Cruttenden got the break he didn't want

The Sunseeker International Rally

This weekend saw Newhey’s Joe Cruttenden compete in the first round of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Sunseeker International Rally.

Joe was co- driving for F1000 Junior Rally Champion Chris Ingram, aged 17, from Stockport in their Renault Twingo R2.

The pair are the youngest crew in this year’s championship, and are competing against some of the most experienced and talented rally crews from both the UK and Europe. Rallye Sunseeker is based in Bournemouth, and comprises 12 stages within the New Forest, a venue which is very tough on cars - as the crew was about to find out.

The rally weekend started on Friday night with a parade along Poole Harbour, allowing the spectators to get a close look at the cars and a chance to meet the crews and collect autographs.

“We were overwhelmed with the number of people there and the interest they showed in both us and the car,”said Joe, “As we drove on to the start ramp the people on the road side were at least four deep and giving us a big cheer, it was mind blowing.”

The rally officially started on Saturday morning, with 3 stages to the south west of Bournemouth, around Wareham. Seeded 26th, the crew left Bournemouth knowing that it would be a tough day, with many of the stages being no longer than 5 miles: “We were more than happy with the first stage and set a good time, beating the other Twingo R2 by 10 seconds,” said Joe. “But on the second stage we were struggling to get the car to turn in, meaning we were losing time exiting the slow corners. However on stage three we were back on the attack and we reached service in 17th place overall, only thirteen seconds behind two-time British champion, Keith Cronin.”

Service saw some slight adjustment to the suspension by the Renault engineers, before the crew tackled stage four and where they had climbed up to 15th overall, within 9 seconds of Cronin, but later in the stage would see them come to a grinding halt.

“We snapped a driveshaft one mile in to the stage, and unfortunately had no way of fixing it” said Cruttenden, “and then to top it all a passing competitor’s car flipped up a rock which smashed the Twingo’s rear window.”

Despite the retirement, the pair were happy with their stage times and the fact they were starting to climb the leader board.

“I would like to thank my sponsor, Graham Coffey Solicitors, and with their support and with the new Evo pack we get from Renault for the next round we will be looking to have a good result,” concluded Joe.