Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK
Severn Valley Rally
31st May 2008
Everard Loses Second Gear But Hangs On To Championship Second Place
After re-seeding the Fiesta for the Severn Valley Rally, Everard and Collis set off as first car for round three of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy on Saturday. The Fiesta was going very well on the first stage until James entered a left+ corner. Carrying too much speed, Everard found a new ditch, which had been freshly dug out to allow for new drainage and didn’t show on the pace notes. A big thank you goes out to a band of spectators who, with tow ropes, manually pulled the Fiesta from its resting place. Everard managed to rejoin the rally but sustained some hefty damage, the front bumper was ripped off and damage to the passenger side panels. One of the tyres was off the rim and the steering was affected by damage to the suspension. The gear box was also damaged getting out of the ditch. Miraculously James only lost about one minute, twenty five seconds before getting back on track and another minute or so on the rest of the field, limping back to the service stop.
There was just time for James to change the tyre before going back out for the second stage. Steering problems due to the damaged suspension continued and damage to the gearbox worsened through the stage, constantly jumping out of second gear but Everard battled through to the next service.
The Used Garage Equipment Online service crew did all they could before Everard went out on the long third stage, including replacing the damaged passenger side front suspension arm, as he was fighting major high speed stability problems due to further suspension damage. By this point in the rally Everard had totally lost the use of second gear and had to complete the final two stages without second gear, which due to his left foot braking style of driving, severely hampered quick deceleration. Whilst pushing as hard as he could, Everard survived a hairy moment on the final stage, managing to scramble back from the edge of a very large fresh air drop.
Finishing the eleventh Fiesta and still managing to put ten points on the leaders’ board, Everard and Collis showed some real grit and determination to get the car to the finish. Just hanging on to overall second position in the Championship, the Used Garage Equipment Online team are now looking forward to the next round of the championship at Swansea Bay.
After the event James said “There was an abundance of spectators who were watching near to where I found a newly cut ditch and they were great and helped me out very quickly. Spectators know how to find hot spots and I was not on my own finding that trouble spot.
“The team put in a great effort to keep me in the rally and I would have to say that I was happy to pick up enough points to stay in contention for the Ford Fiesta Sporting Trophy Championship following our set back on stage one.
“We are now half way through the Championship and it’s very close at the top and we are still in second position. With a trouble free round, I expect to be back up with the pace for the next round at Swansea Bay.”
There is a great spectator event this weekend, James Everard and the Used Garage Equipment Online sponsored Fiesta are entered at the 2008 Rally Show Chatsworth taking place at Chatsworth House on the 7th and 8th of June. This event is run with spectators in mind and is guaranteed to be a cracking day out.
FST Championship UK 2008 Table
