MINI GIRLS RALLY TEAM – HISTORIC RALLY CAR REGISTER ‘OLD STAGER’ CHAMPIONSHIP & MINI SPORT CUP
DIXIES HISTORIC CHALLENGE 29th APRIL 2018
Well… What a Fantastic time we had!
It was a long journey to the Epynt Ranges in South Wales – 1126miles round trip door to door, but well worth every minute.
Our second rally of the Championship and myself & Heidi are very happy with the result, having started car 60, we finished 47th overall & 10th in Class in the main rally, 14th Mini home & 6th in Open Class in the Mini Sport Cup.
The weather was dry & windy, the Mini ran faultlessly and the Dixies ranges were fast, smooth tarmac, into very tight bends and interesting chicanes, which in a Mini are flat… Well almost! Combined with the support we got from fellow competitors and Marshals, which was truly fantastic, and from Mini Sport, Dave Thomas aka ‘Dad’, Heidi’s Husband – Chris Woodcock, Michael Anderson, and our newest edition to the team – mechanic Lewis Peel from Mini Sport, ‘Splash and Dash’ was all we needed in service!
My confidence started to grow as the day went on, with the guidance of my left hand woman Heidi, we decided to try numbered pace notes instead of descriptive notes, although this took a couple of stages to adjust to – ultimately they worked well and we will be sticking with them from now on. We made it to the finish with the car still in one piece, apart from a small crack on the wheel arch from not breathing in enough on a chicane! We enjoyed every second, even being held to ransom by the scrutineers for our Fruit Pastels at the beginning of each stage! It’s about the fun & creating memories, if you’re not having fun – or helping someone else to have fun, then what is the point!
I would like to thank firstly Heidi Woodcock, for doing such a great job on the notes and encouraging me all the way… Oh and fuelling me with Fruit Pastels! Our ‘Service Crew’ – Michael Anderson, Lewis Peel, Dave Thomas and Chris Woodcock. Finally, our sponsors Mini Sport Ltd, Alsop Transport Services, TSL Contractors, Skyhook Helicopters, Mini Cooper Register, Steve Douglas of Ingelas Islands, Den Motorsport, Tunnocks, Mike Mcveigh. Thank you all, we couldn’t do it without you!
If you would like to donate to our charity – Marie Curie UK, you can via our Just Giving page here or for anything from a £1 to £10 Text HRCR52 to 70070 and donate.
Mini Girls Rally Team are currently looking for sponsors to complete our Championship mission, and the overseas rally this year is in Belgium. If you would be happy to sponsor our team direct please get in touch via our email minigirlsrallyteam@btinternet.com or via Facebook message.
Bring on the next round – Abingdon CAR-nival 6 weeks to go!
Louise and Heidi – Mini Girls Rally Team.
Photo courtesy of Kev Haworth – Racing Ahead Media.
Blog courtesy of Louise Thomas.
All the action fromDixies Historic Challenge can be found on our blog here.
Full results from Dixies Historic Challenge can be found on the Forresters Car Club’s website here.
For more information on the Mini Sport Cup, please see our Facebook page here.
For more information on the ‘oldSTAGER’ please see the HRCR’s website here.
