First gravel rally of the season

Participation for Brk-Team still uncertain up to the last minute

Endurance test for the cars

The Sibiu rally is the toughest gravel rally of the season: the Special Stages (SS) are in the Păltiniş area and the roads are to almost no exception rocky and bumpy, leading through forests and fields, dotted with huge potholes that one would normally drive around at merely walking speed. Thus, sheer speed is not the final factor in winning this particular rally and every team crossing the finish line can wholeheartedly call themselves winners. Two additional stages were included in the rally this year, raising the total SS length to over 160 km.

Our preparations

The training depended on actually participating in the rally. Only in the last minute did we receive the gravel springs for our setup and during the montage a component of the shock absorber was damaged. This meant that on Wednesday, i.e. the day before the official Rally Start, we still needed to order an exchange part in the Netherlands.

As the official rally debut was marked on Thursday evening with a presentation of teams and cars in the Large Square (Piaţa Mare) in Sibiu, our Evo had to be wheeled in with a broken shock absorber; Dan Slave of our team was waiting at the airport in Bucharest for the exchange part so that we could start fixing the night before the presentation. Shortly after our official registration on Thursday afternoon we got word that the exchange part was delivered by TNT to Timişoara instead of Bucharest. Our team was on it's way to Sibiu, Dan was still waiting in Bucharest and we somehow had to show up at the presentation in the Large Square. As stated in the rulebook, participation in the presentation was mandatory, however missing out did not mean disqualifying but only involved a fine. We took the risk of the penalty and drove off to Timişoara. Estimated driving time to and back: 8 - 10 hours!

Through this ordeal we received however a great support from Banat Car (BMW) in Timişoara as an associate, George Barhoata picked up the exchange part from the airport and drove off to meet us on our way. Hence we were by midnight back in Sibiu and the repairs could begin.

The car's drive train, toe-in and camber setups were only performed by hand so we hoped this would be enough for the gravel tracks that lay ahead.

First rally day: Friday, 18.07.2008

Conditions:

Weather - sunny, cloudy and drizzly

Roads - both through woods and fields, mostly wet and slippery.

There were three SS scheduled for Friday. We drove twice on the "Santa" from Păltiniş down to the valley below and the "Superspecial" on an off-road track near Sibiu.

Due to heavy rains in the days before the rally, the tracks ranged from moist to wet. Santa was no exception with its mix of stirred-up sand, gravel and earth with deep grooves. Friday started out dry and we drove down Santa with no problems at all. Quickly after that heavy rain started pouring, turning the second run in a slippery challenge on clay soil and uneven, tricky sand.

The traditional Superspecial, a 4 km long track in which two cars are driven side by side is a real treat for spectators, was softened as well, so we drifted impressively through the tight curves to the delight of the approx. 3000 onlookers - and still managed to clock a good time of 1:56 min.

At the end of the day we were 3rd in our group.

Second rally day: Saturday, 19.07.2008

Conditions:

Weather - sunny and dry

Roads - in fields, mostly dry and dusty, in forests still wet and slippery.

The second day started with a stage comprising 4 SS; the first SS "Sadu" is a very fast run on wide gravel roads following a river. With a clocked time of 4:08 we were 3rd fastest in our section. The next SS up towards Păltiniş, "Gâtu Berbecului" is a 28 km long endurance test for all cars; the first part with lots of tight bends was in the none-rocky sections still soft and very slippery. The second mountainous part is sheer rock in an appalling state and thus hard to navigate: either driving around the boulders or with guts and lots of luck straight ahead. We decided to spare the car, however this has meant our pursuers, team Berari, gained one minute of us, placing us on 4th place. Due to a car crash on the way down from Păltiniş, the sixth stage was cancelled so we covered it on normal pace.

SS 7 "Calugaru" tok us back to Păltiniş, this time from Orlat; this stage is besides the "Sadu" the only one in the entire rally that is not so destructive on cars. The first part is covered very fast through the plains of Orlat, followed by a mountain stage with tight curves and bends. We skidded out slightly in one of the fast turns in the first part, loosing some time and parts of the floor protection.

After the service in Sibiu, two SS were up next, "Crinti", a 28 km long "Extreme run" from Sălişte through the mountains to Sibiel. Nearly the entire track is extremely bumpy so the car is literally flying over rocks, potholes and bumps; on top of that, it was very sandy and slippery. The golden rule was again fine-tuning a balance between speed and safety so we would not risk as technical breakdown. Even with no aggressive driving we could feel that something was broken and found out in the service park that the differential latches were sheered off. We could only mend this temporarily so the remainder SS had to be covered carefully in trying not to sheer the

differential completely off.

On SS 8, Team Pitigoi with the Ford Focus WRC crashed while in 1st place so we could count on a "safe" 3rd if only we could get the car safely across the finish line. The temporary straps around our differential were loosened during "Crinti" so we were trying to avoid all large stones and bumps on the road and drive safely. We pulled through the 28 km of SS and only had the last "Călugăru" crossing lying ahead, which compared to the rest of the stages is even, flat gravel. No problems here and we only had to reach the service to tighten up the straps for the finish.

While on 2nd place in the last SS, team Berari/Sandu were out due to a technical breakdown, allowing us to finish 2nd after team Abraham/Silasi.

Facts

The Sibiu Rally is always a handful: only 20 finishing teams speaks volumes on the high demands! Our strategy for moderation paid off, ensuring a great overall result. A great thank you goes to our team from MIT Motors, who were on the clock around our Evo up to the last minute to make this participation possible, as well as to all others that have supported us.

The championship standings are as follows:

Due the extreme demands on racing materials in Sibiu, our Evo will undergo a general overhaul at Gaetmo in Frace and besides the regular check-ups like shock absorbers, clutch, differentials, gear box etc. we will cover ball bearings, steering rods and driveshaft as well, replacing where needed so we will be in perfect shape for the next stage.

BRK-Rally Team