Peter Beer (Co Driver & Silverstone Rally School Instructor) & Mike Braithewaite (Rally Quest winner (2008)

After winning the 2008 rally quest I was to make my fully sponsored rallying debut at the promenade stages 2009, alongside top driver/instructor and for today a navigator- Peter Beer.  Having being supplied with only the best equipment and a full support team from Silverstone Autosport and Rally School I was truly ready for what was to be a fantastic day. 

At the beginning of the day my targets were clear, to finish the rally and learn as much as possible. The start of the day provided dry, clear conditions and Peter managed to calm the nerves before we set off to complete our 1^st stage.  Good grip levels meant a clean run and we completed the stage with no hiccups apart from an absent wing mirror.  Into stage 2 I could now start to settle in, learn the car and push on - perhaps a little bit too hard as we again clipped one of the water filled barrels clipping the nearside wing but with no real damage done.

As the rain came in, Stages 3 and 4 presented us with wet and slippery conditions particularly under braking.  Taking on board instruction from Peter we increased our pace over the next few stages continuously catching the car in front meaning we had taken a healthy 30 seconds out of him on each stage. 

With the car running well, half the stages under our belt and the weather drying up later in the day, a change of tyres to the front provided us with yet more grip to increase our times. The service crew did a fantastic job and kept not only the car, but myself going to the end.  Our aim to finish the rally and improve throughout the day was now a distinct possibility.  We continued to put in clean runs and progressive stage times throughout the day and increased our position to finish a respectable 6^th in class and 41^st overall. 

Swynnerton Stages 2009

My second event was to be my local– Swynnerton stages in Staffordshire.  Set within an army training camp, it provided some of the best single venue stages on smooth tarmac with some tight chicanes and merges thrown in.  After passing scrutineering, some new tyres and seeing a brief section of the stages on the Friday evening, we were set. 

Fortunately Saturday gave us some great dry and even sunny weather!  Colin Treeby was my co-driver for the day and talked me through the first stage.  We completed the first stage with no scrapes and were pleased with the initial pace.  We made some notes to the maps and increased our time on the second stage, which was a re-run of the first.  Towards the end of the stage however the brakes overheated and we encountered some brake fade,   making the heavy braking into the tight chicanes quite interesting to say the least!

Back in service, a quick change to some up rated pads would hopefully sort the brake fade out.  The pads were much better on the third stage allowing me to press on further, keeping the late braking going until the end of the stage.  This however meant the new pads decided to set fire to their new paint much to the marshal’s concern at the stage stop.  We had also collected some straw in the panel shuts due to a brief swipe of one of many straw bales on the stages - a good reminder to back of just a touch.

Having had a great start to the day we were not expecting the car to suddenly loose all power on the exit of the control to stage 4.  With help from many people rushing around the car, we eventually got going again but had gone over the time limit for the stage start.  A problem with fuel starvation proved to be the problem.

Having had a bit of an untidy run on stage 3 I quickly adjusted my driving to make for a much smoother run on stage 5, proving that being smooth is much quicker.  We continued to put in descent stage times in on stages 6 and 7, getting up to fourth in class and 46^th overall, until the fuelling problem struck again forcing us out of the rally.  Overall a fantastic day and great experience on great tarmac stages, hence further improving my knowledge and increasing our pace throughout the day.  Thanks to all the team at Silverstone Autosport and Rally School, yet again!

Now I get to try my hand at a gravel event on the Premier Rally, 21^st November.  Having never competed on gravel it should make for a fantastic new experience!