2019: The Year of The Navigator- Lovely

Well, looking back on 2019 is an interesting one, I haven't driven on a rally in over a year, but I have my reasons...2018 was an expensive year, after the accident in Wervik, repairing the car and the cost of doing the National Championship, travelling far and wide to events, it really broke the bank.

If I wanted to continue progressing then things had to change...and they have. A new job, now self employed, meant that I had to focus on other areas of life, after throwing everything I had in 2018 at rallying. However, other opportunities arose, sadly in upsetting circumstances...

Heartbreakingly, on May 5th 2019, my good friend Carl Sorensen died in a motorcycle accident. Carl or "Lovely" as he was known, was an absolutely amazing bloke, we spent alot of time together at rally's as he was my Step-Dad Gary's co-driver, and also co-drove for me back in 2016 on the Woodpecker. We were with him the week before on the Clacton Rally and he was his usual hilarious self. The last memory that I have of Carl was just as we were all about to leave the service area to travel the long journey home from Clacton, when he stepped out of the service van strutting along in his furry dressing gown, "Right then lovely's! I'm ready to go" he exclaimed with a big smile across his face. What a special character, and one that is sorely missed.

Gary and Carl were due to be doing the Manx the weekend after the tragedy, and there was no way that Gary could have done it without him. Carl was irreplaceable, and respectfully Gary felt that he couldn't just find another co-driver to sit in Carl's seat, it didn't feel right. Given that we were all part of the same team, after some time debating how to move forwards, Gary felt it would be more appropriate to have me in the car for his next event, despite my lack of navigating experience, having only done a couple of single venue events when friends needed a stand in. But the opportunity to sit in the Hyundai i20 WRC with Gary is one that I couldn't say no to. It was something that we both wanted to do, for lovely.

I put on a brave face, and Carl's watch, that his family kindly gave to us, and before I knew it I was sat in the wrong seat, in a place I knew well, but with some bad memories, Wervik. It was really tricky with wet conditions, mud pulled on from the cuts made the stages mega slippy. Unfortunately we had some issues, mainly launch, gear selection and then finally a mis-fire which forced retirement. I must have done a good job though, as Gary asked me to navigate for him on the other events he was doing that year.

The next event was the Mewla Rally on Epynt. This roller coaster of a venue was really tough on the body, and I was lucky to find some anti-sickness tablets half way through the day! Thought I might explode. It was seriously hot, espcially inside the car! The pace was really strong, despite continued launch and gear selection issues and we managed to pick up Gary's first ever top ten finish on Epynt. A great day!

Next up was Three Shires Rally, a brand new closed road event. A situation where the navigator is very important, especially when we were running first car on the road, with no-one to follow! Fortunately it seemed to go pretty well, despite the nerves. Some issues with the car and tyre selection led to a slow start but we built the pace throughout the day and came home in 8th overall.

Finally, we went to the Jersey Rally. Gary grew up in Jersey, but in recent years the event hasn't been kind to him. Last time he did the event in the Corolla, the turbo went, pretty much on the first corner. This time, we didn't even make it that far before trouble. As Gary released the handbrake to launch off the start line of the first stage, it sheared right off! At most venues this wouldn't be a big deal, and you definitely wouldn't consider retirement....but Jersey is a different beast. The Jersey lanes are so narrow and there are many extremely tight hairpins to contend. In a modern WRC car that 1. doesn't like going into reverse and 2. has the steering lock of a cruise ship, we would have caused chaos for the other competitors if we continued, as we nearly did on the only hairpin in SS1, sorry Jim! On the road section between the first and second stage, we decided to call it a day. Fortunately, we were able to get a new bracket made up for the handbrake, and competed on the Trophy Rally on the second day. We used this as a test, and to make the most of some more seat time, finishing 2nd behind hard charging local boy Ed Fossey.

For next year, Gary has asked me again to sit in with him, and I have committed to the first half of the year. I definitely don't see myself as a navigator, I'm a driver at heart, but the way I see it, the more time you can spend in a rally car the better, especially when it's such a prestigious car as the i20! How could I say no to that thing.

When it comes to driving, I will most definitely be back in the right seat in 2020, and have some exciting news which I will announce shortly. It's going to be a good year!

In Loving Memory of Carl "Lovely" Sorenson