West Wales based Spencer Sport rally team has secured second place in this year’s MSA British Rally Championship, following an super performance by Tom Cave and co-driver James Morgan in the seventh and final round, the Rally Isle of Man.
Second BRC crew and third in the event overall marked the end of an impressive debut season in the BRC for the team, where its R5 Ford Fiesta has performed faultlessly, an achievement that has seen the team become one of only two that has attained a 100% finishing record and score on every round of the championship this season.
The Manx roads have a reputation for their demanding nature, where cars and crews are tested to their limits and mistakes are often punished. So, with 167 competitive miles and 20 stages ahead of them, from Thursday evening through to Saturday afternoon, Cave and Morgan’s target to hold on to their second place in the championship was never going to be easy.
With fellow Welshmen Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry wrapping up the BRC title on last month’s Ulster Rally, the challenge to hold off the four crews that could still mathematically overhaul Cave and Morgan for the runner-up spot was the team’s number one goal – the task made even more difficult as double points are awarded for the final round.
Things started well and, following Thursday evening’s three stages, Cave and Morgan held second place behind Evans and Parry. Now understanding the pace that would be required, for Friday’s 11 stages the Spencer Sport crew put aside any aspirations of winning the rally and concentrated on responding to challenges from the rival crews behind them.
They maintained their second place in the BRC field and were third overall, having been passed by non-BRC registered Manxman Mark Higgins and his co-driver Darren Garrod by the close of play on Friday. There was now just Saturday’s six stages left to decide their fate. But the car, Tom and James didn’t disappoint and another copybook performance enabled the Spencer Sport team to take an impressive second in the 2016 British Rally Championship at their first time of trying.
Of the other cars supported by Spencer Sport, Jamie Jukes and Dave Williams – who were in the team’s Suzuki Swift while their Mitsubishi Mirage is being modified to R5+ specification – had unfinished business to attend to, with their previous visit to the Isle of Man in this car brought to a premature end. Although during this visit they punched above their weight by setting class-leading times just outside the top ten, the mechanical gremlins still prevailed.
First it was a power steering and alternator problem on Thursday, followed by a broken driveshaft on Friday and then a small electrical fire on Saturday – issues that saw the Spencer Sport service crew rise to the challenge to keep the car going. Their circumstances aside, Jukes reported that he enjoyed driving the car when it was going well and, as team principal, he was delighted with the outcome of the event.
Llandysul based driver Jamie Jukes said:”
“It’s been a great end to our first season in the British Rally Championship. I’m delighted for Tom and James and everyone in the team who has worked so hard to enable us to achieve this result. For me, I love the sport and I have really enjoyed being part of the British Championship this year. I would like to congratulate Tom and James and thank the whole team for all of their efforts as well as our partners for their support who, collectively, have enabled us to put Spencer Sport well and truly on the map.”
Making his debut on the island; his debut in an event at this level; and his debut in a Vauxhall ADAM Cup car – sponsored by HT Installations – James Williams, together with co-driver Dale Bowen, did himself proud by setting stage times that were commensurate with more experienced competitors in his class, some of them in the same type of car. However, he too suffered a broken driveshaft on Friday, retired and then restarted on Saturday under Super Rally regulations to claim fifth place in Class N2.
The Spencer Sport team would like to thank all its partners who have been involved this season: Spencer ECA, Michelin, Oil 4 Wales, Reeds Construction & Engineering, Trefeddian Hotel, PIAA lights, Speedline Corse wheels, Rugbi Industrial Supplies, Nicky Grist Motorsports, Omega Lubricants and Atech Racing, as well as Irish Access Mats, Donnelly Group and O’Reilly Stewart for the two events in Northern Ireland.
