Inspira Rally Team driver Ruairi Bell impressed with front-running pace in the opening round of the British Rally Championship season-opener, the Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton Stages Rally.
Making his debut in the headline BRC1 category at the Essex event, driving Inspira Rally Team’s Skoda Fabia Rally2 machine, Bell and co-driver Max Freeman were immediately on the pace of drivers far more experienced than the young pair from the start.
Two short sea-front blasts got the rally underway on Saturday evening, in front of thousands of spectators, where Bell set second-best time on stage one, just 0.5 seconds off the fastest runner, before another top time in stage two left Bell just 0.6 seconds off the lead heading into the overnight halt, sitting just behind a four-time British Rally Champion.
With further impressive stage times on Sunday morning, Bell maintained second position after stage six of the 14-stage event, in the middle of a tense battle at the front of the field.
However, a minor mistake on stage seven meant the Fabia clipped a bank, and although the damage to the car was minimal, a small hole in the car’s water-cooling radiator meant the crew could go no further in a cruel blow that brought an early end to proceedings.
Many positives can be taken by both driver and team from the performance however, both on the stages and in the service area, as Bell stated his intentions for the 2022 campaign, despite competing against far more experienced opposition.
The second round of the British Rally Championship will take place on the Jim Clark Rally on the Scottish borders at the end of May (27-28).
Ruairi Bell, Inspira Rally Team Driver:
“It was a hugely positive weekend for us in so many respects. The small stages on the sea-front were a nice way to get ourselves bedded, those kinds of stages are always famously difficult so it’s all about minimising the losses, which we did well. Sunday was our priority. We were only 1.8 seconds off the fastest time in the first stage of the day, which was good because there were a few things we know we could have improved. We were planning to push harder in the afternoon, and were feeling really confident, but on the seventh stage we just got unlucky. We caught out on a small bump, braked a bit too late and the car just stepped out. I tried to correct it rather than bail out and lose time, but sadly we just clipped a bank on the inside which spun the car and damaged the radiator.
Of course that’s disappointing, but we’re so pleased to be up there trading times with really experienced and accomplished drivers. This was a huge team effort, we made it to the first round and even with this being my third ever rally in a four-wheel-drive car, we were out of the blocks at a pace that it takes some people a long time to get to, which is a massive reflection on how much effort so many people have put in.
We had huge public interaction this weekend, from interest in what we’re doing to people trying out our simulators from Exsim and Race Software, loads of people were getting involved.
Our performance has got us really excited for the rest of the season, it’s a long year and anything can happen in rallying. There are dropped scores to consider too and we’re already working towards the next rally. I’m really proud of the team and grateful to everyone for their effort and support including Inspira Wealth, BVNK, NEAR Foundation, Moonboots Capital, Climate Positive, Pirelli, Speedline and Motul.
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