Brendan's Blog - November 2011

Brendan's Blog - November 2011

It's been a big two weeks of competition but I have only just realized how fast this year has gone by and I have had so many people that have helped make it possible.

Securing the drive with Pirelli last October in Spain seems like yesterday but over a year has gone by and 12 rallies later including three Targas with Mazda Motorsport, Rally Whangarei in New Zealand, Rally Australia, a tarmac rally in Belgium and the six WRC Academy rallies.

 

We managed some top results as well as some average ones but we learnt lots along the way, especially in the WRC events. This year we also set up the Brendan Reeves Supporters Club with many thanks to Rhianon and held two very successful functions, one Supporters Club tour to Rally Finland, and our last function is still to come on December 3, to celebrate the year with everyone.

 

So, last week I had the final round of the WRC Academy in Wales. It is usually a very wet, muddy and foggy rally and this year it certainly lived up to its reputation. It was a very difficult rally logistics-wise, moving around every day and night like a circus, but we seemed to manage and enjoy the challenge.

We started our Academy commitments the Sunday night before the week of events, just making sure everyone was set and organized for the longest event of the year.

Recce was Monday and Tuesday going from the North of Wales to the South writing the best notes we could including the Great Orme, the first stage of the event which was 4.7km on tarmac around a cliff face, making the view as spectacular as ever. The other stages were all done in loops so the recce was good but time was very tight. With the sun setting around 5.00pm some stages were done in the dark but similar to how we would tackle them in the event.

On Wednesday all the WRC Academy crews were able to test and we had a really awesome piece of road, very characteristic of the rally. Not having driven my Pirelli Ford Fiesta since the tarmac of rally France, I made the most of the test. Even though we would be using the same tyres in the rally, it was important to get a good set up and feeling for the car again. After the test, we went to Service Park for the first time and had some media commitments as well as some guest lectures from North One Sport and former WRC co-driver champion, Robert Reid, about the FIA.

Thursday we woke to a very pleasant sunny day, a bit nicer than the icy days previously. We were able to review our in-car footage and prepare ourselves for the afternoon's competition. Once set, we drove to Llandudno where the rally was to start. It is a very beautiful city with a lot of history and heritage.

We started the rally with two passes over the Great Orme stage, winning the first and finishing second on the second pass. A flying start and a great feeling behind the wheel! We then drove 71 km to SS3 Clocaenog. This transport was very tight and many Academy drivers got penalties for arriving at the start line late but we arrived with 30 seconds to spare, quickly getting set but thee was no time to spare for setting up driving lights and we only got a quick look at the tyre pressures. The stage was 15.77 km long but difficult, as the Academy cars were so far back on the rutted, muddy and foggy road. We made a small mistake, misjudging braking for a 4 left and dropped the front wheels into a gutter. We managed to get out but lost 57 seconds in the process. This took us back to 8th overall but there was still lots of racing to go.

Friday was a new day and lots of kilometres and racing to come. This wasn't quite the case, though, with the front left driveshaft on our Fiesta breaking just 1.6 km from the finish of SS4 on a hairpin right turn. I automatically knew what had happened and was instantly gutted as our best start to a rally had turned into a disaster and there was nothing we could do.

We had a few hours of spectating then but we were lucky to have very friendly officials with a warm car and chocolate to entertain us. We sat and watched the national field come through then we were to get a tow out. Our recovery vehicle was a contraption called a Unimog - an unbelievable piece of engineering. It was like a light truck cabin built onto a tractor chassis with incredible grip and versatility. Thanks to those guys for getting us out in the 20 minute gap as it would have been a very long, cold and dark wait in the forest if we had waited for the second pass.

Because of our retirement, we would once again have to use SupeRally this season meaning we would get the fastest time plus a five minute penalty which equated to eight stages worth of penalties. Saturday was to be our final day of competition as the WRC Academy always finishes a day early than the main event. There were six stages in total left, certainly a challenge ahead. The rally organisers seeded us second last on the road for the last heat which was ridiculous as we passed three cars in the first stage then had to move back behind them at each stage start. As well as this, the roads were getting really rough and the stoney surface was super slippery. We made it to the finish but it wasn't the result we wanted, but we got there.

On Saturday night we had a presentation night to thank everyone and say goodbye to all our new friends and competitors we have met over the year. We got some really nice gifts from Pirelli, M-Sport and North One, and Rhi and I gave some small gifts and a funny power point presentation Rhi made on all the drivers involving funny photos from their Facebook pages.

The travels weren't over for me, though, as I flew to Vienna for the FIA Young Drivers Excellence Academy shootout on Monday. Rhi drew the short straw and had to drive Bob the recce car back to Brussels via the Euro train and then fly home for her surgery this coming week.

I had a full week of competitions and challenges involving fitness, driving, interviews, psychology and team skills exercises at the FIA Institute. The week went so fast but it was action-packed, with 28 drivers from different regions around the world. You can find more info in my news section and see some action from the week. We had a Race of Champions shootout on Friday that was as much fun as competitiveness and I was able to make it to the top four. The top 18 was then announced and I was one of the lucky ones getting into the squad for 2012. My first appointment is in Scotland in just over two weeks' time so I'm really looking forward to getting back and learning as much as I can.

I've jammed a few very busy weeks into a few words but it really has been an amazing year and there is still lots to come in the future. Now it's heads down and work hard to secure the funds for the WRC Academy in 2012.

Don't forget to come along to my Supporters Club function in Bendigo on December 3 and help us celebrate our season and get ready for the next one.

Thanks so much to everyone that has supported, sponsored and encouraged us this year and made it all possible. As we say, bigger and better things to come and very exciting times ahead :-)

Cheers
Brendo