MG Team Spirit take on Rally of Midlands

15 May 2003

This coming weekend sees MG Team Spirit competing in the first ever Rally of the Midlands with Rob Stone at the wheel of his MG ZR rally car.
Driver Rob Stone will be aiming to win the class N3 section of the event in an MG ZR that was recently debuted on the Tour of Cornwall rally. Unfortunately initial problems with the suspension blighted what would have been an excellent first run so to that end, the team decided a local shakedown event would be beneficial prior to their next significant rally on the calendar. The shakedown took place last weekend on the Cambridge Stages rally based at the now defunct Oakington MOD airfield.

It has been a while since Rob competed on such an event that takes a very different format to the teams usual national & international rallies. The cars all compete in classes that are dictated by engine capacity alone so it's a case of anything goes, plus the stages are described by very basic maps rather then the pacenote system. The Group N ZR has very few tweaks over & above a standard road car and accordingly was going to be working very hard to match the competition.
Robs' experience paid dividends from the start when he was clearly matching the faster cars before the other crews became familiar with the layout of the airfield roads. With the rally using 2 laps of the airfield per stage it meant that there would be cars actually ending up head-to-head rather than the pure against the clock system and this proved to be very annoying for the Team Spirit crew. The faster Escort Cosworths & Metro 6R4's were coming past in a straight line before becoming mobile chicanes for the agile MG when they reached a more twisty section of road.

On numerous occasions Rob was forced to take avoiding action to prevent collisions. At the halfway lunch halt the car was lying in second place but the hot weather and abrasive tarmac was taking its toll on the tyres, the team having run out of the hardest compound rubber already. Knowing the event was just a shakedown the team had to take the decision to drive with greater restraint throughout the afternoon and save the tyres for more important rallies. At the end of the rally the ZR finished a contented 4th in class and 8th overall.
This coming weekend's Rally of the Midlands takes place in and around Nuneaton in Warwickshire. Many crews will be there from the Pirelli British Championship where Rob was so successful in 2002 so the team will be aiming for a strong performance. This is an initiative supported by the local government with the target of bringing rallying to the people of the Midlands, an area where many of the of worlds top motorsport teams emanate from plus of course the base for MG Rover Group the UK's sole remaining major motor manufacturer. Rally of Midlands spectator information

Scrutineering
Friday 16 May evening and Saturday 17 May morning, at Trinity Motors, Hinckley. Spectators welcome.

Spectator Stage Details (First car times in all cases )
Saturday 17 May
09.30 Official Start in Hinckley Town Centre - Regent Street, Hinckley.
10.59 Merevale Estate near Atherstone - Open spectator stage
11.38 Service at Polesworth
13.44 Service in Atherstone Town Centre
14.00 Merevale Estate near Atherstone - 2 Open spectator stages
14.48 Service at Polesworth
17.17 First car back in Hinckley Town Centre

Sunday 18 May
09.00 First car leaves Nuneaton Town Centre - Town Hall, Coton Road
09.18 Bramcote Barracks near Nuneaton - Open spectator stages
09.54 Arbury Hall Estate, Nuneaton - Open spectator stages
10.36 Service in Nuneaton Town Centre
11.58 Bramcote Barracks near Nuneaton - Open spectator stages
12.59 Arbury Hall Estate, Nuneaton - Open spectator stages
14.00 Final holding

Total competitive miles 71
All tarmac event.
Spectator charges of £5.00 per car including passengers apply at all public stages

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