There could be a strange sense of déjà vu for anyone studying the entry list for this weekend's Lee Holland Memorial Rally at Anglesey, the second round of the 2015 Formula 1000 Junior Rally Championship. The pairing of Delaney/Cruttenden appears on the list twice, with different number and cars but it is no error.
Young driver Tom Delaney is entered on the event in the F1000 Juniors category and is partnered by usual co-driver Joe Cruttenden. Driving their SVP-supported Suzuki Alto, the pair will be keen to capitalise on the lessons learned from the first round, where Tom admits he over-drove the 1000cc Suzuki and spent far too much time spinning the car or suffering from errors.
However, the second half of the event was much more representative, as he and Joe slowed and concentrated on getting to the finish. Tom will spend some time in the car before this weekend's rally at a private test to familiarise himself with it more before adopting exactly the same approach, driving with a finish in mind and see what the times are like later.
However, seeding could be an issue for the 15 year-old from Droitwich, as the car immediately ahead of him on the road this weekend was consistently slower at the first round but did stay on the road. Tom hopes that this will not hinder him as the event progresses though; "I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I learned a lot on the last round and I'm keen to show that I can drive consistently and quickly without making constant mistakes. I think if I can do that, then as we saw at Three Sisters, the times will come."
The reason the Delaney/Cruttenden pairing appears twice on the entry list is that Tom's father Dominic will be returning to the driver's seat after decades of preparing and running cars for other people. Prior to starting independent Porsche specialist SVP, he formed part of the Mitsubishi works rally team and ran Peugeots before that.
However, this weekend sees his return to the driving seat, in SVP's rental Subaru Impreza Group N rally car and co-driven by the father of Tom's co-driver, Tim Cruttenden.
Commenting, he said; "I wanted a quiet return to rallying this weekend, tootling around at the back of the field. But for some reason, I've been seeded at number 15 so we'll be right in the thick of it! I suppose I'd better buy some proper tyres now..."
The one-day event is based at the Anglesey circuit on the island in North Wales and takes place on Sunday 22 March.
