IRISH RALLY DRIVER BATTLES TO 2nd IN FRANCE

Posted: May 18, 2003 8:14 PM

The weekend got off to the best possible start when at scrutineering Shaun was presented with the 3rd place prize from the previous round, the Terre d’Auxerrois. Shaun had originally finished 4th by 0.1 seconds but following post event scrutineering 3rd place driver Chattilon was excluded and so the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award Winner claimed his first trophy of the French Championship.

Day one of the Terre de Provence consisted of six rough gravel stages run high in the mountains of Provence. Shaun and co driver Richard Pashley settled into the new conditions quickly and set third fastest time on the opening stage. Joint fastest time on the second stage left Shaun tied for 2nd place with four stages remaining that day.

On stage three the gear lever broke off in Shaun’s hand and he lost 10 seconds and on stage four the Peugeot 206 landed heavily following a big jump setting off the plumbed in fire extinguisher. However, the Mullen Express Transport backed crew recovered well and clocked up second fastest times on the remaining two stages, finishing day one 2nd overall.

On the opening stage of leg two Shaun took a phenomenal 9 seconds out of the leader, local driver Thierry Brun, and was now just eleven seconds behind. A minor spin on stage eight cost him 10 seconds but it was on the penultimate stage of the event that Shaun suffered his biggest set back of the weekend. He hit a rock that bent a steering arm and the crew was forced to nurse the car to the finish of the event. Despite the problems Shaun finished in 2nd place by 31 seconds.

Shaun now has a break until the 6th June when he will return to France for the Rallye Terre du Diois.