28 September 2002.
The car went really well and I'm rapt with the result! Garry Orton had
offered to co-drive to give me some instruction (teach me not to drive
like a lady !). Unfortunately Garry had urgent business to attend to at
the last moment and suggested I ask Adrian Leitch to take over the daunting
task.
Wow, what a great rally ! Adrian was fantastic - calling the corners
perfectly so that I was able to learn how to read the road and realise
that I could push Datsta around those corners just a bit faster than I
thought.
The rally ran over the same road 4 times - with a publicity
stage in a farmer's paddock during the 'lunch break'. I drove the gravel
roads & Adrian took us over the 'autocross track'. This proved
to be very valuable as he experienced the car's quaint ways and was
able to realise what was going on in its handling. BUT, I was very
nervous hopping into the suicide seat, and was so busy looking up at
where we were going (and where we should be going) that I missed 85%
of the calls.
It got even worse when we made lots of spectators run,
whilst sliding sideways getting pretty close to them, all I can remember
is turning to Adrian and saying "you b...ard!", luckily we
straightened up and missed them all. I think we spun three times. Great
fun, but boy was I happy to get back into the drivers seat. It really
makes you appreciate how hard the co-drivers work, and how difficult
it is to keep your head down!
Funny bits? Adrian charging us toward the crowd at
breakneck speed in a 'controlled' fashion (not). Wow, can those spectators
run ! The co-driver & dad getting lost in Hanmer (believe me this
aint a big place). The price of pizza in Hanmer - unbelievable !
So, we came third in our class - first lady driver (OK, only lady
driver) & had a blast. I learnt heaps & would like to say
a HUGE thank you to Adrian for coming with me, Delwyn for letting him
& wee Brayden for missing out on his dad all weekend.
Off to Rally NZ in a couple of days - can't wait !!!!
Sara.
Results out soon.
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