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20.10.08 | 2nd in Class on Bulldog Rally
Newport Pagnell rally ace Mike Winfield claimed 2nd place in class and 45th overall on the recent Bulldog Rally in Mid Wales.
The rapid Peugeot 206 driver, co-driven by Oxford’s Simon Lassam, once again proved his pace despite being out of competition for the past 11 months with a solid performance in very difficult conditions, typical of the fast and tricky Mid Welsh forests.
The day started well, posting a second fastest 1600 class time through the first two stages of the day, second only to the fellow Peugeot crew of Andy Stretton and Motorsport News Journalist Ian Harden. At the day’s first service halt at Dolgellau, the crew were just 26 seconds down to their rivals. Mike commented “Simon and I have had a good start to the rally, but we are not quite on the pace just yet. With a little more of a push we can get there, but I am still a bit rusty”. The stage times indeed spoke for themselves, as it transpired that the pair were losing out by about 1.2 seconds per mile to their rivals.
The next stage after midday service was into the famous 15.69 mile Dyfi stage, with Mike ready for a push for the lead. After a great start, mechanical dramas were set to peg back their challenge. Mike commented “The stage started well and I really got my head into gear then about 8 miles in, the heavens opened and when I put the wipers on they stopped working about 10 seconds later. I tried to push on but it was like looking out of a bathroom window and after a massive moment where I nearly spun us in 5th gear, I decided to back it off as I wanted to get to emergency service and get it fixed”.
The wiper fault was quickly diagnosed as a blown fuse and fixed straight away, and the crew headed for the final two stages of the rally at Llangywer and Penallyn. By now however, the weather had really taken a turn for the worse, with mist and driving rain just a few of the problems the 180 competing crews had to encounter.
With wipers working again and all in order, Mike and Simon set off into the short but tricky 4.38 mile Llangywer stage, now mindful that the rest of the pack were just 20 seconds behind. However, just 2 miles into the stage the wipers stopped again and were down to near zero visibility once more. With no more fuses left and one more stage to go, the crew tackled the remaining 9 mile Penallyn stage at reduced speed.
At the finish, Mike was pleased to have made it, but frustrated with the problems they had encountered throughout the day had thwarted their planned attack. “It is a huge shame, as I felt really comfortable in the car through Dyfi, and things were starting to come together nicely. We could only go at about 50mph at the most in the last two (stages), in places where we should have been pulling over 100mph, but that aside, the car was mega and providing I do my bit, the car is a class winner and that pleases me immensely".
Despite all the dramas, the Peugeot crew still manage to hold onto 2nd position in the 02 (1600) class, by a mere 3 seconds from the Vauxhall crew of James Hutchings / James Hood.
Next up for the team is the Grizedale Stages, based in the Lake District town of Coniston on Saturday November 29th, where Mike and Simon will be aiming for a class win to make up on their disappointment of the previous year, when they crashed out in the snowy and icy conditions.
Mike on his way to second in class on the Bulldog Rally 2008.
