Brake failure results in dramatic end to Trackrod rally for Becky

East Yorkshire rally driver Becky Kirvan had a dramatic end to the Trackrod Challenge rally last weekend when brake failure resulted in her car flying off the road into a tree, putting her out of the event.

With the organisers of the Rally Isle of Man announcing that their event had been cancelled the Trackrod became the last round of Becky's BRC Challenge season so she was especially keen to get a good result on her home event.

The event started with stages in Gale Rigg and Cropton forests north of Pickering. Becky and co-driver Kaz Watts made a good start in their KC, Bardahl Top Oils, Princes Quay Shopping Centre, Peart Auto Services, Rally4Real and Songasport-supported Ford Fiesta ST to lie in 11th overall and 2nd in class. However, the opening two stages were not without problems with the car's brake bias needing altering after the first stage and then the brakes overheating when braking at the end of the many long straights in the second stage.

"The car was getting out of shape a lot under braking in the first stage so I adjusted the brake bias ready for stage two," commented Becky. "This seemed to help the handling in the second stage but then we had the overheating issue which caused some anxious moments when slowing from the high speeds we were doing on the straights."

Stage three took place in Staindale forest and Becky had another good run to maintain her 11th overall and 2nd in class. With the long Langdale stage next Becky was keen to push on and aim for the top ten but it all went wrong a couple of miles from the end of the stage. The stage was another with lots of long straights and Becky again had to battle overheating brakes but coming up to a right-hand bend the brakes totally failed. Although she attempted to turn the car on the handbrake it was going too quickly and flew off the road. The roof of the car hit a tree and it then landed upside-down with the crew initially trapped inside. Fortunately they were able to extract themselves and they were not badly hurt although as a precaution Kaz was taken to hospital to be checked over.

"It was a pretty high-speed accident and the roof took a lot of the impact on Kaz's side of the car though we were well protected by the roll cage. It was a little scary being trapped upside down but we got out eventually. It was a very disappointing way to end our BRC Challenge season but at least neither of us were seriously injured. I'd like to sincerely thank EMMU rescue for attending to Kaz and myself and also Lakes 3 and Difflock 8 recovery crews for extracting the car, it was a very professional job by them all. The car needs a new roof and door pillar and a few other parts but it will soon be back to full health."

Despite the retirement on the final round Becky ends the season in second place in the RC5 class championship and she is also the BRC Challenge Ladies Champion.

“I’ve really enjoyed my BRC Challenge season, it has been great doing events that are new to me. I am pleased with my performance and hopefully I can build on this year’s experience in 2012. Thank you to KC and all my other supporters for their invaluable help in 2011.”

Becky's next planned event is the Wales Rally GB world championship round but she is hoping to contest another event before this once the car is fixed.

Please visit www.beckykirvan.co.uk or join the Facebook group at www.facebook.com/BeckyKirvanRallying for all the latest news and pictures.

Images from the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire

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Becky to end season with World Rally Championship outing

Rally driver Becky Kirvan will end her 2011 season by competing at the very top of the rallying ladder when she contests Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB.

East Yorkshire-based Becky has enjoyed a successful year competing in the BRC Challenge in her Ford Fiesta ST car with co-driver Kaz Watts and she has secured a deal with world-leading chemical company Cristal Global which will enable her to contest the world championship event once her BRC Challenge campaign is complete. Cristal Global, who have a plant in Stallingborough, employs nearly 4,000 people on five continents and they are the second largest titanium dioxide producer in the world, the largest producer of merchant titanium chemicals and the leading manufacturer of specialty titanium products.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be entering Wales Rally GB, it is an amazing opportunity for me. Competing at this level would have been completely out of reach if it wasn’t for Cristal Global’s sponsorship so I’m extremely grateful to them for their support,” said Becky. “I once interviewed world championship driver Mikko Hirvonen for a television programme, little did I know that I’d be competing on the same event as him one day!”

Fahad Nackshabandi, General Manager of Cristal Global Corporate Communications commented: "We are pleased to support Becky on this event, she has done very well in rallying and we are proud to help her compete at the highest level possible."

Rally GB will consist of four days of competition all over Wales starting on the North coast near Llandudno and finishing in Cardiff. The total competitive mileage is 220 which is over three times longer than any other rally Becky has contested up to now.

“It will be the longest stage rally I’ve ever competed in and it’s sure to be very challenging. There is an immense amount of work to get both myself and the car ready for the event, though I believe the experience I’ve built up in the last two years will help me a great deal. I’ll be aiming to do the very best that I can.”

Becky presently lies in 7th place in the BRC Challenge as well as second in her class championship and she still has three rounds to complete before her Rally GB outing with events in Yorkshire followed by a double-header on the Isle of Man.

“The season has gone really well so far and I’m very pleased to have successfully completed all the events. The car has been great throughout the season, my only issues being a couple of punctures for which I can hardly blame the car! I’ll be pushing hard on the last three rounds to gain as good a championship position as I can. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my sponsors: communications company KC, Bardahl Top Oils, Princes Quay Shopping Centre, Peart Auto Services, Rally4Real and Songasport for supporting my BRC Challenge campaign this year.”

Please visit www.beckykirvan.co.uk or www.facebook.com/BeckyKirvanRallying to find out more about Becky’s rallying.

Images from BCCC Brynffynon

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Cristofaro and Moore to reunite in Yorkshire

Milford Haven’s Nick Cristofaro will return to the British Rally Championship next weekend when he contests the International Rally Yorkshire.

Cristofaro was forced to miss the last round in Ulster due to budget constraints but he has managed to secure sufficient support to take part in the Scarborough-based event in his TEG Sport Ford Fiesta ST.

He will be reunited with co-driver Janice Moore for the rally, the pairing having previously competed together when Cristofaro contested the Junior 1000 championship in 2009.

“I’m very happy to be competing again, it was very frustrating not being in Ulster for the last round,” said Cristofaro.

“I’ve been lucky to get some extra support from Genpower UK and I’ve also been working flat out with my Cristotec remapping business and at Carew karting to try and get the funds together to do the event. “

Joining Genpower UK and Cristofaro’s other supporters Cristotec, Autoglym, Millers Oils, Nicky Grist and Elite Remapping for the event will be Ginsters, the Cornwall-based manufacturer of pasties, sandwiches and pies.

“I’m very grateful to Ginsters for their support and also to Janice for securing the deal. We’re on a very tight budget so all the support we get is vital.”

Cristofaro is hoping for a good result to boost his hopes of attracting sponsorship for 2012 as he has the chance of competing in the British Rally Championship as part of the TEG Sport Skoda Fabia team.

“TEG Sport have given me the fantastic opportunity to compete in the Skoda next year but to take advantage of the offer I will have to get the funding together to help support the drive. With the championship moving to two-wheel drive cars only in 2012 and TEG Sport being one of the leading teams the Skoda drive would be ideal for me and I’ll be working as hard as I can to get the deal.”

Please visit www.nickcristofaro.co.uk for more information on Nick Cristofaro.