Tempest Rally

In the week building up to the rally, the UK got battered by some of the worst weather for years, high winds brought trees down all over the place and it was raining heavily the night before. Not a good start for standing around in the woods for a day. Fortunately it dawned dry and overcast on Saturday so my brother and I once again headed to Warren for the closest stages to home. As the course car came through the sun was coming out and the sky blue. Soon after the two wheel drive crews came thundering through.

















With the last cars through we headed for Rushmoor and the service park. a chance to see up close the Mk1 and 2 Escorts, Novas, 205 and more modern fodder.









With the 2WD back out on stage we filled half an hour nattering to some friends we'd bumped into before the 4WD cars entered the arena stage. Popping and banging they bounced along the rutted track round the event field.









The sick 6R4 was misfiring and took an age to get round, a change of plugs in service rectified this. Other cars needed a wiped down, some lots of work.











As the cars left service the heavens opened, it looked like the weather had changed for the day so we headed to the carpark and pondered. With the next nearest stage at Pavilion only a mile away and half an hour we decided to risk it and prayed for a break. Soon enough the clouds cleared and the sun was out, so off to the hairpin we went. A pair of pallets formed a temporary barrier, it stood no chance against quick running WRC cars running wide.



 











With the sun still out we aimed for the final stages of the day at Warren. Opting for the hairpin onto the long straight, it offered the slowest point for the cars and the most light in a fading dusk. With the glare quite high the cars rocketed round.













The last shot would be the perfect end to the blog, but we decided to hang around for the following 2WD cars, a delay somewhere meant they were 20 minutes late and the night had arrived. Hence the gloomy flash shots.







Once again the Tempest Rally has ended my motorsport year. A nice, back to basics event with no frills, 90 crews can't be wrong. The rest of the photos are here

Steve.