Jackson Driveless on Nicky Grist Stages

Saturday 9th July would see Warwick rally driver Matthew Jackson descend on the market town of Builth Wells to compile the next chapter in his 2016 rally campaign. The Nicky Grist stages would also feature a round of the MSA British Rally championship giving Matthew and co-driver Claire Williams the perfect opportunity to pitch their skill and speed against the best drivers in the UK.

The rally itself would boast 45 challenging stage miles around the South Wales military ranges, stages in which are becoming familiar to the young pairing after numerous visits of the past few seasons. Buoyed by a good run on the recent Carlisle stages, the 2300 Club John Easson award winner would head to Builth Wells in good spirits and with strong aims for the event:

‘I am looking forward to his rally. The event itself is normally very good with some excellent stages. By having the BRC here, it means we can really compare our pace to those guys to give a good indication of where we are. After the Carlisle, we are looking for another strong run to maintain our championship positions’.

With the British summer playing its part in the weather conditions, the PowerMaxed Cleaning products supported crew headed to the extremely wet opening test full of optimism targeting the top spots in the category on this rally. However disaster struck just 1 mile into the first stage with a driveshaft failing, leaving the self-prepared car stranded mid-stage with no drive to the wheels and ultimately no hope of that targeted podium position. ‘I am absolutely gutted with the outcome of this event. All the time and effort that has gone in to preparing the car has all gone by the wayside with this mechanical failure. At this time, I have no idea why we have had this failure as the components are well within their expected life’.

Work has now commenced to ensure the car and team are back fighting fit for the next round of the series, the Woodpecker Rally. This unfortunate position does leave the team on the back foot in the championship standings, however, with 2 events left in the calendar, all is not lost.

Matthew would like to thank the 2300 Club John Easson award and PowerMaxed racing for their continued support.