Rally2Raise team have successful Merrick Stages rally

The Rally2Raise team of Aberdeen’s Rachel Clark and Brampton’s Caroline Lodge enjoyed another successful event last weekend when they finished second in class on the GWF Energy Merrick Stages rally.

Heavy rain the day before the rally made the 9 miles of the opening Craignell stage extremely slippery with several of the top drivers having spins. There were no problems for Rachel in her E.Watson and Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport and McPherson Document Solutions-supported Nissan Micra 1.3 though and she completed the stage fourth in class.

The Dallash stage was next and Rachel maintained her position with another good performance. Following a service halt the crews headed for a pair of stages in Glentrool forest including one that was 13 miles long. With a lot of long straights these stages didn’t suit the Micra which, with around 60bhp, was the lowest powered car in the event. However, Rachel extracted every bit of performance from the car to move up to second in class.

One more stage stood between Rachel and a great result but at 14 miles stage 5 was the longest of the event and it had already claimed several of the cars that were running ahead of the Micra. The crew and car emerged unscathed though and Rachel and Caroline made it to the event finish in Wigtown.

“The stages were absolutely awesome,” said Rachel. “The tracks were very slippery and the weather went from sun to torrential rain and back so conditions were extremely challenging. The little Micra struggled on the long straights, we definitely needed a lot more power there.”

“I tried as much as possible to keep the momentum up – when you slow down it takes a long time to build up speed again in a 1.3. This led to some interesting moments though including bouncing through a ditch at a hairpin in front of a group of spectators. After our gear linkage issues on the last event it was great to have a troublefree rally this time.”

“Thanks to the Marshall family for putting on a brilliant event, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks also to E.Watson and Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport and McPherson Document Solution for their support and to Clark Motorsport for trailering the car and servicing.”

For more information please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise.

Rally2Raise team to return to Merrick Stages rally

The all-female Rally2Raise team will head to Wigtown next weekend to contest the GWF Energy Merrick Stages rally for a second time.

Driver Rachel Clark, from Aberdeen, competed on the event last year and successfully finished after over 40 miles of tough forest stages. This year she will be partnered by Brampton’s Caroline Lodge in the navigator’s seat. The pairing have already completed two events this season with great results on the Scottish rally in Dumfries and the Speyside Stages in Elgin. They will use their usual Nissan Micra 1300 which is supported by E.Watson and Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport and McPherson Document Solutions.

The team was formed in late 2011 with the aim of using rallying to raise funds and awareness for charities through motorsport. To date they have raised over £3,500 and this year their supported charity is the Nystagmus Network. Nystagmus is a presently incurable eye condition from which Rachel’s son suffers so it is a cause that is very close to her heart. The team are also raising awareness of the Bottle Stop campaign, a project which is seeking to ban glass bottles from town centre pubs following the tragic death of the project founder’s husband in an unprovoked attack with a broken bottle.

“The Rally2Raise project has gone really well,” said Rachel. “I think we’ve done a good job raising awareness of our causes, especially those which are not so well known such as the Nystagmus Network. The rallying community has been incredibly generous in supporting us, I did not expect that we would raise so much in less than two years.”

“I’m really looking forward to the Merrick Stages, I enjoyed it last year and hopefully we will get another good result. The event uses some classic Scottish rallying stages which are a pleasure to compete on. The rally organisers have given us a discounted entry fee which we're extremely grateful for, it's fantastic that they are supporting Rally2Raise again.”

“We’ll have the lowest powered car in the event but that won’t stop us from pushing as hard as we can and trying to beat the crews in more powerful cars.”

As well as competing on the Merrick the team are busy organising a virtual rally to raise funds for the Nystagmus Network. The event will take place on 27th October and entries, costing £5, are available now. All levels of experience are catered for including total beginners and you don’t even have to leave your home to take part! Please visit www.songasport.co.uk/wobblyregs.pdf for more information.

Gearbox woes cannot deny Speyside finish for Rally2Raise

Severe gearbox problems and an off could not prevent the Rally2Raise team of Rachel Clark and Caroline Lodge from finishing the Speyside Stages rally last weekend.

The drama started almost immediately for the team in stage 1, Teindland. Their E.Watson and Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport and McPherson Document Solutions-supported Nissan Micra 1300 hit a rut which bent the sumpguard and forced it into the gear linkage resulting in the loss of fifth and reverse gears and a third gear which was extremely difficult to engage.

The car was nursed through the next two stages before a service halt at Huntly where the Clark Motorsport crew of Barry and Archie set about repairing it sufficiently for it to continue in the rally.

“The rally did not get off to a good start for us,” said Rachel. “We hit the rut with a fair bit of force. With the gear linkage damaged I didn’t think we’d make it through the next two stages before service but we did and the service crew did a great job to allow us to continue.”

The crew completed stage 4, Gartly, with no further problems and headed to stages 5 and 6, two stages which shared the same start line but which split after a few miles. The girls’ rally almost came to an end in stage 6 as the Micra slid off the road into a ditch. Fortunately some spectators were on hand to push the car back onto the road.

After another service halt the rally was completed with three more stages. These were successfully negotiated and the team headed to the event finish in Elgin city centre.

“The Gartly stage was absolutely fantastic, it’s my new favourite stage. Stage 5 was ok but we were very lucky that there were some spectators nearby in stage 6 otherwise we would not have got out of the ditch, huge thanks to them for helping us.”

“I was very happy to get to the finish. It was a tough event for us, the dust and heat made the inside of the car like the Sahara at some points. It’s disappointing that the gearbox problems meant we couldn’t go as quickly as we’d have liked but we made it to the end when many crews didn’t and we were 65th which isn’t too bad from a start position of 97. Thanks to Caroline for a superb job on the notes, thanks to Barry and Archie for servicing, thanks to the 63 Car Club for a brilliant event and thanks to all our sponsors for their support. ”

The team are hoping to contest the Merrick Stages in September as their next event. Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information about the Rally2Raise project which is supporting the Nystagmus Network and Bottle Stop in 2013.

Rally2Raise team target podium on Speyside Stages rally

The Rally2Raise team of Rachel Clark from Aberdeen and Caroline Lodge from Brampton are targeting a class podium when they contest the Speyside Stages rally next weekend.

The pair contested their first event together on the Scottish rally in June and they finished an excellent second in class in their E.Watson & Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport and McPherson Document Solutions-supported Nissan Micra 1300.

The team are contesting selected Scottish Rally Championship events this year as part of their project to raise funds and awareness for charities. The supported causes this year are the Nystagmus Network and the Bottle Stop campaign. So far they have raised £800 in 2013 to add to the £2,500 they raised last year.

“The project has gone well again this year,” said Rachel. “I’m pleased with how much we have raised so far and we’ve got plans for more fundraisers later in the year.”

“I’m looking forward to the Speyside, we ran as course car on three stages last year which was very enjoyable so we’ve stepped up to the full event this year. It’s a relatively local event for me and it’s run by my own 63 Car Club so it’s good that we can support the rally.”

“We managed to get second in class on the Scottish which I was very happy with so if we can get a similar result next weekend that’d be great, the first priority is to finish though.”

Ahead of the rally Rachel attended a fundraising barbecue with the rally car at the local Woodend nursery. The car proved to be very popular and several of the nursery kids wrote their names on the car wings so they’ll be on display at the rally.

The Speyside Stages is based in Elgin with the crews scheduled to contest 9 stages in the surrounding forests. For more information on Rally2Raise please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise.

Rachel's story of the Scottish rally

It’s been a wee while since my last update so I thought I would let you all know how things are going in the Rally2Raise camp after two more rounds of the Scottish Rally Championship.

Firstly, I best start with the sad news that Katherine has had to retire indefinitely as co-driver due to a dicky ticker. The past few months have been quite a challenge with Katherine getting poorly followed by myself catching glandular fever, from which I’m STILL feeling the fatigue.  Thankfully it only took two days to get over the Speyside Stages as opposed to a full week after the Scottish Rally. 

With Katherine and I falling ill at roughly the same time we had to decide whether or not to pull the entry for the Scottish, it was touch and go right up until the week before when I decided I was going to go for it due to a lady who had just passed away.  I had already drafted in Caroline Lodge to co-drive, always a risk when you’re frends with someone and get into a car together but it paid off!

Just before the Scottish we lost a very dear friend and one of the most selfless women I have ever met, Cath Simpson.  I had been chatting to her the week before and she knew it was coming but her attitude to it was something I had never seen before, good humoured and looking on the bright side.  Right till the last.  There was no question that Barry and I would attend her funeral, it just so happened it fell the day before the rally.  Our brief was to wear rally gear so we did.  The ceremony itself was one that suited her down to the ground.  I was doing well until her coffin appeared with her marshals tabard draped over it.  Motorsport in her veins that one!

It was because of  Cath that I wanted to get out and do the event and make sure she was represented in some way so, taking inspiration from her family, we acquired two marshals tabards and hung them up in the rear of the rally car, along with a sticker on the rear window.

With us at the funeral we were extremely grateful  to Colin and Craig Wallace who trailered the car down to Dumfries for us. Without them we wouldn’t have been able to attend the funeral or have had the energy to get down the road and back.  So thank you both!

We completed our pre-event formalities with no problems other than accidentally gatecrashing a photoshoot for the Armed Forces rally team! We then retired to our accommodation.  As everything was last minute Caroline stayed at her house which wasn’t too far away from Dumfries.  I stayed in a posh hotel with a jacuzzi! I’ve never had a jacuzzi in my room before so I made the most of it after completing the finishing touches on the car.  I could get used to that! 

The day of the rally dawned and I set off to meet Caroline at the Heathhall service area. Hampered by a faulty traffic light I found my way unaided! Feeling the usual nerves we left for the pre-start holding area and had the craic with the lads there waiting. 

We loved the start in the centre of Dumfries, it was very well attended and a great advert for the sport! We set off from the control and headed up to Ae for the first of two stages in the forests there. I realized quickly during the first stage that I would have to take it very easy.  I was pretty shattered but we were getting on very well in the car and enjoying it.  

Two stages down we headed for service, luckily there was nothing required on the car except a spanner check. Then we headed out to the last three stages.  I really enjoyed the spectator stage with the watersplash which was stage three,  loads of folk watching and taking photos showing the E.Watson and Son/BSW Ltd and Pirelli stickers on the front of the car!

By that point we had gained a crew to help.  I won’t embarrass them but they were two drivers in one car as opposed to the two co-drivers in our car.  So we thought it only fair to give them a hand on the road section by helping them with times and making sure they didn’t go wrong.  It was gutting to see them off in the penultimate stage. 

We made our way through the final two stages incident free, I think the only moment we had was a slight slide.  I was very glad to cross the flying finish, I have never felt that tired after an event.  I only had one wobble during the day that had me questioning whether I could continue and I soon got rid of that! Once again our Pirelli tyres were brilliant, thanks to AW Motorsport for their help supplying them.

We got to the finish in the centre of Dumfries and there were even more people stood watching including Steven McPherson from our sponsor McPherson Document Solutions. We had avoided results all day and hadn’t looked at our phones.  Sat in the queue waiting to go into the control we snuck a peek only to discover we’d won second in class and first female driver! There were more than two finishers in the class and more than one female driver started the event so it wasn’t a given.  Unfortunately, as we approached the finish line I was made to get out the car and face a bank of photographers!!! I can’t say I was looking my best and was holding the trophy which can only be described as slightly phallic!!  Ha ha ha!!  All joking aside it was an absolute honour to receive it, past recipients such as Louise Aitken-Walker have stood there so it only seemed right to dedicate it to Cath. And yes, she would have found the phallic element to it absolutely hilarious.



As the Scottish was also a round of the British Rally Championship I didn’t let the awareness raising side of Rally2Raise slip.  I made sure that we weren’t overlooked by the press or the increased number of spectators and higher ups.    We were spoken to by a number of journalists and lots of people asked about Rally2Raise and our two supported causes, the Nystagmus Network and Bottle Stop.

All in all the Scottish Rally wasn’t what we expected when we first made our 2013 plans but we adapted and now have a team with a new member which plays to everyone’s strengths... except mine.... I am not the best driver ha ha ha!!

So the Scotttish was done and we were ready to put the entry in for the Speyside Stages in Elgin. And our adventures there will be the next report!

Rach

Successful Scottish rally for Rally2Raise team

The Rally2Raise team of Aberdeen’s Rachel Clark and Brampton’s Caroline Lodge enjoyed a successful Scottish rally last weekend when they finished second in class with driver Rachel also picking up the trophy for the best lady driver.

After a disappointing Granite City rally in April the team’s aim for the Scottish was to get to the finish in their E.Watson & Son, Pirelli, AW Motorsport, McPherson Document Solutions, Charles Derby Ecosse and San Juan Services-supported Nissan Micra 1300.

The event started with a pair of stages near the village of Ae. Both of these went well although with Rachel recovering from glandular fever she was suffering at the end of the 14 mile-long second stage.

“I was pleased with the first two stages, it was the first time Caroline and I have competed together but we quickly gelled and had a troublefree run,” said Rachel. “The second stage left me worn out, the glandular fever totally zapped my energy and I’m not back to full health yet so doing a 14 mile stage in a very hot rally car wasn’t ideal but we made it through and it was great to find we were third in class going into service.”

After the service halt the team faced three more stages. The first was a short blast through Heathhall where the Micra entertained the huge crowd of spectators watching at the watersplash. The event ended with two stages near Gatehouse of Fleet which the team completed with no problems and they headed back to the finish in Dumfries town centre in second in class.

“I’m delighted with the result and winning a trophy that has previously been won by the likes of Louise Aitken-Walker just topped off what was a fantastic weekend. I’d like to dedicate the trophy to Cath Simpson who we lost recently, a true rally enthusiast that will be greatly missed by many including me and the team.”

“Thanks to Caroline for a spot-on job with the notes and keeping me alive with drinks and sweets all day, Colin and Craig Wallace for transporting the car to and from the event, Clark Motorsport for servicing, Paul at Motorsport Mugs for sorting our last minute graphics request and all our sponsors for their support.”

The Rally2Raise team will be back in action on the Speyside Stages in early August. Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information.

Red hair, new tyres, cheeks and bridges - our Granite story

If there was one event Katherine and I were adamant we were doing this year it was the Granite.  What happened last year has been well documented but it is also my local event and very well supported so we wanted to be out there and thanks to support from E.Watson and Son, Pirelli (more on that in a minute), AW Motorsport, McPhersons Document Solutions, Charles Derby Ecosse, Halo Lettings, San Juan Services, Jim Reid, Clark Motorsport, Songasport and, our long term partner in crime, Motorsport Mugs we made it to the start line!

As this is the second year that Rally2Raise has been going we decided we needed a new angle to inspire people to donate.  In my wisdom one night I came up with the novel idea of Katherine and I doing things waaaay beyond our comfort zone.  The first, which I didn’t expect her to come on board with and was well prepared to go it alone, was to dye my blonde hair bright red the day before the rally.  I received a text from Katherine saying she’s in. And it was probably the best idea we had ever had in order to cope with the nerves leading up to the first event of 2013.  We booked the deed at GOSH on Justice Mill Lane in Aberdeen to happen on 19^th April at 10am. 

Prior to this we had to sort the car. There was the small matter of a hanging off exhaust poisoning who ever dared to sit in the car. This happened early on in the Saltire Classic rally but somehow I got to the finish (and home!) alive. The exhaust was sorted with ease by a lovely fellow from Clark Motorsport (my husband) and the car was brought home so I could de-sticker it as and when spare time arose leading up to the great weekend. 

Tyres were an issue we were struggling with as last season’s had served us very well but were now in need of replacement.  We didn’t have the budget to buy tyres outright so we put together a proposal and sent it to Ann and Andrew Wood at AW Motorsport.  The reply we received was beyond anything we ever expected, we had a full set of Pirelli tyres for the season!

As if the red hair wasn’t enough of an idea to draw attention to the cause, we came up with the novel idea of selling our bodies for sponsorship… namely our cheeks (the ones on our face!) on Ebay to the highest bidder.  This was won by Halo Lettings in Lancaster and they had a simple enough design for us to draw on the morning of the rally.  Katherine bought a waterproof sealant in case we smudged and we were then set up for the weekend to begin.

The morning of Friday 19^th April dawned and we got ourselves ready for our last few hours as blondes for a long long time.  We put our racesuits on as we were heading straight for the press day after the “reddening” and got in the rally car and headed off to the salon.

Upon arrival we were set up side by side and made to decide who was to go first.  Katherine of course.  Whilst I took photos and generally wound her up by saying I was off out the door.  Once she was redded it was my turn.  It was fine seeing it go on Katherine, it looked cool. On me it felt more shocking and very RED. We sat through our development time and larked about until it was time for washing out.  Wow! A massive difference! I was unsure about how I looked but it really suited Katherine.

Between leaving the salon and arriving at the press day we definitely raised awareness, rally car plus bright red hair caused a bit of a stir. We got to the press day and we were just in time for the arrival of the TV crew from STV who wanted to cover our plans for the event.  As people were using the test stage we managed to make a very convincing TV stage out of about 100 metres of track with photographer Gary on the corner ready to stop us should anyone come into sight in the distance. We pretended to do a bit of under bonnet stuff which required our very best acting skills as I didn’t want to touch anything.  However, I did find a screwdriver under there kindly left by my husband and quickly hidden from the camera man. I then did my best to stumble through an interview consisting of questions I didn’t expect and we went on to have some publicity photographs taken by Mr. Songasport. The day was absolutely flying by and loads to do!!

We sailed through scrutineering, possibly because Katherine distracted and flustered the scrutineer by having to show him the label on her racesuit which was tied around her waist.  The only issue was to put a piece of tape on the positive terminal of the battery.  A job I could easily forget about but I shared it, and everyone knows that if you share something it aids memory… or you can blame the other person if you forget.  Friday evening consisted of making lists.  There was only a few things left to do but one of the most important was dust proofing the interior as much as possible. We discovered the day before that at low speed the dust inside the car was at such a level as to give the same reaction as a cold - we spent all Friday night sniffing and blowing our noses!

The morning of the rally was an early start.  Our start time was 11:26 but we had to get up and apply our cheek logos.  I discovered, pretty quickly, that I was allergic to red pigment, which I found odd seeing as my hair was a fetching shade of red at the time.  So my logo was all black. Katherine’s was the proper deal.  I won’t mention the fact that one side was a mirror image of the other… oops!

We had a big breakfast (thank goodness given what was to come) and completed our last checks and headed out.  It’s very strange doing a rally from your own house, most events require being away in a hotel but you can’t beat your own bed to make you sleep well. Kind of.  Apparently I tossed and turned all night, I thought it was the dust breathing but it was probably the nerves.

We stopped for fuel, brimmed the tank and made our way to Duthie Park for the ceremonial start.  There were hardly any cars behind us on account of us asking to be almost last and the fact it was only our third full event.  This was where the nerves hit proper style.  We could barely speak to each other let alone the lovely crews that kept trying to speak to us.  In all my years as a competitor, approaching 15, I have to say that I have never felt nerves like that. And I’ve done Mull with a new driver!

We crossed the start line, gave Stevie Brown and everyone there a laugh and got on with the job in hand, namely getting to ss1.   We caught up the convoy of cars in front us, numbering about five doing around 50mph and figured there’s no point in flying past so we just sat behind them, arriving at the stage with 10 minutes to spare.  Of course by now I’d convinced myself the exhaust had fallen off again so I got out, had a look (‘twas fine) and then admired the view thinking I would just stay all day and do that.  I snapped out of it and got my gear on, immediately I realised the nerves I felt at Duthie Park were just a precursor.  This was now on another level, I have never understood before when people say they throw up with nerves, well, I do now, I was a second away from it.  If I hadn’t been distracted that car would have been covered in technicoloured yawn!  I noticed the rescue set up was identical to last year, while this worried me at history repeating itself, it also instilled a sense of relief as we know them and work with them. A strange conflict of emotions really.  We moved up to the start line and watched the previous car set off. Here we go….

We reiterated our plan, take it steady, chill out and slay the demons, if we go out it’s got to be mechanical.  5, oh god, 4, bleurgh, 3, arrrggghhhh, 2, breathe, 1…. Lets do this…… Immediately it was calm.  I know I have to relax when I drive so I can anticipate what the little bugger is going to do as she can be a skitey wee thing.  Things felt good, the grip was amazing, I just went with what felt right and to top it all, I was enjoying it! Katherine got herself in a fluster over getting lost on the notes….. on only her 3^rd event…. and I’ve tried to explain to her that what she has over other new co-drivers, and it is a rare skill, is that she can find her place very quickly after being lost.  She should be very proud of herself on that one! Anyway, we were getting through the stage and I’m thinking to myself, I need a 2.5 gear here.  2nd is too much revs and 3rd bogs down too much. Forget 4^th, unless you have the high speed already but there is never anywhere to get that.  I looked down at one point and we were doing over 75 in 3^rd which ain’t bad for the old bird (the car not me).  I have to admit however that when we arrived at the massive spectator area I backed right off, a resonance from last year that I doubt will ever leave completely, I can live with that. When the flying finish boards appeared, as you can probably appreciate, we were ecstatic! And to top it off, the dust hadn’t come in.... yet.  That was to change on the slow road section at 15 mph.  It felt like we were inhaling glass shards so when we met my hubby on the road section and he handed us a bottle of water each we were eternally grateful! 

We arrived at ss2 in the nick of time and prepared ourselves, this time there were no nerves and we were eager to get going but I had a sudden thought, had my Halo Lettings logo smudged? To say I was sweating would be the biggest understatement of the century, I must have been working hard! Shockingly no, it was intact! As was Katherine’s.  Bonus!  After a lovely strawberry off Keith Cowan we were off again.  Another cracking stage, we were starting to feel it coming together and really enjoying it! The new tyres were absolutely spot on and I think that was what was giving me the confidence to push a little bit more.  Towards the end of the stage during a particular tight and twisty bit I felt what I thought was the engine cut out. This can happen in the Micra if the lead to engine cut off falls behind the footrest and the passenger presses on it.  Katherine’s feet were nowhere near it though, we had hit the rev limiter and that has never happened before.  We were always tentative and steady even on straight sections, never for a minute did I realise we had gained that much! Still, we weren’t giving it everything we had, we were being as careful as we could and gaining confidence all the time.  As far as we were concerned, we were last by a long way.  After all, our car has the lowest power in any event we do, even a lot of the 1 litre Junior cars are packing more bhp than our wee beast.

After a short road section with dust coming in at us again we arrived at ss3.  Chatting away about what we need to do in service “should we get there” we awaited our start time.  As we sat on the line I tried to visualize a line outside of the huge ruts created by the previous cars so we didn’t get bogged down.  No chance.  At the end of our count down we must have wasted about 30 seconds trying to get forward motion over the hill!  We were asked to look out for a car so every car we saw we had a good look at.  There were a lot but none were the customer we required.  All was going swimmingly until a square left over bridge.  Because the big corner was prior to the bridge we had scrubbed off the speed (something I hate doing as it takes way too long to build it back up again) and thought we were on course to not even notice it.  As the front wheels hit the concrete they gave way and slid sideways so I put the power down to try and correct it, this slightly stepped the back end out causing the near side rear to literally kiss the curb.  Katherine shouts “well held” but I didn’t hold anything, that dunt put us back in line.  We continued through the stage, avoiding the dead cars everywhere and struggling to keep the back end from trying to overtake on the left side.  I couldn’t quite figure out the problem, I knew it wasn’t a puncture but it definitely didn’t feel the same as before.  We carried on and got to the end, set off out the forest at which point Katherine said she could smell burning rubber.  I stopped, got out and ran round to her side only to find there was an epic negative camber on the rear where we hit the bridge.  “I think it might be game over” says I but we quickly gave Barry a call anyway to find out where he was.  End of the road thank goodness! He took one look underneath and confirmed our fears.  Jobs knackered.  Bent the rear beam and with no spares and no way of getting back to service we had to retire.  Gutted. 

While we sorted out trailering the car back to rally HQ (thank you John Morrison for the loan of your trailer) we thought we’d take a look at our times and how far down we were.  When I couldn’t find us at the bottom I assumed that because we’d retired we wouldn’t be in the results for the stages we’d completed.  No, I was looking in the wrong place, we were so far up the leaderboard (for us) that I had to double check our times, which were correct.  We were absolutely made up at that, we had exceeded what we had planned time wise and we felt like we were holding back in order to ease back into it.  We must have been the happiest people at not finishing a rally ever.

We left the car looking sorry for itself in it’s house and went for the post event party in Aberdeen.  A fantastic night (by all accounts) lots of dancing and a man on the bongos.

The rally has, however, thrown up a problem, one which we knew existed but didn’t acknowledge due to knowing we wouldn’t have any pace what so ever, we need to try to trailer the car to events further afield.  However, I don’t have a trailer licence and unfortunately, due to childcare, Barry and I struggle to attend events together. So if anyone has any suggestions, maybe a sponsorship proposal, we’re all ears!       

We’ll be back out on the Scottish in June so see you there!

Rachel

Rally2Raise: The project continues!

After the highs and lows of 2012 we decided to have a conversation about whether to continue in 2013 and, if so, how and where and, finally, who the beneficiaries would be.

It didn’t take long to decide to continue. It was a no brainer but we needed to plan how it would be possible given that we aren’t rich and there’s always too much month left at the end of the money.  We needed sponsors.  We decided what we could afford ourselves and what we would need to cover. Fuel, accommodation, parts etc could be provided from our own pockets but we’d need help with entry fees and tyres. A plan was made to try and attract sponsorship. More of that later!

Next we had to plan what events to do. We decided that we would stay with the Scottish Rally Championship and aim to compete in five events. We wanted to support the clubs who helped us last year where possible so, as it was too late to enter the Snowman rally, we decided that the first event would be the Granite (to be featured in the next blog – stay tuned!). The plan after the Granite, subject to getting a budget together, would be the Scottish, the Speyside Stages, the Merrick and McRae Stages.

Deciding on charities to support was actually very easy.  As most people are aware, the idea of Rally2Raise is using rallying to raise funds and awareness for the chosen charities by competing and getting the car seen in as many different places and in as many forms of media as possible.  2012 was very successful and £2,500 was raised but, as we supported four charities, the total was watered down somewhat by splitting in four ways. 2013 is to be the year we take “raising funds, raising awareness” literally and have one charity for fund raising and one for awareness raising which doesn’t necessarily require funds to be effective in its message.  We also wanted the charities to be small and not especially well known. 

The Nystagmus Network was chosen as the fund raising cause as Archie, Rachel’s son and Katherine’s Godson, has the nystagmus eye condition which normally renders most sufferers unable to drive.  Archie comes from a very motorsport orientated family on both his parents’ sides. He attended his first rally when he was 4 weeks old. The fact that he is unlikely to ever be allowed behind the wheel will be a huge blow when he’s old enough to understand.  The Nystagmus Network helps to fund research into the condition as well as assisting sufferers to live as normal a life as possible.  They offer information to everyone from schools to hospitals as well as anyone else interested in the condition.  For more information about anything to do with them please visit their website at www.nystagmusnet.org.

The Bottle Stop Campaign caught our eye as perfect for awareness raising.  It is trying to get glasses and glass bottles swapped for plastic ones after certain times in late night town centre pubs and clubs.  We had seen the campaign founder Jane’s story via mutual friends on Facebook and decided to look into it some more.   What we discovered saddened us as the story of how Bottle Stop came to be was revealed.  We realised we wanted to support Jane’s cause as she had shown tremendous courage in everything she has been through and is an example of true bravery.  Also, in our jobs, we regularly see the aftermath of people under the influence using glass bottles as weapons. When people get to a certain level of intoxication they wouldn’t care what they were drinking from and the more sober amongst them should understand the reasons for the swap.  There are people who consider themselves responsible and would never act in such a manner but all it takes is a moment and lives are ruined forever.  Again, more information can be found by visiting www.facebook.com/bottlestopnow.

So, we have our events and we have our charities and through some blooming hard work we managed to secure sponsorship from E. Watson and Son, Pirelli, Andrew Wood Motorport, McPhersons Document Solutions, Charles Derby Ecosse, Halo Lettings and San Juan Services in addition to the long standing support from Songasport, Clark Motorsport and Motorsport Mugs.  We still have a lot to raise to enable us to realise the aim of five SRC rounds but we’re quietly confident and have had a lot of interest. 

How do we intend on generating publicity and donations? Well, we have decided to not only challenge ourselves to the competitions themselves, we will also do something out of the ordinary before every event.  The Granite idea was to dye our normally blonde hair Rally2Raise red.  In doing so we have raised over £300! A massive thank you to everyone who has donated so far.  It will all be explained further in the Granite City Rally blog, coming to an internet site near you soon!

There we have it, the Rally2Raise plan for 2013.  We will, of course, be part of other events, such as running as course car on the excellent Saltire Classic Rally near Perth which we did in March. There will also be non-rally related appearances and events. We will also not be asking for donations for the sake of them, we will be earning them and, of course, running another raffle as last year’s was so popular - we already have some prizes donated!  However, if you wish to make a donation to the Nystagmus Network regardless of what we’re doing please visit www.justgiving.com/rally2raise.

We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated previously, both this year and last, and we look forward to an even larger total at the end of 2013!

Rachel and Katherine

Bent beam ends strong performance from Rally2Raise team

A good performance by the Rally2Raise team on the Granite City rally last weekend was ended when the rear axle on their E.Watson and Son, Pirelli, Andrew Wood Motorsport and McPherson Document Solutions Nissan Micra broke after clipping a bridge in stage 3.

After filming a feature for STV at the pre-event test day on Friday with their newly-dyed Rally2Raise red hair the team of driver Rachel Clark from Aberdeen and co-driver Katherine Begg from Heysham made a good start on the rally’s opening Fetteresso stage, completing the nine miles of tough forest track in 5th in class as well as moving up 15 places from their 111 position on the entry list.

The second stage was in Drumtochty and the girls put in another great performance to move another five places on the leaderboard despite being in the lowest powered car on the event.

The 1300cc Micra, which had additional support on the rally from Charles Derby Ecosse, Halo Lettings and San Juan Services, was flying through stage 3, Glenfarquhar but part way through the back of the car slid slightly and the rear wheel clipped a bridge which bent the axle. Despite this the car got to the end of the stage and gained another four positions. However, when they got to the road section it was found that there was too much damage to continue and, with no spare axle, the girls parked up at the roadside to await recovery.

“It’s disappointing not to get the finish that we hoped for but I’m actually really pleased with how we did,” said Clark. “The new Pirelli tyres were absolutely fantastic and they gave us so much grip. We were beating cars with two to three times as much power as our Micra and I am very happy with that.”

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence from our performance and I can’t wait for the next event now. Thank you very much to all the sponsors who made it possible for us to contest the event and thanks also to those who have made donations to help our supported charity this year, the Nystagmus Network. We’ve hopefully already sourced a replacement axle so the car should be ready to rally again soon.”

The team’s next scheduled event is the Scottish rally which takes place in June and is based in Dumfries. For more information on Rally2Raise please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com.rally2raise. Donations to the team’s supported charity can be made via www.justgiving.com/rally2raise.

Rally2Raise girls ready to rock on Granite City rally

The Rally2Raise team of Aberdeen’s Rachel Clark and Heysham’s Katherine Begg are all set for their first event of the 2013 rally season next weekend. The pairing will contest the Granite City rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship (SRC), in their E.Watson and Son-backed Nissan Micra.

Joining E.Watson and Son, the Stonehaven-based groundwork contracting company, in supporting the Rally2Raise car are Andrew Wood Motorsport, Pirelli, McPherson Document Solutions, Charles Derby Ecosse and Halo Lettings.

Andrew Wood Motorsport supply a wide range of products and services from their Melrose base. In a joint deal with Pirelli they will be supplying tyres for the Micra this season. McPherson’s are a company from Paisley who specialise in document management and scanning. Charles Derby Ecosse are a new firm of financial advisers covering Scotland and the North of England. Their National Director Don Murray is a keen rally fan and occasional competitor. He was the Competitor Rep for the SRC for two seasons. Halo Lettings, a Lancaster-based residential lettings and property management agency, won an innovative online auction to have their logo painted on the girls’ faces for the rally.

“We’re incredibly lucky to have received such wonderful support and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us,” said Clark. “Without the support we would not be able to either compete in the rally or continue with Rally2Raise.”

“We’ll be aiming to get a finish on the Granite, we’ll be taking it steady and there’ll be no heroics, we just want to complete the stages, get our season off to a good start and raise awareness of our project and the two causes we are supporting this year, the Nystagmus Network and Bottle Stop.”

The team’s charity funds and awareness raising has attracted the interest of the media with both the local press and STV planning on covering the girls’ Granite City adventures. They are sure to be noticed as they will both have their hair dyed bright red for the rally!

"We floated the idea of dying our hair on our Facebook page and Twitter and everyone thought it was a great plan. We've both been blonde for a long time so what better way of showing our commitment to Rally2Raise than by dying our hair the same colour as the Rally2Raise logo! We've had some good donations as a result of it so it will be very worthwhile. Hopefully it'll encourage spectators to come and have a chat about what we are doing also."

The rally will start from Duthie Park in Aberdeen with the crews facing five stages to the south of the city. The distinctive blue and yellow Rally2Raise Micra will start at car 111.

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information on the project. Donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/rally2raise.

The lows and highs of rallying - Rally2Raise's 2012

2012 was a very mixed year for us, the lowest we could ever be followed by massive highs.  We learnt an awful lot along the way and made some lifelong friends.

The last blog was after the Saltire Classic rally and our next event was the Granite City. It’s been well documented what happened there and I won’t lie, it knocked the wind right out of our sails and made getting in the car again very hard. 

 

We were invited to perform course car duties at the Highland Car Club-run Stravaigers Lodge Gravel Sprint at Fort Augustus a month later and it did the world of good for one of us to get back in the car so that when the time came for a proper rally I could give Katherine a bit of confidence. 

A few months passed and with the Merrick Stages looming we realised we needed to get out together in the car on our own and see if we were ok driving non- competitively.  It was around this time we received a call from Quintin Milne et al about tagging along on a test day.  After a bit of persuasion we agreed and turned up at the unofficial Speyside shake down and prepared for our runs round by each having a recce with Andy Horne in the DAM 4100.  It possibly wasn’t the best idea as it put the fear of god into me and Katherine appeared back with a look that can only be described as terror? Enjoyment? No, terroyment.  Our turn to drive came and we set off, had a rather large moment and returned to the start.  It had been radioed back to the start and everyone knew so they made us go straight back in and after that we got faster and faster but more importantly, we got us some confidence.

We were to run as car 000 on the Speyside Stages, our car club’s award-winning event.  Although we were only to do the Cooper Park city centre stage and one of the gravel ones, Rosarie, we were more than happy with this as it gave us another chance to get out non-competitively with spectators around.  We didn’t have notes so we had a bit of a laugh on the Cooper Park stage with Katherine reading me passages from 50 Shades of Grey instead.  That stage needs to be longer as it was such good fun to drive! We then went round with our buckets collecting change and made a lot for the charities before heading out to Rosarie to have a laugh with the assembled officials who couldn’t figure out why 000 was there already.  What a fantastic stage that was, by the end of it we wanted to do more again which was testament to how much confidence it had given us.  A massive thanks to the 63 Car Club for allowing us the opportunity.  We’ll be back!

So then it was on to our first event proper since the Granite, the real thing, the Merrick.  Unfortunately due to my other half being at work, there was no access to a tow or service crew so I had to drive the rally car from Aberdeen to Newton Stewart.  A journey I can only describe as long.  The service crew of driver Dave Wright from Bentham offered to help us which was very kind of them, although, with the lack of spares and the drive home after, if anything happened it would be game over for us. 

We can only describe our day as awesome.  The elation at finishing our first event was unbelievable (although if you’ve seen the YouTube in car footage you may have some idea, sorry for the language).  We hung around at the prize giving as we weren’t heading home until the following day so wanted to support the event that had supported us.  Tucked in at the back we thought we were safe enjoying everyone else collect their awards.  It wasn’t until the “man of the rally” award was mentioned and they said it would be changed to “women” that we suddenly twigged… our mentality at driving the car from the North of Scotland, competing and then driving it home again hadn’t gone unnoticed.  So we gratefully received an award previously held by such greats as Colin McRae! A huge thank you to the Marshall family for all their generosity in helping us also.

We next went to perform “duties” at the Knockhill Festival of Speed.  I say “duties” as we basically had two days fun driving the circuit’s special stage with the Saltire Rally Club boys and girls and raising lots of charity awareness and quite a bit of funds for which we were extremely grateful. 

Our last official event of the year, and where we had a final push at fundraising, was the McRae Stages organised by Coltness Car Club.  We managed to sell a fair few raffle tickets by setting up in the signing on hall before the event after collecting some brilliant prizes from various sources. 

The rally itself was again fantastic. Errochty stood out for me as a fast and flowing stage, although there was one scary point on ss5 that obviously had some form of rally car magnet turned on as it was claiming cars by the dozen and causing carnage.  We made it past though, after a marshal slowed us down and we received ample warning from the start crews.  Unfortunately the rally car suffered damage on the penultimate stage after a rock kinked the fuel line and we went into the final stage feeling like we could go quicker if we ran.  And that’s saying something from the car with the lowest BHP on every event it does!  We coasted to the end and celebrated by heading across to Mull.  Again, a huge thanks to Coltness Car Club for all they did for us.

We ended the year having raised £2,500 for our chosen charities.  Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us and supported us. The incident at the start of the year really knocked us more than we can say, I think we could have raised more but we had to take things as they came for a while. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and you can’t change it, all you can do is learn and move on and be thankful for the positive things that arose from it.

Speaking of positive things, the next installment will be about this year and the new things we’re doing…stay tuned!

Rachel

Rally2Raise team secure support for SRC campaign

The Rally2Raise team have secured a sponsorship deal which will see them compete in several Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) events this season. The team’s Nissan Micra car will be supported by E.Watson and Son, a groundwork contracting business based in Stonehaven.

After a very successful debut season in 2012 when £2,500 was raised for four charities the team are using rallying to support two causes this year, the Nystagmus Network and the Bottle Stop campaign.

The team of driver Rachel Clark, from Aberdeen, and co-driver Katherine Begg, from Heysham, will start their SRC programme with the Granite City rally on 20th April.

“After the unfortunate events of last year’s Granite City rally we were determined to enter again,” said Clark. “The generous support of E.Watson and Son has enabled us to do that. We’ve got an ambitious plan to do five SRC events this year and the sponsorship has meant we are much nearer to achieving our goal.”

“By competing on the events we will continue the good work we did last year in supporting charities, especially as the two causes for this year are not commonly known – we aim to change that.”

Brian Watson of E.Watson and Son commented: “We’re delighted to support Rally2Raise, the team did really well with their fundraising last year and we’re happy that we can help them progress the project in 2013.”

The girls will be dying their hair a Rally2Raise red colour for the Granite City rally so look out for them and their distinctive yellow and blue Micra on the event!

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information on the project. Donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/rally2raise.

Rally2Raise team aiming to compete in SRC

After a highly successful 2012 which saw £2,500 raised for four charities the Rally2Raise rally team are hoping to contest up to five rounds of the ARR Craib Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) this season to help continue their funds and awareness raising project.

For 2013 Rally2Raise is continuing its support of the Nystagmus Network and it will also raise awareness of the Bottle Stop campaign. Driver Rachel Clark, from Aberdeen, has already used the Rally2Raise Nissan Micra on two events this season, running as course car on the E.Watson and Son Coneyhatch rally sprint in January and the Edradour Saltire Classic rally in March. Fundraising for the Nystagmus Network has got off to a good start with over £250 raised from a raffle that was held at the Saltire.

After taking part in selected SRC rounds last year Clark and co-driver Katherine Begg, from Heysham, are aiming to contest five rounds this year starting with Clark’s home event, the Coltel Granite City rally in April.

“Rally2Raise did really well last year and thanks to all our supporters we raised £2,500 for the causes we were helping, hopefully we can do even better this year,” said Clark. “Ideally we’d like to do five SRC rounds but that will depend on us getting the budget together to enter the events.”

“We’re selling advertising space on the car and other promotional opportunities so if any company can help us please get in touch via rally2raise@gmail.com. Katherine and myself are planning on dying our hair bright red for the Granite City rally so we are sure to get noticed and get publicity! We’re also willing to sell advertising on our cheeks!”

More information on the project can be found at www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise.

Rally2Raise team battle through to finish Saltire Classic rally

The Rally2Raise team travelled to Dunkeld last weekend to drive in the Saltire Classic Rally as part of the Saltire Rally Club’s generous support of the Rally2Raise project which this year is raising funds for the Nystagmus Network and raising awareness of the Bottle Stop campaign.
 
The popular event was based at the Birnam hotel and it attracted a full entry including some unusual rally cars such as an Austin Maxi and Fiat 127. The crews faced a challenging 95 mile route through some gorgeous scenery around Pitlochry and Loch Tummel which included 17 tests and three regularity sections.

The Rally2Raise Micra was running as “0” car ahead of the competitors with Rachel Clark driving and Gary Simpson, who is usually outside of the car photographing it, making his debut in the co-driver’s seat.

After a short road section the crew arrived at the first test which was like a mini-rally stage featuring a gravel road surface, several very slippery hairpins and a “stop-astride” finish on snow. The Micra successfully completed the test in a good time. Tests 2-5 also went well but ominous noises were heard coming from the engine bay in test 6, a test which also saw the Micra almost collide with a large bale on one particularly slippy section. At the end of the test the bonnet was lifted and it was found that the exhaust manifold had cracked.

With an hours rest halt after test 10 which would give the chance to make a temporary fix the crew decided to carry on at a reduced pace in the hope that the exhaust would not completely fall off. Test 7 was a run around a course in the grounds of event sponsor Edradour’s distillery with several whisky barrels to hit if you got it wrong but Clark and Simpson got through unscathed and headed through Pitlochry to tests 8, 9 and 10. The exhaust situation was getting worse with fumes filling the car but the crew managed to make it to the very picturesque lunch halt venue of Ardgualich Farm where the course car crew of Craig Wallace and Ryan Hay patched up the exhaust sufficiently to allow Micra to continue in the event.

“We were pleased to reach the lunch halt,” said Clark. “After looking at the exhaust following test 6 we were doubtful we’d make it that far. We’re very grateful to Craig and Ryan for their efforts in keeping us in the event.”

The afternoon section had another 7 tests and two regularity sections including a run across the mountain road north of Trinafour which was surrrounded by snow-capped peaks. Despite the exhaust problems returning in that latter stages of the rally the Micra successfully completed all the tests and made it to the finish.

“It was a brilliant event, we thoroughly enjoyed it. The tests were great fun and the road sections went through some absolutely fantastic scenery. We didn’t have any problems with the navigation despite it being Gary’s first time on the maps so that was good too!”

At the event finish the team organised a raffle to support the Nystagmus Network and £251 was raised. Event winners Noel Cochrane and Olly McCollum generously donated two bottles of Edradour for a future Rally2Raise raffle.

“Thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets, we were amazed to raise so much. Thanks also to Colin Wallace and all at the Saltire Rally Club for their continued support of Rally2Raise.”

The team is hoping to contest the Coltel Granite City rally in April if a budget can be pulled together. Promotional opportunities with the team are available, please email rally2raise@gmail.com for further information. More information on the Rally2Raise project can be found at www.rally2raise.co.uk.

Rally2Raise team aiming for more success in 2013

After a very successful 2012 where £2,500 was raised for four charities the Rally2Raise project will continue in 2013.

The project, founded by Aberdeen's Rachel Clark, is using motorsport to raise funds and awareness for charitable causes and for this year the Nystagmus Network will once again be supported.

John Sanders of the Nystagmus Network said: "The Nystagmus Network funded research in Leicester University and Moorfields Eye Hospital in 2012. We helped more than 800 people directly by email and phone and thousands more through the support and information on our website.”

“We also published our ‘The Challenge of Nystagmus’ book and wrote a new ‘easy guide to nystagmus’ for teachers. All of these achievements were only possible thanks to the support of Rally2Raise and many other fundraisers and donors. We hope to do a lot more in 2013 and are really pleased that Rally2Raise continues to support us."

In addition Rally2Raise will help raise awareness of the Bottle Stop campaign, a campaign started by Jane Sherriff after her husband tragically died after being attacked and stabbed with a broken glass bottle at a corporate event In London. The aim of the campaign is to ban glass bottles from late night pubs and clubs.

Rally2Raise has already had a great start to the year with the news that the Saltire Rally Club have very generously agreed to continue their support, part of which will involve the Rally2Raise Micra running as course car on the popular Saltire Classic rally in March.

Colin Wallace of the Saltire Rally Club said: "The Saltire Rally Club were delighted to support Rally2Raise in 2012. We look forward to continuing our association in 2013 and contributing to the superb work of the nominated charities.”

Rachel is hoping to compete on selected Scottish Rally Championship events this year but her first event will be running as course car on the E.Watson and Son Coneyhatch rally time trial next Sunday.

Rachel commented: "I'm delighted that Rally2Raise was such a success last year and we are hoping to build on that this year. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported us, we raised far more than I expected and I think the awareness raising, particularly of the lesser known causes such as nystagmus, went really well."

"We have decided to continue to support the Nystagmus Network this year. My son suffers from nystagmus and I want to do all I can to help find a cure for it. We will also help raise awareness for Bottle Stop. Both myself and fellow Rally2Raise team member Katherine have seen the trauma due to glass incidents through our work. Jane has been through her worst nightmare in losing her husband and she has founded Bottle Stop to try and prevent more families from going through that pain. The cause really resonated with us.”

"I can't wait for the season to start, Stonehaven and District Motor Club have kindly let me run as course car on their time trial so that will be a good way to blow away the cobwebs. Hopefully we will be able to run on a few of the Scottish championship rounds again this year but that will depend on funding – if anyone can help with the costs of running the Rally2Raise Micra please get in touch via our website.”

For more information please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or follow the team on Facebook www.facebook.com/rally2raise and Twitter @rally2raise.