Praying Mantis…Premier Rally 2014

Last weekend Charlie & Oli Smith went to battle on the Premier Rally in their ’75 Manta. Paddock42 caught up with Oli after the event and here is what they had to say…

“It was a real adventure as it was my first event navigating in eleven years and the first time that Charlie has sat in a rally car since 2005 and because of this we were seeded pretty low down and the WRC cars on the event (knife to a gun fight?!) ploughed up the road horrifically.

The car was totally untested and the first time Charlie drove the car any distance was to the M.O.T station the week before. After we unloaded the car on the morning of the rally he told me that he was ‘just going to whizz up the road to see if we have a top gear as I’ve never tried it!’. Prepared…..

The car was mechanically excellent but it was electrical gremlins which plagued us on the day. No heater, no wipers but plenty of lots of Rain-X got us through. A gentle excursion on the first stage earned us a cracked splitter and a reality check but we recovered to find a rhythm on the following stages. With two stages to be run in the dark and the alternator light coming on after hitting a lake-sized puddle at speed, we were sceptical of the battery’s ability to run the lights. Anyway, long story short, after hitting a very large bump (one of many) the alternator chimed back in and we were back in business.

Our spots lit the way home and we came in 25th out of 56 starters. The car will now be re-wired over winter and we’re going to be out on the Severn Valley Stages in May 2015.”

Paddock42 will bring you news of how they get on next season.