+ianh755 196 Posted September 20, 2011 (edited) Hi all, when I'm not on these forums I'm the cameraman/telemetry dude/tea-boy & chief tool fetcher for the Fox Rally Team, a new Team comprising of current and former RAF personnel based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. We've just completed our first ever Rally and I've done a little write-up with some videos (watch in Full Screen for 720p). We also have a website which is currently being worked on www.foxrallyteam.co.uk and a Youtube channel featuring all out videos so far. I'll update this thread as we go through the season. Crail 2th July 2011 This was to be Fox Rally Teams 1st competition rally. After spending years as a co-driver for various successful teams Phil Coulby, a Junior Technician at 12 Squadron RAF Lossiemouth, swapped seats to be a Driver in his own team for the 1st time, piloting an ex-works Skoda Felica. Co-driving duties fell to 1st timer Audrey Smith who had to overcome not only her fear of being a nervous passenger but also her nerves at being an untested Navigator with barely a few months practice behind her. Leaving doubts behind them the 1st and 2nd Stages passed quickly as both Phil and Audrey settled into the groove surprisingly quickly and, apart from a slight mishap with a tyre wall, everything was going better than expected. However on both the 3rd and 4th Stages punctures from Crails unforgiving airfield surface and a slipping clutch looked like spoiling what was turning out to be a fantastic drive from the new team. After a series of quick repairs by team mechanics Graham Taylor and Chris Tabbener Stages 5 and 6 were finished without further incident much to the relief of Phil and Audrey. When the Stage totals were finalised the team anxiously gathered with the other Teams swapping tales from the day. Out of a field of 55 starters the team not only finished 39th overall but amazed themselves with a 3rd place in Class which netted them their first Trophy. The Team would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Teams success a reality and hope that this continues on their next rally at Otterburn on the 29th July. If you're interested in becoming a Team Sponsor please E-Mail Phil Coulby on phil_coulby@hotmail.co.uk Thanks for Watching and remember "Wear the Fox Hat!" Youtube Video - Fox Rally Team at Crail 2nd July 2011 Edited September 20, 2011 by ianh755 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+ianh755 196 Posted September 20, 2011 (edited) Otterburn 29th July 2011 We went to Otterburn on the 29th July facing only 3 other cars in our class so we had hoped that as long as we finished we'd get some points. Now Otterburn is a very tough event on cars, of the 87 that started less than 50 managed to cross the finish line intact and sadly we weren't one of those. Basil (the car) had been "acting funny" the day before during scrutineering (randomly cutting out, lack of power etc) and seconds after pulling away from the 1st time control (not even getting to the start of Stage 1 200m further on) the engine quit and couldn't be restarted. After a very quick strip and rebuild of the virtually the entire engine including the fuel system, intake manifold and coil packs we couldn't cure the fault and had to pull out which was a huge disappointment for the team, especially when we discovered that only one managed to finish in our class. On getting back we knew the Air side was good which left Coilpacks/ECU and Fuel and after a chat with the previous owner we decided to check that the fuel pump wasn't sucking the tank liner which had happened before. On taking out the fuel pump it was immediately obvious that the pump had popped an internal seal as 75% of the fuel it should have been pumping was jetting out the top. Once that was replaced and the shakedown run's finished we discovered that the fuel pump in Basil must have been failing for awhile as Basil now seemed to be faster (confirmed with GPS figures) which was a pleasant surprise for a by now, very tired team. Basil will be back rallying on the 11th September when we go back to Otterburn where we hope to at least start the damn rally this time! If you're interested in becoming a Team Sponsor please E-Mail Phil Coulby on phil_coulby@hotmail.co.uk Thanks for Watching and remember "Wear the Fox Hat!" Otterburn 11th September 2011 After the disappointment of a DNF at their last visit to Otterburn the Fox Rally Team were determined to prove that their 3rd in Class finish at Crail wasn't a fluke. With Basil now back together after some fantastic work by Mechanic Graham Taylor, their hopes were high for a good finish at the Pirtek Lindisfarne Rally. While Graham and new Team Mechanic Stacey Reid setup the service area Driver Phil Coulby and Co-Driver Audrey Smith went over the pace notes one more time allowing Audrey, who'd never used pace notes before, one last chance to correct any misunderstandings. With the tension mounting Fox rally team shot out of the gates onto Stage 1 and straight into trouble as a slipping clutch threatened to make the teams Otterburn DNF jinx a reality. After some quick roadside fixing from Phil brought the clutch back to life, the next 3 Stages passed in a white, green and newly pink blur until an engine fault left the team running on only 3 cylinders halfway through Stage 4. Phil managed to nurse a badly backfiring Basil back to the Service Area for a 15 minute stop allowing mechanics Graham and Stacey to swap both the spark plugs and coil-pack but, despite their best efforts the fault couldn't be located in time for the start of Stage 5. Rather than quit the rally the Team were determined that this time they'd finish no matter what. With the car only running on 3 cylinders from Stages 5 to 8 the Team dropped to last place in their class but they still grimly hung in until the Lunch break after Stage 8. This 45 minute break allowed Graham and Stacey to strip the head down and discover that the exhaust valve on the No1 cylinder had lost it's securing nut and had stuck shut. With a new nut in place Basil was back to firing on all 4 again raising the moral of the whole team. Now Basil was back to his best the Team were ready to start fighting their way back up the leaderboard from last place. With both Phils driving and Audreys skills peaking at the right time they smashed their way through Stages 9 to 11 with some brilliant driving and posting some impressive Stage times. After crossing the finish line at the end of Stage 11 the team had a short but nervous wait while the results were finalised. They needn't have worried though as despite all the mechanical problems their pace through last 3 stages stages and the mis-fortune of other teams had seen them leap from 5th place to finish 3rd in class earning them yet another trophy and proving the result from their 1st rally hadn't been a fluke. The Team would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Teams success a reality and hope that this continues on their next rally at Otterburn on the 23rd October. If you're interested in becoming a Team Sponsor please E-Mail Phil Coulby on phil_coulby@hotmail.co.uk Thanks for Watching and remember "Wear the Fox Hat!" Youtube Video - Fox Rally Team - Otterburn 11th September 2011 Edited September 20, 2011 by ianh755 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
