Rachel rallies to island success

Intensive preparation paid off last weekend for Penrith rally co-driver Rachel Medich when she successfully completed the notoriously difficult Tour of Mull car rally. Rachel and driver Dave Edwards took their Vauxhall Astra to 47th place from a start number of 145.

The rally took place on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, and it used closed public roads for the 144 competitive miles of the event.

Preparations for the rally started over two weeks before the start with Edwards and his service crew checking everything over on the rally car to make sure it was up to the job of surviving the tough conditions that Mull would present. Having contested the rally last year Rachel already had pacenotes for most of the course but these needed rehashed into the correct order for the 2009 event. The crew travelled to the island on the Monday before the rally and had a busy few days of making pacenotes for the new sections of the course and then driving each stage several times both in the daylight and at night where necessary to check the notes and try and remember as much of the stages as they could.

Friday evening arrived, the rally was due to start, and a usually calm Rachel was feeling nervous.

“I don't really get nervous before events any more but this one is a whole different ball game,” she said. “We weren't as nervous as last year that’s for sure but we were definitely biting our nails before the start.”

Their rally kicked off at 10.16pm on Friday night with two short stages in Tobermory. They were pleased to be only nine seconds down on rally leader Dougi Hall. Several crews crashed out of the event during the opening night with many more suffering mechanical problems. Edwards and Medich battled through the treacherous conditions to end the night in 80th place.

“The stages were very very slippy with the rain and there were cars off all over the place. It was a relief to get through the night. Some of the stages were cancelled and there were a few hold ups – we didn’t get back to our accommodation till 5.30am!”

“We had our first major moment of the event on the Loch Tuath stage, we took a jump a bit too quickly and when we landed all the lights went out! In the ensuing confusion I turned two pages in the notes but luckily we only had one corner and a long straight to go before service where our excellent crew fixed us up again.”

The rally restarted on Saturday afternoon with five stages in the daylight. The rain that blighted the opening night of the rally had gone and Edwards and Medich put cut slick tyres on the Astra. A good run through the stages saw them move up to 55th place at the end of the second leg of the event although the afternoon was not without incident.

“We had a big moment on the Hill Road stage where the road disappears hard right over a crest and then tightens. Added to this there is an off-camber to it and a 100 foot drop on the outside. We locked up under braking coming into it, that was a moment to have you tightening your belts believe me!”

The crew had a few hours to rest before the start of leg three which would see further stages through Saturday night into Sunday morning. Most of the stages were dry but torrential rain on the final stage nearly caught the Astra crew out.

“The whole of the final stage was one big moment, we set off into it and it was dry, yet 100 metres in the heavens opened and we had to back right off as we were on slick tyres. We kept expecting to be caught as we thought we were going so slow but as we headed up Glen Bellart we caught the car in front and chased him to the finish. We were very lucky not to put the car off the road in those conditions.”

Despite the long hours the rally attracted vast numbers of enthusiasts who braved the variable weather conditions to support the event and create a unique atmosphere.

“The atmosphere is like nothing I've ever experienced before on an event. Everyone you meet is really friendly, even the poor marshals stood outside in the driving rain and freezing wind in the middle of the night still manage to retain their sense of humour!”

“When there is a hold up, even though it's pitch black and you can't see faces, every competitor is out of the car and chatting, it's like a mutual respect for everyone that has the guts to compete on such a difficult event.

“There are some remote sections of the rally where you feel very alone, all you see whilst going through the stage is the occasional light from a radio car or a marshal's fluorescent jacket. Then you come to a spectator area or popular stage and there are thousands of people cheering you on, some with camp fires (don't blame them in that cold) all enjoying the rally and staying to watch the final competitors through.”

A tired but elated crew arrived at the rally finish at 3.06am having survived the event to finish 47th overall.

“We are absolutely thrilled to bits with the result. We went to the island with the intention of improving on our cautious result last year when we finished 65th and we really did that! 47th overall from a starting position of 145 is a massive improvement on seeding and it's an achievement we are very proud of.”

“We really need to say a huge thanks to Chris Thomas, Mal Atkinson, Colin Longton, Christian Parker and Adam and Graham Foxcroft - without them we couldn't have got the result. Also thanks to Dave's family, Sandra, Peter and Ailsa Edwards for looking after us so well.”

After their fine performance Rachel hopes to return to the island in 2010 for a hat-trick of finishes.

“We’re planning to be back next year and hope to improve further. I have already been given the task of providing a talk to the kids at Tobermory High School on rally safety next year so I hope we will get an entry to the event… hint hint!”

We made it!!!!!!

We've completed the last stage!!

Had a bit of a problem as it started raining heavily and we were on slicks, not a good combination!!

Awesome run through the 22 miler!!

A shame that we lost some more mileage with the cancellations and stoppages, hopefully the crews who crashed are all ok.

We ended up in 47th overall, very happy with that!

Thanks to Rob Lees for supplying the action pics :)

Daylight stages done

5 stages in the daylight today and we've got through them all.

Up to 55th overall now, it's going well!

We'll be out again later for the night stages of Leg 3, hopefully finishing sometime in the middle of the night.

Leg 1 successfully completed

We made it to the end of Leg 1, a fair chunk of the competitive mileage was lost due to people going off but we still managed to get up to 80th overall from a start number of 145 so not too bad.

Lot's of rain made the stages very slippery, I'm happy to have got to the end of the night, some poor folk retired early on, including one guy whose car broke at the startline... all that recce and note making wasted, gutted!

The start is nigh...

Feeling nervous.

Heavy rain.

We start at 22:16!!

First stage round Tobermory. I wonder if the chippy will be open?

Mud magnet goes back to school

It's the day before the rally, I can't actually believe that it's all starting tomorrow night!!

Today we've done some more recce and then the 2300 Club Chairman and myself did a talk about rally safety in front of 500 school kids which was good fun.

We're going to do one last bit of night recce later on and then have a few drinks.

I'm not sure if there will be time to do any updates once we've started the event... and Mr Songasport will be in deepest South Wales and may not have a signal to get on t'internet anyway so if you'd like keep track of our progess please visit the rally live results webpage by clicking here.

Recce nearly done...

Another busy day of recce today.

We've just about done all stages now, there's two left to do in the dark which we'll get done tomorrow night.

Then it'll be time to get some rest ready for the rally start on Friday evening.

The weather forecast isn't looking too good at the moment, very heavy rain for the Friday night stages preceded by snow on Friday afternoon... winter is on it's way!

100 right 4 caution coos

Day 2 in the big haunted house...

The weather was awful last night! We got our night recce completed although we had a few issues with Heelan' coos who were out making notes at the same time. I was pretty knackered too after my early morning start.

The notes are ready to be bound now which I'll sort out later on.

Reet, time to grab some breakfast and then we'll hit the stages again!

Time for more recce

Had a bit of time at the haunted hoose but now I've left and returned to the roads.

We're about to go over the stages we did this afternoon to see how they look in the dark.

We'll make some additions to the notes as we go, you see things at night that aren't so noticeable in the day - fenceposts and such like are useful markers when you're flying through the stages in the dark!

Once that's done it's back to the house to try and avoid ghosts and hopefully get a good night's kip ready for more recce and note making tomorrow.

Notes, ghosts and scary boats

I've made it to Mull.. lovely scenery on the way up, I saw the viaduct that I managed to miss when I was on the same road in August!

We're staying in a house which looks very haunted. Perhaps the headless ghost of Ewan MacLean lives there although I didn't see his horse.

We've driven over the first few stages and made our notes, all going well so far. Had a quick stop in Salen (scary boats).

More news when I next get a signal!

Stickers and a trip to Yorkshire

The world debut of the exciting new "mudmagnetrallying.co.uk" sticker took place last weekend at a secret location in Cumbria.

Watch out for more stickers on the stages soon!

I'm off to Yorkshire next Saturday with Emu and the rescue unit for the Trackrod, it should be a good battle between Higgins and Cronin for the BRC title. I'm hoping for a nice quiet uneventful day!

And then it'll nearly be time for Mull :)

Mull here we come!!!

Mud Magnet Rallying will be doing the 40th Tour of Mull!!

I'll be co-driving for Dave Edwards in his Astra. Can't wait!!

Mmmmm chips.

Upside down on Pendragon

Emu and myself partnered Martin Lynch in his Pug 306 beast on the Pendragon Stages. We didn't get too far. Fortunately we all emerged unscathed other than a few bumps and bruises.

My life in 30 questions

Name? Rachel Medich, was Adair.

Where do you live? Currently Carlisle.

Eye colour? Blue.

Hair colour? Blonde.

Height? 5ft 9ins.

What is your job? Trainee Operating Department Practitioner.

Right or left handed? Ambidextrous, but write mainly left.

Fave drink? Rum and diet coke.

Fave meal? Sounds strange but cod in parsley sauce and rice!

Fave ice-cream? Smartie ice cream!

Do you drink? Yes, trying to moderate it slightly now a days, don't fancy a pickled liver.

Do you swear? I'm afraid I have a poti-mouth yes, mainly on rallies.

Do you sing? No way! Unless I indulge in the aforementioned drink then I sound like Mariah Carey..... honest.

Do you like thunderstorms? I love them! If one happens in the middle of the night I have to get up and watch. We don't seem to get that many round Carlisle though.

Do you play an instrument? Didgeridoo.

Fave colour? I think it depends on what object the colour is on, I love objects that are bright and colourful, couldn't say an exact colour though.

Best place visited? I love the west coast of Scotland, particularly Mull and the atmosphere of rally week.

What place would you like to visit? Anywhere that you can see the northern lights, quiet, people free places for breaks, Maldives.

Fave song? I have many! Love is Noise by The Verve is one.

Fave band? Again I have a massive range, I love songs more than artists but obviously some more than others.

Best concert? Probably Kasabian at the Sands in Carlisle, it was intimate and they still put on an excellent show.

Fave film? Local Hero.

Fave car? Another question I can't answer. I absolutely love Mk2 Escorts but I also have a soft spot for the original Mini!

Cow or sheep? Heighlan Coo!!!

What makes you happy? I'm actually a very easy person to make happy, having nothing to worry about and things to look forward to make me very happy. Being as I always look forward to pay day you can imagine that things such as rallies and holidays make me very happy indeed! Being with friends, meeting new people and with my chap also make me happy, although don't tell him that or it may be used against me ;o)

What makes you sad? I don't tend to get sad, I look on the bright side of things. I have a silly lymph node thing that makes me very tired very quick if it's acting up but that doesn't make me sad, it annoys the hell out of me!

Cheesy chips? Only if I can have gravy with them.... mmm.

Favorite rally driver? To keep certain people sweet I better say: Barry Clark, Martin Lynch, Marcus Tinsley, Dave Edwards, Neil Mashiter and Pip Simpson..... But...... of the all time greats I'd have to say Marcus Gronholm because he was a genuinely lovely person when I met him and had an excellent sense of humour, he didn't think he was gods gift in any way, shape or form and was happy to lead a normal family life outside of rallying without behaving like a jumped up idiot.

Favorite rally co-driver? This is an easy one for me to answer, she's been a massive influence on me and helped me immensley almost from the time I started nearly 10 years ago, she runs a co-drivers school for novices at my motor club and puts a lot back into the sport through organisation and services to the club such as press releases - Katy Mashiter.

Competing or rescuing? I could never ever choose between the two! I enjoy both in equal measure. I have met so many life long friends through both sides that I could never stick to doing just one. It used to bother me, I lost my confidence in rallying due to seeing some awful accidents but I got the bug back pretty quick thanks to Martin and Neil. Sideways all the way!

The secret diary of a rescue girl!

I am a volunteer for the EMMU (Emergency Mobile Medical Unit) rescue team who attend many sporting events throughout the year, including several car rallies.

I've recently returned from providing rescue cover for the Rally Isle of Man, a round of the British Rally Championship. I kept a diary during the event to give an insight into rallying from a rescue crews point of view. So here it is!

Thursday 9th July: The start of the trip! It was with excitement at going away that I left an unusually sunny Carlisle to head to Morecambe to meet with the rescue unit. I’ve been a member for four years and I thoroughly enjoy it. I was quite shocked to discover that people don’t realise the crew of a rescue unit are volunteers. The unit receives an attendance fee but the crew do not receive anything and it often costs us to attend events! As I also compete as a co-driver being able to give something back to the sport I love is enough of a reward for me though.

The volunteers come from all kinds of background, I work in operating theatre anaesthetics but there are also nurses, firemen, joiners and engineers on the units. We all must attend regular training and hold at the very least a basic life support qualification along with being able to use and manage the hydraulic tools used in vehicle extrication. There are three levels of rescue unit personnel, trainee, fully licensed and crew chief. To become a fully licensed member of the team a trainee must attend a set number of training weekends and then pass a very thorough assessment which ensures they are capable of using the hydraulic tools and looking after the medical needs of a patient under the supervision of a doctor or paramedic. I passed my assessment on the Rally Isle of Man in 2008 and was a very happy lady! The 2009 event was to be the first anniversary of me qualifying.

We were sailing from Heysham to Douglas and boarded the boat after collecting the ambulance from its Morecambe home. Once aboard the journey passed fairly quickly as all the rescue unit crew on the boat congregated on the top deck for a chat. On arrival on the island it was straight to the TT Grandstand for us to get radios fitted and then on to the medical briefing where we discover which stages we will cover and other safety information.As our allocated stage on Friday was to begin at midday we retired to the Queens pub on the promenade to meet up with other medical personnel, catch up on all the gossip and talk about the event - we all decided that we preferred the three-day format with some evening stages on Thursday night so please can we have that again next year!

Friday 10th July: Friday morning dawned and after a hearty breakfast both crews of the EMMU team headed into Douglas for a quick look around and to spend some money. After that myself and the other two members of EMMU 2 made our way over to the start of the Newtown stage to cover the first eight or so miles. As the stage was the longest of the event at 21 miles it required three units spaced at regular intervals. The longest stage one unit can cover is nine miles, any longer and you need a midpoint, or in this case two midpoints! When we arrived at the start we had a look at the safety plan and identified any short cuts to further parts of the stage plus any potentially tricky areas. We then had a quick look at the tools and ensured they were working and showed our trainee for the weekend, Nigel, what we would require should the worst happen. We than had a quick meeting about who would perform what role in the event of an incident and had a quick procedural run down. Our rationale being that if we do that, we won’t need it!

The cars arrived bang on time and came into the control. Our crew chief then decided it was time to unleash the team mascot, Emu! Emu was happily providing start line entertainment, with the likes of Mark Higgins trying to grab him and take him through the stage. Then came a call to stop the stage and we went immediately went into standby mode but it was quickly declared that the crew were out and ok although the car was blocking the road. As more and more International crews arrived it was decided to send them through non-competitively and re-route them to the next stage. The Challenge and Historic rally competitors all got a run through and luckily had no problems. We were then sent in behind the course car to sweep the stage and ensure there were no recoveries that required medical cover. Once we knew no medical assistance was required we completed the stage with Emu flying alongside the ambulance enjoying the ride, much to the enjoyment of the spectators!

From there we headed to Castletown for the start of our next stage, via the fish and chip shop of course. Castletown saw a few incidents, including a house being struck by a Citröen C2 and a head on crash into a wall which saw us having to accompany the co-driver to a local hospital. Fortunately he was later discharged. After a very long day we headed back to the hotel at 1am and straight to bed.

Saturday 11th July: Another hearty breakfast kicked off Saturday before we headed back to the Newtown stage. This time we were covering the last few miles of the stage so we were able to see the cars competitively for the first time in the event. The day started dry and mild but as soon as the International competitors started to come past our point the heavens opened and the road was immediately drenched. It was fantastic to see the crews trying hard, even though they were possibly on the wrong tyres for the conditions, they were a joy to watch.

The heat from earlier in the day made the roads steam and with the mist that was forming it made visibility difficult. Luckily no one hit the tightened corner where we were stationed. We were waiting for the Trophy rally to come through when we realised there wasn’t enough road-closed time left. A radio message came across that they had been re-routed due to the volume of cars off in the stage prior to our location. We waited for the roads-open car to pass us and slotted in behind them to make a quick sweep of the stage.

We then made our way back to Douglas to return the radio and other equipment and found out that Mark Higgins had won which was good news - it must have been Emu’s touch that did it as Mark won the Jim Clark rally as well which was Emu’s first proper outing and he attacked many competitors there, including Mark - there could be something in that!With a ferry to catch there was no time to hang around unfortunately so we made our way to the port, via an Italian. We slept most of the way home before eventually docking at midnight. The success of a rally for us is judged on how many emergencies we have to attend so, with no emergencies in the two days, it was a pretty successful event!

Sunday 12th July: No rest for the wicked! Despite the late return from the Isle of Man there was no rest for EMMU on Sunday as the unit was covering the Greystoke Stages rally in Cumbria.As I was competing on the event myself I had a break from rescuing.

The event was another good one from a rescue point of view with no major incidents, although a broken gearbox meant that the event was not so good from my own point of view! So, after a very busy but very rewarding four days I returned to Carlisle.

For anyone interested in joining a rescue unit there is a training weekend in January at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in Lancaster, most British rescue units are in attendance and you can identify units close to you. There is a theory day with speakers from the motorsport industry along with medical workstations in the afternoon to teach basic medical skills. The second day of the weekend involves practical demonstrations with participants given the opportunity to handle the hydraulic tools and take part in learning scenarios. For more information on the training weekend or the EMMU unit please contact stuart@emmu.co.uk or visit the unit’s website http://www.emmu.co.uk/.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Promenade Stages 2008... with Marcus Tinsley in the Peugeot 106 beast

Rachel rallies to Three Sisters success

Carlisle rally co-driver Rachel Medich was in action again last weekend when she contested the Procare Stages at the Three Sisters race circuit near Wigan. Rachel was competing in a Talbot Sunbeam with Martin Lynch and they finished 25th overall after 12 stages at a very sunny venue. It was the second time Rachel had competed at the venue in the MGL Transport Ltd backed Sunbeam, she enjoyed last year’s event so much she returned for more in 2009.

"This rally last year was one of the few times we managed to get to the finish so we were keen to return," said Rachel.

"I think it's a fantastic venue with a very reasonable entry fee, it's the type of place you go to for a tarmac test or even just to get a finish, it's good fun, you can entertain the crowd for sure."

"Martin thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the ‘drifting’ corner. It was run in both directions but he seemed to go quicker when we were using the circuit right handed. He's finished every time he's been there so far and he says he's definitely a tarmac man but, although he may not admit it, I think he has a big soft spot for the forests and he's entertaining in there!"

The Sunbeam crew kept both spectators and rally officials entertained during the day, almost crossing the finishing line backwards a few times.

"We came out of a hairpin right around 50 yards before the finish and as Martin put the power down the back end of the car tried to overtake the front resulting in a full-on broadside slide over the finish and a cheer from the stop line! That’s what makes rear wheel drive extra special, not only is it good fun in the car, the crowds love it too!"

Their rally nearly came to a premature halt on one of the stages, the car almost tipping over on the circuit.

"We managed to clip a kerb and nearly rolled the car. I wouldn't mind but I was concentrating so hard I didn't notice until we thumped back down onto the track. Of course it was me up in the air which makes it even stranger that I didn't notice. I did however see the looks on the marshals’ faces, poised for action springs to mind!"

After a series of retirements in the Sunbeam it was a relieved Rachel that arrived at the event finish with the car still in one piece.

"I’m very happy for Martin, he has the worst luck of anyone I've known in rallying. It's not just the Sunbeam we've had retirements in, we didn't fair much better in ‘The Beast’, an Opel Ascona-engined Peugeot 306 painted in battleship grey matt paint which went VERY sideways. We had a joke going into one of the final stages that we were so tired because we never usually got that far and our bodies had already switched off. Martin has won the Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club's "piston broke" trophy for two years in a row, it's awarded to the person with the most retirements, we don't want him winning it again."

Rachel’s next event will be in June at Weeton Camp near Blackpool where she is part of a 50th birthday present for the father of one of her drivers – the top secret plan is to present him a car, racesuit and co-driver so he can compete on the rally.

"We have a feeling he's going to love it!"

Rachel triumphs in tarmac test

Carlisle’s Rachel Medich enjoyed a successful Horiba d’Isis rally last Saturday when she took second in class with Marcus Tinsley in a Peugeot 106. The event took place at the MIRA test track near Nuneaton. Rachel describes her event in this exclusive interview.

Your last event was the Malcolm Wilson rally in Cumbria which was on gravel forest tracks, the tarmac of the Horiba d’Isis was rather different to compete on I expect?

Definately! The Malcolm Wilson rally was a multi-venue, gravel rally, whereas the Horiba d'Isis was a tarmac, single venue event with a bit of a twist. MIRA is a very fast track with a lot of variation, it's used by car companies to test their new builds so it has everything from massively off-camber corners to the wall of death! Obviously it's not really a wall of death but the track is literally vertical for a few hundred meters which is the strangest feeling ever, although very very good fun. The Tinsley Joiners backed Peugeot 106 was perfectly set up for the venue, she just needed the crew to catch up, although I think we did her justice this time with her first class award since she was built.

You’ve competed on the event before but things didn’t quite go to plan last time?

Unfortunately not! We were travelling along a 800 metre straight into a very tight hairpin left. Whilst braking for the corner we deviated right slightly onto a bit of gravel and walloped the armco at around 70mph. The marshals on that corner thought we were going to go end over end but luckily we didn't, they even returned our missing wing mirror! Thankfully this year was much better, although we did give that corner a bit of respect.

What sort of speeds were you getting up to in the little Peugeot?

I never ever look at the speedo on purpose as we need to keep our speeds high to be competitive in that car, although I did get a accidental glance as we headed into a hairpin left and we were doing 80mph when we were around 50 metres away from said corner! Hence why I keep my head down and read the map!

Any scary moments during the day?

One minor one, there are a couple of crests on the handling section of the course, the first one is designed to make the car go very light over it and that feels awful, then immediately after there is a dip which compresses the suspension and then sends you into a jump while the car isn't ideally set up for it. The jump is also slightly off camber so you hit it at an angle. We hit it flat out after a massive compression, bottomed out and then had a few hundred yards of trying to collect ourselves before the next corner.

After your disappointing retirement on the Malcolm Wilson rally it must feel good to get to the finish?

It certainly did! And winning second in class made it all very worthwhile. We were over a minute up on third place but over a minute down on first, there was no way we'd catch the guy in first as he was on it!! He passed us on one stage as we'd got stuck in gear and couldn't free it, we followed him, he was very neat and had an awesome car. We were very pleased with our second place, we were there from the first stage and held it all day, our first of many class awards in that car we hope.

So when will we see you out next? You’ll be on rescue duties on the Pirelli?

Yes, I shall be at the start of the Pundershaw stage on the Pirelli, I'll be wearing extra trauma repellent so hopefully all the crews will get through incident free. After that I'll be at the Granite City rally in Aberdeen, again on rescue duties. My next competitive outings are the Procare stages and then Hamsterly, both in the MGL Transport LTD backed Sunbeam of Martin Lynch, hoping for a finish this time in that car!

Greystoke gasket grief for rallying Rachel

Carlisle-based rally co-driver Rachel Medich had a disappointing end to the Malcolm Wilson Rally last Saturday when mechanical failure forced the MGL Transport LTD supported Talbot Sunbeam she was sharing with Irishman Martin Lynch into retirement. Rachel gives the story of her event in this interview.

I gather you had a bit of drama with the car in the week before the rally?

Yes, just a bit, we needed a new engine as, according to Martin, we were sabotaged by Ken Jackson in car 88! He took the Sunbeam out for a run and the engine blew up… of course we have no proof, but Martin reckons he found evidence of toffee forced into the cylinder head.

He got it fixed in good time only to complain at me about a “new noise” in the rear, which, as I informed him, had been present since before the Galloway Hills Rally last year. He complained about the “new noise” then too. We took the car to scrutineering only to discover that during a recent respray, the safety stickers on the bonnet had not been replaced, meaning I had to guess which was the engine kill pull switch. I pulled one, using the eeny, meeny, miny, moo method and promptly removed it, snapping it and almost performing a finger amputation on myself. So, with blood pouring from my finger, we went in search of a new switch and some stickers to pass scrutineering, which, we luckily did.

It must’ve been a relief just to get to the startline then! How did the first stage go?

It certainly was. The first stage was good fun, I can remember glancing up a few times and thinking “ooh, that tree/ rock is a wee bit close” as Martin used the ditches to hook the car around the corner. We made it to the end and started to get into the swing of things, Martin is always very nervous at first and only relaxes once he has one completed stage under his belt.

The next two stages were Comb and Wythop which run in the hills near Keswick. There are some pretty big drops in there, did you or Martin shut your eyes on any of them?

If I find out Martin shut his eyes I’ll be having words! I warned him before we went into the Comb stage that when I say “fresh air bend” I mean a drop of around 400 feet and nothing to break the fall. I don’t know if he was listening as I would call the corner along the lines of “100 into hairpin right, FRESH AIR BEND! give it some respect, back off!” and it was only as we neared the end of the 100 straight when he saw that I wasn’t joking that I felt his right foot lift. It’s very worrying as you fly into some of those bends and look into the abyss, some of the drops have claimed a few cars, luckily with no injuries. Martin and I did enjoy the “big dipper” in Wythop, a 500 metre straight where you end up in top gear on the rev limiter. He was smiling at that.

There’s some footage of you doing an F1-style passing move in Comb, what was going on there?

Car 86, which was directly behind us, managed to pass us on a road section as we checked our tyres and wheel nuts. Unfortunately he was a lot slower than us and we caught him around a mile before the end of the 6 mile Comb stage. We undertook him on an acute hairpin and regained our road position. Unfortunately Martin convinced himself we had a rear pucture and slowed after that, only to discover it was a phantom and that the excessive rear movement was due to the slippy stages.

The rally then moved on to Greystoke where your event came to a premature end, what happened?

Greystoke was extremely rough, in fact I picked up bruises on my collar bones from the jarring effect it was having and the use of the harness. We set off into the stage and it soon became apparent that we were overheating, the windscreen had completely steamed up and Martin was having to wipe his window constantly.

I could not see a thing so it’s pretty lucky that I have developed the subtle art of co-driving off feeling alone, although on long straights it helps if you can see when to call the next corner. Around 3/4 of the way through we noticed the engine note change, I told Martin we had around two miles to go and he continued. I looked down at my feet as they felt hot and there was smoke!!! We went over the flying finish and I jumped out, promptly bungeeing myself back into the car as I’d neglected to disconnect my helmet. I thought we were going up in smoke.

It was oil burning due to the headgasket blowing. We had knocked the bottom out of the radiator in the rough stage, lost all the water and cooked the poor engine.

Pretty disappointing not to get a finish then?

Yes very, more so for Martin, I’m very used to it, I haven’t finished the event yet in three times of trying. Malcolm Wilson Rally 3, Rachel 0

Your next event is at MIRA in April with a different car, different driver and different surface. You’ll be hoping for a different result as well?

Oh yes, myself and Marcus Tinsley in the Tinsley Joiners Peugeot 106 Rallye always seem to have fun on our events, I won’t tempt fate by saying we usually finish but……… We’ll be taking part in the Horiba d’Isis stages at the MIRA proving ground. It’s an excellent event with so many driver and co-driver challenges, theres simulated rail track, excessive camber and even a wall of death where you are literally vertical in the car. Last year we had a big moment where we hit some armco at around 70mph and only narrowly avoided rolling end over end. We went on to finish the event though. Hopefully we will get to the end this year too!

And you still like chocolate ice cream?

Of course! And Smarties ice cream!!!!

Rally girl Rachel's magnetism for mud!

Carlisle’s Rachel Medich has a busy life. During the week she combines working at a local hospital and studying to be an Operating Department Practitioner, at weekends she’s often to be seen at car rallies either competing herself or in her role as a member of a rally rescue team.


With her next rally outing, the Cockermouth-based Malcolm Wilson rally, a few days away Rachel reveals more about her rallying and rescuing in this interview.

You’ve been competing for a few years now, how did you become involved in motorsport?

Motorsport has always been a large factor in my family, mainly F1 and bikes, I decided, after speaking to my Grandad, to go and watch the 1998 Pirelli Rally in Kielder forest and I became obsessed. I knew I wouldn’t be much good at driving, seeing as I didn’t have a licence, but knew I was pretty good at map reading so I chose to be a navigator. Me and my mate decided to do our first event together, the Garstang and Preston Memorial Road Rally and we finished…. last, but a finish all the same!

You’re also a member of a rally rescue unit - which came first, the competing or the rescuing?

That would be competing, a good 5 years before I decided to mix business with pleasure, I’ll let you decide which way round they go.

Have you had any bad accidents yourself on the stages?

Ahhhh I’m afraid so, I am yet to finish the Jim Clark Rally after exiting spectacularly on both occasions of trying. The first time was a head on collision with a solid fence post, we hit it at 50mph and it didn’t budge. The second time was a fast way of totalling a Mitsubishi Evo 8. We took a bridge flat out that should have been taken with caution and managed to remove 150 metres of hedge and trees. It hurt. The poor car needed some refashioning after that. All the damage was on my side of course!

Have you ever been rescued by your own unit?

Almost! They were nearly the rescue unit at the midpoint when I had my second Jim Clark incident. Luckily they were elsewhere, although I don’t think I’d want to be attended to by anyone else. Not that the others would be rubbish, just it’s better the devil you know. To be fair I wouldn’t like to see any of them during a stage I was competing on and I’m not tempting fate!

You must’ve seen some scary or weird things while rescuing at rallies, are there any you can tell us about?

I can’t mention names and rallies for obvious reasons but I have seen many, many things that eat away at my confidence. The most spectacular has to be on a tarmac rally a few years ago, someone decided to take a crest flat that shouldn’t have been and literally flew his car. His pilot’s licence must have been in the post. He landed, broke the suspension, various car bits and also himself. We were called and saw him off to hospital with suspected spinal injuries. We saw footage of the incident later… good effort that man!

The weirdest thing I think is the people who come to rallies dressed totally inappropriately. You’re going to get muddy on a forest rally so it’s probably not a good idea to wear high heels and short skirts. This applies to the women as well.

Part of your rescue role includes attending tests for the Ford World Rally Team, do you get to find out all the gossip?

Gossip? I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you. It’s a secret, I’d get lynched. I met Marcus Gronholm (former World Champion) during one test, he was a lovely chap, up for the laugh all the time.

You’ve been competing more in the last couple of years on both tarmac and forest events, which events do you prefer?

This is quite difficult to call, I love forest stages, there’s something quite special about them, they offer a mega challenge because the light often varies and it’s hard to pick out corners and braking points. I also have a new fondness for tarmac after competing on the Tour of Mull. I have to say that is my favourite rally in the world ever. No question. If people haven’t been, I highly recommend it, even if just to watch.

Are you a front, rear or four wheel drive girl?

For sheer enjoyment it has to be rear wheel drive, I compete in a Mk2 Escort and a Talbot Sunbeam, both are fantastic fun. The Sunbeam is with a mad Irishman called Martin Lynch, who I am competing on the Malcolm Wilson rally with on the 7th March, he has a “flat out and sort it out” style that the spectators love. Unfortunately to be competitive these days you need four wheel drive, which is quick but very accurate, there’s not as much sliding around. All rally cars are fun though, regardless of where they power from.

We’ve decided to elect you as Big Boss of Rallying. How would you make the world rally championship more exciting? How would you get more people competing in the UK?

Get in! Firstly, I’d make Seb Loeb go to another team, the man is an amazing driver but unfortunately I don’t think he’s helping attract people to the sport as there is no competition - he’s won the World Championship five times in a row! I think the new Super 2000 cars are going to bring some of that competitive element back and give the sport an exciting feeling again. For Britain? I’d have to arrange something with the blooming government to back young drivers/co-drivers and reduce forestry and venue hire costs. I’d get it some major TV coverage and make sure there are teams with identities so people can show their support in team colours. I have a lot of good ideas but they’re mine, when I become minister for rallying I’ll make them happen.

Neil Cole’s hairstyle, yes or no?

Aw bless him, he needs a bit of a trim, it was starting to look a bit like a comb over. He suits his beanie hat from Norway.

So you’ve just found a million pounds down the back of the sofa to buy a car and compete with anyone on any event. What, who and where?

Ok, I know I’ve said Mull was my favourite rally in the world ever but it’s going to have to be one that I have little or no chance of doing. So, it would be Barry Clark, because if I say someone else I’ll probably get my butt kicked, in his new Evo 10 and we’ll be competing on Rally Norway. I really want to have a go on a snow rally in a car with a driver that will be competitive on that surface. He’s done it before so I’d expect a good result.

What are you rallying plans for the rest of the year?

I have an action packed year ahead, starting with the Malcolm Wilson on the 7th March. That will be with Martin Lynch in the Sunbeam, we’re doing it as part of the Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club stage championship. I’m doing Mira on the 4th April with Marcus Tinsley then Mull with Dave Edwards. Those are the confirmed ones, I’m sure there will be more! When I’m not competing I’ll be rescuing on most rounds of the British Rally Championship, busy busy! Just how I like it.

And your plans outside of rallying?

I need to set some time aside to complete my course to become an Operating Department Practitioner, I finish in 2010 and can’t wait. Other than that, if I get the chance, I’ll be going out and having a laugh.

There’s a rumour you do some modelling too?

Occasionally, I only do it because I love dressing up and wearing makeup. I love shoes and dresses. Of course these don’t mix with my rallying but I don’t care, I love both. If you see me on a rally I’m usually the one who looks like a mud magnet so you wouldn’t know that I get my picture taken sometimes!

Anything else you’d like to say?

I love chocolate ice-cream.