Last weekend we returned to the Scottish Rally Championship for the Grampian Forest Rally near Banchory. Unfortunately we missed the Scottish Rally as I had Covid so we missed out on a test and the rally itself. We knew the event was going to be a steep learning curve as I'd only driven the car on gravel once nearly a year ago, plus it was my first event with a new co-driver, Martin.
It was great to return to Anglesey Circuit this weekend! Saturday was the Lee Holland Stages which I took part in with Marc Fowler. I competed in my first ever rally at Anglesey five years ago with RallyMe so it's a place which means a lot to me and it was really special to return there to celebrate my rally anniversary at the same track exactly five years later!
I'm really excited to be competing in the Scottish Rally Championship this year! After a few years competing on circuit rallies I'm really looking forward to a new challenge with closed road and gravel events!
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 final round of the 2019/20 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship would take place at Donington on 15th March. It had been an intense second half of the season with events every other weekend.
Sunday 1st March was the penultimate round of the 2019/20 Motorsport News Circuit Championship, the Lee Holland Memorial Stages at Anglesey in Wales. Following 80mph winds the day before luckily the weather had calmed down and it was dry but still windy.
We had a good start to the day in spite of very tricky conditions. The track was damp and it was a tough choice between intermediate and wet tyres. We went for wets which turned out to be the right decision – the track was incredible slippery even with these tyres. On stage 1 we unfortunately had a spin due to a late call on the notes which cost us a bit of time but we still managed to set the quickest time in class which we were pleased with.
Yesterday the championship kicked off again at Brands Hatch after a 6 week break over Christmas and New Year. Brands Hatch hasn't been my favourite round in the past as we've struggled to get a good result there but I was really looking forward to getting back out in the car and seeing what we could do.
What a day at Knockhill yesterday! After our big accident there last year we were hoping for a good result to put that behind us.
This weekend we returned to Cadwell Park for the second round of the 2019/20 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship. Conditions were challenging all day, and despite the dry forecast it ended up raining for most of the day so we went with a wet set up and full wet tyres.
Saturday was the Neil Howard Stages at Oulton Park, the first round of the 2019/20 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship. It was great to finally kick off our new season, with JIG in its new livery courtesy of our main sponsor Cirrus Research.
Yesterday was the launch of the new season of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship at Oulton Park, which Jamie and I attended with our partner Cirrus Research.
We’re delighted to be partnering with Cirrus Research for the 2019/20 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship. Cirrus joined the team last year to sponsor us for a few events, and this year we're stepping up our partnership as Cirrus join us for the whole season as our main partner.
Yesterday I had my second visit to iZone Driver Performance at Silverstone, along with fellow BWRDC member and MSN Rally competitor Cathy Sewart. We were both keen to improve our driving before the new season kicks off in November, as we aim to take class wins in our respective classes.
Today we had a test in the car at Three Sisters, to check it was running ok after our break down at Anglesey in June. The car was running perfectly and the test gave us the opportunity to try out some different tyre compounds and suspension settings.
This weekend featured something a bit different for me – a return to the co-driver’s seat! I was asked to sit with Alan Oldfield in his Darrian for the Mach 1 Stages at Machrihanish.
Yesterday I competed in the Enville Stages at Anglesey with my brother James in the co-driver’s seat. It was the first time out for me since our accident at Cadwell Park in April so I was looking forward to getting some valuable seat time.
Last night was the 2018-19 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship Awards at Oulton Park, giving us the opportunity to celebrate our achievements for the year.
Yesterday I had my first visit to iZone Driver Performance at Silverstone. I was given a voucher for an eye tracking session at iZone as a prize for being nominated for one of this year’s BWRDC (British Women Racing Drivers’ Club) GoldStar Awards.
2018/19 was our second season in the Fiesta R200 and it was a year of highs and lows. The previous year we’d had great consistency, finishing every round, but after a year in the car we were working on improving our pace. We’d worked hard over the summer, testing the car, building up the pace and doing a few non-championship events to build confidence and we had some good results.
The Alan Healy Memorial Rally at Cadwell Park was once again the scene for the final round of the MSN Circuit Rally Championship. We went into the event with me sitting 2nd in class B, 8 points behind MX-5 driver Paul Sheard.
Yesterday we returned to Anglesey for the penultimate round of the 2018/19 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, the Lee Holland Stages. Anglesey is always one of my favourite events and last year I had my first class win at the Lee Holland so I was looking forward to seeing what we could do this year.
Last year’s Donington Rally was cancelled due to snow so we were looking forward to getting out this year. It was a challenging day with tricky weather conditions but we really enjoyed the event.
We are delighted to welcome environmental noise specialists Cirrus Research on board as a sponsor for the rest of the 2018/19 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship.
Yesterday was the fifth round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship which took place at Snetterton Circuit. It was a tough day’s rallying for me and Jamie, we hit a chicane on the first stage then had problems on stage 3 with banging noises coming from the car every time we changed down a gear so we had to come in a lap early. Issues continued on stage 4 and we had to crawl round in second gear then come in after one lap so got a stage maximum for both stages.
Last night was the annual BWRDC (British Women Racing Drivers' Club) Awards Dinner at the incredible Walton Hall Hotel and Spa. I only joined the club in 2018 so this was my first opportunity to attend and it was great to spend an evening with the other BWRDC ladies.
Last night I attended the ANWCC (Association of North Western Car Clubs) Awards at the Hallmark Hotel in Manchester. It was the first time I had entered this championship and I was delighted to take home a few trophies for Class B Champion Driver in the Stage Rally Championship; Class B Champion Driver in the North Wales Stage Rally Challenge; and Runner-Up Driver in the Ladies Rally Championship.
Yesterday was our first rally of the year – the MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages. It was also our first event since our crash at Knockhill in December. TnS Rally did an incredible job of getting the car ready in such a short space of time and a lot of people were surprised to see us back out so quickly.
Following our crash at Knockhill in December, the car has been rebuilt by TnS Rally and I was keen to get back in the car before our next rally at Brands Hatch. I managed to fit in a few laps today to get my confidence back in the car.
This weekend saw the return of the Autosport International show to the NEC and I was able to pop along for a couple of days. I was honoured to have been nominated for one of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club GoldStar Awards.
Our 2018 season has come to an end and it's been a mixed bag for us full of highs and lows. 12 rallies, 4 different co-drivers, 3 non-finishes (2 at our home venue Knockhill!) and 1 class win.
This weekend took us north of the border to Knockhill for the only Scottish round of the championship. Jamie and I were both looking forward to this event as it's our home rally and we had a really good result there last year.
This weekend was the second round of the 2018/19 Motorsport News Championship. Before we headed off to scrutineering Jamie and I were delighted to be asked to the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio studio to talk to Lorna Bailey about our rallying.
Yesterday was the first round of the 2018/19 Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship - the Neil Howard Stages at Oulton Park. After a final test at Three Sisters earlier in the week, we were feeling confident in the car and couldn't wait for the season to begin.
Yesterday was our first visit to the Three Sisters Race Circuit for the Adgespeed Stages. Three Sisters is a much smaller circuit to the ones we usually compete at in the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship but it was a really well organised event with 12 tight technical stages.
The 2018 edition of Racing Vogue, the magazine of the British Women Racing Drivers' Club, is available to view online now.
Yesterday we headed to Oulton Park for the Media Day of Season 4 of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship. The day started with an exciting announcement that Dave Richards, Chairman of the MSA and of Prodrive, will be co-driving alongside Graham Coffey in the Ford Fiesta WRC for Round 1 at Oulton Park in November.
Yesterday we took the car to a wet and windy Castle Combe for Rallyday 2018. It was our first time at the event and the car was on display on the BWRDC (British Women Racing Drivers' Club) stand for the day. After last season the car was looking a bit worse for wear, but TnS Rally did a great job with it and it looked as good as new for the show.
The team’s next event will be Rallyday, taking place at Castle Combe this Saturday 22nd September. Rallyday is Europe’s premier rally car show and attracts thousands of rally fans each year.
As the Donington round of the MSN championship was cancelled this year due to snow, I was looking forward to the Dukeries Rally at Donington. I had only competed there once before and this was my first opportunity to put the Fiesta through its paces there.
I was excited to return to Anglesey for the Enville Stages on 1st July. I love the venue and the Enville Stages in 2016 was my very first rally in the driver’s seat so holds a lot of fond memories.
After competing in the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship 2016/17, I was keen to return to the championship for the new season. I’d competed in Class A the previous season in a hired Fiat Punto, finishing 2nd in class. Now for 2017/18 I had my own car, a Ford Fiesta R200.