Podium finish for FX Motor Sports in Yorkshire
David Higgins overcame broken ribs and broken driveshafts to take a provisional second place finish on Trackrod Rally Yorkshire this weekend.
The results of the event will remain provisional for up to two weeks, while an appeal into the exclusion of Guy Wilks is investigated by the MSA. After Guy won the event and David finished third, the BRC released a statement saying Guy had been excluded after a protest was received before the results went final. This moved David up to second.
“At some points today we didn't think a podium finish would be in our reach at all,” said David. “We broke a driveshaft in the third stage of the rally, and after that we only had the ten minute remote service to work on the car. With that being so short and the service crew limited to two mechanics plus myself and Ieuan, we did not have time to do as much as we would have liked to to the car, so we drove the next three stages with the broken shaft.”
As David and Ieuan readied to return to the Pickering Showground for their main service of the day after driving those stages with the broken shaft, the FX Motor Sports crew were preparing to change the Subaru Impreza N14s gearbox when they arrived.
With David driving with a suspected broken rib, following an accident while sitting alongside a student at the family rally school, it was unusual to see him being forced to sit back in pain while the FX team performed a rapid gearbox change in front of a crowd of spectators.
“We have practised gearbox changes of course, but there's nothing quite like the team having to change the box under pressure during an event with everyone watching for the first time,” said David. “The team did a fantastic job. We went back out and everything was going well until the last stage when we broke another shaft. But we were still third fastest through the stage.”
David and Ieuan's team mates Hugh Evans and Iestyn Williams took a top ten finish in the BRC on what was only their second visit to the Trackrod, taking points for ninth place.
The overall championship points positions for the drivers and teams championships will not be confirmed by the BRC now until after the result of the MSA appeal is announced. Going into the event, David had led the championship points and TQ.com led the teams championship.
The results of the event will remain provisional for up to two weeks, while an appeal into the exclusion of Guy Wilks is investigated by the MSA. After Guy won the event and David finished third, the BRC released a statement saying Guy had been excluded after a protest was received before the results went final. This moved David up to second.
“At some points today we didn't think a podium finish would be in our reach at all,” said David. “We broke a driveshaft in the third stage of the rally, and after that we only had the ten minute remote service to work on the car. With that being so short and the service crew limited to two mechanics plus myself and Ieuan, we did not have time to do as much as we would have liked to to the car, so we drove the next three stages with the broken shaft.”
As David and Ieuan readied to return to the Pickering Showground for their main service of the day after driving those stages with the broken shaft, the FX Motor Sports crew were preparing to change the Subaru Impreza N14s gearbox when they arrived.
With David driving with a suspected broken rib, following an accident while sitting alongside a student at the family rally school, it was unusual to see him being forced to sit back in pain while the FX team performed a rapid gearbox change in front of a crowd of spectators.
“We have practised gearbox changes of course, but there's nothing quite like the team having to change the box under pressure during an event with everyone watching for the first time,” said David. “The team did a fantastic job. We went back out and everything was going well until the last stage when we broke another shaft. But we were still third fastest through the stage.”
David and Ieuan's team mates Hugh Evans and Iestyn Williams took a top ten finish in the BRC on what was only their second visit to the Trackrod, taking points for ninth place.
The overall championship points positions for the drivers and teams championships will not be confirmed by the BRC now until after the result of the MSA appeal is announced. Going into the event, David had led the championship points and TQ.com led the teams championship.
posted by David at
13:34
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