RALLY: SOLIHULL rally driver Scott Faulkner was back in action at the weekend, competing at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells.
Playing host to over 100 crews, the rally comprised of eight stages based in the Brecon Beacons – some of which were used in the route for the iconic World Rally Championship.
With rain quickly disappearing, drivers prepared for the 45 miles course as cars set off at one minute intervals.
Scott started the first stage steadily, though they started to catch the dust from the car in front of them – which resulted in the pair losing momentum due to a lack of visibility.
Stage Two saw Scott move up to 16th while loose gravel throughout Stage Three saw the Solihull racer drop one place to 17th.
A better run through Stage Four saw the crew climb back to 16th on the leaderboard as they headed into service.
The four stages in the afternoon were a re-run of the morning loop – and Scott and Dom were hoping to improve on their earlier performance.
Stage Five went well, with the pair shaving 12 seconds off their previous time.
It was a similar story in Stage Six as they were six seconds quicker than their morning time.
Stage Seven saw the pair smash their morning run by 15 seconds and in the final stage Scott and Dom were nearly 20 seconds faster than the previous pass.
After the event, Scott said: “I was a bit disappointment with my slow start this morning.
“However I was pleased with the adjustments we made at lunchtime and our times seemed to reflect this in the afternoon.
“The dust combined with the heat was a challenge but we still really enjoyed the day.”
Scott made the decision to run the car on new Hankook tyres supplied by Mr Tyre Motorsport.
He added: “The new tyres were much better suited to the rougher stages and hotter temperatures but took a little getting used to on the faster parts of the route where commitment is key to a fast stage time.
“We had a great weekend and are now looking forwards to the next round of the championship in August.”
Scott and his co-driver Dom are now third in the GrpN in the Welsh Forest Rally Championship.
Picture: Jakob Ebrey Photography.
