I was fortunate enough to attend as one of the service crew supporting car number 30.
The day started at 03:00 to begin packing our supplies and loading up the car to set off to the venue. We eventually arrived at the venue through pouring rain around 07:00, optimistic that the rain would stop.
20 minutes or so later, the car arrived and we set about unloading it.
We had just managed to get the car unloaded and the gazebo up before the rain returned once again.
We set about preparing the car for the first event while the driver and navigator completed the necessary paperwork. Unfortunately the rain continue throughout the day, making driving very interesting for people who had chosen slick tyres (seemingly everyone).
The only cars that seemed to be handling the rain on slicks was the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts, which were unstoppable in the wet.
Stage one saw some a number of spills from drivers, including our own car; which collected a heap of tyres on the way through one of the tight chicanes. Most of the damage was purely cosmetic and was easily fixed during the period between stages.
A crumpled wing was pushed back into shape and the trim screwed back on. As for the bumper, which had taken most of the impact it wasn't as easy. The whole bumper was hanging down at the front, and the lower valance was smashed in front of the right hand wheel. Given our limited service time we had to make a speedy repair, involving lots of cable ties. The valance was stitched back together with cable ties after drilling a couple of holes in it, which survived to the end of stage two.
Unfortunately the end of stage two also saw the end of our rally, with a very unhealthy knocking coming from the engine. We decided it would be best to retire from the rally rather than risk further, potentially fatal damage to the engine.
Our driver had also managed to collected a hay bale when negotiating a different chicane, which has left a nice big dent in the passenger door. We were able to push the dent back out with a bit of shoving and a big foot.
Although we were out of the race, we stayed to observe the remaining drivers. From our vantage point (inside a nice dry van) I grabbed a few pictures of the cars as they entered the stage.
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