "handbrake, handbrake" about six times on the rather fast approach to a hairpin.
Back in Service the car was given a good check over and I consulted Davie Stuart our brilliant mechanic from Framor Garage on how much fuel to put in the car for the next few stages. The co-driver is also responsible for overseeing each service as the mechanics have to do any repairs within a specified time, calculated by me! If I had got the sums wrong we could have incurred time penalties. The responsibility is huge and so are the consequences if a co-driver gets it wrong.
Back out on the stages all was going well when Martin suddenly reported that the car had lost power. It was noticably misfiring. This is a real distraction for 'your' driver as I found out when Martin questioned the route. In these situations I had been told that the co-driver is the boss as he or she should know exactly what the route and timings are and should stick to their guns. At this point the co-driver would also be radio'ing the mechanics to give them advanced warning that something is up and to be ready for us in Service.
Thankfully I did stick to my guns and much to my own relief kept us on track.
Unfortunately we had to suffer the misfire for three stages but Martin made the best of it and cracked on until we could make repairs.
Back at Service, Davie from Framor did a brilliant job of diagnosing and replacing split injector seals.....whatever they are! He was also kept busy when one of the other Minis came into service with a snapped drive shaft. Incredibly he singlehandedly removed the old broken one and replaced it in a matter of a few minutes.
With my new found confidence and the cars performance improved we went into the final stages. With practice from the previous special stages, I was now calling all the bends fluently and even throwing in my own made up calls of "handbrake at will !" I think I was starting to put "my driver" off a little as he kept laughing at this for some reason!
The feeling of crossing the flying finish on the last stage was absolutely amazing. I have looked at the in-car camera film and all you can hear is me cheering and clapping! I had finished my first ever rally as a co-driver and we came in 5th in class and 20th overall which I'm really chuffed about.
The co-drivers role is often overlooked by the motorsport media but I have now doubt that its a full team effort in and out of the rally car. I had a fantastic day and a great insight into the job. The rally also raised £2000 for the hospice.
A huge thanks to Martin Cressey and all the other co-drivers for their patience while I badgered them with questions and to the lads at Framor Garage and Mini Sport.
The weekend of Friday 26th and Saturday 27th Februray 2009 saw the running of the first round of the Manx Rally Championship on the Isle of Man.
The Jaks Asphalt Stages Rally had 9 night stages on the Friday followed by 7 stages during the day on Saturday.
We were out in force with the full compliment of four cars . The night stages went well with the weather holding dry and the team cars started to work up the overall placings. Overnight Page and Cressey held 18th overall, sandwiched between two Subarus. A very good mid rally result for their first time on the islands roads.
Saturdays stages were much longer and used parts of the TT race mountain course. With overnight rain and fog on the higher parts of the stages full concentration was going to be rewarded here.
The first fog bound stage of the day saw Page and Cressey carrying a little too much speed, the result of which led to them demolishing a chicaine mid stage. However with only a couple of seconds lost and no damage to repair they set about the remaining stages.
Following a big jump on stage 11, the Cooper ‘S’ cut out when the battery cable snapped near the flying finish. A temporary repair by team mate John Cressey enabled the crew to get the car back to main service on time. An engine mount had also broken and this had damaged one of the driveshafts so the crew nursed the car back to main service. With only 30 minutes allowed, the Mini Sport and Framor Garage mechanics swarmed over the car to make all the repairs, the cars further progress now entirely in their hands. Co-driver Cressey counted down the minutes remaining of the service with a gathering of spectators watching the mechanics in their own race against the clock.
With just two minutes remaining, the mechanics pronounced the Cooper ’S’ healthy and Page and Cressey raced off penalty free back into the last stages of the day.
Photo by Peter Bull
The final stages comprised two runs over the famous Druidale stage. A spectacularly fast drive using the fast flowing main roads and the connecting tight, twisty and bumpy single track roads across the moorland.
Now looking to consolidate their position of 23rd overall after the damage on stage 11, Page and Cressey attacked the final stages and brought the Mini to the finish line unscathed.
The other three Mini Sport cars stopped the clocks to gain an amazing 4th, 10th and 16th place and collected a variety of trophies. A fine result for Team Mini Sport and a fantastic four car finish.
Huge thanks go to all at Framor Garage and Mini Sport and to the family and friends who support us.
TEAM WIN 'BEST SCOTTISH NEWCOMERS' ON TOUR OF MULL RALLY 2008
Well, we had a great run on the 'Tour', the car was faultless all through the event culminating in a cracking result for us and the flag for Mini Sport and our team was well and truly flown all event!
Heres what happened -
Our Framor Garage and Mini Sport of Padiham supported BMW MINI Cooper 'S' started at car number 145 on the Friday night stages. There was a lot of standing water on the stages in the south of the island meaning a good tyre choice for the first leg of the event was going to be vital.
With soft compound cut slicks fitted we charged off into the nights 6 stages and so began a rally long battle with the other Mini Sport Cooper 'S' of Ian and Gary Dawes. We beat the Dawes brothers on four of the nights slippery stages and by 4am had secured a good position for the second leg during the daylight stages on Saturday.
photo by AMLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
With the weather improving the team could really attack the stages on full 'dry' tyres. The Dawes brothers clawed back time over us on the first two stages which we won back on the 11 mile Calgary Bay stage on the west coast of the island. The following two stages were then again won back by the Dawes brothers and a real hard push by both Minis on the Loch Tuath Stage 11 saw us tie with exactly the same time over the 7.5 mile test.
The Loch Tuath Stage has some of the biggest jumps on the rally and a heavy landing broke an engine mount on our Cooper 'S'. With no emergency service allowed we had to drive to ensure the car finished the leg in one piece to carry on the fight on the final leg of the rally and to lose as little time as possible to the other Mini Sport crew.
At Service our mechanics made rapid repairs, changing the engine mount and drive shafts for the final nights push. We had to make up 52 seconds the Dawes brothers now had over us.
On Stages 13 and 14, we pulled back time by winning the stages over the Dawes brothers. Stage 13 was a massive 23 mile stage demanding full concentration and we came out of the stage with a front left puncture and only four minutes to get to the start the next stage. The emergency service crew made the fastest wheel change of the rally and no penalties were incurred.
Back at Craignure for the last main service we were only 5 seconds behind the Dawes brothers. The final 3 Special Stages were crucial to catching them. As we only carried enough fuel for the next two stages to keep the car as light as possible, this required our management car to undertake a planned emergency service to refuel the car between stages 15 and 16. No fuel, no finish!
Despite a huge slide on a bend in stage 13 we went on to win stages 14, 15 and 16, leaving just the 14.5 mile final Stage of the Hill Road and Glen Bellart as the decider.
Unfortunately a big spin at Dervaig junction cost us time and the Team Mini Sport battle went to the Dawes brothers by mere seconds!
A superb rallying battle was had all over the island and we finished 51st overall (up 93 places!) and were awarded the trophy for 'Best Scottish Newcomers' at the rally prizegiving.
Rallying is a tough old sport and the other two Mini Sport cars sucumbed to a broken gearbox and a cracked wishbone. Daniel in the lead car was as high as 3rd overall in his Mini Sport Cooper 'S'.
The Granite City Rally 2008
April saw the team out competing on 'The Granite', our local round of the Scottish Rally Championship. We had an excellent days motorsport in superb sunshine!
We spent the first three stages setting up the cars handling as it was its competetive debut on gravel. The first stage, Blackhall, was so rough by the time we got through, it was almost undrivable in some places. A quick check over by Daniel, Mick and Claire in the Management car on the road section saw us on our way to Stage 2 after which we made some adjustments to the suspension for more grip.
We came out of Stage 3 with a vibration from the rear of the car. At Main Service this was found to be a loose rear damper which was quickly sorted out. A ball joint was also changed as a precaution and we disconnected the rear anti-roll bar to see if we could further improve the handling.
With the handling getting better and better each stage we went into Stage 4 with more confidence in the car and started to push much harder. The stage times reflected this and we started to catch the Evo in front of us. We pressed on again in Stage 5, catching it again when it rolled into a ditch a corner ahead of us!
The final stage at Durris was also a flyer and we crossed the finish line back in Aberdeen with huge smiles!
The Red Arrows and Team Mini Sport 2008
In May, we joined the other three Mini Sport cars at Scampton Airfield for a big photo shoot with The Red Arrows. It was a perfect day and the four red Minis looked superb with the ten red Hawks lined up on the runway. We were treated to a display and following the official photographs we then spent a couple of hours 'hooning' about the airfield giving passenger rides.
We were still in forest spec, fresh from The Granite City Rally complete with knobbly tyres which meant very little grip but had enourmous fun doing massive drifts flat out in 5th gear! .....Clarkson, eat your heart out!!
