The UP AND COMING student pairing of Matt Edwards and Andy Murphy headed up to the Lake District  to contest the 2nd round of the Tesco 99 Octane 1400 series, hoping to build on their success on the first round. Rallying un-backed, and off their student loans, the enthusiastic duo would be 1st seed at car 201 on this, the Malcolm Wilson Rally,  and therefore would be sweeping the loose gravel off the stages with their part worn Silverstone tyres!

Despite obvious nerves at the start of the event, having not run first on the road before, the crew guided their Vauxhall Astra safely through the first stage, acclimatising to the stage conditions and the level of grip available to post a respectable 4th fastest time overall. Now settled, and after a brief service in Penrith, they headed south to the challenging Grizedale tests to set to work on the leaders.

Picture courtesy Rod Pierce www.rp-rallyphotography.co.uk

 Unfortunately, after having set a scorching pace in the first half of the stage, a gearbox noise became louder and louder, until severe selection problems began to blunt the Astra’s performance; car already running at half the power of its rivals due to its completely standard engine.

Managing to get out the stage and still set an astonishing 2nd fastest 1400 stage time despite the dramas, Edwards quickly set to work on trying to fix the car and get through the next stage to service. Unfortunately, this was not possible, and with a multitude of different problems occurring at once inside the cars transmission, no further progress was possible.

 “Its such a shame, as we had really ‘clicked’ from the word go and were battling for the overall lead of the event when we began to suffer the problems. It was nice to be on the pace of the front boys, especially given our budget and power disadvantage, and having never driven these stages before! Everything was working really well and we had found a great rythym with Andy spot on with the notes we’d spent a lot of time perfecting. Running 1st on the road was exciting as the stages had a lot of loose gravel on them, but we were able to take our own lines which certainly helped” explained the Welsman.

“Its not the end of the world in terms of our championship chances, but it was certainly a shame not to take a result away when we had shown early on what we are capable of. We WILL be back as soon as we can and take the challenge to them!”

 The M.E.Rallysport team are already desperately trying to remedy the problems and get the car prepared for the 3rd round in only 3 weeks time, but evident budgetary constraints may affect their chances.

Matt and Andy would like to thank everyone who has helped them in their efforts so far, particularly family and friends for their support.

More information can be found at www.merallysport.co.uk and www.andymurphyrallying.co.uk

The young student pairing of 22 Year old Matthew Edwards and 21 yr old Andrew Murphy face yet another new experience on the 2nd Round of the BTRDA Tesco 99 Octane 1400 Championship, being the men to beat in the Lake District next weekend.

Leading the field away from the Cockermouth based event in their self built and un-backed Vauxhall Astra, the rare but upcoming combination of 2 young students will be tasked with the job of being first to tackle the demanding stages, yet another new experience!

Having started their championship bid with a fine 2nd Overall on the recent Wyedean Rally, the M.E.Rallysport team will be seaking to build on their achievements under the watchful eyes of event sponsor and Fords World Rally Team Boss, Malcolm Wilson.

Picture Courtesy Of www.geoffmayesimages.com

“For someone whom the novelty of appearing on an entry list hasn’t even worn off yet, to have the opportunity to run 201 on the door and first car on the road is something I want to try and make the most of, though for sure it will be a new challenge to be chased as opposed to do the chasing, but I’m more than willing to learn. It just goes to show where a bit of dedication can get you, despite our budget only allowing us to run part worn tyres, but we’ll continue giving it everything we’ve got!”, affirmed the Welshman.

Just 12 months on from the pairings first competitive outing together, and despite having to strike a careful balance between academic and rallying life, Edwards and Murphy lead B8 and U25’s in the BTRDA series and the MSA English Championship overall, whilst maintaining 2nd overall in the Tesco 99 Octane 1400 Championship.

With a view to accomplishing a full campaign in 2007, the crew will once again be adopting the ‘Brains over Brawn’ approach to the demanding terrain of famous forests such as Grizedale, Wythop, and Comb, that netted them success on the opening round, acknowledging the fact that a consistent finishing record would stand them in good stead for their aspirations.

For more information on the M.E.Rallysport Team, the crew, and to learn ways in which you could assist the team in their 2007 plans, please visit www.merallysport.co.uk or email matthew_cambrian@hotmail.com.