Cruttenden off to a winning start

The 2010 rally season got off to a winning start last weekend for 19-year-old rally co-driver, Joe Cruttenden, from Newhey. Joe and his driver, Matt Griffin were defending their 2009 Rally First championship in their reliable VW Lupo, on the first round of the BTRDA Rally Championship, The Wyedean Rally based in the Forest of Dean.

Seeded as the first 'Rally First' crew, they set the pace for the rest, pulling out a 30 second lead over the first four stages, before heading back to the service halt on the Chepstow race course.

"I have done this event twice before and it’s the first time it hasn’t been covered in a thick blanket of snow"’ said Cruttenden. "We went into the first stages with the words of our team manager ringing in our ears, which must have made an impression on Matt, as he drove quicker but a lot smoother than he did last year", Cruttenden added.

After the service halt the crew went into the next two stages, where they caught and passed another competitor: "We came up behind an MG ZR which meant we had gained 2 minutes on a competitor in a more powerful car than ours. He very kindly pulled over and let us by", Cruttenden explained.

Stage 6 saw them over-shoot a junction, so at this point the pair decided to consolidate their lead of over one and a half minutes to their nearest championship rival, and ease off the pace on the last stage.

As well as winning top honours in the Rally First Championship, Cruttenden also won the young co-driver award, an award donated in memory of British World Rally co-driver Michael ‘Beef’ Parks who was tragically killed on the Rally GB in 2005. "This award means more to me than any other I have won to date: Michael was my hero and I feel honoured to have collected an award with his name on it."

Cruttenden’s rallying calendar continues to look busy over the next month, with his first outing in the Scottish Rally Championship on 20 March, plus an outing on the Roskirk Rally in Wigan and a possible outing in the Lake District on the Malcolm Wilson Stages, finances permitting.

Anyone interested in supporting Joe should contact him on:

joecruttenden@hotmail.com