Jun
2
Phew, that was a tough one.
Rally de Portugal is a great event in a superb location, but there was no time for sightseeing for me. It was a tight schedule on this event so we were totally focused on the rally from start to finish and didn’t get to see much apart from dusty rocky roads.
The stages were really tough, a lot rougher than in previous years and certainly some of the hardest in the WRC so far in 2010. It was a hard event on both the cars and the tyres. On every loop we had to be a little bit careful on the tyres and just think about how we managed them to avoid punctures. In some ways that’s difficult as you always want to drive flat out, but I think it brings an another element of challenge and strategy to the rally too.
The opening day on Friday was pretty good for Scott and I and we didn’t have any big problems. Saturday was a different story though as we struggled with brake issues and that cost us a lot of time over the course of the day. We were back on it on Sunday though and to round it off with a second-fastest time in the Algarve Stadium in front of all the fans was a great way to finish the event. The atmosphere at the stadium is always brilliant and the crowd really gets behind the drivers, so you always want to put on a show for them. It was a real shame my team-mate Henning Solberg had to retire on the last day though, as we had been having a good battle during the rally and we were on for a good combined points haul for the Stobart M-Sport Ford team.
Now I’m back in Cumbria there’s no time to stop either. Scott and I are about to head off on the Tour de Corse, a 985km charity cycle challenge. We’re doing it in aid of the RPJ Crohn’s Foundation, which was set up earlier this year by our friend Rick Parfitt Jnr to help raise funds to support the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). It’s brilliant cause so we’re aiming to raise at least £5000.
It’s going to be a real slog but we’ve done plenty of training for it and Scott and I are really looking forward to seeing more of the island of Corsica than we do on a rally. You do realise when you’re driving it’s a spectacular place, you just don’t get much time to enjoy it as the scenery whizzes past the window at well over 100kmh! It’s a place steeped in rally history so we’re hoping to get a lot of support from the fans over there whole we are pedalling away.
We’ll also be promoting M-Sport’s home town of Cockermouth as we go with big stickers on our motorhome. The area has had a hard time over the past year or so due to the floods and so on, so we want to raise awareness that it’s open for business and tourism again. We’ll be posting regular pics and updates to our Facebook page along the way so be sure to check out it out (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tour-de-Corse/115014471868039).
When we get back it’s straight into preparations for Rally Bulgaria. It’s a tarmac event so I’ll be doing some work with my driver coach just to get into the groove for the change of surface.
Until then I’ll be on my bike!
MW
For more information on the challenge including route and photographs, please visit: http://www.tourdecorse.co.uk/
Anyone who would like to help with Matthew Wilson and Scott Martin’s fundraising can donate online via the Justgiving website: http://www.justgiving.com/tourdecorse
