Young Manx rally driver Andy Leece and Oxfordshire co-driver Simon Lassm endured a difficult debut on the International Rally of Wales last weekend as they began their British Rally Championship campaign. The Autosport Technology crew began the event strongly before difficulties with the brakes on their Renault Clio Ragnotti rally car saw them drop time to their Formula 2000 category rivals. After finding a brake set up which suited Andy's driving style, the pair regained confidence in the car in the slippery Welsh forests and showed improved speed to finish third in class, picking up valuable championship points.
The International Rally of Wales started in Dolgellau, Gwynedd on Saturday with five stages taking place the in the forests to the south of the town. Three more forest stages south east of Machynlleth followed on Sunday morning before a ceremonial finish back in Dolgellau.
The opening 13.49 mile stage in Dyfi Forest was the first chance for 21-year old Leece to test the Renault Clio Ragnotti in true rally conditions and he immediately demonstrated his ability to adapt to the new car by setting second fastest time, just 7 seconds behind the experienced Swede Anders Fredricsson.
Despite his initial speed, Andy noted that he wanted to make some changes to increase the bias to the rear brakes at the first service halt, however there were 15.10 miles of the Gartheiniog stage to complete before any changes could be made. With a lot of bias on the front brakes, the Clio was locking the front wheels going into corners causing the car to understeer and this was to prove decisive at a sharp and slippery downhill left-hand corner, one and a half miles into the stage. There was nothing Andy could do to prevent the car ploughing straight on into a deep ditch.
With the help of dozens of spectators, the car was man-handled back onto the road with only minor cosmetic damage, however any chance of victory was gone, with over three and a half minutes lost. Further drama was to follow on the very next stage, Pantperthog. Exiting a fast-right hander, the wheels on the left of the Clio slid into a boggy culvert at around 70mph. The branches of overhanging trees covered the windscreen in mud and obscured the road causing the Clio to clip a clump of bushes damaging more bodywork and losing more time to their rivals.
With their confidence as dented as their car, Leece and Lassam limped through the fourth stage, a re-run of the opening 13.49 mile Dyfi test, before returning to Dolgellau when the final stage scheduled for the day was cancelled following an earlier accident.
After consulting with the team’s engineer, Richard Asquith, several changes were made to the Clio’s brakes in final service on Saturday. With three stages to run on Sunday, the only hope was for a smooth run to the finish.
The opening stage on Sunday was the longest of the rally – 18.53 miles in Hafren Forest, including the famous spectator arena at Sweetlamb. Conditions were slippery with mist making driving conditions even more difficult on certain parts of the stage. However, with the changes to the brake set up making the car handle much more to Andy’s liking and the pair set a much faster time than they’d managed the previous day. The final two stages also boosted their confidence with increasingly competitive times and they ended the rally 23rd overall and 3rd in class, scoring a valuable 16 points in the F2000 championship.
Andy was the only member of his family to complete the rally after his cousins Mark and David Higgins both retired from the event. Mark was leading the event overall in his Ford Focus World Rally Car before he retired on Saturday evening and David was lying second in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution when he went out on Sunday morning. The F2000 category was won by Andy & Simon’s team mates, Robbie Dale and Glenn Patterson in their Renault Clio Ragnotti.
Andy Leece
“What a weekend! It’s been a real learning curve from start to finish and I’ve been through almost every emotion imaginable. Apart from the first stage, we’ve been up against it all the way through the rally. If the event had finished on Saturday night we’d have gone away totally demoralised, but the changes we made to the brakes made a world of difference and the Sunday stages have really boosted my confidence again. The team have worked hard for us all weekend and deserve a big thank you. Whilst the car isn’t as pretty as it was at the start, I’m totally happy with the way it handled on Sunday and I’m really looking forward to challenging for the class win on the next event.”
Simon Lassam
“Andy has done well this weekend. We mustn’t forget that it was his first international rally and just getting to the finish is a credit to him. There was an awful lot to learn and a great deal of pressure, but he coped with it well. Whilst the result is not what we’d hoped for at the start, the important thing is that we’ve finished and have our first championship points on the board. A really big thank you to all of the lads who lifted us out of the ditch on SS2 – you never know how valuable their efforts might be to us at the end of the season.”
Leece’s next event will be the Pirelli International Rally which takes place in Carlisle on the 20th & 21st of April. Lassam will miss both that event and the subsequent Scottish Rally as he switches his attention to his own wedding and honeymoon. The pair are seeking sponsors and investors to help them fund the season. Any interested parties should visit the team web site for further details: .andyleece.co.uk
Andy Leece is supported by Kumho Tyres, Forest Experience Rally School, Mark Higgins Rallying, Extralube ZX1, N.A. Fargher Newsagent, The Isle Of Man Sports Aid Foundation, The Manx Motorsport Youth Trust (mmyt.co.im), Speedline Corse and Öhlins .
