Event Report - Rally of the Bay

My first time walking out of the forest! And though we were hugely disappointed that we didn't get to enjoy stages 8 and 9, there were still huge smiles! We had an absolute blast!

Prior to Stage 1, the service crew gave JW some motivational talks....basically tell him if he didn't pull out a blinder on Stage 1 it was all over. So he did just that! We had an amazing run and were just getting our teeth into stage 2 when we lost the brakes. We hobbled to the end of stage 2 losing quite a bit of time but were still confident about getting back amongst it. Stages 3 and 4 were a little tentative before some rhythm was found again on stage 5.

Night stages add a whole other fear factor for me sitting in the passsenger seat, and on completion of Stage 6 I said "Wow! That scared the **** out of me!! But in a good way!". So heading into Stage 7 I had the biggest smile on my face. After getting through that creek crossing I thought the worst of the stage was over, but just after the wooden bridge Jon told me we had 5 gears - all neutral - and our rally was over. Oh well, not for lack of trying! Congratulations to all of those who finished!

Thanks to our proficient service crew - Michael, Brady and Andrew with a bit of Ian Griffiths thrown in too. As well as your usual list of things to do you were tasked with fixing the brake line in the first service and then towing us out of stage 7. You guys are great.

A huge thanks for the organising team!! The rally was so relaxed, so organised and so much fun! Scott - the service park was a dream! Kate - the communication was excellent! All of the volunteers and controllies were fantastic, a huge thanks to them for being out in the dark. To the sponsors, thanks so much for your huge contribution. We hope it was worth your while and that you will be back again next year. We sure will!

Carolyn

Reliance team at the Bay

Don't bother going into Reliance tomorrow - the team will be heading off to Batemans Bay tomorrow morning for the Kumho Extreme Driving Rally of the Bay (details). The Chainsaw will be getting a run and there should be a good few spectator points to watch a lot of sideways action. The junior Reliance cheer squad will be in attendance as always.

Reliance Rally Team at Sportsclassic Rallysprint

The Reliance Rotary Rally Team will be competing this weekend (Sun 17th July) at the Sportsclassic Rallysprint run by the NDDC at Termeil. Details here. Jon & Carolyn will be running the WRX - they enjoyed the event thoroughly last year. Their usual cheer squad should be in the service park.

Sneak Peek Pt 2

Another sneak peek at a rather special project - and yes same project as the first sneak peek.

British Car Specialists?

Forgot to post this photo when I took it a couple of weeks ago. Mini was in for log booking - it was a nice bit of kit. There was some joking about having to change signage as what you can't see parked near the Mini is an MG Midget - about the 3rd that's been in the shop recently.

Sneak Peak

This is going to be awesome - the writing on the rotor gives the game away - can't wait to hear this screaming through the forests down the coast!

More to come - watch this space.

Event Report - Bega Valley Rally

Our last event was 8 months ago when we were competing in the RX7 so jumping into the WRX on Sunday morning I admit to feeling more nervous than usual! Possibly the DNF at last years Bega rally also contributed to that and I admit to having my fingers crossed every time Jon turned the key to start the engine!

After a rusty start we started to get back in the groove. Conditions throughout the day were wet and challenging but absolutely great fun. There were a few times when I felt out of control which is a little unusual. Typically the experienced hands of JW leave my control-freak nature completely in tact!

Thanks to Jon for the great car preparation, the service crew for keeping us going and Murray Coote - I've never met you but every bump I thank you! - for the smoooth suspension. Congrats to the winners, your times were amazing in such challenging conditions.


Thanks also to Tom, Steuart and all of the other organisers, officials and volunteers who made the day run so smoothly. There were plenty of volunteers who we saw on multiple stages or in the service park on the entry/exit for 3 services. The whole day was well organised and ran perfectly to schedule. Special thanks to the little guy with the lollies on stage 1. You gave up your warm egg and bacon roll to be offering lollies to navs and drivers - you have a long future in rallying!

The only thing that didn't feel right about the day.....was that the combination of a roof vent that closed and a heater that worked meant I didn't freeze in the car. I could get used to Luxury Rallying!

Carolyn