Tri-Service
Forces Team Gives It Some Welly On Rally Tour
There was engine failure drama even before the starting line for the forces team. Then, half of the team didn't even finish the race.
Sergeant John Hickinbottom said:
"It's been interesting. It's been very slippery - the ditches at the side of the road are very deep and very sticky."
Sadly for John, a gearbox failure would force him out of the rally - one of three from an original six that didn't finish.
The big ditches and tight corners of "Killer Kielder" can end a drivers dreams in seconds.
Overnight rain had added to the difficulty - Blair Thomson got a corner wrong and slipped off.
Luckilly he was on the road again soon thanks to the marshals.
On the final stage of day one Chris McCarthy suffered an electical problem but it was fixed overnight and he would go on to finish.
Clive Alford had a brilliant first day, giving him a narrow class lead.
It soon became a two-horse race between Alford and Thomson going into the 16-mile last stage - one of the toughest in British rallying.
And the rest, as they say, is history... Just click above to find out what happened next.
Next up for the Armed Forces Rally Team is the double header of the Scottish rally and Goodwood Festival of speed at the end of the month.
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