for rookie co-driver  

Castrol / Daily Telegraph team overcome difficult conditions at Swedish round of the World Rally Championship Daily Telegraph journalist Franca Davenport, co-driving for Sky Sports Tony Jardine, finished 41st overall  and  second  in  class  N3  on  her  fifth  ever  rally  and  her World  Rally  Championship  (WRC) debut. 

The  Castrol  /  Daily  Telegraph  team  battled  against  the  lack  of  snow,  constantly  changing road conditions and limited visibility in the Uddeholm Swedish Rally (7-10 February). The  media  duo  have  experienced  some  hair-raising  moments  including  a  spin  on  stage  four  on Friday morning which resulted in them becoming stuck nose down in a ditch. Fortunately an army of spectators  came  to  the  rescue  and  the  pair  were  quickly  back  on  track. 

On  the  same  stage, Sébastien Loeb rolled his car causing damage which ultimately led to his retirement from the rally after  stage  11  on  Saturday.  Jardine  and  Davenport  passed  the  upturned  car  of  Loeb,  setting  a faster stage time despite the fact that Loeb continued to finish the stage. The drama continued on stage six with Jardine hitting a snow bank, as they took off over a jump, causing the car to turn sideways in the air.

However Jardine quickly regained control of the Ford Fiesta and the Castrol crew carried on to claim the second fastest time in his class, just one minute and 34 seconds behind the leader, Lasse Storm. Thousands of spectators turned out to watch the rally live and gave the event, which is described by people who live locally as a folk fest, a party atmosphere. On several stages the pair struggled for visibility in what they thought was dense fog although this proved to be smoke from the bonfires and barbeques that lined the route of the rally.

The vast number of spectators included many British fans, a number of which made it to the service park to support the Castrol team. One area which was particularly popular with spectators was Colin’s Crest, a section of the Vargasen stage which is dedicated to the memory of the late Colin McRae who won the Swedish Rally four times. Davenport  and  Jardine,  competing  in  the  only  Ford  Fiesta  in  the  rally,  were  confronted  with constantly   changing   road   surfaces   from   mud   to   ice   and   snow.   Davenport   stayed   focused throughout  the  event  never  missing  a  beat  with  the  pace  notes  and,  in  the  style  of  a  seasoned navigator, provided Jardine with extra warnings of expected icy tracks under tree cover.

Jardine said, “Franca has done a fantastic job in her first ever World Rally Championship event. Its incredible how quickly she has been able to adapt and step-up to WRC level following her run of national events last year, as shown by her 100% finishing record. We were expecting more snow for the rally but haven’t been disappointed by the stages – it has been a real mix of conditions. We are also planning to frame the time sheet from stage four which shows us as having a quicker time than Sébastien Loeb!”

Davenport said, “It’s been a fantastic experience competing against the world’s best. We had some scary  moments  on  the  stages  but  Tony  has  been  great  in  helping  me  to  achieve  my  goal  of completing  this  rally.  Tony  drove  amazingly  well  especially  considering  these  unique  conditions. Also  it  was  great  to  meet  one  of  the  top  WRC  drivers  Petter  Solberg  at  the  remote  service  in Hagfors. It was a big challenge and it is a great feeling to have finished this difficult event.”

ProSpeed Motorsport, who run and prepare the Castrol car for the Jardine team, had to make few repairs to the Fiesta during the event as it withstood the harsh conditions of the Swedish Rally. The Castrol  /  Daily  Telegraph  team  also  managed  to  complete  the  three  day  rally  on  just  ten  spiked tyres  without  a  single  puncture.  Team  boss  Olly  Marshall  and  supporting  service  crew  member, McLaren  SLR  engineer  Andy  Beale,  enjoyed  the  challenge  of  the  daily  remote  services  and commented that it encouraged the WRC and privateer teams to work on a level pegging. Marshall said, “Franca has been building up to a round of the WRC for a while now, and I’m really impressed with how well she has done here in Sweden. I’m sure we will be seeing more of Franca’s co-driving skills on future rallies.”