Phoenix Stages - Manby (Metro) : Lookout Stages - Melbourne (Escort)

The last three weeks have been very busy for the Red Pig Rally Team... but unfortunately the outcome has been the same for both cars!

The Metro was due for it's first runout at The Jane Cowling Memorial Phoenix Stages at Manby on Easter Saturday. Preperation of the car was still taking place on Good Friday when it was finally loaded onto the trailer and taken to the venue where it eventually passed sound then flew through scrutineering. This is despite the fact that at some point the Hydragas Suspension on the front end of the car had given up the ghost on the left hand side...

Unfortunately by Saturday morning everything was not well. The engine was failing to fire with a weak battery being the problem and we when I tried to take the car out for a drive to get it warmed up it was pulling horribly to the left. We returned to the service area and jacked the car up and noticed that, when in gear, the left hand front wheel seemed to be catching. We lowered the car and Clive took it for a spin but only got 20 metres before he lost all gears. We spoke to some guys who were running a Mini and they had a quick look but they were as much at a loss as us. Rally over before we even got on stage.

This weekend saw the Escort take part in it's first event of the year at the Lookout Stages at Melbourne. The event started well for us, with the car running faultlessly on stages 1 and 2 (despite the co-driver having what he was assured was ManFlu, and not the plague). Stage 3 was going well but we were held up by a VW Polo at one point and after getting past it clipped a chicane but managed to avoid any serious damage.

Stage 4 started and we were immediately straight back on it and were flying, hoping to put in another good stage time before lunch, unfortunately when we were caught by a flying Pug 205 we went too hot into a chicane and side swiped the drivers side into it. We made it to the end of the stage without anymore excitement but the drivers door had taken a bit of a battering.

After lunch we again tried to hit the floor running but never really got back into it before the back end of the car stepped out at the split, Clive struggled and managed to just about bring it under control when we were t-boned by a Pug 106. They had seen us lose control and taken action to avoid us but, as the back end pulled itself back into shape we had ended up on the side of the road they had taken and they had nowhere to go. We limped out of stage (at speed) and surveyed the damage but it wasn't a pretty sight! The co-drivers door was completely stoved in and the sill had also been pushed in, triggering the extinguisher in the process and bending the door bar. With no extinguisher and a door bar resembling a banana we were forced to call it a day.

Both cars are now in their respective garages and work will start other the next few weeks on getting them up and running again. For the Metro, the first job is to charge the battery and then remove the clutch to see if it is that which has broken. If not it will mean a full gearbox removal. For the Escort, we have already had one quote for the repairs and will look at getting the work done within the next few weeks.