RALLY DIARY

FEB 2003 - OAKINGTON STAGES
Clare Rix / Aggie Foster Ford Ka

What a great way to start the year - back with Clare on a venue well suited to the little Ka. No major dramas, we had a good run and finished a very creditable
1st in class, 23rd overall.

MAR 2003 - ROBIN HOOD FOREST STAGES
Steve Hall / Aggie Foster Triumph TR4

First outing of the year with Steve in the totally rebuilt TR Enterprises TR4 saw us hurtling through the Clipstone Forest on the 1st round of the British Historic Rally Championship. After a day strapped into a TR4 hurtling through forests with lots of big bumps you certainly know you've been rallying, but we had a great day, collecting an award for
2nd in class, 5th overall.

APR 2003 - NORTH HUMBERSIDE RALLY
David Pattrick / Aggie Foster Peugeot 106GTi

The BTRDA event took us to the classic Yorkshire forests, and Dolby was its usual daunting self especially in a little Group N 106. We managed to keep to the track and spent the day swapping times with the Civic. At the end of the day we finished 2nd in class, only a handful of seconds away from a class win.
2nd in class.

APR 2003 - CORONATION RALLY
Steve Hall / Aggie Foster Triumph TR4

Held over the military ranges on Eppynt this was our first opportunity to see how well the TR4 handled on tarmac. Eppynt has a reputation - words like dangerous, evil, unforgiving being applied to some parts, but having written our own notes the day before the event we felt confident, and able to attack the stages from the start. After an exciting day we emerged victorious, winning by a clear minute.
1st Overall - Coronation Rally

MAY 2003 - WELSH
Steve Hall / Aggie Foster Triumph TR4

Another round of the BHRC and our second visit to Egpyt. Again we had the chance to recce and make our own pace notes. We were having another excellent day on the ranges and were taking time out of the Sunbeam Tiger. Sadly, however we were forced to retire whilst battling for the win.
That's rallying!

JUN 2003 - DUKERIES
David Pattrick / Aggie Foster Peugeot 106GTi

Not allowed to recce or have any notes, I had to read the road (forest tracks) to David straight off the map! We visited some stages twice but they get pretty cut up on the second pass, and on one corner we were on two wheels and nearly rolled. At the end of the day however we finished 1st in class.

JUN 2003 - YPRES
Trevor Hancock / Aggie Foster Mini Cooper

Last year Trev and I crashed only 6km from the end of the event whilst lying an incredible 2nd in class and 9th overall. This year we had only managed to complete 2½ km when the front suspension gave way.
Not happy bunnies!

JUL 2003 - JIM CLARK MEMORIAL RALLY
Steve Hall / Aggie Foster Triumph TR4

As well as being a championship round this was one of the events that had long featured on my "wish list". One day recce and a day and a half rallying. Held on closed public roads in the Borders, it proved to be everything I'd hoped for, and more. We set 6 fastest times, 7 second fastest, and one "oops". The "oops" stage, Bothwell, cost us the event. Just under halfway through there's a hairpin left and a few hundred yards later a cattle grid with a bump on exit. Well, it was all in the notes we'd made, but we lost it big time coming over the grid, going off at well over 100mph, taking out 7 very hefty posts before coming to rest a long way off into the scenery. We were both reasonably ok, but the car was hour-glass shaped on Steve's side. We found five foresters who helped us man-handle the TR back onto the track, we finished the stage, and eventually arrived back in service within one minute of our maximum lateness. Nothing we could do about the new look TR, but with only 3 stages remaining we decided to try to finish the event, which we did (6th in class), and still managed to set 2 fastest times in those last 3 stages!
Awesome!!

JUL 2003 - WELSH ENDURANCE
Stephen Cooper / Aggie Foster Suzuki Swift

A new type of rallying, a new acquaintance in Stephen, and a new experience for me! It was different. A combination of tests (primes) against the clock, including driving b@lls out over Sweet Lamb and Eppynt strapped in but without a helmet - I admit I did feel a bit vulnerable - and classic Welsh Road Rally sections such as the Devil's staircase. It certainly did live up to the description "endurance" - the second day (Saturday) we started just after 10.00am and went through (admittedly with planned lunch/dinner stops) until we booked into the final control in Cardiff somewhere around 2.30am (or was it 3.30?) on the Sunday morning. That's a lot of concentration. A puncture on the very last road rally section (Eppynt in the early hours!!) probably cost us a few places, but that's part of the fun I guess.
10th overall.

AUG 2003 - MANX INTERNATIONAL
Steve Loveridge / Aggie Foster MG ZR

I had been looking forward to competing in the Historic Rally sitting alongside hubby Phil in the Ford Anglia, but a panic call from Steve to partner him in the MG ZR in the International Rally only a few days before the event saw a change of plan. 220 competitive stage miles over some of the fastest and trickiest tarmac stages in Europe. Steve and I met for the first time on ferry going over to the Isle of Man on the Tuesday. Spent all day Wed and some of Thurs making our own pace notes, and that afternoon saw us rally in anger, finishing the 1st night leading N3 (in spite of the poor weather conditions and a 200cc disadvantage). Unfortunately on SS7 (Union Mills) a broken driveshaft cost us dearly, but we managed to get the MG ZR back into the Douglas service area where the service crew worked their magic and got us out, losing no further time. Having dropped a packet of time due to the driveshaft problem our first task was to start clawing back class places. Once back to 3rd in class it became obvious that first or second was unlikely - Steve was definitely a match for Markus Foss or Chris Boyce, however the Almera GTi and Civic R simply had an advantage over the MG ZR - so we made the decision to consolidate what we had, scoring 2nd PBRC Formula 2000 points for Steve, as well as scoring points for the England Team - and the only MG to finish.
3rd in class N3, 21st overall.

SEP 2003 - ULSTER
Steve Hall / Aggie Foster Triumph TR4

Having come so close on the Jim Clark we decided to find another classic tarmac rally. Armed with the notes we had made over a couple of days, 13 tricky stages lay ahead. The Friday night stages were a nightmare - bumpy as hell, struggling to find any grip, the spotlights were finding the hedge bottoms but rarely pointing the way we should have been going. Never mind, we survived and the TR went into parc ferme in Armagh. Saturday saw us gradually move up the leader board. At first service we discovered that a rear brake drum had broken, so the decision was taken to disable both back brakes, and tackle the remaining 7 stages with only front braking. My note calling had to be 100%plus to ensure that Steve had more than sufficient notice of the trickier corners. With only one stage remaining we had edged into a 3 second lead. We knew we had been fastest on this stage the first time round, but still had to decide whether we "went for it", or simply hope that the other guys didn't catch us. Well, I'm not saying which we opted for, but it worked - we won!
1st Overall - Ulster Historic Rally.

SEP 2003 - OMLOOP van VLAANDEREN
Phil / Aggie Foster Ford Anglia

Last round of the Flanders Ardennes Historic Championship, we were hoping to lay to rest our separate non-finishes in Ypres earlier in the year. On stage 2 the engine began to overheat, and partially seized on stage 3. End of rally. Oops!

COMING UP

SEP 2003 - Plains Rally (BTRDA)
David Pattrick, Peugeot 106GTi

SEP/OCT 2003 - World Cup Rally
Stephen Cooper, Suzuki Swift

OCT 2003 - Le Touquet
Phil Foster, Ford Anglia

OCT 2003 - Bulldog/Premier
Steve Hall, Triumph TR4

NOV 2003 - Rally of the Tests
Stephen Cooper, Suzuki Swift

DEC 2003 - Killarney
Phil Foster, Ford Anglia

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