In December 2023, I messaged Richard Weaver regarding him looking for a co-driver in his Fiesta R5 for the East Riding Stages 2024, it was more of a put my name out there, little did I know Richard was going to give me a shot!
2 rallies at the start of 2024 got my eye back into things and then I started to prepare for the big one!
I work in a primary school so on the Wednesday before the event I went away with our YR6’s to do a 3 day residential trip at Glan Llyn! Not the most ideal preparation for a rally as big as this one, but it did allow me to have some time to sit and look through the pace notes and roadbook route at night whilst waiting for the pupils to go to bed!
Then came Friday, got back to work and got straight into my car and drove the 3hrs across to East Yorkshire arriving at roughly 7:30pm, a quick catchup with Richard and the team followed and we came up with a plan of action for the recce!
I had never done a closed road event before, this in turn meant I hadn’t done a recce before either, another new experience for me on this event!
Recce went smoothly, we adjusted the notes to suit us and tried to simplify the fast bits, so it didn’t become information overload!
Then came Sunday morning, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling a bit nervous about it all, however when I got into the car and we made our way to Beverley Market Place for the ceremonial start, those nerves just seemed to disappear and I was fully switched on to the task at hand!
SS1, the butterflies I felt as I counted 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Richard planted the throttle in launch mode, were unreal and then without time to think the car took off, and it felt like I was in a spaceship, the force of the launch was something I’ve never come close to experiencing before! From then it was a case of get those notes out as quickly and accurately as I could, something which luckily seemed to flow pretty naturally!
We had a few setup issues during the morning meaning the car was quite nervous in the high speed and was hopping and skipping over the bumps leading to a few close moments with the verges on the side of the road!
A few changes in service by Neil Buckley and the crew made a step in the right direction, meaning we were able to commit to the afternoon loop, even setting the 14th Quickest time through the Westwood Super Special!
Hatfield in the afternoon was something I have never experienced before, the rate at which I had to get the notes out was unbelievable, don’t think I stopped talking at all during the stage!
And then just as quick as it started, it was all over. My debut in a R5 was complete as we pulled back into Beverley for the last time and the ceremonial finish!
This was a truly unbelievable experience and one I hope I can repeat in the very near future!
Jack Morris
