Arctic Lapland Rally - Car 109, DNF (112 entrants)
The event was held over Thursday January 24th to Saturday January 26th and was their first foray into the specialised world of snow and ice rallying. The event was based in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle and the average temperature for this time of year was - 15 C, although it could drop as low as - 50C. A few years ago the event was cancelled as the temperature was life threateningly low! The event comprised 16 stages providing 260 stage kilometres and a total distance of 726 km.
Ian Harrop's (co-driver) account of the event...
The team took WNR 30S and were one of only two British crews on the rally. The car was shipped up to Oulu in northern Finland by sponsors Finnlines and was trailered the final 250km to Rovaniemi. As temperatures were below -20C the car had its radiator and engine covered during the trip to reduce the impact of windchill from the biting winds and the team would have stop on the drive repeatedly to start up the Mini on the trailer to keep the engine, oil and water warm. The profound cold had an impact on everything, plastics become brittle and the self-adhesive rally plates didn't stick, so had to be applied once the car had warmed up in a heated garage.
Scrutineering was at 8pm at night and it had become even colder and standing around the test centre awaiting their turn was no joy. It did however, afford the opportunity of meeting up with the other British crew (Andy Bassett/Keith Stevenson) and discuss pace notes for the event. The other good news was that the weather forecast predicted warmer days ahead, only -20C so ten degrees warmer than at scrutineering.
The Mini was shod in somewhat frightening studded tyres for the event. The studs actually protrude 8mm from the surface of the rubber, so 12 inch wheels had to be used at the back and 13 inch wheels at the front. Still the team were worried they might foul the wheel arches on the event but testing soon proved these concerns ungrounded although fears remained as Trevor had never driven in conditions like these before!
Friday was a leisurely start, as the first car did not leave until 12:00 and we were almost 2 hours behind the first car out. The rally had special approval from Finnish authorities to use the studded tyres on the road sections and this proved interesting as on tarmac that was clear of snow and ice the car would be skating on the studs, struggling for grip and braking was very scary. Locals advised hooking the wheels into the verge where they could bite on the snow and ice.
The first leg started off with a forest section, which ended with a spectator special around a frozen horse trotting track. It was like a speedway track offering plenty of sideways action in the Mini on the long bends. Trevor adapted to driving with studs 'like a duck to water' until we got to the end of the stage. A jump at the end of the stage saw us land well, but the car immediately started to misfire badly and the engine would not rev. The end of the stage was uphill and they ground to a halt yards from the finish. Trevor jumped out and had a look as to what was wrong under the bonnet while Ian had to keep his foot on the accelerator to keep the engine running. With the misfire being so bad, it wasn't long before the catalytic converter started to glow red hot. As it was close to the floor this caused the car to fill with smoky fumes and Ian had to bale out of the car.
It soon became apparent there was nothing we could do at the side of the stage in -20C to effect a repair and we had to accept a tow to the end of the stage and retirement the event. The service crew felt the problem was the ECU and everyone was bitterly disappointed, after all the preparatory work they had done, to go out of the event at such an early stage.
Trevor reflected" It was a lot easier than I thought and I had no problems placing the car where I wanted it. I was left foot braking all the way around the long bends and it was great fun."
The event was held over Thursday January 24th to Saturday January 26th and was their first foray into the specialised world of snow and ice rallying. The event was based in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle and the average temperature for this time of year was - 15 C, although it could drop as low as - 50C. A few years ago the event was cancelled as the temperature was life threateningly low! The event comprised 16 stages providing 260 stage kilometres and a total distance of 726 km.
Ian Harrop's (co-driver) account of the event...
The team took WNR 30S and were one of only two British crews on the rally. The car was shipped up to Oulu in northern Finland by sponsors Finnlines and was trailered the final 250km to Rovaniemi. As temperatures were below -20C the car had its radiator and engine covered during the trip to reduce the impact of windchill from the biting winds and the team would have stop on the drive repeatedly to start up the Mini on the trailer to keep the engine, oil and water warm. The profound cold had an impact on everything, plastics become brittle and the self-adhesive rally plates didn't stick, so had to be applied once the car had warmed up in a heated garage.
Scrutineering was at 8pm at night and it had become even colder and standing around the test centre awaiting their turn was no joy. It did however, afford the opportunity of meeting up with the other British crew (Andy Bassett/Keith Stevenson) and discuss pace notes for the event. The other good news was that the weather forecast predicted warmer days ahead, only -20C so ten degrees warmer than at scrutineering.
The Mini was shod in somewhat frightening studded tyres for the event. The studs actually protrude 8mm from the surface of the rubber, so 12 inch wheels had to be used at the back and 13 inch wheels at the front. Still the team were worried they might foul the wheel arches on the event but testing soon proved these concerns ungrounded although fears remained as Trevor had never driven in conditions like these before!
Friday was a leisurely start, as the first car did not leave until 12:00 and we were almost 2 hours behind the first car out. The rally had special approval from Finnish authorities to use the studded tyres on the road sections and this proved interesting as on tarmac that was clear of snow and ice the car would be skating on the studs, struggling for grip and braking was very scary. Locals advised hooking the wheels into the verge where they could bite on the snow and ice.
The first leg started off with a forest section, which ended with a spectator special around a frozen horse trotting track. It was like a speedway track offering plenty of sideways action in the Mini on the long bends. Trevor adapted to driving with studs 'like a duck to water' until we got to the end of the stage. A jump at the end of the stage saw us land well, but the car immediately started to misfire badly and the engine would not rev. The end of the stage was uphill and they ground to a halt yards from the finish. Trevor jumped out and had a look as to what was wrong under the bonnet while Ian had to keep his foot on the accelerator to keep the engine running. With the misfire being so bad, it wasn't long before the catalytic converter started to glow red hot. As it was close to the floor this caused the car to fill with smoky fumes and Ian had to bale out of the car.
It soon became apparent there was nothing we could do at the side of the stage in -20C to effect a repair and we had to accept a tow to the end of the stage and retirement the event. The service crew felt the problem was the ECU and everyone was bitterly disappointed, after all the preparatory work they had done, to go out of the event at such an early stage.
Trevor reflected" It was a lot easier than I thought and I had no problems placing the car where I wanted it. I was left foot braking all the way around the long bends and it was great fun."