Tom Cave was delighted to finish this weekend's Wyedean Rally, the opening round of the 2011 BTRDA championship, in seventh place overall and second in Group N. Tom, driving a rented Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX prepared and run by JRM, put in an extremely strong performance, despite a stomach bug which meant he spent most of the night before the start being ill.
Before the start of the event, Tom said that as the stage mileage was relatively low, he would have to attack from the very start to get a decent result. He was true to his word and set the second fastest stage time overall on the first timed test of the rally, ahead of a brace of world rally cars and open-class machinery.
The competition responded instantly on the following stage but it was the third that would cost him a possible class win. On the longest test of the event, he struggled to find the grip and balance he sought, spinning in the stage twice and dropping more than 15 seconds in the process.
At the following service, the team diagnosed a broken rear anti-roll bar link, which was the cause of the handling issues. This was repaired and he returned for the final loop of three stages.
By this time, local hero Nik Elsmore had overhauled Tom and despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to close the gap to Elsmore. However, he was able to rise from eighth to seventh by the finish of the event, claiming second in Group N in the process.
Commenting after the finish, Tom said; "I'm happy with today, definitely, especially when you consider that I very nearly didn't start at all.
"It began well, with the time on the first stage but we had a massive moment going over the finish line, with the car aquaplaning for what felt like hundreds of yards and we ended up going up a bank.
"The second stage was good but on the third stage, the long one, I didn't get a good rhythm. The car just didn't feel right somehow - the back end was all over the place - and we spun twice. The JRM guys found a broken link at the service, but I think the 15-20 seconds we lost cost us the class win.
"I took things a little steadier this afternoon, as I didn't feel 100%. For me, the last stage was the best, as I found a really good rhythm and there were loads of spectators in that stage, egging us on, which always gives you a huge boost.
"The car felt good - JRM did a really good job - and we're heading for the Sunseeker now feeling strong and hopefully, looking for a good result."
