Manx return proves troublesome for Brown

Steve Brown

Rochdale based rally driver Steve Brown made his first trip to the Isle of Man's Manx National Rally in almost seven years last weekend (12-13 May), but endured a troublesome return during the tough two-day event.

Brown and co-driver Arwel Jenkins would lie just six seconds away from a category podium during the opening stages of the event in their Nissan Micra Kit Car, before a series of misfortune sent them tumbling down the leaderboard. Thanks to the efforts of the service crew and generosity of a fellow competitor, the pairing were able to continue and salvage a much needed finish.

Despite the lack of seat time in recent months, Brown elected to contest the popular Manx Rally which offered over 130 competitive stage miles spread across two days.

A pivitol Friday night leg, under the cover of darkness plus a daunting full day on Saturday would mean this would be one of the longest stage rallies in the UK and Brown was relishing the challenge ahead.

A pre-event shakedown offered the chance to reacclimatise to the Nissan and settle into a comfortable pace. The opening two stages proper of the event, saw Brown lie just outside of the podium positions as he got used to the bumpy and fast nature of the islands' closed roads.

But drama struck on the third test when the car filled with smoke, caused by a burst power steering pipe in the engine bay. After stopping to check it was nothing more sinister, Brown continued but misfortune struck once again on the very next test when the oil cooler cracked during the stage.

Thanks to the generosity of class leader Mark Constantine, Brown was able to borrow a spare unit and once rectified in service, could continue in the rally, albeit with over 10 minutes lost as a result.

The following day was a stark contrast and thankfully went by without a hitch. Sadly with all the time loss, Brown elected to consolidate his position and enjoy the stages rather than risk the car further, salvaging sixth spot in Class A at the finish.

"It was a real shame that we had those issues early on in the rally but on a positive note, I`m really pleased we could get those fixed and make it to the end of such a tough event" said Brown.

"My thanks must go to Mark [Constantine] for the loan of the cooler; we certainly would have been heading home early if it wasn't for him. In a way it was nice to be able to relax over the rest of the rally and just enjoy the stages without any pressure, but it would have been nice to be fighting towards the sharp end of the class. That's how it goes sometimes but nevertheless, it was great to be back rallying in the UK again. I hope it's not so long until the next time."

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, 710 Oils, PIAA, Questmead, Mintex, Brake Prep, and Magnum Motorsport.