Julian Reynolds Neste Rally Finland report
Julian Reynolds had a nightmare time as he and co-driver Ieuan Thomas suffered an early retirement on the recent Neste Rally Finland, a round of the World Rally Championship. The Pembrokeshire pair were contesting the rally in their Minilite ...
Julian Reynolds had a nightmare time as he and co-driver Ieuan Thomas suffered an early retirement on the recent Neste Rally Finland, a round of the World Rally Championship.
The Pembrokeshire pair were contesting the rally in their Minilite Wheels and Reynolds Fencing backed Mitsubishi Lancer Evo4 as a reconnaissance for an attempt at the rally in 2002.
Unfortunately, their plans to get as much experience of the rally as possible came to an abrupt end of just Stage 2 of the event, as Julian explains:
"We caught Natalie Barratt's Mitsubishi in the stage, and when the opportunity came to squeeze past on the road, we took it, to avoid losing any more time. Even though we were barely 12 inches into the grass on one side, a rock was hiding in the roadside and we caught it. The impact was severe and it tore the front wheel completely off the car. Unfortunately for us, our rally was over on the spot as the car was unable to go any further. It was incredibly disappointing to put so much time and effort into doing the rally, only for it to end so quickly and in such a freak fashion."
Although the crew were distraught at having to watch from the sidelines for the duration of the rally, the experience gained from completing a full recce of the event before the start was a real bonus for the team, and will be important in their preparations for next year's rally.
An announcement of the team's plans for 2002 is due to be made shortly.
-JM
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