Kent’s Junior Rally Driver and Prospeed Motorsport Finalist Stefan Davis competed with co-driver Craig Burgess this weekend on the Swansea Bay Rally. The event was a loose gravel forest event based in the South Wales valleys running on the legendary rally stages used on the British Round of the World Rally Championship.
The crew nearly didn’t make the event with no funds left and the cheque for the rally bouncing it looked all over before it began. Only for a life saver in the form of Olly Marshall of ProSpeed Motorsport helping Stefan out at the last minute with the entry fee saw them able to compete and go for the championship points. Now ready and raring to go for the result and valuable championship points the spirits were up but all this looked to be upset before the rally even began. A badly seeded position in the starting order had put the crew in a really poor position as they were starting amongst slower cars and inevitably going to catch them and worse their dust through the stages. The organisers refused to alter their position which left the crew with not only a massive obstacle to get over but also a potentially dangerous position with the dust ball they would be in and the lack of visibility of where the road actually was going.
SS1 Rhondda – The crew was pushing hard knowing they had to maximise whilst they could still see the road, then only 4 miles into the stage they began to catch the dust of the car in front. Stefan knew he could not back off with the championship at stake and had to push on though he could not see the road. “I was just driving to the notes and praying they were right! If Craig said 100 6 Right I drove 100 metres and turned the wheel, a true test of your confidence in each other when you are put in that position, that’s for sure” said Stefan. Sure enough they caught and past the fellow Peugeot 205 Scholarship team in front, but were behind them for 5 miles of the stage dropping bags of time. Within the next 2 miles they started to catch the BMW in front of them and once again another dust ball. Stefan was dramatic and pushing hard in the stage “We had some massive moments in there, I was full opposite lock with car pointing completely sideways over a crest at about 70 MPH but managed to save it all just in time” commented Kent’s Junior Rally Driver.
SS2 Tyle - was nice as it was only 5 miles long, so they were not hindered by fellow competitors dust though they did have another little problem. The power steering failed halfway through the stage leaving Stefan wrestling with the rally diff on the gearbox which is a real stuggle without the power steering.
SS3 Walters Arena – The magnificent Walters Arena and that’s exactly what it was for the crew despite no power steering and a half spin on the stage. They were absolutely flying and not only did they manage to beat every single Peugeot Scholarship car through the stage but actually beat every single car in the rally through the 3.5 mile spectator stage an astounding result!
SS4 Rheola and SS5 Resolven - The crew were pushing hard again through the stages and catching the car in front once again and once again choking on and being blinded by the dust. The crew held it together and kept pushing on and set 2nd fastest times on both stages amongst the Peugeots. They had a ‘life flashing before their eyes’ moment when a mile from the end of the final stage a dirt bike went straight across the track in front of the crew with Stefan’s quick reactions just preventing a massive accident. Stefan said “It was real scary, we could not see because of the dust and then this bike just pulled out from the trees. He obviously expected a gap between me and the car in front but we were right behind him, doesn’t bare thinking about really!”.
The crew finished 2nd amongst the Peugeots which was an incredible result under the circumstances and the points gave them the boost to the front of the championship for the first time in Stefan’s rally career, Stefan said “It’s amazing, it really is, its starting to come together finally but the truth is it may not even matter. We nearly didn’t make this rally because the cheque bounced but Olly from ProSpeed helped us out last minute and I really just don’t have anything left for the next round”.
The next scholarship round is the Trackrod Rally based in the City of York and the crew are just praying that someone will save their season and get them in the rally.
