Wet weekend but team still smiling

RACE2RECOVERY, the team of disabled service personnel bidding to complete the 2013 Dakar Rally had a brilliant weekend at Rallyday.
They raise much-needed funds to aid injured servicemen and women and their families and used the Saturday at the Rallyday event to auction rides in various vehicles.
But on the Sunday it was down to the serious business of racing as Tony Harris got behind the wheel of the R2R Freelander in the fifth round of the Britpart British Cross Country Championship in a bid to gain further experience of racing off-road.
Organisers gave the team the chance to raise funds by giving rides in Qt Wildcat off-roaders and their patron, former soldier and Top Gear Stig Ben Collins gave rides to four auction winners.
Other Wildcat owners brought their vehicles along to boost the fundraising and the cars were on the go constantly.
Ford’s Abu Dhabi World Rally Team gave their support by auctioning off a passenger ride with their WRC driver Matthew Wilson and MML Sports matched that by donating a ride with former works driver Harri Rovanpera in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X R4.
The move from Castle Combe on the Saturday to Brynffyon in South Wales for raceday on Sunday was a case of out of the puddle into the river. The weather was terrible, but it gave great experience in slipper conditions and a chance to evaluate the new Ohlins suspension.
Tony Harris said: “This was an amazing weekend — there’s no other way to describe it. Two events over two days with very different objectives but we were lucky enough to have incredible success in both.
“The response the whole team received at Rallyday was nothing short of incredible. The public was so receptive and understanding, as were the organisers and everyone we met. We had members of the team out collecting donations and the visitors really dug deep to show their support.
“It was also fantastic to see so many people supporting the cause by taking rides in the Wildcats. Literally the only time we stopped was to get more fuel for the cars and then we simply carried on again. The energy and effort the guys put in to keep the cars going and getting passengers in and out was amazing and I’m delighted that everyone seemed to enjoy their ride and helped us to raise an incredible amount – far more than we could have hoped for.
“To go out and follow that up with the event at Brynffyion was interesting, to say the least. I thought Castle Combe was starting to get muddy but it was like a racetrack compared with Sunday’s action. It was a long, tough and very wet weekend but incredibly rewarding and I am very grateful to everyone who made it possible.
“The whole team is also incredibly grateful to Vonnie for the generous donation that she presented to the team. Ray was an extremely well-respected racer and is, of course, sorely missed and we are very proud to accept this donation in his honour.”