Galloway Hills (Scotland) Rally 5th December 2010 – Perfect Preparation For The Prestigious Monte Carlo Rally 2011!
More awards for ProSpeed Daily Mirror Rally Team despite weather blight to programme.
Byron Young and Tony Jardine first in class at but vital Grizedale Lakeland rally lost to weather.
On Sunday 5 December, the Daily Mirror ProSpeed Team slid across the treacherous hills of Galloway, that surround Castle Douglas in Scotland, to claim a credible first in Class 2 and 17th place overall out of 63 starters. However, the team were due to make it a double-header of rallies at the weekend, until the organisers of the Grizedale Stages, which was due to take place around Lake Coniston on 3 and 4 December, were forced to cancel the event as conditions proved too dangerous.
Motorsports expert and TV pundit Tony Jardine has teamed up with Daily Mirror sports journalist Byron Young to tackle the Monte Carlo Rally in January 2011. Co-driver Young desperately needed to finish both events to gain upgrade signatures to take his licence to international status. The team is now frantically searching for another rally to enter before January 10th to make up the shortfall in qualifying signatures.
Rally driver Tony Jardine explained, “We drove through freezing fog, snow and ice to just get to the Armstrong Galloway Hills rally in Dumfriesshire. It very nearly didn’t happen as we waited for an hour to start the first stage when the course car couldn’t even make it past junction 5 due to thick ice and snow!
“Once we got going we faced dazzling sun in the minus 8 temperatures, whilst the forest floor was thick ice covered in a layer of snow and the car just took its own course, at times you felt totally out of control. Many crashed but we paced ourselves as Byron did a great job calling the hazards on the pace notes while I sped up when conditions allowed. Thank you to Olly Marshall and his York-based ProSpeed Team for a great car and to Kumho, as usual, for all their support with great tyres.”
Byron Young commented, “It was freezing cold. Unlike the Yorkshire forests last week where we faced the more consistent conditions of deep snow, the Galloway Hills Rally was a really tense affair. We were expecting to crash at any moment and two stages in particular were just like the Cresta Run. We worked together communicating as many hazards as possible, me through our route notes and Tony visually, but our measured performance paid off with another great silverware finish.
“Honestly, you could not have had better training for the Monte Carlo Rally than what we have been through over the last two arctic weekends. I just hope we can now find a solution to our signature shortage for my vital international licence upgrade. It would be harsh not to make the world’s most famous rally when we have worked so hard for it.”
The Daily Mirror ProSpeed team must now consult with the MSA, governing body of the sport in the UK and the national motorsports calendar to find an event to allow Byron Young to attempt his final qualification for the jewel-in-the-crown Monte Carlo Rally in January 2011.
