on Jim Clark Rally
The UK’s first minor international rally driver, Tom Cave, finished this weekend’s Jim Clark Rally, the fourth round of the 2009 British Rally Championship, an impressive 22nd overall, sixth in class and the third Ford Fiesta. However, the numbers do not tell the full story; the 17 year-old was looking good to finish as the leading Ford Fiesta until a small driver error relegated him to third Fiesta and sixth in the ultra-competitive R3 class.
The event would be one of the toughest the youngster from Aberdovey has faced yet. Following the ceremonial start in Edinburgh on Friday evening, the crews were faced with six stages into the night, meaning competitive driving in full darkness on asphalt; conditions requiring total commitment to a first-rate set of pace notes.
Tom was using the new style of pace notes trialled recently but new to regular co-driver Gemma Price. Despite her unfamiliarity with the new system, pre-event work on the notes and her professional approach and extensive experience meant that the pair were soon on the pace.
Tom admitted after the event that he was perhaps a little too cautious through the first loop of three stages and that it took that loop to settle fully into the new pace note style. This fact was demonstrated on the second run through the Aby St. Bathan stage, when he and Gemma were 30 seconds faster in full darkness than earlier in the evening, when there was still daylight.
The second day of the event, Saturday, was also a long one but Tom and Gemma confirmed their grasp of the conditions, their rebuilt Fiesta and the pace note system. The work put into the car before the event by Davies Motorsport, some 150 man-hours, clearly paid off, as the Fiesta ran absolutely faultlessly throughout and Tom and Gemma were quick to capitalise on the misfortune of other Fiesta runners, by consistently setting top-three Fiesta times and avoiding trouble.
However, it would not prove quite so straightforward. On the Edrom2 stage, Tom slid wide in a 90 right and into soft mud, filling the wheel rim with clay. This set up an imbalance which Tom thought felt like a puncture, so the crew stopped to check, only to find the wheel rim filled with mud. They continued but the resulting time loss, around 90 seconds, cost them any chance of claiming the Fiesta win and demoted them to third.
However, by the end of the event, Tom was pleased with the weekend’s performance; “This was a good weekend,” said the 17 year-old, “but of course, I’m disappointed by the mistake I made, as we were so close to becoming the lead Fiesta to finish the event. But I’ve definitely learned from the experience...
“What was most encouraging was that we had a clean, trouble-free run this weekend. I was a little too cautious on the first loop, as it was a while since I’d driven my own car and took a few miles to get the right rhythm. I pushed harder on the second loop and really enjoyed the night stages. In fact, to the extent we were quicker the second time around, when usually, it’s the opposite!
“The new pace note style worked very well and definitely contributed to our success this weekend. Gemma adapted to it quickly, as I knew she would and we had no problems with the car whatsoever.
“The R3 class was incredibly competitive this weekend; we were up against a brace of Renault Clios, which have a good couple of seconds per kilometre on us as well as six other Fiestas, so to finish sixth in class and third Fiesta when it could have been leading Fiesta but for a small driver error, is a fantastic result.”
Tom’s next event will see him return to European soil, as he will take part in Rally Poland, the last event in the FIA World Rally Championship before the series takes its traditional summer break.
