News:  Tuesday, 24th August 2010

Rally Team Scotland claimed another solid result in the MSA British Rally Championship on the International Rally Northern Ireland – the fifth and penultimate round of the championship. John MacCrone delivered a clever performance to finish 16th overall and second in the Fiesta Sport Trophy series on his first attempt at the demanding Ulster event.

              

It’s only MacCrone’s first season in the British Championship but, looking at his performances so far this year, you would be forgiven for thinking he has many more years under his belt. However, Northern Ireland is one of those places where experience of the province’s bumpy, country lanes and high-speed, wide roads counts for a lot and it’s impossible to push to the limit on your first attempt.

The other challenge that the event always seems to throw up is the weather. Frequent rain showers mixed with bright sunshine always makes tyre choice a difficult decision.

MacCrone adopted a sensible approach to the rally, opting to spend the first day gathering experience of the Ulster stages and perfecting his pacenotes to suit the roads. But on day two, with his confidence built up, he and co-driver Stuart Loudon pushed harder on every stage to eventually post a class winning stage time and finish ninth overall on the last test.

Rally Northern Ireland was based in Antrim and kicked off on Friday afternoon with two passes over a difficult opening loop of three stages. Amongst them was Glendun with its nine miles of fast, narrow roads – slippery under the tress but still seriously quick in places – and Torr Head, a high-speed pass over the Causeway Coast scenic route with sheer drops into the Irish Sea to test commitment to the limit.

MacCrone started well in his Palletforce-backed Fiesta R2 rally car, settling into eighth position in the R2 class as he gained experience of the specialist conditions. The second pass over the loop gave him a chance to consolidate his speed and pacenotes before a short overnight halt led crews into day two of the event.

The second day’s competition was fought out over eight stages around Antrim and MacCrone upped his pace accordingly. On stage 10 he set second fastest time and went third fastest on stage 11 – pipping leading Fiesta driver Elfyn Evans by nearly five seconds. But things were to go even better on the last two tests. Another third fastest time on stage 13 was followed by MacCrone topping the timesheets on the event’s final stage. Even with a puncture in the last mile of the stage, he was able to set fastest R2 time and claim ninth fastest overall in the little Tunnocks-backed Fiesta.

That performance was good enough to see him finish second in the Fiesta one make series and sixth in the R2 category. But the weekend had been a resounding success. MacCrone and Loudon had stuck to their game plan of gaining experience of the Irish roads before punching in some fast times, against many more seasoned competitors, towards the end of the event.

Rally Northern Ireland was the last of three Tarmac rounds of the championship and the challenge now moves to the fast, gravel roads in Yorkshire that comprise the International Rally of Yorkshire on 24-25 September.
 
John MacCrone said, “This has probably been one of my strongest performances all year. My confidence grew as the rally went on and we set some really good times on the last five stages. It’s been an important rally for my development and confidence. We set out to learn, get experience and adapt to the conditions here and that’s exactly how it went. With the high hedges along most of the roads, you really need to commit to the pacenotes and have them exactly right and we changed the approach at junctions, becoming smoother and faster.”

 

News: Tuesday, 13th June 2010

Palletforce Rally Team Claims Season Best Result

Palletforce Rally Team Scotland came away with its best result of the year after the crew of John MacCrone and Stuart Loudon put in a relatively trouble-free run on the fourth round of the MSA British Rally Championship - the Rally Isle of Man. With a steady approach and consistent performance over the two-day event, they finished 13th overall and second in the Fiesta Sport Trophy category.

                      

The classic event is one of the longest, and most demanding rounds of the series and the Scots approached it with caution. Local knowledge counts for a lot on the island. Its closed, public road special stages are made up of fast, double-width roads and a myriad of narrow, bumpy country lanes – and experience of the Isle of Man is a must before any challenge for success can be contemplated.

This was 20-year-old MacCrone’s first attempt on the island and it’s roads are so testing that even to just finish all 21 stages is seen to be an achievement. The high-speed stages and famous jumps and junctions have fans flocking to the island to catch a glimpse of the stars in action.

Rally Isle of Man was based at the TT Grandstand in Douglas and was the second of three consecutive Tarmac events. MacCrone and Loudon had prepared well for the rally, knowing that accurate pacenotes would provide vital assistance to their quest.

When the event started on Friday morning, the pair had planned to settle into a comfortable rhythm and build the speed up during the weekend. Finishing all the stages was the main aim as it would provide essential Tarmac experience for the next championship round in Northern Ireland. After a short burst through the opening stage in Douglas, the real action got underway and MacCrone set seventh fastest time in the R2 class on the first main stage.

His little Palletforce-backed Ford Fiesta R2 soon got into the grove, though, and he notched up fourth fastest times on stages eight and ten. Road conditions were changing rapidly and MacCrone had to contest with making last minute tyre choices as rain showers played havoc with the quickly-drying road surface. The day ended with two runs through the exciting Castletown spectator stage and the 11.6 miles of West Baldwin, and MacCrone was looking good as he ended the day in 12th position overall.

Day two had a mixed start – another fourth placed stage time on stage 14 The Cronk was followed by a pair of punctures on stages 15 and 16. Because both tests were short, MacCrone elected to drive on the puncture each time and dropped just over a minute in total with time loss. But, as the day went on, he was getting into his stride and seemed to prefer the wetter conditions on the island. The day culminated with an impressive time on stage 18 Corlea which was good enough for third in R2 and 10th overall and helped him claw back some of the day’s earlier dropped time.

However, on the last stage, MacCrone was quickly reminded of the perils of Manx rallying when he clipped a kerb at a square right junction and the TSL Contractors-supported Fiesta was pitched over onto its side at low speed. With the help of some quick-reacting spectators he was soon on his way and happy to safely finish his first outing on the island. After 153 miles of high-speed competition, and probably the longest event of MacCrone’s short career, he delivered Palletforce Rally Team Scotland’s best finish to date and secured another podium in the Fiesta Sport Trophy.

But the result will also provide important Tarmac experience and confidence for the team as they head back across the Irish Sea to take on International Rally Northern Ireland on 20-21 August.
 
John MacCrone said, “It’s great to have finished the event and even better that it’s been our best overall result so far this year. I was happy with the times we set, especially when the roads were wet and I was able to step up my performance during the weekend. But one of the biggest things I’ve taken from the rally is the importance of the pre-event recce. On stages that are technical and fast like these, its vital to have a consistent level of information in the pacenotes – and that all starts on the recce. We’ve got some areas for improvement on the next round.”

MacCrone Takes Class Victory at Chatsworth