Successful first event for the Rally2Raise team

The Rally2Raise team got their fundraising activities off to a great start at the recent Mull Rally when almost £60 was raised selling cakes and cookies to crews and spectators.

The Rally2Raise project is aiming to raise funds for the Nystagmus Network, Cancer Research UK and the MS Society as well as raising awareness of post-natal depression. Team members Rachel Medich and Katherine Begg have had personal experience of all four of the causes and they will be running a series of fundraising activities in the remainder of 2011 and throughout 2012.

“I’d like to say thank you to all the people who bought cakes and cookies on Mull, we sold all the items we had made so it was an excellent start to the Rally2Raise campaign,” said Rachel. “All the causes are very important to Katherine and myself and we’ll be working as hard as we can to raise funds and awareness.”

Plans are currently being made for the next Rally2Raise event to be the Neil Howard Memorial Rally near York where it is hoped that Rachel will debut her Nissan Micra rally car. The team is also aiming to have a rally calendar on sale in November.

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk for more information on the project or to make a donation – in partnership with Virgin Money Giving online donations can now be accepted from which the causes will also receive gift aid. Please also visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rally2raise.

Excitement mounts as Becky prepares for WRC debut

With less than three weeks to go to the start of Wales Rally GB rally driver Becky Kirvan is flat out with preparations for her first world championship event in her Cristal Global-backed Ford Fiesta ST.

After her accident on the Trackrod Challenge rally in September her car has had to undergo major surgery with a new roof, doors, wing, door pillar and bonnet having to be sourced and the roll cage fixed.

“We were able to find a Fiesta road car shell which we’ve taken panels from for the rally car,” commented Becky. “The cage has now been fixed so that will be going in the car in the next few days and then we can put the new roof on. The gearbox is away for a rebuild so that will have to be refitted as soon as it comes back and we’ve also to get the bodywork liveried with Cristal Global graphics. With the car work and all the other organisation required it’s going to be very busy right up to the start of the event.”

As well as having to get her car fixed Becky has had to find a new co-driver as Kaz Watts has withdrawn from the event due to a neck injury.

“It’s a real shame that Kaz will not be with the team but unfortunately the neck injuries she sustained in the accident on the Trackrod rally are still causing her problems so it was too much of a risk to her health to tackle a four-day event so soon afterwards. I will have Will Rogers co-driving for me and I am confident will we quickly gel as a team. I can’t wait for the rally to start!”

The rally will start from Llandudno on 10th November with the crews facing four days of tough competition before finishing the event in Cardiff.

Please visit www.beckykirvan.co.uk or www.facebook.com/BeckyKirvanRallying for more information on Becky Kirvan’s rallying.

Images from BCCC Nesscliff

To see the images please click here.

New charity fundraising venture aims to rally to the cause

Rally co-driver and rescue volunteer Rachel Medich has founded a new fundraising and awareness raising venture which will use car rallying to promote it’s causes. Rally2Raise will seek to raise funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK, the Nystagmus Network, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Post-Natal Depression through a series of rallying-related events which will range from selling cakes and cookies to actually competing.

Aberdeen-based Rachel and her friend Katherine Begg will be organising the events and both have very personal experience of the causes which Rally2Raise will seek to help.

“We have chosen the causes as each one has affected us a great deal,” said Rachel. “I have had a torrid time with cancer recently, both personally and with friends. My son was born earlier this year with nystagmus, a not very well known eye disease for which there have been no medical advancements for many years.”

“Following the birth I suffered with severe post-natal depression for which I am still receiving treatment. Fortunately I recognised the symptons and got help but many women feel they have to keep it quiet and try and deal with it themselves and as a result become very ill. Rally2Raise is all about raising awareness of these causes and raising funds for the relevant charities.”

Katherine commented: “When Rachel told me about the concept for Rally2Raise I asked if we could also raise awareness and funds for MS. As a young carer I saw the affect MS had on the individual and also the family. I now know my mum had primary progressive MS, seeing my mum and best friend deteriorate over the years she was alive was the hardest thing to comprehend. Yet through it all she remained strong, kept her humour and remained true to her faith. All in all an inspirational figure for me, my brother and father who cared for her tirelessly and devotedly until she passed away in 1992.”

“I have close family members who have died from cancer. Very recently a lump was found in my breast after a mammogram test and I felt the fear of awaiting to know my "fate", planning what I would do if I had to tell my daughter. I was more terrified for my daughter and how it would affect her than anything else. The cells caught were benign, it was a relief but it also made me realise what others must go through too.”

“If Rally2Raise can help raise awareness and funds for all the causes we have chosen then I feel that I, in some way, have repaid all those who have helped me over the years, especially coping with the loss of my mum.”

The first Rally2Raise event will take place at the Mull Rally where Rachel and Katherine will be selling homemade cakes and cookies during the recce week and at the event itself – look out for them on the stages! After that Rachel is hoping to make her debut as a rally driver at the Neil Howard Memorial Rally in her recently acquired ex-Becky Kirvan Nissan Micra.

For more information on Rally2Raise please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk.

Nescliff set for BCCC title showdown

The sixth and final round of the Britpart British Cross Country Championship will take place next weekend at Nesscliff in Shropshire with several crews in with a chance of taking the crown.

Ian Rochelle presently leads the championship from Bob Seaman with Gordon Monaghan in third but when dropped scores are taken into account it is Dan Lofthouse who looks to have the best chance of challenging Rochelle.

"I’m massively looking forward to the event", commented Rochelle. "I’m hoping that the battle goes right to the final run and that all the contenders have a good clear run so that it’s decided without any mechanical issues."

"This will be the second event for our new Millington engine and I can't wait to try it out as the slippery conditions at the last round meant that we struggled to get the power down."

Lofthouse said: "We need to win the event so that’s what we’re aiming to do, whatever happens it’s been a great season for me with the new car, 2011 was planned to be a development year so to be in with a shout of the title is excellent."

Milner R5 driver Bob Seaman, who is on course for his best ever BCCC finish, said: "We are unbelievably second on the score sheet at the moment and with dropped scores we are only one point behind former champion Gordon Monaghan. If Ian and Dan finish then we cannot catch them but I will be pushing hard to take third place which I will be delighted with in only my fourth year of competing."

In the Trophy class Tom Hipkiss presently leads from Greg Morris but, as with the BCCC title, it’s all to play for on the final round.

A Clubman class will run for crews who are not entered in the championships. Entries cost £250 for the full weekend or £150 for either day. Please call Championship Secretary Lilian Turley on 01594 810161 or email lilianturley@btinternet.com if you wish to enter the

The event will take place at the Nesscliff army training camp with the action starting at 10am on Saturday. Day two will start at 9am. Spectators are permitted at the venue but, at the request of the MoD, they must be in the venue before 8am as the access gate will be locked after this time and it will not be opened until the day’s action is finished.

Further information on the championship is available on www.marches4x4.com.