Apologies again for the delay in posting a blog update.
I was reminded to do it the day I returned from the Isle of Man, but then forgot about it. Things have been hectic both at work and in the rally world with having to prepare for the shootout in Finland this week.
A week before the Isle of Man I would gladly have settled for second place. However,as the team sat down after the event for a meal there was a strong sense of disappointment noticeable, as we all knew that we had enough speed to win the event. That would have been some achievement, to beat Mark in his own backyard and yet we came so close.

Mark led after the first stage, but I was happy enough with our own time for the stage less than 6sec down, as I knew that I was a little nervous on the stage and I was confident that I could do better on the next one.
Sure enough we just took the lead on the second stage and on the third one Mark had a spin and suddenly we were leading by 17.5 seconds.
On the fourth stage I overcooked a junction slightly and the rear wheel filled with muck. This caused serious vibration in the car for a while and we had to back off slightly but we only dropped 4 seconds to Mark. Then on the 5th stage, Cringle, the rear diff cried enough, probably because of the vibration. We had to complete most of the stage with front wheel drive only and were 1m6s slower than Mark, which meant that he was now leading by over 52 seconds.
Luckily we had service next and Colm and the TTEC lads changed the diff in 12 minutes. I didn’t push as hard through the next couple of stages as victory now seemed impossible and we traded fastest times with Mark but there was never too much between us.
As we returned to Parc Ferme after the final service we heard that Mark’s clutch had failed and there would not be enough time to change it in the morning before the first loop.
This gave us a glimmer of hope and I knew I would be more focussed in the morning. We trailed by 1m2.4s.
For the first loop in the morning we knew that Mark would have to start the car in gear on the start line. Although this would cost him a few seconds every stage, once moving it is possible to change gear easily and he should not drop too much time. With just 8 stages left we had to make the most of it. On the first 2 stages of the loop we gained 12 seconds but then on the next one we pulled back 31s, as Mark got stuck at a hairpin and had to be pushed out by CRONIN MOTORSPORT SUPPORTERS CLUB members who were at the corner spectating. On the last one before service we took another 14s so that as we entered the final stage we trailed by less than 5s.
Mark’s service crew changed his clutch in 21mins and as it was only a 20min service he incurred a 10 second penalty leaving service, which handed us a 5.6sec lead.
Mark re-took the lead on the following stage, which was very long and the Evo suffered from a bit of brake fade. Cringle was next and disaster struck again when we got a puncture and were 1m33.4s slower than Mark, having had to drive most of the stage with the front left wheel flat.
Although fastest on the last two stages again we were never going to win unless Mark had a problem. So, we were second, but disappointed, as we had victory within our grasp. On the bright side we were faster on Mark on exactly half the stages and that’s not bad for our first time on the event.
I also want to commend the lads who pushed Mark off the ditch, as I hope his supporters would do the same for me.
Before this will be posted by the website I expect to be in Finland for the Pirelli Shootout. After much debate it was decided to hire a car locally rather than bring my own, as it is the cheaper option. Bringing my own car would mean having to rebuild certain parts again before Ulster. The car would also need to be converted to gravel spec and then back again. It would also spend the trailer getting there and back.
I will get 4kms testing in the hire car before the event so I should get it set up to my liking.
I am very proud to be representing my country abroad(although in a way, I have been doing that all year) and am conscious of the fact that many people will be wishing us well. I know that my interview skills have improved and my fitness is also better than last year. I’m probably driving better too, so hopefully I can make it through. As a bonus then, I’m staying for Rally Finland, an event that I always wanted to see. I don’t know if stage times will be made public or not, but if they will be known we will get them up on the site.