Walkers Duo Recce Network Q
Rally of Great Britain

Monday 20th November 2000

Half way through the stages and a definite pattern has begun to immerge - 'wet and sploggy!'
Although the sun has made a welcome appearance, the horrendous rainfall to hit the UK during the past few weeks has left its mark on the stages. Some sections are wonderful - Welsh Forest Stages at their best - but others are simply terrible, and that's before the massed ranks of the world's fastest rally cars are let loose in earnest!

Mud, mud and more mud; that will be the tale told over many a bar over the coming months.

The Super Stage at Cardiff has also shown its true character, with cars having to be towed out of the mire by four-wheel drive recovery vehicles. The compacted shale/pit waste foundation to this brand new facility is already proving to be very troublesome. It will doubtless prove to be a marvelous development for British Motorsport in the fullness of time, but whether it survives the rigour of the Network Q remains to be seen.

As for our battling duo, their verdict so far - 'specially cut tyres will be the order of the day, so its over to you Mr Michelin!'

Tuesday 21st November

On the third and final day allocated for the two permitted practice runs through each stage (at 30mph unfortunately!), the Walkers Duo came across the first snow on this years event. Steve Wright (now to be found on Radio 2) declared that snow would fall within the coming fortnight and had he driven through Haffren or Myherin he would have seen it for himself.
The roads were coated with ice as the intrepid duo left the warmth of their hotel at 07.30 this morning and headed for the Rhayader Mountains.

Thereafter the crews skirted the famous Eppynt Army Ranges, where they use half a mile of the twisty tarmac roads to link the two halves of a gravel stage.

JR and Steve hope to make it back to Cardiff for around 16.00, when they should meet up with service crew member Tony, who is trailering down the Integrale from Walkers Workshops in North Yorkshire.

Scrutineering takes place at 13.30 on Wednesday, where after the talking stops and the action starts!

Latest top up...

The crew are now safely back at their hotel in Cardiff, having driven over each of the 17 stages twice (nearly 500 miles of forest tracks). The general consensus suggests that leg one will be the most enjoyable from a competitors stand-point, being less rough and muddy than legs two and three.

18.30 on Thursday is now fast approaching...