Burton Pidsea rally driver Becky Kirvan ended her rally season on a high last weekend when she successfully finished the Cambrian rally and in doing so took the BTRDA Ladies Championship title. After a car-destroying accident on her previous event and the championship win requiring a finish Kirvan and co-driver Rob Walters had no plans to set the stages alight and they made a cautious start on the opening pair of tests in Clocaenog forest in North Wales, taking 7th in class as the crews headed to the first service halt.
"The forest tracks were very slippery and it would have been easy to push too hard and go off," said Kirvan.
"It was my first time competing since the accident so I gradually built up my confidence and took no risks in the opening stages. The guys at Rally4Real had worked flat out getting the car rebuilt and I didn’t want to let them down."
The rally then moved to Penmachno for a pair of stages, which included a run around the very popular spectator point in Penmachno quarry. As her confidence grew Kirvan increased her pace whilst being mindful of the slippery conditions and the championship being at stake.
The event returned to Clocaenog for the final pair of stages. The fifth stage went well with Kirvan having a clear run and she entered the final stage just needing to get to the end to win the Ladies title.
The final stage did not go smoothly though with the car suffering a puncture part way through the course. The crew decided to stop and change the wheel so as to prevent any mechanical damage to the car from the disintegrating tyre. Although several minutes time were lost a delighted Kirvan made it to the finish.
"I was absolutely thrilled to get to the finish, I had been very nervous before the event with the Ladies title relying on me getting to the end of the rally."
"The year has been brilliant and has exceeded all my expectations having had some time out from the sport before this championship. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and it has been great to compete against all the other crews. Thanks to Rally4Real and Peart Auto Services for all their support."
Kirvan is now planning next season’s rallying and she will test her new Fiesta ST for the first time in a couple of weeks. If sufficient funding can be secured she hopes to compete in the popular BRC Challenge next year. Any business wishing to become involved in the Becky Kirvan Rallying team can contact her via www.beckykirvan.co.uk.
