Sykes faces tough tarmac test in rally championship battle

Stourbridge’s Richard Sykes is looking to extend his slender British Rally Championship (BRC) Challenge lead next weekend when he contests the Ulster rally.

After crashing out of the previous championship round in Scotland, Sykes’ lead in the title race was cut to just two points so the pressure is on to bring the Bathams Brewery and G.I.Sykes-supported Citroën C2 R200 home in a good points scoring position.

Sykes prepared for the tarmac lanes of Ulster by contesting the recent Tyneside Stages, an event which used the army ranges at Otterburn. His rally didn’t go to plan with various car problems and he was eventually forced out with a broken driveshaft.

“After the gravel forest roads of Scotland we decided to do an extra event to test the car in tarmac specification,” said Sykes. “We had a puncture early on which damaged the brake line so we had to do a stage without any brakes.”

“We got that repaired but then we had a heavy landing after a huge flat-out jump. The car landed on one side with such an impact that the engine and gearbox were pushed over enough to pull out a driveshaft. We managed to get back to service and change the shaft but it broke again on the next stage so we decided to retire. Hopefully that’s all the mechanical dramas out of the way and we’ll be able to push hard in Ulster with no problems.”

“The rally will be a big test for all the team. Last year we were battling for the win and had a 90mph crash into a solid bank which put my co-driver Simon Taylor into hospital. We’ve got to put that out of our minds though. A good result is vital for the championship and we’re primarily aiming to get to the finish. A win would be great but scoring points is more important.”

“With the scheduled final championship round being cancelled we’ll only have one more rally after Ulster, the Rally Isle of Man. This will be a double-header event with extra points on offer so we need to make sure we’re in pole position for the championship after Ulster. The prize for winning the championship is an entry on Rally GB which is a great opportunity, we’re leading presently but we need to be there at the end of the season.”

The BRC Challenge crews will face 104 miles of competition over two days with the event starting early on Friday afternoon.

Image courtesy raceandrally.co.uk

Images from BCCC Radnor

Please click here to see the images.

Images from the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014



To see the images please click here.

Disappointing end to tough Scottish rally for Sykes

 

Stourbridge’s Richard Sykes had a disappointing end to his Scottish rally last weekend when he crashed out of the event while comfortably in the lead.

The event, round three of the British Rally Championship (BRC) Challenge, commenced on Friday evening with a very popular spectator stage near Dumfries. Sykes and co-driver Emma Morrison were the quickest of the BRC Challenge crews by 1.6 seconds in their Bathams Brewery and G I Sykes-supported Citroën C2 R200.

Day two started with stages in Twiglees and Castle O’er. Sykes continued to set the pace, extending his lead to 5.8 seconds over Ross Hunter, although the stages were not without incident.

“The Friday stage went very well and it was great to be leading,” said Sykes. “Day two got off to a fairly dramatic start, we hit a big hidden rock in Twiglees on the inside of a corner. The car was thrown up onto two wheels and I had to steer into the undergrowth to avoid rolling it. We just managed to keep the momentum going and took it steady to the end of the stage in case the suspension or wheels had been damaged. We made it to the end and then found a massive gash in the tyre so we were lucky not to have picked up a puncture. We’d also bent a ball joint. The tyre was changed and we headed to Castle O’er where we set another fastest time.”

The ball joint was replaced in service and new tyres fitted ready for the longest section of the rally, a loop of four stages totalling 30 miles including a 14 mile test in Ae forest. After three of the four stages Sykes had built up a lead of 31 seconds but it was all to go wrong on the fourth stage of the loop.

“We pushed very hard in the three stages after service and we built up a very good lead. The suspension took a hammering and we had to stop and make some repairs as the strut body bolts had all come undone. We managed to make the repairs without incurring a penalty.”

“With the lead we had we decided to maintain the position rather than take risks but disaster struck on the next stage. The event organisers had had to make an amendment to the route and it was too late for the pacenotes to be changed. We managed to borrow some notes from crews who were doing another event and had already had a recce drive of the stage.”

“Unfortunately when we arrived at the amended section we found the notes were not right for us, the first corner was described as a medium when in fact it was very tight so I was going way too fast. We slid into a large ditch on the outside of the corner and smashed into a tree stump, ripping off the radiator and holing the sump. That was our rally over.”

“I blame myself for the accident, we should’ve been more careful having not had chance to check that the pacenotes were correct. The only positive is that our two main championship rivals have already had one retirement on earlier rounds so it is still all to play for in the title race.”

“We’ll get the car up and running again and put it back into tarmac specification for the next round in Ulster. The Scottish was very disappointing but I will put that out of my mind and push hard for another win to keep up our championship challenge.”

The Ulster rally will take place in mid-August.

Image courtesy raceandrally.co.uk 

Sykes aiming for the treble on Scottish rally

Stourbridge rally driver Richard Sykes will be targeting his third win in three events this season when he contests the latest round of the British Rally Championship (BRC) Challenge, the Scottish rally, next weekend.

After wins on the Pirelli and Jim Clark Challenge events Sykes and co-driver Emma Morrison lead the championship in their Bathams Brewery and G I Sykes Ltd-supported Citroën C2 R200 and they are hoping for better luck than they had on last year’s event when a puncture dropped them down the leaderboard from 2^nd place.

“The puncture dropped us down to 9^th which was hugely disappointing,” said Sykes. “We managed to fight back to 5^th at the finish but we lost a lot of points. It’s the only puncture I’ve had on my Silverstone tyres in four years, they are normally very good and, dare I say it, more puncture resistant than most.”

“I’m in two minds whether to push hard for another win or have a steady run and make sure we get a good haul of championship points. The trouble is, when I get behind the wheel and put the helmet on, there is only one way I can drive on the gravel tracks and that is flat out.”

Sykes’ car is still damaged from the accident it suffered when another car pulled out in front of it before the Jim Clark rally but the damage shouldn’t hinder the performance.

“The car is not quite straight but we will have to dial that out and get on with it. After the tarmac roads of the Jim Clark rally we’ve put the car back into forest specification ready for the gravel tracks the Scottish will use.”

“A third win would be brilliant but any podium result will leave us in a very healthy championship position before we head to Ulster and the Isle of Man for the next rounds.”

“Thanks to Bathams Brewery for their continued fantastic backing, G I Sykes Ltd for their support and car preparation and Martin Billings for on-event support.”

The rally is based in Dumfries and the crews will tackle 59 miles of forest stages including Ae, Castle O’er and Twiglees.