Tom Cave and TV’s Neil Cole finished an outstanding 14th overall and sixth in class on this weekend’s Richard Burns Memorial Rally. The result was all the more creditable, as this was only Cole’s second rally co-driving and the pair faced far faster machinery than their Group N Ford Fiesta on the single-venue rally at RAF Marham.
The event was created to honour the memory of the former World Rally Champion and raise finds for the Richard Burns Foundation and the Michael Park Fund, charities set up following the deaths of two of rallying’s most likeable characters. Marham was chosen as it was the location for Burn’s memorable flight in an RAF Tornado several years ago.
The event featured eight stages run over two days at the air base, the only rally to run on a fully-operational RAF base. Tom and Neil settled into the event well in their DMS Motorsport-run Fiesta and suffered no problems on their way to the finish line after two days of competition.
While not preparing for the stages, Cole was busy filming the event for a video diary, which will be posted onto both his and Tom’s websites and potentially, feature in digital TV channel Dave’s coverage of the FIA World Rally Championship in the near future.
The excitement clearly built over the weekend, with Tom and Neil heading into the final stage of the event looking to snatch a place or two, thanks to a tiny gap between them and the car ahead and a high attrition rate on the abrasive and high speed concrete sections.
In the end, the pair arrived at the finish of the event in 14th place overall out of 51 finishers and sixth in class C (1601cc – 2000cc) out of 20 finishers.
Commenting after the event, Tom said: “It’s been a great weekend; Neil was really good on the notes and has been very professional. The car has worked perfectly – Davies Motorsport did a great job getting the car ready and we’ve had no problems at all. It’s only my third tarmac rally and I’m very pleased with the result we got.
“I’ve never done a single-venue event before and it’s been a brilliant weekend. The atmosphere has been great, the organisers have been very helpful and it is all for a good cause, so I’m delighted to have been part of it.”
Speaking after his second rally as co-driver, Neil said: “It’s been great fun. The atmosphere is fantastic, it’s a very well run event and the cooperation with the RAF to have one of the biggest live air-bases in the country give up is weekend is incredible. There are already these huge skid-marks on the runway from the Tornados taking off and landing, then we come along and add our little ones. Great fun.
“I think one thing is obvious from this weekend – Tom is very talented. These guys who rally as a hobby and as enthusiasts are looking at Tom, who’s not even 18 yet, his braking points and his lines and these are the lines of a professional. I think Tom’s potential is huge and I’ve definitely learned a lot. I only made a few mistakes and we’ve only been on the grass a couple of times and we didn’t properly hit any obstacles. I really enjoyed it.”
Summarising a weekend competing on a live air base, Tom said: “I’d never thought about a career in the military before this weekend but I have to say, seeing the planes up close and the Red Arrows fly-by, maybe piloting a fighter could be the only thing to rival driving a rally car…”
