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AB Motorsport Carlisle summary
Last Stage Heartbreak on Pirelli AB Motorsport driver Simon Moore and Co-Driver Huw Mathias had an eventful Pirelli Rally after setting some impressive times and running 6th overall only to be denied 205 Quaife PSOC Championship victory ½ ...
Published: May 17, 2006, 5:17 PM
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Last Stage Heartbreak on Pirelli
AB Motorsport driver Simon Moore and Co-Driver Huw Mathias had an eventful Pirelli Rally after setting some impressive times and running 6th overall only to be denied 205 Quaife PSOC Championship victory ½ mile from the end of the last stage with mechanical failure
The Pirelli Rally used 43 miles of the classic Killer Kielder stages with Start and Finish at Carlisle airport. The plan was to get used to the modified Peugeot 205 and gradually increase the pace. The high average speeds on the Pirelli rally would suit the extra power of the 205 however stability problems on the long straights lost the pair time throughout the day.
On stage one there were two 'moments' where the car stepped slightly off line onto the loose gravel and nearly came to an abrupt end so Simon backed off to get to the finish. The Proflex suspension was absorbing the bumps and crests very well and when the clock stopped surprisingly the time was a mere 3 seconds from the more modern fastest Ford Fiesta ST time which was encouraging.
With small adjustments to the suspension the straight-line stability was improved slightly but time was still being lost on the long straights due to backing off instead of being flat out, which was frustrating the Duo. With a short 10 minute service at halfway point a new set of tyres were fitted on the front and 3 stages remained before the finish in Carlisle. Things went well on stages 4 and 5 and before the last short spectator stage they were running 6th overall and comfortably leading the chasing Peugeot 205 crews behind. Disaster struck after a big jump into a hairpin left when the car lost drive due to a driveshaft failure, possibly from a hard landing and the pair could do nothing but pull over in front of the cameras and running commentary and think about what could have been.
"Obviously we are all disappointed not to get the result we deserved today but its very encouraging to know we can be running so well when the cars still not at 100% and were not driving flat out which is good news for the future as we improve" said Simon AB Motorsport team mate Chris Reid came home first 205.
With two non-finishers the pair must now finish every rally to have a chance of going for overall honours.
Co-Driver Huw Mathias now swaps seats and fly's out to contest the rally of Jordan in a Subaru Impressa next week before competing on the next Championship round which is the Mid Wales Stages on 24th June.
-ab
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