after frustrating weekend
Teenage rally sensation Tom Cave endured a frustrating weekend when an early mechanical failure meant he was unable to start the International Rally Yorkshire and instead, he contested the national event. Despite this, Tom and co-driver Craig Parry won their class and the 17 year-old from Aberdovey is now looking forward to this weekend's Rally Latvia, as he returns to more familiar ground.
Tom's Group N Ford Fiesta suffered a rare mechanical failure prior to the start of the Rally Yorkshire, when a faulty master fuse meant that the car's electrical system was effectively isolated prior to the first stage of the International Rally Yorkshire, the event Tom was entered in.
The Davis Motorsport crew retrieved the car and back in service, were able to find and rectify the fault but the organisers would not allow Tom to restart the International category of the event. After much deliberation, Tom was eventually permitted to start the National category event, which used the same five stages as the International but run just once in the afternoon, as opposed to twice for the International.
Despite not contesting the event he wanted and was prepared for, Tom and Parry set about making the most of the day's action and posted times on the five stages making up the event that the team felt were representative. They took an overall stage win on the Langdale test and on the basis of the times that Tom put in through the afternoon, the team estimated that he could have finished third in class on the International event, had he been allowed to compete.
Commenting after the event, Tom said; "This wasn't an easy rally, that's for sure. Because of the problem and the change of circumstances, I found it difficult to get into the right mind-set. The nature of the stages themselves also made it quite difficult to find the right pace. I'm more used to the type of stages we have in Wales, where they flow and tend to have a natural rhythm. On this event, there were lots of long straights followed by square corners and I was constantly looking for the braking points and where the grip was, for example.
"There were also sections where you would have a series of very technical corners following a long straight and you'd arrive and have to get your head around these corners, rather than the squares we'd already seen. Having said that, it's all good experience, as you don't always have ideal stage conditions or a perfect mind-set at the start of an event and these are all things I need to understand for the future and deal with."
As is normal for Tom, things continue at a pace following the conclusion of the Trackrod, as he traveled to the Lake District on Monday to test the new M-Sport-developed Ford Fiesta R2 rally car, to assess its potential as the basis of the next phase of his rally career. Tom has several tests lined up over the coming weeks, in a range of cars which he could use for the 2010 season, when he will be 18 and therefore, able to compete in any of the events forming the FIA World Rally Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
As soon as the M-Sport test is complete, he and co-driver Gemma Price will resume more familiar action, as they board a flight heading for Riga and Rally Latvia, the flagship event in the Baltic nation's National Rally Championship.
Tom will be using a locally rented car for the event, since logistically he would not be able to get his own car there and he needs to ensure that it remains intact should he need it for his entry in Wales Rally GB.
Tom has contested the event twice before, finishing fourth in class last year, to gain the final signature necessary for his Latvian-issued International Rally License. So while the last two years have been about experience and finishing, Tom predicts this year will be more about showing what he is capable of.
"I'll definitely be pushing for a result this year," he said. "Last year was all about the finish but this year, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Of course, I don't want to damage the car, as it's a rental but I will certainly be pushing hard. I have a pretty good idea of the nature of the stages and while I gather there are some new ones this year, there are also lots that I have already driven, so I will be on it from the first stage.
"I think for me to do the event for the third time while I'm still only 17 is quite an achievement. I'm really looking forward to getting back to Latvia and some proper rallying; the Latvians have been extremely helpful to us in the last couple of years, the stages are fantastic, the organisation is excellent and the people are incredibly friendly, helpful and welcoming. I'm really looking forward to it."
The one-day event on Sunday 4 October sees the crews contest 98 stage Kilometres including two runs around a superspecial stage situated in the centre of Riga.
