here's a link to the rally. If you use Google Chrome it should translate to English. We are last on the road which is perfect for us as I need the first stage to get a feel for the car. • Ver Tema - RALLY PACIFICO CENTRAL - FECHA 5, 2013 - INFO Y MAS... Mini is nearly ready, G Oil and skid plate fitted last night, just need to sort the spares and tools out tonight. Then sort grease for the Helix lateral arms. The plan is a steady run to get to know the car. On paper we should be in the top 3 due to I beat them in the Swift but hey this is rally so how knows...
Good luck, enjoy. I enjoyed the the Jaco area last year as a tourist, never did any of the back roads, should be a good rally.
Thanks! The MA decals will guide the way! The rally is about 13KM south of Jaco. Lucky this time they are not using the car breaker stages where we broke twice.
Finally the day of reckoning had arrived! After a hectic 2 weeks we were finally off to Jaco for the 5th rally of the Coista Rica rally championship. We had a hotel for Fr/Sat as Saturday was an early start. Saturday morning was a England style with light rain and gloomy skies. Everyone said “hey it’s your type of weather” so you should feel at home! We grouped in Parc Ferme and headed out around 9:14am to SS1. This stage had been reduced by about 2 km at the start due to some ugly ruts and crossing water. We were now in the rally line waiting to start, I was really nervous as I had done about 10 minutes tested on gravel finding the rear end was very tail happy. I had put a full tank of fuel and drooped the rear tyre PSI to 26. I just hopped that would be the answer to the tail out issue. 5,4,3,2,1 Go! First up was a 250mtr straight into a left then slight right into a narrow bridge then another 200mtr straight. My goodness it was so slippery than I could feel the Mini sliding around. I tried to keep the pedal to the metal but at a fairly conservative speed. A few more KM’s along the stage was a long straight into a tight uphill left bend. As we sped up to the bend I could see crews waving us to slow down, apparently 2 cars had gone off in the same area. After that I backed off a little and just drove to feel the handling/braking etc. We finished the stage and proceeded to service. Seeing as I was service we just parked up next to my co-drivers car(service car) for me to do a check that all was well. Re-grouping was next and to our surprise we had done 3rd in N2! SS2 was a 5.5km twisty, muddy, rough, fast and technical stage run 3 times up and 3 times down. We sat on the start line as the seconds counted down but my co-driver was saying there’s a mistake in the timing? So it was 10,9,8,7,6 I’m asking what’s the problem? She was confused so after some exchange of Spanish between her and the time keeper we set off 10 seconds after the start! This error threw her enough for her to lose focus on the notes, which meant I drove around 50% without notes! A fun experience in the muddy conditions. At the turn around she was very upset so after some coaching and calming words I got her to focus on the notes going back for SS3. We did well on this stage with only a few times being lost with the notes. At the turn around for SS4 the heavens opened so the next run was going to be very slippery. By now I had got the feel of the handling/braking so I thought it’s time to push a little more. For the first 3 stages I made a few mistakes with braking and gear selection. The gear box on the early Mini is pretty bad so slow gear changes are the order of the day but I was trying to shift fast which resulted in missed gears and sometimes no gears! Ooooooops! So for SS4 I focused on being precise, smooth and slower with the shifting. This it all came together the Mini felt so strong and stable that my confidence was improved. I was amazed how fast the finish line came up. The stage felt so good I thought we must have been flying! In fact we were as we won the stage in class and was only a few seconds off the N3 car in front. Not bad for a home brew car with street suspension! At the turn around we waited to go back down SS5. As we sat on the line I noticed the officials running around with worried faces, then the ambulance set off. Not good. I could see everyone getting out the cars so for sure there was an accident. News came filtering back that one of the 4WD turbo cars had left the road . Once the real news came through it was a 4WD Turbo car that left the road after the flying finish and hit 2 girls of 11 and 12 who were stood in an unauthorized area . Both were taken to hospital, At this point one of the girls are recovering in hospital. The crew of the car were very distraught and did all they could to help. Going forward the next few weeks will determine the future of rallying in Costa Rica. The main focus should be better crowd control. For us it was a bloody good test. Straight out the box the Mini is a winner, if the rally is accepted we will have got 3rd place in N2 in just 4 stages even with a timing error! The engine was superb, the gear ratio just right and the suspension could do with better damping on the front as it bottomed out a few times. Overall I so happy with the results and performance.. Many thanks to MO Joes, EBC Brakes, Sicar Muflas, Treintay Cinco, G Oil, Mini gearboxes UK, Dunlop , Minimotorsport and family and friends for their support. With this support we could not have got the results.
Chris thanks for the behind the wheel reporting. Sounds like a great drive from you & your co-driver. As you found out sometimes smooth & a bit slower is the way to go fast! Love the pictures!!! I hope rally can continue down there & most importantly hope those girls recover. Sad scary stuff.
Bummer to hear about the girls...Hope they both have a speedy recovery. Awesome to hear about your run...Pictures are awesome!!!! Way to go buddy.
That last pic is awesome Chris! Glad you finally made it out into the dirt, and with pretty good placement for a new2you car. I cant wait to see more of this, maybe slap on a GoPro, and get some video! By chance do you know of anybody getting rid of a set of bumper covers like you have on your car? I've been looking around for a set, for the next installment of my build... CFS! Those things are rare to come into the second hand market! Not even anybody willing to trade locally, even if I paint the S bumpers to match!
Excellent drive, great pictures. As it happens, people do get hurt in these type of events, sad, but true. I wish the best for the girls and their families and the involved driver and crew. I hope Rally continues in CR, safety will improve and the crowds will learn. Good luck with your future Rally efforts. Don
Pre FaceLift R50 Cooper covers with the chrome trim. I've gone as far as flagging people down at traffic lights and gas stations asking if they would trade for the S bumpers... No luck, even if I throw in free paint! I don't really care to, but I might try seeing if anybody will trade for JCW AERO covers...