Bird Speeds Up To Net Fourth In Somerset
Posted: January 21, 2012 10:28 PM
Cumbrian rally driver Paul Bird was in action in round three of the Silverstone Tyres BTRDA Rally Series when he ventured to the Somerset Stages Rally where he came away with a battling fourth place finish to keep his title hopes well and truly alive.
Making his debut on the Minehead-based event and with new co-driver Daniel Barritt in the Frank Bird Poultry-sponsored Ford Focus WRC08, the Langwathby man struggled in the opening pair of stages to hold eighth position, some 30 seconds down on the leader and although he clawed some time back on the next two tests, the Dom Buckley Motorsport crew were left scratching their heads as Bird returned to service in seventh over 40 seconds off the lead.
Radical thinking was needed and a major set up change was initiated as Bird headed for the infamous Porlock Toll Road tests whereby he stopped the clocks second fastest on the first run up the hill and went quickest on the second run to move into sixth.
From then on, the Kawasaki World Superbike Team boss continued his assault on the leaderboard with a much improved car and set fastest time on the next four gravel stages to hold fourth place going into the penultimate stage, but still 30 seconds adrift of the podium.
Nevertheless, a final push was had on the last 3.73-mile stage in Knowle whereby Bird again set fastest time and at the finish, had pulled the gap back to just 14 seconds on championship rival Andy Burton.
The result sees Bird hold third place in the title chase just one point behind second placed Roger Chilman and six behind Burton going into the Plains Rally in Wales on May 14th.
Speaking before he boarded a flight to Holland where his team is in action at the Assen round of World Superbikes, Bird commented:
"The car just hasn't been right these past couple of events and we couldn't put our finger on it so when I dropped a load of time early on, we had to do something about it. We decided to radically alter the whole set up of the car which could have been disastrous but straight away, it felt so much better which was borne out by us setting fastest stage times in five out of the last seven stages and second fastest in the other two. It feels like I have my car back again and can't wait to get back into it for the Plains Rally next month and push for that first victory of the season."
Results
Posted: January 21, 2012 10:24 PM
1 Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank (Ford Focus WRC) 42:55
2 Roger Chilman/Andrew Sankey (Subaru Impreza) 43:01
3 Andrew Burton/Robin Kellard (Peugeot Cosworth) 43:12
4 Paul Bird/Daniel Barritt (Ford Focus WRC) 43:26
5 Michael O'Brien/Paul Spooner (Ford Focus WRC) 44:09
6 Charlie Payne/Craig Thorley (Ford Focus WRC) 44:23
7 Tom Cave/Craig Parry (Subaru Impreza) 44:43
8 David Wright/Michael Wilkinson (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9) 44:45
9 Patrick Naylor/Ian Lawrence (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9) 45:53
10 James Grint/Steve Greenhill (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9) 45:59
Tom Cave heads south to extend BTRDA lead
Posted: April 9, 2011 9:18 AM
Teenage rally driver Tom Cave will be heading south next week, as he competes on the Somerset Stages, the next round of the BTRDA Rally Championship. Cave, and co-driver Craig Parry, have won the Production Cup of the series on both outings and now lead the category, as well as the Junior Cup and are fourth in the Gold Star Driver class.
Following his early retirement from last week's Bulldog Rally, the second round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, Tom is keen to get back in action and put the last rally behind him. He and Craig are looking forward to returning to the BTRDA, where they have enjoyed excellent results so far.
However, the Somerset Stages will see the third car in as many rallies for the pairing; this time, they will use a latest-specification Group N Subaru Impreza, run by Davies Motorsport Services, the company which ran Tom and Craig last year and on the Malcolm Wilson and Mid-Wales stages recently, with Tom and Craig winning the latter outright.
The one-day event is based in Minehead and uses forest tracks in and around Exmoor, as well as 7.5 miles on the Porlock Toll Road, which is an asphalt section. The one-day event comprises 11 stages totalling 42 stage miles, so with relatively short stages, Tom knows that success will hinge on once again attacking from the word go.
Commenting, Tom said;
"It will be really good to get back in the car and start to build our confidence again, after the disaster on the Bulldog.
"Of course, it will be interesting to be driving a new car - the third car this year - but I'm really looking forward to it. We have a test booked before the rally so I can get a feeling for the car but I am sure that run by the DMS team, it'll be spot on.
"I think we'll have to push hard from the start of the event, as with so many short stages, there won't be any opportunity to pick a single stage to push on. The Portlock Toll Road stages will be interesting, as they're pretty long and on tarmac which, as we know, is always a bit of a handful for a car on a gravel set-up.
"However, we will be able to make some changes to the car. There's a service halt either side of these two stages, so we can possibly drop the ride height a little, stiffen the damping up a bit and at least fit a set of tarmac tyres just for the two stages, so it's not as daunting as it could be."
The first car is due to start the event at 08.00 on Saturday April 16 and finish at 15.30.
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