Photo Gallery and Event Reports: 2002 season
29 December, 2002
Christmas Stages at Croft
Cambridge rally driver Simon Wallis and guest co-driver Rebecca Atkinson
worked off their yuletide excesses by competing in the Christmas Stages,
at Croft racing circuit.
"We were trying to pass a slower car on the first stage" said Wallis.
"I made a mistake by braking too late and was punished by slamming into
the armco barrier. That's the fourth front bumper I've destroyed this
season!". The damage to the Astra was superficial and the crew were able to
continue.
The one day event was split into 7 stages totalling 35 competitive
miles. Rain fell heavily for most of the afternoon, and Wallis made a
poor tyre choice, reporting four 360 degree spins within the space of a
mile. As darkness fell, he recovered somewhat to finish a respectable
44th overall out of 80 cars.
26-27 October, 2002
Class win for Wallis on Tempest
Tarmac rallying specialists Simon Wallis and co-driver Stuart "Slim" Leach ventured
into the forests around Aldershot to take a class win in this weekend's Michelin
Tempest South of England Stages.
After clinching this year's "Best Overseas Crew" award in the Irish Rally Championship
earlier this month, Cambridge-based Simon and Guildford man Stuart had high hopes for
their home rally. The two day event was split into 16 stages totalling 65 competitive
miles.
"Despite the roughness of some of the forest stages, our Vauxhall Astra GSi stood up
well." said Wallis. "We only suffered one puncture, and lost a little time with a broken
driveshaft, which the service crew replaced in under ten minutes".
By late Sunday afternoon, only 34 from the original 60-car field remained. Wallis, too,
had a few brushes with the scenery and emerged from the final stage minus both wing mirrors.
"1st position in the two-litre class was our aim this weekend, and we're delighted to have
achieved our goal" said co-driver Leach. "It is fortunate that the car needs no urgent
work, as the roof was blown off the team's workshop in Cambridge in the weekend's storms".
Photo courtesy of Tony Large Photographic
9th September, 2002
Toshiba Irish Tarmac Championship competitor
Simon Wallis claimed a hard earned 3rd in Class N3 on the
Stena Ulster Rally, and
claimed the award for Best Overseas Crew in the Irish series in
the process.
Partnered by Guildford's Stuart Leach, Cambridge
based Wallis endured a difficult rally, with a number of problems along the way
as he continued his battle for the Class N3 title this year.
Day One started brightly, but a broken engine
mount cost the team valuable time in their Vauxhall Astra GSi, as they continued
to attack the difficult stages as best they could. Problems on the second
day of the rally were more serious, as a total brake failure caused a number of
high speed moments, and the driver suffering from severe toothache did not help.
Despite having to use a bank to slow the Astra
down, which removed the front bumper (for the third consecutive rally), Wallis
was able to nurse the near brake free car back to the finish in Belfast to
claim a hard earned 39th overall after a troubled rally, and 3rd in class
N3.
"What a rally! Aside from
our problems, some of the stages were incredibly treacherous and the mud on the
road made for some very interesting moments running near the back of the
field. Apart from the trouble we had with the car, and the very early morning
start, we thoroughly enjoyed the event. The roller-coaster Torrs Head stage in
particular was a fantastic thrash in the rain and the dark!"
In addition to lifting the Best Overseas Crew award,
Wallis and Leach have finished their Toshiba Irish Tarmac Championship season as
runners up in class N3 for Production Cars 1600cc-2000cc, behind the powerful
Honda Integra of Alan McMahon/Benny Grainger.
They have also taken 3rd place in class N3 in the Pirelli British Rally Championship,
despite only entering the tarmac rounds.
Photo courtesy of Tony Large Photographic
5th August 2002
It was all smiles for Cambridge driver
Simon Wallis and co-driver Stuart Leach, as
they brought their Vauxhall Astra GSi home to score maximum Toshiba
Irish Tarmac Championship points on the Manx International
Rally this weekend.
Photo courtesy of Martin Pashen
After a disappointing start to their Irish
Tarmac campaign, the pair were delighted to scoop a bumper points haul on the
recent Jim Clark Memorial Rally, elevating them to joint second
in the Class N3 Championship. Another maximum points haul on the Manx
would give them the joint lead in the series, and at the start in Douglas,
Wallis was keen to get off to a good start.
After getting used to the unusual Isle of
Man climate where fog, rain and then sunshine can all appear within the space of
a mile, Wallis was surprised to pass series rival McMahon in the eighth stage of
the event as he was stuck fast in a ditch. With this in mind, Wallis knew
he only had to make the finish to become joint championship leader.
During the two spectator stages on the seafront
in Ramsey, Wallis made a mistake that nearly proved to be
crucial in this respect. The Astra slid wide on the wet tarmac and into a
stout kerb that bent the steering and suspension. After limping through
the next two stages, the mechanics were able to straighten the front end
sufficiently to enable Wallis to continue, albeit at a much reduced
pace.
With no more drama's on the final day as they
literally cruised home to the rally finish, a delighted Wallis was bubbling with
enthusiasm ahead of next month's Ulster Rally in Belfast:
"I'd never been to the Isle of Man
before, but I'm looking forward to returning already! The stages were
excellent, and with the very changeable weather, it really was an exciting
challenge. We were lucky to get away with the incident in Ramsey, but we
have not enjoyed the best of fortune at times this year so I think we were owed
a bit of luck! It was a little disappointing to have to go at a reduced
pace for the final day as the stages were superb, but the important thing was to
be there at the end as we knew we were getting maximum points.
The Ulster Rally should be quite a
challenge as well. I expect more registered drivers to appear in Class N3
so it should be a tough battle. We are now equal 1st on 30 points and I'll
be doing my utmost to try and get another maximum points haul on the
event. With 3 rallies left now, we are in a strong position so the key
thing is to keep the car on the road and get as many points as we can. It
should be quite a rally!".
Wallis and Leach have also moved up to second in
class N3 of the Pirelli British Rally Championship after
finishing a fine 28th overall on the Manx, and are now 14 points behind class
leader Marco Veroni in his Renault Clio.
13th July 2002
Simon Wallis
claimed maximum Toshiba Irish Tarmac Championship
points on this weekend's Jim Clark Memorial Rally,
as he and co-driver Stuart Leach were the first
registered finishers in Class N3 for the
series. The result moves them into 2nd in class for the Irish
Tarmac Championship.
Tied in with the Pirelli British
Rally Championship regulars, Cambridge based Wallis enjoyed a
largely trouble free run in his Vauxhall Astra GSi,
despite losing the front bumper for a couple of stages after it
decided to part company with the car.
The demanding closed road stages of
the country lanes in Berwickshire were a stern test for all the
crews, not least Wallis and Leach who had to contend with constantly
changing weather conditions during the rally. Tyre choice was
difficult due to the weather going from heavy rain to bright
sunshine in a moment.
Despite the difficult conditions and
the delays on stages due to accidents further up the field, Wallis
held it all together to claim maximum Irish Tarmac Championship
points in his class, and was delighted with the result:
"After the previous
retirements and the cancellation of Donegal, this was a welcome
relief. I'm delighted to have taken the maximum points score
on this event, as we now move into 2nd in class in the championship
for N3 cars. The car performed well throughout the rally, and
we had no problems to speak of. Apart from the delays we
experienced, the stages themselves were superb and were great fun to
drive on.
Next event for us will
be the Manx International Rally, which I am really looking forward
to. I hope that I can get another good points score on that
one as that will be a major boost towards our title aspirations this
year. I'm sure that we can take the fight to our rivals now and it
should make for an interesting contest."
The Manx Rally is
held on the closed roads of the Isle of Man and is a classic event
in the UK rally calendar. With a strong entry expected
from Ireland and the Irish Tarmac Championship regulars, Wallis
knows that he will have a good fight in his hands to try and get
another maximum points haul on August 1-3 in Douglas.
Photo Courtesy of
BritishRally.co.uk - Grant Ritchie.
4th-5th May 2002: Killarney Rally of the Lakes. Did not finish.
Photo by Robert O'Mahony
Simon Wallis and co-driver Stuart Leach were hoping for a change of fortune
on last weekend's Rally of the Lakes in Killarney, but luck was not on their
side as for the second rally in a row, they were forced to retire on the
second day of an event.
Contesting the Toshiba Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, Wallis, who has
rallied in the FIA Asia Pacific Championship before, was confident of a
good result on the famous Killarney based event, having competed there
twice before and been successful in both attempts.
Early on the second leg, a faulty petrol gauge led to the embarrassment
of running out of fuel. Fortunately a friendly competitor came to the
rescue and towed them until assistance was found.
Unfortunately for the Cambridge based driver, disaster struck early on the
second day of the event just as it had done on the recent Circuit of
Ireland Rally, but this time a stone had lodged between the engine and
the sump guard, which resulted in a holed sump and the loss of all the engine oil.
Without wishing to damage the engine further, Wallis decided to switch
the Vauxhall Astra's 2 litre, 16 valve engine off before any further
damage was done to it. With another very unfortunate retirement,
Wallis was dejected but no less determined after the latest setback in
his championship aspirations:
"We were hampered on day one when an electrical connection in the intercom
failed. And we lost time overtaking slower cars - on these narrow
roads there is nowhere for the guys ahead to let you past.
I'm not
sure how the stone managed to get between the protection and the bottom of
the engine, but it was there long enough to cause enough damage to make a
small hole, from where all the engine oil drained out in the middle of the stage.
Its incredibly disappointing, as we'd taken the first day steadily
and were 4th in class at the beginning of the second day. The action plan
was to push as hard as possible to try and secure maximum championship points,
but a small Irish stone had other ideas! However, we will not be giving up
that easily, so its full speed ahead for the next round of the series, the
Donegal International Rally."
On June 15th, the Donegal Rally is one of the most famous of all Irish events.
A massively popular event with teams and fans alike, Wallis and Leach know
that they must finish the event well to keep their class N3 championship dreams
alive. Wallis won't have any time to appreciate the stunning scenery around
Donegal as the bright red Astra will be flying as they bid to get their points
tally going for 2002.
30th March - 01 April 2002: Circuit of Ireland. Did not finish.
Photo by
Colin Courtney.
Our weekend's rally programme began inauspiciously when a tyre blew out
on the trailer carrying the rally car, causing us to miss our ferry.
We start the event in fine style, leading the 2-litre production car
class by 24 seconds after the 18 mile loop around the first three stages.
But a very heavy landing from a jump broke two engine mounts.
We backed off a little, and made a poor tyre choice for the rain
which arrived towards the end of the day, leading to a couple of
spins.
Finishing the first day of the rally 4th in class,
we were looking to continue up the leaderboard on day two, but
were caught out on a deceptive piece of road on the first stage of
Sunday morning.
We approached a square left hand bend, and lost control of the car
under braking due to the amount of mud and stones in the road. We
were unable to prevent the car from sliding into a dry stone wall
and the car hit the wall head on.
The cooling system was smashed at the front of the car, along with
some bodywork damage. We managed to get the car to the end of the
stage, but the temperature had gone off the clock so we had to stop
there to avoid destroying the engine completely.
This incident proved the old rally drivers' tale that fitting an
in-car video camera always caused the driver to crash!
