24.03.2008 WINTER RALLY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER FROM JOHN HAUGLAND |
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| NEWSLETTER - THE LAST COURSES OF 2008 Course no. 4, 25th. to 28th. February was run just with 4 drivers, as the 5th. driver did not turn up. However, the 4 drivers had more tuition from me, and Shaun was away at Rally Mexico, so everything fitted in well. Very nice weather, and very good conditions all week. We had two drivers from Poland, and two drivers from Romania. Everybody had good progress, but Emilio from Poland was a beginner, he had not done any Rallies before. When somebody starts on a clean sheet of paper, we normally have very good progress if the driver is talented. Emilio did very good progress during the week, and he stayed for another 3 days 1 to 1 tuition after that, so he had 7 days altogether, and drove a lot. His driving from when he arrived until the last day, was like day and night. Really great progress. He started driving like a tourist, and by the end he set times on stages that was very respectable, just a few seconds slower than Tomek Kucar , the top driver from Poland, and the quickest Norwegian drivers in Gr. N cars. We also had Maciej from Poland on this course. He is a experienced Rallydriver, he had also good progress, and it shall be interesting to follow his development further. I am going to do a few training-sessions with him in Poland later this spring. We also had a lady-driver, Carmen from Romania. She was also with us last year, and is making good progress. There is a big difference in her driving now, compared with as she drove when she was with us first time last season. The last drivers this year, was Burcu and Berna from Turkey, two lady Rally drivers from the Turkish Fiesta Sporting Trophy. They where on 3 days intensive one to one course, and hired a Fiesta from Norway. These two drivers was the ones with the biggest progress this year, together with Emilio. It confirms that the best tuition, is what we can give on 1 to 1 courses over 3 days. We can work with what the driver needs, and do not have to follow a program, as we have to do on a 4 days course with 5 drivers. I am very Happy with these ladies driving now, and on the end of the last day, they had 30 min each in Shauns Evo 6 on the lake, and took to it like duck to water. Tough ladies, also at high speed, can improve on lines before corners and fine-tuning on left foot braking. Then our 18th. season is over, with no big accidents, and very good conditions, except we lost a few days on the lake, because we had over 1 m. snow, that was so heavy that it pressed the ice down, and water came through the 1 m. thick ice. But it froze again, and the week after it was perfect again. But the drivers on this course was happy to drive on stages all week. We had drivers from 16 different nations this winter, a few cars off the road with no severe damage, and no cars on the roof. This is the second year this is happening, every year before there have been at least one car that have rolled. We where a bit worried about this, as we had the two Turkish ladies the last week, as we have had very many rolls with Turkish drivers over the years, but they behaved very well, in fact better than the Turkish men ! Two days after the last course, my friend Arne Berg and I tested a Tatra 603 at Goodwood. This was for the Goodwood Revival in September, the Tatra is from 1957, as the race this year is for cars from the 50ties. It is owned by the Hajdusek brothers from Koprinice in the Czech Republic, and is an original works saloon racing car as their father drove as a works-driver for Tatra. It is very aerodynamic, has a 2,5 l. V8 in the rear, producing 165 BHP, and the weight is 1,3 ton. We asked for a gear-ratio to 180 km/h, but that was too short, as it rewed out. For the Revival we have to fit larger rear wheels to get another 10 km/h top speed. Now I am into summer-work, which means tuitions where the drivers live. Some of the drivers from the Winter Rally School is asking for additional tuition where they live. This spring I am going to Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic and South Africa. In Norway I am running the Peugeot Super Cup, and making preparation for a new Subaru-Cup. First week of July, we are taking 8-10 Norwegian drivers to Rallye Bohemia in the Czech Republic, and the week after I am doing the Goodwood Festival of Speed in a Skoda Fabia WRC, the car that the late Colin McRae was driving in Rally of Wales 2005 with Nicky Grist. There will be a Colin McRae memorial, with an exhibition with many of the cars Colin drove, and some of them will be driven as well. The spring is here, and we are looking forward to the 19th. season of the Winter Rally School. Bookings start at 1st. September 2008.
Best
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