· Tom Cave & Craig Parry 7th overall and 1st in Group N· Third class win in third different car in series· Extends lead in BTRDA Production Cup and Junior Driver
Teenage rally driver Tom Cave finished this weekend's Somerset Stages, the third round of the BTRDA Rally Championship, seventh overall and first in Group N. The 19 year-old, partnered by co-driver Craig Parry, was at the wheel of the third car he has driven in the series this year, a Prodrive N16 Subaru, run by Davies Motorsport Services, as he extended his lead in the Production Cup and the Junior Driver class.
Tom had secured a rented latest-specification Subaru Impreza Group N for this weekend's event but was unable to carry out a pre-event test. Therefore, his first experience of the car was as he and Craig started the first stage of the event.
As a result, he spent the first loop of four stages learning the car and trying to find the rhythm necessary to maintain his championship momentum. The car's initial set-up wasn't to Tom's personal preference, so at the event's first service, he made several changes to the settings in an attempt to get a better feeling.
It clearly worked, as his pace improved consistently for the remainder of the day. He pushed on the two tarmac stages of the event and reclaimed some of the time he had lost early in the day to close in on the class leader. By the time the crews returned to service following the two tarmac tests, for their cars to be re-converted to full gravel specification, he had taken the class lead and moved up to eighth overall.
He continued to push for the rest of the day, extending his advantage with every stage and by the time the crews reached the finish ramp, had built his margin to more than a minute to the closest Group N runner.
Commenting at the finish, Tom said; "It's been a great day and I'm really pleased that we were able to extend out lead in both the Production Cup and the Junior Driver class. Prodrive supplied an excellent car and the DMS guys keep us bang on the pace all day.
"It started a little frustratingly, as without the test, the car wasn't set-up how I would have liked it. But we made some changes at the first service and it was much better for the rest of the day. Once I found the rhythm, it was a case of pushing as hard as I felt comfortable with to make sure firstly we took the class lead, then extended it as much as possible without taking any silly risks.
"It felt as though the tyres were starting to go off on the long stage on the first loop - I took a softer option as I thought it was going to be damp and slippery but it was bone dry.
"I'm really pleased that we have won our class on every round of the series so far. What's even more pleasing is that we have done it in a different car on every round. I think it shows that we are flexible and can adapt our performance to suit the car we're in."
Tom's next event will be the Pirelli International Rally, the third round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, over the weekend of 29/30 April and based in Carlisle.
