Jardine and Hamilton to compete on Rallye Sunseeker F1 journalist Maurice Hamilton and Sky Sports motor sport correspondent Tony Jardine will have their long awaited rally reunion after their ProSpeed team came to the rescue with a vital ingredient, a rally car, at the last moment.
Following a successful 37th place overall on the opening round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden two weeks ago, in a one off drive for Subaru Norway, Jardine was keen to get back in a rally car for Rallye Sunseeker in the UK. However, the car Jardine planned to use was sold days before the entry closed for Rallye Sunseeker - the prestigious opening round of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship, taking place on 26 - 27 February in Bournemouth.
With a tight work schedule on his return from Sweden, Jardine was limited on time to try and source an alternative rally car until his York based ProSpeed team, run by Olly Marshall, stepped in to take up the hunt for a suitable car.
Marshall commented, “There was nothing ready or available at such short notice until I started squeezing all my contacts but finally we located a car at the last minute near my own back yard, a 1400cc MG ZR with 115 bhp, which will be a bit of a contrast to the powerful 300 bhp four wheel drive Subaru Tony was using on Rally Sweden a couple of weeks ago! At least we can welcome Maurice back after a last minute find.”
Maurice Hamilton can now be reunited with Tony Jardine after two years, following their successful Donegal International Rally exploits in a full WRC specification Skoda Octavia which was a challenge for the duo on the fast sweeping coastal tarmac stages on the Irish coast. The MG ZR they will campaign on Rallye Sunseeker has a third of the power but is similar to the works MG machine with which the duo finished 35th overall and won their class in the World Rally Championship Wales Rally GB in 2003. Hamilton and Jardine were then team- mates to Gwyndaf Evans, former British Rally Champion and have always enjoyed success together.
The pair had promised each other another team outing since the Donegal but each time work got in the way. “It has been disappointing not to team up for so long but each time something clashed or got in the way, this time we nearly didn’t have a car! However, I am pleased Olly Marshall of ProSpeed kept up the search and I look forward to working with his professional team again. Tony and I have already made a plan, we aim to win the class. I don’t like to miss the Sunseeker, even if I am not competing I try to come along and spectate, it’s such a great event”, said Hamilton of Cranleigh Surrey, “it will be great to be back in the co driving seat and get some practice in, especially as we may go to Donegal again this summer.”
For Tony Jardine who runs a successful media communications company, Jardine International, and works with Sky Sports as their motor sport correspondent, Rallye Sunseeker has particular significance. He is the President of the Southern Car Club (SCC) and Rallye Sunseeker is the club’s premier event of the season. “It always gives me a great amount of pride that the Southern Car Club, through Rick Smith and his team, do such a great job. Their attention to detail is a model for many other events to follow, so to compete in it is a pleasure, I think this will be my 20th event in Bournemouth.”
The ProSpeed team will again work with Kumho Tyres, Alpinestars and Arai Helmets as team suppliers. Maurice Hamilton is one of the most successful journalist co-drivers in the sport. Together with Jardine he has notched up a variety of class wins, including at WRC level whilst also winning the classic RAC Rally with Russell Brooks in a Porsche in 1997. He is also a prolific author, his books on Eddie Jordan, Williams F1 and the definitive book about the RAC Rally represent just some of his work whilst he has also been an F1 journalist for the Guardian, Observer and BBC Radio 5 Live over a sustained period of time.
The media duo have finished Rallye Sunseeker together before but Jardine’s best on the Rallye Sunseeker was 14th overall in 1997 with fellow SCC member and Club Vice President, Louise Goodman.
