Hemicuda Rally 2024 Report

Scott Barnes and Andy Hall came out on top after a fierce battle in difficult conditions at the recent Hemicuda Rally, winning their class as well as taking their maiden overall win in the Flanders International Rally Championship.

The two day event kicked off on Saturday with the recce, signing on and scrutineering, before the 150 car entry took on the first stage on Saturday night in the dark. Trying to judge the grip in the wet SS1 Middelkerke was extremely difficult. The British pairing struggled with poor visibility, with nothing lining the roads the lights were seemingly not good enough and made picking out braking points almost impossible. To make things worse, Scott accidentally caught the light stalk whilst changing up to second gear on the very first corner, plunging the Peugeot 106 into complete darkness! After a brief panic, “stealth mode” was dis-engaged and the team went on to set a respectable 31st quickest time. FIRC championship rivals Walraven/Ruiter and Freeman/Wiliams had both gone well and taken significant time out of Barnes/Hall, who also sat 3rd in Class 3F.

During the loop the team noticed some engine running issues, following a quick call to engine builder, Ian at Performance Automotive, a plan was in place for the short morning service. Saturday morning came and with damp roads greeting the crews, wet tyres were retained. A quick re-wire of the ECU earths and an adjustment to the engine map was done before the Peugeot 106 Rallye headed out for the first loop of three stages.

In the wet, muddy conditions, Scott and Andy pulled on their experience of the great British weather and went on a mission! 17th fastest overall on SS2 was enough to already overhaul the deficit in the FIRC and fire them straight into first position. A place was also gained in the Class 3F battle, moving up to second and taking time off class leaders Bauwens/Pauwels in their Ford Fiesta Rally4.

Drama continued on the road section when a driveshaft popped out of the gearbox, but Scott was quick to relocate it with no damage done, despite losing a worrying amount of gear oil. The rapid pace continued for the remainder of the loop, posting fastest times in both class and FIRC on stages 3 and 4.

Back to service and the team did a swift job, topping up the gear oil and another change to the engine map after checking the spark plugs. The decision was made to stay on the Pirelli wet tyres, due to the amount of mud being pulled out of the cuts causing the stages to be treacherous in some places, despite the now drying weather.

Scott and Andy continued to stretch their legs in the second loop of the day, setting consistently quick times to maintain their lead in both the FIRC and class. The gaps in both were now looking healthy, with almost a minute lead in the FIRC, and just over a minute in Class 3F. Given this advantage, Scott decided to play it safe, and stick with the wet tyres for the final loop. What an important decision this would turn out to be.

As they came off the start line in stage 8, Kortemark, the heavens opened. This felt like déjà vu for the team, as they lost their lead in Wervik this year in exactly the same circumstances. With their rivals already through the stage in the dry, it was a cruel strike of luck, that would really crank up the pressure on the Peugeot pair.

Scott and Andy threw caution to the wind, on the right tyres for the conditions, they pushed as hard as possible. The guys were on the absolute limit, throwing the car into every available cut, full attack mode engaged. They felt they could not have gone any quicker in this stage, but still dropped 35 seconds to their FIRC rivals, who had got through in full dry conditions.

The localised shower had not fallen on the second stage of the loop, Houthoulst, and with their rivals on a dry tyre setup, Scott and Andy again pushed as hard as they dared on their wet tyres. With the bit between their teeth they showed full commitment, the cuts were bigger, the speed was higher, rallying on the limit. The high powered rivals on their dry weather slicks again chipped away at Scott and Andy’s lead, leaving the gap at only 13 seconds going into the last stage.

When the crew arrived at the final stage in Koekelare, the rain had already passed through and the stage was damp. Finally the team were on the right tyre for the conditions versus their rivals. A massive push was had in the last stage. Scott and Andy set an incredible 8th fastest overall time, out of over 100 finishers, being the fastest 2WD car through the stage. This sealed the win! It was a huge relief for the whole team, finally seeing the lads get their first trophies in Belgium which has been long overdue. The team were welcomed with champagne on the podium, and parked up in the winners circle alongside overall event winners Bjorn Syx/Ari Vanrobaeys, and Historic winners Paul Lietar/Wouter Knockaert. It was for sure a special moment, with emotions running high. What an absolute privilege to be stood there with our home built Peugeot 106. A surreal achievement, it felt like a dream.

Scott adds “We had to fight for the win, being pushed hard all day, and that makes it feel so much better. I’d like to say a massive thank you to my service crew, for keeping the car together and letting us concentrate on the driving. Also our family and friends for all of their support. And to our partners for all of their help with the car and getting it to Belgium-

Boyles Plumbing and Heating Ltd

Performance Automotive

Satchell Engineering”

Congratulations to Rene Walraven and Joyce Ruiter on taking the 2024 Flanders International Rally Challenge victory after their second place finish on the event. We have enjoyed battling with them all year and hope to go again at our next event in Kortrijk.

Keep an eye on the BP Rally socials for more updates from the event over the coming days. Until next time!