Rallye Salamandre 2024 Report

Last weekend saw Scott Barnes travel to Belgium for the first round of the Flanders International Rally Challenge at Rallye Salamandre. With Bill Paynter standing in as co-driver the team had a good days recce’ing on Saturday in the Belgian sunshine as the service crew regretted bringing rain coats over sun cream (one member particularly).

Warm dry stages again greeted the crew on Sunday morning as they set out for the first loop of 4 stages in the Beaumont countryside. The first stage included one loop with a split off to finish which was the perfect warm up. The stage went well with the car handling fantastically. A solid start.

On stage 2 Scott was really starting to get in to a rhythm. About half way through the stage the team came over a blind crest to find the car in front, a Citroen C2 R2, on its roof, blocking the road, having had a nasty accident. Fortunately Scott was able to get the car stopped in time and the team jumped out to give assistance with both of the Citroen’s crew still stuck inside the upside down car. Being the first on scene to what looked like an aeroplane crash, sump guard ripped off etc., with no spectators or marshals anywhere to be seen, is a scary experience. Scott ran to the top of the crest to warn approaching cars whilst Bill pulled the Citroen navigator out of he wreckage. Fortunately both crew members, although very shaken, were ok. Once the stage had been stopped and marshals took control, Scott and Bill hopped back into the 106 to complete the stage at road speed, and headed back to service before the next set of two stages.

Stage 3 really suited the 106 paired with Scott’s silky smooth driving style. With half of the stage being made up of fast pristine tarmac flowing roads, it gave the Satchell Engineering suspension its chance to shine. The grip was amazing, the pace was hot!

Onto the final, fourth stage of the loop, very different in characteristic, rougher, with a very bumpy gravel section to contend. The car seemed to be setup too low on this stage, bottoming out on the sump guard in a number of places just because of the amount of camber in the road. This upset the car, particularly under braking in some areas, meaning the team had to back off slightly to get through unscathed. Some time was also lost due to a couple of cars stopped on stage, one of which was the car in front, another 106, losing control and collecting a gate on the gravel section. The curse of the car in front it seemed. After an eventful loop, with one notional time given, Scott sat in an excellent 15th overall.

Back into service and the service crew, Andy, James and Bob, raised up the front ride height slightly and re-did the wheel alignment to try and stop the car bottoming out. Unfortunately this seemed to upset the handling, particularly on bumpy sections where the 1600 screamer was a real handful. Scott wrestled the car through dutifully. The third stage of the loop was again a highlight, with the handling not causing issues on the smooth flowing sections, Scott set 11th overall fastest time, and was the fastest FIRC competitor. In the last stage of the loop they lost a significant amount of time after catching the car in front who started a minute ahead. Unfortunately catching the Saxo just before the gravel section and having to follow them through for some time. After the gravel section, and being given a face full of dust, the Saxo pulled aside and let them pass. This dropped Scott and Bill down the results slightly and out of the event class lead.

However, with 2 loops down and 1 to go, the team were still looking on for a really strong result and a big haul of championship points, lying 2nd overall in the championship behind the Fiesta R5 of Sean Quigley, and leading the 2WD category.

The team decided that it would be best to again lower the car slightly in service for the final loop, with the theory that being cautious, bottoming out and losing time in the few rough places in the stages, was better than having to fight the car on every bumpy section, probably around 70% of the time.

Confidence was really building in the last loop, with the car handling better and the familiarity of the stages, the cuts were getting bigger and the commitment was huge. Through the first pair of stages, the results were reviewed at service and it seemed there was not much available to be gained, with a big cushion behind.

In the third stage of the loop, the crew went out just to enjoy themselves, knowing this was where the car worked best. A brilliant 12th fastest overall time was set, and quickest 2WD Division 4 car.

With one stage to go, not much to gain, and now an even bigger gap behind, the sensible decision was made to take it steady to preserve the car and get through cleanly in the roughest Strée test. An intelligent drive saw Scott pick his places, holding position and bringing the car home for a perfect start to his championship campaign.

Scott and Bill finished a very respectable 16th overall, 2nd overall FIRC behind Quigley in the R5, and first place in the FIRC 2WD class, meaning a brilliant start to the 2024 campaign. They were also first 106/Saxo/C2 by over 3 minutes, with 17 starters at the beginning of the event. A job well done.

Scott would like to say a big thank you to his fantastic service crew for a great job all weekend, as well as his partners for their continued support- Satchell Engineering, Performance Automotive, Boyles Plumbing and Heating.

The next event for Scott and the Peugeot pocket rocket will be the ORC Canal Rally, which is less than 6 weeks away on the 26th May.