What a season the 2019/20 MSN Rally Championship was! We started out with a new main sponsor, Cirrus Research, and a new livery for JIG in Cirrus colours. We also had a new team running the car - FJ-RS Engineering, based in Warwickshire near where I live. We were delighted to have Cirrus, Morris Lubricants and Real Systems Controls on board as sponsors for the year.

The championship kicked off at Oulton Park in November. The Neil Howard is always a tricky event, with a variety of challenges including the slippery rally circuit, the 'Darcy Dip' water splash, the gravel section through the trees and stages in the dark. I found the first few stages challenging and we made an error in tyre choice for stage two - going onto intermediate tyres which we struggled with in the tricky conditions. We lost a bit of time on those first three stages but then found our groove in the afternoon and managed to pick up the pace and start to make up time to the cars in front. We finished the event fourth in class, just three seconds off third and nine seconds off second in class so we were pleased with the pace we managed in the afternoon.

For round two of the championship we visited Cadwell Park, which is one of my favourite tracks but I have never managed to achieve a strong result there. On stage one we set the second quickest time in class B which we were really pleased with. Unfortunately stages two and four were cancelled due to accidents but on stage three we set the quickest time in class B and by lunchtime we were sitting 2nd in class. Unfortunately in the afternoon we lost a little bit of time with the stages in the opposite direction but managed to finish up 3rd in class B out of 18, and 20th overall. I was really pleased with this as it’s the first time I’ve achieved a podium at Cadwell Park and the first time we’ve ever finished in the top 20 in an MSN rally.

For round three we headed north of the border to Knockhill in Scotland. The previous year we clipped a tyre and rolled at Knockhill so I was determined to get a good result this year. Knockhill is also the home rally for both me and Jamie. The conditions on the day were probably the worst I’ve ever rallied in with torrential rain all day and the stages having to be altered due to wind damaging the stage furniture. On stage one we set the quickest time in class B by 5 seconds and continued to set top class times for the rest of the morning, with a lead of 29 seconds ahead of Chris Ruck and Steve Harris in 2nd by lunchtime. Knockhill suits the car and my driving style and the wet conditions helped us get closer to the more powerful cars. We won the class by 26 seconds and also beat all the class C cars, finishing 13th overall, our best result to date. I was over the moon with this, it meant a lot to me after the accident last year and to take a win at my home circuit.

After the Christmas break we headed to Brands Hatch for round four of the championship. It was very cold so conditions were tricky. We were the quickest in class on stage one and 15th overall, with the slippery conditions benefiting us as the higher-powered cars struggled to get the power down. By lunchtime we were sitting 2nd in class which we were really happy with as Brands is somewhere I have struggled before. Although some of the quicker cars closed in on us as conditions and grip improved, by the end of stage 6 we were sitting 3rd in class (1st of the championship class competitors) so we were hoping to take maximum championship points. Conditions remained challenging on stage 7 and we had gone back on to intermediate tyres to maximise grip as temperatures began to drop. Unfortunately the car started sliding going round a corner just after the rally school section. I tried to correct it but we had a spin and hit a kerb. This did significant damage to the car, including the left rear wheel and we were unable to continue, unfortunately suffering our first DNF of the season.

For round five we returned to Cadwell Park for the second time. We had a slow start to the day and after stage two we were down in 8th in class which was not where we wanted to be! Fortunately I was able to pick up the pace after that. We were 3rd in class on stage 3 and quickest in class on stage 5, and up to 3rd in class by then. We were able to hold on to this for the rest of the day and finished 25th overall. I was disappointed with my pace at the start of the day but pleased to get another class podium and other finish in the top 25 in a competitive field.

We headed to Snetterton next, where we had problems the previous year with the gearbox mount so were hoping for a clean run this year. On stage one we had a spin but still managed to set the quickest time in class so I was really happy with that. We had a lot of problems with traffic on stages three and four so lost a bit of time and were sitting 3rd in class by lunchtime. Unfortunately on stage five we went the wrong way at a split and went in early so got a stage max which added around 3 minutes to the time we would have expected to set. This dropped us down to 10th in class so we had a lot of work to do to catch up! Stage six went well and we set a time just one second off the class lead and were up to 9th overall in class. We set good times on stages seven and eight too and climbed up to 7th in class but it was a disappointing finish as it looked like we would have finished 2nd in class so we lost a lot of championship points.

The penultimate round of the season took us to Angelsey in Wales, with a storm the day before but luckily conditions had improved by the rally on Sunday. We had a good start, taking the lead in class B on stage one. After stage three we were sitting second in class, just 10 seconds off the lead. Unfortunately we had a disaster on stage four when the gear lever snapped in my hand! Luckily it was near the end of the stage but we were stuck in 4th gear for the rest of the stage including the hairpin at the end so lost some time and dropped to 4th in class. We made up some time on stages five and six but were caught out on stage seven on the wrong tyres when it started raining while we were on the start line! This meant that heading into the final stage we were sitting fourth in class, over a minute off the lead. On the last stage we were able to turn things around! Unfortunately Chris and Steve had a mechanical issue which cost them a lot of time – they had been deserving leaders for most of the day. We had a really strong stage, quickest in class by 13 seconds and 14th overall which meant we were able to take the class lead and finish 16th overall. We were delighted to take another class win which meant we were in a good position heading into the final round of the season.

The final round of the championship took place at Donington. Heading into the event there were 5 crews who could theoretically take the class B victory in the championship although Chris Ruck and Steve Harris had a strong lead in the points. We had a good start to the rally, sitting 20th overall and 2nd in class after the first stage, just a second off Chris and Steve in the class lead in spite of treacherous conditions and catching a couple of cars ahead of us which cost us a little time. We had a small spin on stage three approaching the Melbourne Hairpin which cost us a bit of time but fortunately were able to recover and by lunchtime we were still holding on to 2nd in class. In the afternoon we were going the opposite way round the circuit and using the gravelly infield section which was a lot of fun. Conditions dried up a bit and we had a good run. Chris and Steve stretched their lead further to take the class win in the rally and the championship but we were pleased to end the rally 2nd in class, over a minute ahead of 3rd, and 20th overall so it was great to finish on a high with another class podium and top 20 finish.

All in all it was a brilliant season for us, with 2 class wins and 3 other class podiums, as well as 4 top 20 finishes, our best season so far. Congratulations to Chris, Steve and all at S16 for a well-deserved class win. Thank you to all our sponsors; Cirrus Research, Morris Lubricants and Real Systems Controls, we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks to Jamie for doing a great job on the notes and to Howard and Connor at FJ-RS Engineering for looking over the car so well and helping me with the set up which really helped with the pace year. Thanks also to SMJ Photography for the fantastic photos all year and to all my friends and family for their support throughout.

Unfortunately we don't know when our next event will be due to Covid-19 - I was due to compete in my first closed road rallies but they have been cancelled. Watch this space for our plans later in the year.