Personal

Name:

Andy Bull

Age:

33

Marital status:

Single

Children:

None

Occupation:

Semi-pro co-driver.

Run Motorsport Logistics – organising and paperwork for competitors and rally organisers.

Non-motorsport business - supplying home automation & CCTV equipment

Place of birth:

Stoke-on-Trent, UK

Country or county where you live:

Birmingham, UK

Does your spouse / partner like rallying?

No. She doesn't like cars and doesn't even drive!

Any other hobbies?

Enjoying city-centre living.

Your opinions

Favourite food:

Mexican

Favourite drink:

Blackcurrant squash

Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:

Rally XS

Favourite sports person (other than rallying):

Don't follow any other sports. 

Favourite film star:

Robin Williams

Favourite holiday destination:

Anywhere where there is an adventure to be had. The more remote, the better.

Which TV sports programmes do you watch?

They Think It's All Over 

Starting out

How did you start out?

At high school we had to do a project on a career we wanted to follow when we left. I had recently seen Keke Rosberg win a couple of GPs on the TV and interviewed a guy at our local garage about being a racing driver. I started to go to all of the races with him just cleaning the car and simple stuff like that. 

Then the local motor club (Potteries & Newcastle) started a scatter rally from the garage and I went down. As it turned out, a guy from the club used to babysit me and knew my parents, so I started going to the motor club. I was only about 15 at the time and if I couldn't get a lift, I would cycle the 8 miles each way!  

From there, I started marshalling and then did my first stage event before I even had a driving licence – and whilst I was still at school!

First driver you sat with:

Dermont Healy from Ashton-under-Lyme in an ex-Safari Peugeot 505 GTi

First event:

What a debut! It was 2^nd January on Otterburn in 1989. My second event was the Panaround that March in Tarenig & Myherin. I suppose after those two, nothing was too overwhelming.

Rallying background

Type of licence held:

International Rally

Which motor club do you belong to?

BTRDA.

Do you contribute towards your rallying?

Sometimes - yes. If it's a rally I want/need to do. If a driver is putting 15K of his own money in to a rally, it is not unreasonable for the co-driver to be expected to contribute something.

Have you ever driven on a rally?

No. I've sat next to really quick folk and already know I wouldn't be very good. I would like to do a rally behind the wheel to help me get another perspective of how to improve my co-driving.

Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?

Sort of. I occasionally marshal, however - I feel it is very important to put something back into the sport, especially as I make a living out of it and most other people in the sport are giving up their time for free. 

I help with competitor liaison on the BTRDA Gold & Silver Star Rally Series, and sit on the BTRDA Rallies Committee. It's nice to be involved with the BTRDA. They try to provide cost effective events for the clubman. Many of the teams I am involved with now have big budgets and it is easy to forget how it is for most competitors.

How many events do you get to watch? (eg. per year)

Only the ones I have retired from or marshal on.

How many rallies do you take part in? (eg. per year)

It used to be between 20 and 30. Nowadays it is usually around 12.

Have you competed abroad? Where and when?

Monte Carlo WRC 1997
1000 Lakes WRC 1997
Sweden WRC 2000
Safari WRC 2000 and 2001
New Zealand WRC 2000
Australia WRC 2000

I have also competed in Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Luxembourg & Holland.

Your opinions (rallying)

Favourite rally car:

It comes down to a choice between a Metro 6R4 and a Mini. The chassis, noise and looks of the 6R4 are fantastic, but there's something about rallying a Mini.

Favourite rally driver:

Stig Blomqvist

Favourite rally co-driver:

Phil Short

Favourite bit of road or forest:

Waipu Gorge – Rally New Zealand. There are some great bits in Sweden, Finland and Monte too. The Safari is just so 'different'. And the atmosphere as you go over the Col de Turini is incredible.

Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?

Pace notes are quite easy. You can take much more satisfaction from doing a good job on the maps. 

I put around 12 hours work in to the maps before each event when I did the '98 BTRDA Gold Star. It is not the only factor, but I'd like to think it contributed to us (Adam Kent) winning the championship.

Things you dislike about rallying?

Many competitors do not appreciate the effort that organisers and marshals put in to making events run. Please remember to say thank you.

Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2005?

Seb Loeb

Rallying history

Drivers you have sat with:

Julian Reynolds, Adam Kent, Shane Lynch (Boyzone), Gethin Jones, Charlie Payne, Clive Faine, Callum Guy, Guy Anderson, Kevin Furber, Marty Beckton, Gary Smith, Bob Ceen, Peter Stephenson, Phil Brown, Andy Knight, Andrew Wheatley, Andrew Smith, Duncan Cameron, Neil Concannon, Malcolm Oxborrow, Tom Becket, Chris Harden, Dave Paveley, Pablo Raybould, Jon Ballinger, Ben Colley, Stuart Jones,and many many more!

Best driver you have ever sat with?

'Best' is too tough to call. Julian Reynolds has scared me more than anyone else, but there are another 8 really quick drivers who didn't scare me as much. Some of them are really good fun and have done some really great stuff.

Young Stuart Jones impressed me immensely. He is a name to watch out for in the future.

Best result:

Winning the 1998 BTRDA Gold Star Championship with Adam Kent.

Worst result:

Losing a wheel (and 3^rd in the Championship) on the last stage of the Elonex (Midland) International Rally in Oct 1992. My driver was in tears.

Championships contested:

1992 Peugeot Challenge
1995 BTRDA Gold Star Championship
1998 BTRDA Gold Star Championship
1999 British Championship
1992 - 1999 WRC RAC / Network Q Rally

Best Championship result:

1998 BTRDA Gold Star Champion
1992 Peugeot Challenge - 4^th.

Best rally memory:

Col de Turini in the Mini Cooper. It was the last stage of the Monte Carlo Rally. The atmosphere was fantastic and we were delighted to have finished the rally. It was very special.

Strangest incident on a rally:

On the Tipperary Rally in Ireland, August 1999. I was co-driving for Shane Lynch from the pop group Boyzone. When we arrived at the time control, at the start of the rally, the car was mobbed by girls. None of the officials could get near the car - as the crowd was so deep. It was a little frightening, but the view was quite good! (I didn't have the heart to tell Shane they had all turned up to see me!)

When we retired from the Safari Rally in Feb 2000, some Masai tribesmen came over to see what was going on. They were armed to the teeth with spears and poisonous arrows but luckily we were able to befriend them!

When we retired from the Swedish Rally in Feb 2000, we were waiting in a stage for the service crew to tow us back to town. The course closing car warned us of the wolves and bears, but we thought they were joking. It was very cold and I was walking around to keep warm. Then I noticed some unusual (and big) animal foot prints in the snow. We sat in the car with the windows up and doors locked until help arrived!

Biggest accident:

There have been quite a few, but I have been reasonably unscathed so far.

1000 Lakes in 1997 with Adam Kent was pretty big – 5^th gear and sideways into a telegraph pole. He was hurt quite badly. They cut him open in the car and used a helicopter to get him to hospital. Mind you, two weeks later he was out again setting fastest Peugeot Challenge times!

New Zealand 2000 was my first end-over-end. Again it was 5^th gear!

Australia 2000 wasn't that fast but we ended up going head-on into a big tree. That hurt a bit.

Achievements gained from rallying:

I have met some great people, made good friends and travelled the world doing a job I love. It doesn't get much better than that.

Your current performance

* Callum Guy in the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge 2005

How could you improve your current driver’s performance?

Being a bit of a tart, I don't really have one particular driver at the moment. 

Generally I would suggest that you do a good job, produce good quality paperwork and work with the team. That way the driver (and team) will not be worried about you or question any of your information - they will trust you. If they trust you, they can concentrate on their own jobs without distraction.

If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?

It would be nice to do something similar to the Roger Clark Award, but with co-drivers. Maybe they could be linked together. There are many enthusiastic co-drivers around - it would be good to help them go further in the sport.

Your future in rallying

Where would you most like to compete (in the world):

I think Paris-Dakar covers quite a few countries and terrains. That would be a real adventure.

Which rally would you most like to compete in?

Argentina – that is the only non-European World Championship rally I haven't done yet.

Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?

I did enjoy the rallies with Shane Lynch from Boyzone. We have really good fun on the recce, rally and afterwards. Even the journey to and from the rally are a good laugh.

I once had the privilege to sit with Alessandro Fiorio on a tarmac test in Italy. He was incredible. It would be great to sit with someone like that.

Ambition in rallying for the future:

To compete regularly at World Championship level. To earn enough to have that as my only line of work. And to keep enjoying it all.

What would you like to put back into rallying?

I like the way Malcolm Wilson and Colin McRae support clubman rallies. I would like to think I may be able to do the same in the future.

The future of rallying

Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?

Stuart Jones. He is very good indeed.

Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?

Anyone who is keen and enthusiastic enough to put a lot of pre-work into each rally.

What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?

PREPARATION. By spending many hours before each event looking at your old notes, quizzing more experienced co-drivers, studying the rules, practising reading the maps/notes, having check lists, knowing the route in your head, planning your recce, etc. will make the rally itself quite easy.

Also don’t forget to reserve a few hours after the event for your own 'de-brief' and make lots of notes. They are invaluable the following year.

Any other comments

You can contact Andy at Andy@codriver.co.uk