Quinton Horiba Stages 2003Press Release – 28th July 2003“Top 20 finish for Crossland and Applegate.”
Behind the wheel of the Ford Escort Cosworth, the crew were looking forward to a trouble free run, having encountered problems on most of the previous rounds. The new close ratio gearbox recently fitted had yet to see a clear round of the championship. On stage one Richard certainly had the bit between his teeth, setting joint 14th fastest time on the 4.5 mile stage. But the gremlins started their work during stage two, as an intermittent lack of power took its toll, dropping the team to 48th overall. Frantic efforts during the first service were to no avail and the team had no choice but to run with this problem for the rest of the day. With Richard adjusting his driving to compensate, they managed to steadily climb back up the field, reaching 24th overall with two stages remaining. Undeterred by the problem, both Linette and Richard agreed to push hard for the last leg of this Welsh Rally, and there was no holding them back. Once again, 14th overall was achieved on the penultimate stage, the very fast and open ‘Route-60’, and on the last special stage 10th overall. The crew was now able to claw back some of the time lost in the morning whilst adjusting to the power difficulties. With a final result of 19th Overall this is the best result to date for the team, and with the championship points gained from this round, both driver and co-driver currently lie third in class B13, with Linette also leading Lady co-driver. The whole team is now much more positive, knowing that on a trouble free rally, an even higher position could be achieved. The team will now take a break from the championship, to eliminate the intermittent problem, and will be back out competing on the Plains Rally, round 9 of the BTRDA Home | News / Info | Calendar | Event Reports | Photo Gallery | Rally Teams | Contacts | Links - Updated Sunday, 24 February, 2008 |
The Alfred Ashley
Technical Services backed team of Richard Crossland and Linette Applegate battled their way to finish in the top 20 on the
Quinton Horiba Stages Rally, round 7 of the BTRDA Rally Championship.