...in record time
Journalist Franca Davenport to compete in first ever World Rally Championship event in Ireland after crash course in navigation After just 42 days, four rallies and two crash courses in rallying and navigation, national journalist Franca Davenport has defied the critics by achieving international rally status in record time, against all odds. Davenport, based in North London, will now travel directly to Ireland to navigate for Sky Sports’ presenter
Tony Jardine in the Castrol / Daily Telegraph Ford Fiesta in Rally Ireland, the first ever World Rally Championship (WRC) event in the Emerald Isle. The event will continue the collaboration process of the North and South of Ireland through sport. Jardine and Davenport finished sixth overall in their final build-up event - the Tempest Rally (10 November) – just 24 hours before flying to Ireland.
The MSA, Britain’s governing body of motorsport, have come to the rescue attempting to turn around Davenport’s licence up-grade in just three hours and send it to Ireland before the sign-on process finishes. Franca Davenport said, “It’s like a whirlwind. I’ve been through hoops on this crash course but now the gate to Ireland is open and I am amazed I am actually going to compete at World Championship level in the same event as the heroes I have read about.” The last national event for the media duo, the Tempest Rally, proved to be precarious and nerve wracking for the crew of Tony Jardine and Franca Davenport as they desperately needed to finish for their final up-grade signature. The stages were over rough military land with incredibly tight road time sections which conspired to put the crew out of the event at any moment.
A puncture was changed in rapid time after the jagged rocks of the Ash ranges ripped a Kumho tyre and a gearbox oil leak was fixed caused by the damage. Jardine commented, “The Ash ranges were flying their military red flag indicating live target practice on the ranges, although they were nowhere near us it felt like we were being sniped at all the time – everything was going wrong. However, finally we came through the pitch black of another military testing ground at Longmoor having caught and passed a rival, all thanks to Franca’s fantastic navigation skills which she has learned in double quick time. Now our reward is the WRC event in Ireland.”
Olly Marshall of ProSpeed, in York, who runs the Castrol / Daily Telegraph team was relieved as his own ‘race against time’ would have been much worse if the car had been seriously damaged. Marshall said, “We have three short days to totally re-prepare the car before catching the ferry to Ireland. We have some long nights ahead of us but Franca and Tony did all I asked and brought the car home in one piece – despite the gruelling stages. The work of keeping the car going was led by our McLaren engineer Andy Beale who showed his skill and energy yet again. However, Franca has pulled out all the stops to achieve international status in such a short time, it’s quite a feat and it’s a pleasure to work with her.”
With the team making their final frantic preparations for Rally Ireland ex-World Champion co-driver Robert Reid, who helped train and mentor Franca Davenport, gave warning of the conditions the Castrol / Daily Telegraph team will face.
“Going from national events to WRC will be totally different and challenging for Franca. Preparation and commitment will be required as she tries to cope with a much higher level – she will have to keep her head. Over 150,000 people are expected and the event could be bigger than the Ryder Cup was in Ireland, as people flock to the stages. The roads are narrower than average, blind, twisty, fast and wide. There is a variety of tests to catch out the unwary. In short, it will be nothing like Tony or Franca have ever seen or competed in before, a total spectacle but a massive test. I wish them both the best of luck.” The penultimate WRC round, Rally Ireland (15 – 18 November), starts from Stormont, Belfast - the seat of government of Northern Ireland - and will be flagged away jointly by Premier of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, and Ian Paisley from Northern Ireland government.
