Britton and Hull take fifth after a troubled start

Posted: March 19, 2003 6:35 PM

Colin and Kenny, who finished third on the Eurocables Stages, were hampered in the early stages of the event when they caught the Toyota Corolla Twin Cam of another competitor. Their time loss was compounded by tyre problems and the Micra duo found themselves lingering in eleventh position after the first two stages.

"We are very short on tyres," Colin said. "We went out on new tyres and had very, very bad grip. On the first stage we landed on top of tyres on the circuit for about ten seconds and another competitor was holding us back. The second stage and the same competitor held us up!"

It wasn't an ideal start to the rally but the Micra duo had to hope for better luck on the remainder of the event if they were to gain valuable points towards their N.I. Rally Championship campaign.

A clean run on the third stage resulted in Colin and Kenny moving up to eighth position. Things were starting to go their way and after quick times on the fourth and fifth stages, the pair had moved into sixth position. With one stage remaining, they were three seconds behind Alden Minford and just one second ahead of Lucy Ford-Hutchinson. The event was far from over.

Colin said: "On the last stage we had a good run but we caught up with the same competitor again on the final three corners which held us back a bit but I don't think it was too bad. It might have held us back for a couple of seconds but you never know!"

Despite catching another competitor on the final stage, Colin and Kenny set exactly the same time as both Alden Minford and Lucy Ford-Hutchinson. The Micra duo had confirmed their sixth position but last minute dramas for Jim Aicken promoted Britton and Hull into fifth position. After such a dreadful start to the event, it was an excellent comeback for the pair who are currently handicapped by budget constraints.

"The first couple of stages were a nightmare - getting held up by the Twin Cam," Kenny said. "But we enjoyed the last couple of stages. It was a good run and we have some more points on the board. It's good to get some points now before we get into the serious rallies for the rest of the year and hopefully we'll have the new engine in by the Easter Stages. It should arrive within the next week so we're looking forward to that."