Jersey-born driver Ed Fossey continued his run of podium success after a stunning display on the Paperclix Jersey Rally (14/15 October). The 18-year-old performed a mature drive through the asphalt lanes of Jersey to take second in the highly competitive Class A and a giant-killing 15th overall in his Yokohama-backed Toyota Yaris.The Next Big Step driver just two weeks ago tackled his first gravel event in the potent Toyota, claiming a hard earned third in class on the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire. Fossey was eyeing a strong result on home-soil with another podium his objective at the end of the gruelling two-day Tarmac test. Sat alongside Ed was two-time winner of the Jersey Rally, Sion Humphries. The vastly experienced Welshman navigated for Ed on his first ever rally in the Junior 1000 series back in 2014 and the pair gelled instantly as the 120-mile event got underway.Dry conditions greeted Ed on the opening day, enabling the teenager to regain the feel for the smooth Jersey lanes after back-to-back gravel events in the UK. Starting at car 45 on the road, Fossey held his own against more powerful cars around him through the opening seven stages through the Brabant and St Martin tests making his way to 39th in the order and third in class at the dinner time service halt.As the night descended, and with confidence growing, Fossey produced some moonlight magic to work his way up the order in his Japanese machine. With lamp pods on, Ed excelled on the night stages, threading his nimble 1400cc machine through the daunting narrow lanes leaping up the order after the Rossignol and Hetre loop of stages – staking his claim to 28th overall at the overnight halt.The second and final day of the rally would see Fossey get into his stride, showing his speed on the Platon and Sorel stages. Overnight rain and autumnal leaves falling on the roads created a slippery surface for all of the competitors. The former Victoria College student had the top twenty in sight and used all of his loose-surface experience to good effect to claw his way up the leader board on the greasy stages. By stage 24 Fossey had nestled himself into the top 20. Torrential rain early afternoon added to the drama, making tyre choice for the final few stages a problematic affair. An inspired tyre choice and a fully committed Fossey at the wheel was up to 16th just three stages later before inching up the order further on the penultimate stage to claim 15th overall and importantly second in Class A for cars under 1400cc.The Toyota driver also crossed the finish line at the Ceremonial Finish as the third front-wheel-drive car home, another incredible feature for the youngest driver on the 2016 event.

“It was a real tough event, one of the toughest rallies I have done so the finish was always the number one priority.” Explained Fossey. “The car was perfect, very stable and gave me great confidence to put my plan into action and the car felt like it wanted me to press on!“We struggled to begin with but by the night stages on the first day, everything clicked and I dialled myself in for an overnight push. We were up there on the class times against Julian [Wilkes] and Stuart [Thompson], which was really encouraging to see. I am really, really happy to take a top 15 and second in class, I could not have imagined achieving that result with the calibre of drivers on the entry list.“It’s great to get three podiums in a row. I think next year and for events to come we can be looking higher up the leaderboard without question. I cannot wait for the next event.”