2017 MRF Tyres Boddington Rally

Round 3 WA Rally Championship

On the June long weekend we headed to the mining town of Boddington for the MRF Tyres Boddington Rally. For round 3 of the championship, we took a five car team.

There had been no rain on the lead up and even with the cool winter temps there was plenty of dust. Using three stages run twice, the rally was very compact with 90km of competition. When the guys started they soon found the gravel very loose and slippery. The stages were also technical with many twists and turns.

Hot Celica

Mark & Damon arrived in the service park well before their due time. The Celica was running hot at the end of SS1 and Mark didn’t want to risk the engine. We quickly discovered a faulty relay on the cooling fans. The issue was sorted however the pair couldn’t re-start until service out. They were given derived times for SS2 & SS3.

Service Time

WRX

When the rest of our state guys arrived for service, everyone had a war story. Brad & Jon (WRX) had clipped a stump with the front left. Suspecting suspension damage they stopped in the stage for a look. As it transpired the damage was no more than superficial.  They dropped a couple of minutes before they could get going again.

Sil80

Geoff and Paul had turbo and brake issues in their Sil80. A boost pipe blew off dropping them power and the rear brakes were binding after using the handbrake. They had also clipped something hard on the outside of a corner and bent the left steering arm. All issues were rectified within the allotted time and they started the next leg without penalty.

Fiesta

Ben and Chris were looking for their good run to continue after the Forest Rally. The slippery conditions were not at all to Ben’s liking and he struggled in the first leg. The Fiesta had spun more than once on each stage. The car was fine and it meant some adjustment to Ben’s driving style to suit the conditions.

Clubman Cup

The Clubman cup competitors started midway through the Boddington Rally. Lance and Jace were back with a repaired Silvia and ready to have a go in the Clubman. Scoring no points at the Forest Rally meant it was imperative they did well on this event. Working to evolve his driving style, Lance had a new plan to shave more time off.  We were eager to see how the stage times stacked up.

Trouble a brewing

With only a single service for state and none for Clubman, we packed up once all the cars had left the service park. Just as the last few bits and pieces were being loaded onto the truck, the phone rang. Lance and Jace had blown the gearbox in SS6. We had just organised to recover them and the phone rang again. Geoff and Paul had electrical issues. The Sil80 had stopped at the flying finish of SS4.

Lance and Jace were loaded onto the trailer and headed back to service, their rally done. It took longer to recover the Sil80. Brendan Quartermaine/Ashley Burton rolled their Nissan Sunny in SS4. With emergency services on site, we waited at the end of the stage until it was cleared. Geoff and Paul’s electrical problem was caused by an exhaust leak near the turbo which melted some of the wiring loom.

Making the finish

By the end of the MRF Tyres Boddington Rally three of our team had made the finish line. Ben and Chris found their rythmn during leg two and finished 16th. Brad and Jon finished 17th and with some derived times, Mark and Damon finished 20th.

At the pointy end of the field, Mick Steele/Tracey Dehurst took their ex works WRX STi to third place. Nic Box/Todd Payne drove hard and placed second in their Lancer Evo 9. Dean Herridge/Jimmy Marquet were a late entry. Dean hadn’t competed in a gravel rally for four years and he came out with a comfortable win.

The next round of the championship takes us to Collie in early July for the Experts Cup Rally.

Leave A Response

* Denotes Required Field