SUCCESS FOR RALLY CREWS TAKING PART IN 2-DAY EVENT AT BOVINGTON

The challenging military testing ground of Bovington in Dorset was the latest event for 4 Isle of Wight rally crews. It was an early start for the Islanders at the weekend as they made their way across the Solent on Saturday morning for scrutineering. The action then got underway that afternoon with the first of 12 stages, covering a total of 65 stage miles split across 2 days. Bovington is a fast, undulating venue with unforgiving chicanes and concrete blocks lining the roads. Wet conditions persisted throughout Saturday afternoon but by the next morning, the situation had somewhat changed with a hard frost welcoming crews as they arrived at Parc Ferme. But as the sun rose the ice soon melted away to reveal a warm, dry day – although there were still some wet patches on the stages. 21-year-old Heidi Peck has said she ‘couldn’t be happier’ after securing a 40th overall position and 5th in class in her Ford Fiesta, despite a couple of spins on the stages. Bovington was Heidi’s second competitive outing and saw her improve on her 62nd seeding. John Peck, competing in his Mitsubishi Evo, was holding 14th overall and 4th in class until he was forced into retirement after Special Stage 8. Wayne Hole and navigator Chris Wilson competed in their Mk1 Ford Escort, finishing the rally in 12th overall and 4th in class – a solid improvement on their seeded position of 24th. Kevin Richardson and navigator Katrin Herold were campaigning their classic Mini with a seeding of 70th, finishing on Sunday afternoon in 37th overall and 4th in class.

As well as the competing crews, a number of members from the Isle of Wight Car Club volunteered as marshalls in support of the organising club, Bournemouth and District Car Club. At the end of February, fellow Isle of Wight rally driver Richard Weaver competed in the East Riding Stages in Yorkshire. He drove his Ford Fiesta R5 on the closed roads stages to 39th overall.