The final section of the Monte Carlo rally is the one most anticipated by the spectators and feared by the crews. It comprises severally brutally difficult stages over the Col de Turini and other adjacent peaks in the Alpes Maritime that tower over Monaco. Every kind of weather condition can be expected: sheet ice, packed ice, black ice, fresh powder, wet snow, slush and of course freezing fog are almost always present to some degree. Rallyists aptly call this the “Night of the Long Knives” because of the long penetrating spotlight beams of the cars as they wind their way up the mountain roads. This year we had a double loop over the the Turini in the east-west direction followed by a stage over the Col de Braus. To put it mildly, was going to be a challenge for a car with a compromised gearbox and broken suspension! However the never-say-die ethos of the Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team came into play. We raced out of Monte Carlo in the direction of the mountains. We met Adam and John at the service point and they changed out tyres for the last set of fresh studded boots we possessed and then the race was on.

Although regularity stages are about maintaining what appears to be a modest, road-legal, constant speed (usually around 47kph) this task becomes almost unbelievably difficult when conducted over snow covered mountain “roads” that are often little more than goat trails. At some point over the Turini I stopped giving Bill clock times and told him to drive flat out as we were so far behind on time. Nevertheless we had an epic battle with the Mini Coopers of O’Nion/Wilkinson and Jahn/Jahn. We also reeled in numerous other faster cars including Alfas and Porsches (it’s always particularly satisfying when a Mini overtakes German machinery if for nothing other than the look on the driver’s face as our demented little buzz box goes past).

Despite our heroics the mechanical condition of the car was not working in our favour and to make matters worse 4th gear started to whine ominously. While we were holding our own we were not making ground either. We adopted the old maxim “to finish first, first you have to finish” and opted for Bill driving at eight to nine tenths as we careered over the Cols.

The cheering crowds were quite unbelievable and it’s hard to imagine anywhere else in the world where we would get such an audience at 2.00pm on a freezing cold weekday night. Eventually the end marker of the final stage appeared and we shot back to the finishing ramp at Monaco. It was now nearly 6.00am and again the crowds were out in force. I went to buy beers and Bill gave press interviews. After months of intense planning it was hard to believe that the rally was over. Despite all odds we had finished in the middle of the pack and 5th in class. Now we faced the long drive home and few months rest before starting planning for 2010.

The 2009 Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying Team was:
Bill Richards: Driver
John Morrow: Co-Driver
John Griffin: Service Support and team Manager
Adam Cooke: Service Support
and of course the star PRX 720B (1965 Morris Mini Cooper S)

Tuesday 3rd February was the second part of the common leg. On this year’s event, this section of the rally comprised a straight run from Valence back to Monte Carlo interspersed with three regularity stages. Quite how we were going to accomplish this objective with the Mini stuck in first gear was anybody’s guess. And if that wasn’t bad enough the right rear suspension had collapsed with a broken knuckle joint. However the rally gods were smiling on us in a twisted kind of manner. Overnight the gearbox had again mysteriously freed itself. Bill diagnosed a broken selector mechanism on reverse and the trick to avoid problems was to not go backwards. However as soon as we left the Valence control yet another problem became apparent. Third gear was making a very nasty rattle. Bill very quickly came to the conclusion that we had lost a cog tooth and limited his driving to 1st , 2nd and 4th. We pushed on hard while nursing the gearbox and suspension.

It’s funny how striving against adversity can have positive effects. In six hours. Notably over the St. Nazaire and Montauban stages we turned in some of our best time of times of the rally and pulled ourselves up 80 places into the middle of the pack and 4th in class. The Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team was at last realising its potential. Eventually after a long hard road section from the village of Gilette through the outskirts of Nice we found ourselves on the finishing ramp on the Quai d’Albert at Monte Carlo. The atmosphere was fantastic. The crowds and press were out in force and a jazz band was playing in full swing. Bill and I posed and signed autographs. We must have been photographed a thousand times. Onlookers, rally fans and competitors pored over the car with some (rather worryingly) taking copious notes on our tyres and instrumentation. PRX 720B had performed magnificently but the little car was not due to get much rest: we had a four hour break before departing on the final set of stages over the dread Col de Turini.
To be continued…

Monday was the first part of what is known as the Common Leg and comprised a loop across the Ardeche plateau: a 400Km dash from Valence and back across some classic rally roads. It was raining in the city as the cars lined up for the start and this mean that the likelihood of snow in the mountains was high. The team were excited as Minis have an inherent advantage in snow whereas dryer conditions favour the faster cars. On a transit section the team performed an amazingly fast service. Points and tyres were changed, brakes adjusted and fluid levels checked and topped up all within 15 minutes. The car was transformed. We reached the first of the stages, a nearly 50km run from St Pierreville to Antraigues over very mixed terrain and took off. We were shod with our studded tyres but here was very little snow -just some icy patches in the sun shadow of the mountains. We completed the stage quite successfully and were then informed by a Marshal that the next stage was cancelled due to snow. Conditions change very quickly in the Ardeche!

After another quick service and a stop at the famous Jouannay bakery for traditional apple strudel (Monsieur Jouanny is a former rally driver and loves to support the Monte Carlo crews) we raced for the time control at St Agreve and then thrashed on to the next regularity stage, a relatively straightforward 20Km loop at St Bonnet Le Froid. This we completed uneventful and then pressed on to the final stage at Lamastre. This was a tricky stage with several turns (and therefore the possibility of wrong slotting) . By now it was also dark and raining. We attacked the stage energetically sensing that we’d had a fairly good day.

However we were not destined to be so lucky. About three kilometres before the end we wrong slotted at an ambiguous junction. We realised our mistake within 10 metres and I put the Halda in reverse as we prepared to quickly get back on the main route. This was a comparatively small error and we had ample time to make up. But then the mysterious gearbox problem that we first experienced on arrival in Monte Carlo two days previously again reared its ugly head, only this time we found ourselves stuck in first gear! The crew were waiting for us at the end of the stage but even their wizardry wasn’t enough and the gearbox remained obstinately stuck. There was nothing for it but to cover the final 20Km into Valence in first gear: an interesting experience to say the least. Amazingly we made our time at the final control. The Minispares-Mad Dog rallying team convened over dinner, fought off gloom over dinner and made a plan for the following day. Things were about to become very interesting.
To be continued….

After a night’s sleep and breakfast the team’s mood had changed from from disconsolate uncertainty to quiet determination. Despite a stuck gearbox we were going to stay in the rally by hook or by crook. As it happened we didn’t have to do much. We convened by the car and to everyone’s absolute amazement the gearbox appeared to work perfectly. Whatever caused this bizarre self-correcting fault was a little troubling but we had no time to dwell on the issue. After a quick tidy-up we headed for the first regularity stage of the day with the crew in pursuit.

Stage one was long east west traverse of the mountains 30Km north of Nice. Narrow twisty roads with a 3000 ft drop awaiting anyone unlucky enough to go off. We completed this run successfully with a very good time and then pointed PRX 720B in the direction of the next stage north of Sisteron. After a long road section we reached the stage at Ventavon and again completed it in good time before making the time control at Serres. So far so good –our spirits were high and we were cautiously optimistic about our chances. Unfortunately fate was playing tricks with us. On the L’Epine stage when we were running bang on time the engine died. Bill diagnosed a faulty condenser, changed it in record time and we shot off. Ten minutes is a lot to pull back but he did his best. I looked down at the view from the Col de Pommerol with amazement and we hammered around the mountain tracks at breakneck speed. Despite Bill’s heroics we were now losing time and were under the gun.

Our destination for the day was the town of Valence but before we reached there we faced a long climb up onto the Ardeche plateau and a final stage over the Col de L’Echarasson. After an exhausting slog we reached the stage, changed our tyres to full studs and set off. The first half of the stage was fairly straightforward and we were surprised to find no snow but the second we got onto the D76 we faced packed ice and the going became slow. Bill went into maximum attack mode and we skittered over the Col. There was car carnage everywhere and there had been several nasty offs. It is the view of some Mini drivers that it is impossible to make target time over the Col but we did our best and flew through the end of stage marker at improbable speed. We then raced into Valence and made our “in” time at the control.

It had been a day of mixed fortunes. We were running in the lower middle pack but at least we were running. The next day was to be a race over the Ardeche plateau and back to Valence and we were eager to find opportunities to advance through the ranks.

To be continued…

At precisely 8.54pm on Friday 30th January, PRX 720B, the Morris Mini Cooper S of the Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team roared off the podium in Reims town square and headed for Monaco. The build up to this moment had been simply amazing. Every year more and more spectators, press and rally fans turn out for this event. At scrutineering and later when we were parked in Reims city centre ready for the start it was sometimes difficult to move around the car for the crowds wanting photo opportunities.

As the Mini pressed through the town and out into the countryside we were cheered by thousands although as the night turned into the bitingly cold wee small hours the crowds thinned. After some initial nervy moments Bill and I settled into rhythm. We hit all our controls points without incident and the crew refueled us and provided much needed food and drink. At sunrise we started to feel the effects of being up for 24 hours and fought sleepiness with coffee. This is always a difficult time as concentration can slip and it’s easy to make elementary mistakes. However we managed to keep a clean sheet as we pushed south. Mid-morning changed to afternoon and we were back in the Alps; this year the Concentration Run went all the way to Monte Carlo. Make no mistake, this event is brutal for both man and machine.

Eventually we found ourselves at the tripmeter calibration section at Entrevaux. We carried out this essential task without incident. On previous events this has been the end of the day but this year we faced a nasty sting in the tail of this section – namely a special regularity stage over the infamous Col de Turini. The service crew (Adam elected to do the majority of the driving and deserves special mention) who had driven valiantly to keep up with us changed our tyres to studded snow covers and Bill and I raced for the stage. By the time we reached the start it was dark. We stormed up the mountain keeping very good time but were slowed a little by patches of dense fog at the summit. Bill kept us on the pace. Now it was time to head for Monte Carlo. After a jarring descent down some of the most difficult roads (cart tracks is a better description) in the Alps we raced into Monaco. There was a time control at a hotel before we reached the finish. As we picked our way through traffic misfortune struck and we found ourselves jammed in 4th gear. Somehow Bill managed to get us across town by slipping the clutch but we were late over the finishing podium on the Quai Albert we gained a time penalty. This was a disappointing development at the end of a fantastic drive and the team was feeling low. We had been up for 36 hours and were in desperate need of sleep. We decided to turn in and make a plan over breakfast

To be continued…

Yesterday on a bright but chilly morning, the Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team set off for France. The early part of the week was spent on last minute preparations and attending to a million and one organisational details. Then it was time to go. Unlike previous years the Channel crossing was uneventful although PRX 720B attracted numerous admirers as usual. The team arrived at their hotel in Reims around 5.00pm and enjoyed a relaxed dinner together and savoured the last few hours of relative calm before turning in early. There will be little sleep for the next few days and sustenance will be mostly ham and cheese sandwiches eaten on the fly.

At the time of writing (early Friday morning) the team are getting ready for technical and administrative scrutineering later in the morning. After this process is complete they will prepare for the evening start. The first car will depart from the podium at Reims town square at 7.00pm and our car, number 328, will leave about an hour and half later. After heading south on the nearly 24 hour “Concentration Run” they will hit their first service point at around midnight. Then they face the long drive to Monaco. The Concentration Run is unusually long run this year and goes all the way to Monaco and has a nasty sting in its tail: before the exhausted get to the Principality they will have to tackle a special regularity stage over the much dreaded Col de Turini.

Now, after it’s nearly time to see how the months of planning will pay off. Tomorrow we will cover the progress made.

To be continued…

The Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team comprises:

Bill Richards: Driver
John Morrow: Co-Driver
John Griffin: Service Support and much abused Team Manager
Adam Cooke: Service Support

The Minispares-Mad Dog Rallying team has crossed the channel and is now safely at Reims and ready for the start tonight. The team is about to go through the technical and administrative scrutineering process, once this is complete the preparations begin for the long drive to Monaco.

The Minispares Mad Dog Rallying team has set off for the south of France to once again tackle the Monte Carlo Historique Rally. The car has undergone a complete overhaul following last years event and has been given a thorough shake down in readiness for the rally. Preparations for gruelling event have been completed in good order and with the generous support of Minispares the service crew are equipped to deal with almost any eventuality.

Updates will be posted on BillRichardsRacing.com throughout the event full details of the event including latest stage times can be found here at the event website.

The Mad Dog Rallying entry has been accepted by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) for the Monte Carlo Historique (MCH) rally in January/February 2009. Bill will take the wheel whilst John Morrow will once again be navigating throughout the event in what will be the Minis 50th Birthday year. The MCH rally is one of the most prestigious events in the historic rallying calendar and is a recreation of the famous competition of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. The Minis pedigree in this event is legendary having taken outright wins in the hands of Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Makinen.

Mad Dog Rallying will once again be using their 1965 Morris Cooper S which has been meticulously rebuilt into full works specification and is now an authentic replica of a 1960’s BMC competition Mini. The standard of the build is such that the car has been registered with the “Ex-works and special tuning” archive and the car has competed on past MCH events as part of the reformed Cooper Car Co. team. Keep an eye on the website throughout the event for the latest news as it arrives from the stages! The MCH will run from 29th January 2009 until 3rd February 2009, further news will be posted before the team sets off for their start point of Reims. Full details of the event can be found here at the event website.