After a difficult first leg on Thursday 12th, where we had various problems including a puncture, a slight off (no damage) and slipped ignition timing (later found to be
10 degrees AFTER TDC,) we found ourselves in 80th position.

For the 14 hour second leg we fared better and clawed our way up to 46th and
first in class.
 
The route for the 3rd leg, this time of 13 hours, was only given out at the end of leg 2. We completed the first section round a temporary loose surfaced circuit where we spent most of the 2 laps sideways and at full throttle. Great fun! However about 15 miles into the next road section there was a puff of blue smoke from the exhaust, followed by a larger cloud of blue smoke. On stopping there was evidence of radiator water sprayed over the engine. Game over!

I suspected head gasket failure at the time but on getting the car back here I find there is absolutely no compression in cylinders 1 and 2. It could be a cracked head.

The retirement was a great disappointment considering our position but I fear that the gearbox, which I knew to be less than perfect, could not have lasted the pace.

The organisers had promised a tougher rally this year and they certainly delivered. Even powerful cars were having difficulty staying on time and with only 1098 cc and
less than ideal torque the poor 52 year old A40 was being thrashed - sensitively of course! I really enjoyed my return to 'stage rallying'.

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Updated 7 May  2012
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