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Exclusive Interview
with
Top British Co-driver Bryan
Hull
page 2
| << page 1 |
| Bryan does
some serious 'tarting' review of 2003 season |
| Another year has gone by and it
has seen me park my bum in a rally car more than any other but
it has meant I’ve done some serious tarting and I’ve
sat with a wide range of drivers. I’ve been lucky to do 15 events this year plus sit in a course car 3 times but have had a few disappointments along the way with a few DNFs and even a DNS. The year was supposed to kick off with the Red Kite in very early January with Duncan Goldsmith but our season was to be delayed with the first of many engine problems, so the first time I got into a rally car was the Winter Stages at Sweet Lamb when Duncan had got his engine back from the builders and we had a respectable class finish, 3rd if memory serves me right. Two weeks later I’m teaming up for the only time this year with Kevan Hall to contest the Robin Hood Stages in his Impreza. This rally was fast and furious through the forests of Clipstone and Sherwood with not a lot to do for a co-driver as the corners are all 90s. The stages cut up badly and Kevan damaged his suspension on the terrible ruts cut out of the soft sand in these woods but we got a finish and had some serious fun amongst the trees. Another two weeks and I’m out with another driver, Steve Sproat, who was returning to the sport after 20 years building a business and family. His car of choice was a 1600 Mk 2 Escort and, if I’m honest, I can’t remember the result other than us going off on the first corner of the first stage and me pushing the car into a control. A month later and it’s the Astra Clubmans and I’m back with Duncan and we have our best result to date and we take second in class against some quite stiff Mk 2 competition. A week later and it’s driver number four of 2003, Roland Jones, and we contest the North Humberside together having met in a car park the night before. The Yorkshire forests are faster than Sherwood forest and provide more of a challenge for a co-driver. We have a scare at the end of the event when Roland thinks he’s going to lose his BTRDA points as I’m not registered so, after an exchange of pound notes, I’m now a BTRDA contender for the rest of 2003. The following weekend and I’m re-united with Steve Sproat for the Somerset Stages. I know we finished this rally and we enjoyed the stages but not the waiting around. Once again, haven’t a clue what the result is. At the end of May and it’s Duncan again and the Red Dragon and this rally ends in tears at the end of SS2 when the engine lets go. Time for a re-think on the engine front. I’m alright Jack, though, as I pack my bags and I’m off to Barbados for two weeks to act as navigator of the Course Car on the Barbados Rally Carnival, but this also ends in tears when we crash heavily and, as it turns out, I’ve broken my middle finger but I don’t know this for 4 months as I don’t bother to go to the doctor’s. When I return it’s back with Roland Jones for the Dukeries and back in the those West Midland forests. They are still as rutted as they were with Kevan back in March but another finish. Early July and Dunc’s got a new engine again in the Escort; out with the Cossie lump and in with a Vauxhall 16V, and it’s time to contest the ATS Coracle at Sweet Lamb. Another good finish and a slight scare when I forget to mention the 60 left before the flying finish on one stage – well, we got round it so not sure what his problem is! A week later and it’s driver number five and Island number two when I’m contesting the Manx Historic Rally with David Williams in his Mini Cooper S. Least said soonest mended, I think, on the accommodation front. The digs were horrendous. You wouldn’t put an illegal immigrant in the room we had but at least we got a room, eventually. I don’t think David or I will be rushing back to the Manx due to the warm welcome we got from the Landlords and Ladies of this Island. The result for us was a DNF at the beginning of day 2 when we lost all oil pressure as a small 30-year old pipe decided to give up the ghost. Guess what? The following week it’s back with Duncan again and the Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally and we had a brilliant rally with our first class win within our grasp but thrown away with a double spin on the very last corner of the last stage - but at least the new engine held out. At the end of August it’s my second course car run but this time as course closer on the Targa Rusticana with Peter Henness holding the wheel. Nothing to report as he brought me back alive. Mid September and it’s getting busy with the Builth Showground stages on the Saturday, being driven by Tom Powis in his dad’s Nova and the following day on the Sweet Lamb Stages with Duncan. This was not a good weekend’s rallying with, first, a crash with Tom after we had earlier in the day lost first gear and, then, a DNS with Duncan, when we lost oil pressure as we leave the digs on the way to the start. The following weekend makes up for it as I’m doing the Plains with driver number 8, Steve Blunt, and we win the class by nearly 2 minutes. Makes up for the last few weeks? The following week and a very late call-up when I’m asked to co-drive the night before the event for George Philippedes in the 206 Cup on Trackrod Rally Yorkshire. Another early bath when we rip the sump off in SS3. 12 hour round trip for 3 stages -well worth the effort! The last event of the year and it’s the Cambrian and driver number 10, Dave Reynolds, who’s returning to the sport after 30 years. We go off very early in SS1 and take 45 minutes to be put back on the stage. Then we retire after SS2 with collapsed suspension but Dave has the rallying bug again so he should be seen back on the stages. Still to come, as I write this, is one more go as Course Car; this time with Duncan on the Carfax stages at Longcross, but he is still trying to solve the oil pressure problems. As well as sitting in rally cars I have actually done some officiating and marshalling with Craven MC as I’ve been lucky to be the Clerk of the Course on the Trophy Rally we ran at Longcross. I was also Stage Commander on the Tempest for the Warren Stage and was a Marshal on the Tour of Mull (Island number three). Next year I plan to do less but I think I said the same thing last year as well so we’ll see how we go. Bryan |
| Bryan 'Tolkien' Hull and his own very rally Trilogy |
|
Bryan entertains with his very own Trilogy of three rallies in two weeks, with very different results. Part 1 - Lord of the Show Rings Part 3 - The Fellowship of the BTRDA and to round off September 2003, It's all Greek to me! - the story of Bryan sitting with George Philippedes in the 206 Cup on the Trackrod Rally. 4/10/03 |
| Fit to compete? |
| You now often hear of racing drivers
having personal trainers and sports psychologists but how often
do rally co-drivers have them? Probably only the top works co-drivers.
Well, thanks to Motor Sports Now and Formula Fitness, I have
joined that small band. Selected from hundreds of applicants from all motor sport disciplines, I am having a training programme designed for my needs as a co-driver by Stewart Wild, the trainer responsible for getting Jenson Button and Alex Yoong fit enough for F1, Mark Blundell for the Bentley Le Mans Team, and many BTCC drivers and bike racers. Stewart will be looking after my physical well-being with a diet and exercise programme to make me a lighter, fitter competitor but my mind has not been forgotten as Anne Calleja will be working on the psychology of the sport and making sure that I enter into every event as mentally prepared as I can. She will also be teaching me some basic psychology to extract the best performance from my drivers and teams. This is an amazing opportunity for which I am grateful to Motor Sports Now and Formula Fitness and I look forward to seeing how things progress and I hope that not only do I see the benefit but also that those I compete with do, too. Exciting news but now the hard work begins! Bryan |
| May - July 2003 |
| Mid Wales Stages After returning from Barbados, I was informed that I wouldn't be doing the Mid Wales Stages with Duncan Goldsmith as the engine we'd blown up on the Red Dragon would not be rebuilt in time and, as I type this, the new engine should be going in this weekend, so I had a weekend off and a chance to catch up with some sleep. Dukeries ATS Coracle Stages Quinton Manx International I have a few more events in my diary but that takes me up to the end of July and will do for now. Bryan |
| From Somerset to Barbados |
| Somerset Stages My last outing was with Steve Sproat when he brought his car home 5th in class on the Somerset Stages, not bad for someone who's only just restarted in the sport after a 20 year lay off. The event was my 2nd attempt with last year ending on the first stage when I had a spectacular engine blew up with Kevan Hall. Red Dragon I'm out this weekend with Duncan Goldsmith in his Mk2 on the Red Dragon and we are hoping for a clean points finishing run after coming 2nd in class on the Astra. Points make prizes and we've got our eye on the Welsh Clubmans and ANWCC championships. Abingdon Carnival becomes Barbados Carnival My next event was then going to be the Abingdon Carnival with Kevan Hall but I've been given the chance to go the other Carnival, in Barbados, and it's to good an opportunity to miss (not got a drive yet but anything can happen between now and then). Mid Wales Stages and the Dukeries |
| And 2003 gets underway |
| Robin Hood Stages Recently contested the Robin Hood Stages with Kevan Hall where we finished 19th overall and the rally can be summed as spins and an overshoot. Kevan had returned a couple of days earlier from spending 3 days and a Finnish rally school and was keen to put into practice what he'd learn't but unfortunately the surface in Clipstone was not as consistent as the rally school's snow and ice so sometimes the car would dig in and stop or we'd spin or on one occasion sail straight on into the box junction. Malcolm Wilson Rally I was supposed to be the following weekend competing on the Malcolm Wilson with Duncan Goldsmith but we had to pull the entry as Duncan was keen to cure the overheating problem discovered after the Winter Stages in Sweet Lamb, so our next outing together is the Astra Clubmans (with maybe an extra event or some testing slipped in?). Rally of Kent This weekend sees me in Kent with Steve Sproat (introduced through the rallycodriver matching service) for the Rally of Kent in his recently acquired Mk2 Escort. This is Steve's first event since 1978 so we'll see how we get on. He's had a little testing since deciding to come back and tells me he remembers how to drive. Bryan |
| Early plans for 2003 |
| Have a few busy weekends coming
up with helping out with management on next weekend's Wyedean.
The following weekend is the Telford Winter Stages with Duncan Goldsmith in his re-engined Mk II Escort - we'll see how the new engine performs. The weekend after that is Rallye
Sunseeker where I'll have a spectate if I don't find a seat
to sit in. |
| Bryan's news from 2003 |
| No more
curries before a rally for Bryan! Season's review - 2002 - lots of drivers, lots of rallies.................. |
 2002 started for
me with the Wyedean sitting beside Kevan Hall in his
red and white Impreza. We almost finished the event unscathed
but managed to clip the last solid item on the event; Kevan
managed to get the car sideways before the last chicane on
the racecourse and smashed the rear door lock on my side -
we went across the finish ramp with my door flapping in the
wind and us laughing our heads off!Next up for me was the Sweet Lamb stages with a new driver for me, Duncan Goldsmith, in his ex-John Cross Fiesta . This was my first DNF of the year when first we had clutch problems on about SS4 and then broke the steering rack when we tried to get out for the Trophy rally in the afternoon. Across the Channel Into March and it’s off to Belgium to sit with David Williams in his newly-acquired historic Mini Cooper S for the TAC Rally. This was retirement number two when the engine let go on SS4 so the rest of the day was spent watching and the night in the bar - and what a night! Back to Blighty and the Astra Clubmans with Rob Smith in his yellow 1600 Mk 2. This was Rob’s first time in the woods in the driving seat and he set out to achieve a finish and get some mileage under his belt and this he got. Towards the end of March it was back with Kevan for the Somerset Stages and yet another retirement but Kevan’s first when the engine let go on the first corner of the first stage. The rest of the day was spent spectating and I got to see Andy Burton's 306 for the first time in action, every cloud and that! Chance of a rallying lifetime Fast forward to June as nobody wanted me in April or May and I’ve lost my job but I’ve found another silver lining to that cloud when I’m asked to compete on the Midnight Sun to Red Sea rally with Tom Ryan of Middlesex County Auto Club in his Grp N Proton Compact. This event was to cover over 5000 miles with five hundred of them timed to the second on special stages as we drove from Sweden to Jordan. Thank the Lord we finished and I got more pots from this event than nearly all the other events I’ve done.  Another new
driverNext up and the diary's looking empty when I get the call to do the Mewla National in a Skoda Favorit with Dave Carruthers, someone I’d never met until the start of the recce. Guess what? Another retirement when first we lost the sump guard followed by the gear linkage. We retired at Dixies on Epynt and did some more spectating. Also in August it’s back with Kevan for the Woodpecker, not a good event for me as, for the first and only time in 2002, I chucked chunks in the rally car, something put down to a dodgy curry the night before. It was a nice curry but I really shouldn’t have eaten it and will probably never eat a curry before a rally again. September and I’m with Duncan in his newly-acquired Mk2 as he’s moved the Fiesta on and we learn a few things about the car. A new diff is required but it has potential and we finish 5th in class and 35th overall and had a near miss when we almost rolled it over a gate post which would not have been a good idea. A week after Sweet Lamb I receive an email from Dave Watson the owner of the yellow Stratos replica that always seems to be breaking down. Can I help him? He’s doing an event that weekend and his co-driver's on holiday. So you see me at Avon Park squeezing into his yellow bathtub for the Wessex Rope and Packaging stages. Dave and I get 3rd in class.  Drawing to the
end of the year and it’s Duncan again for the last
BTRDA round, the Cambrian, a rally I hate just ‘cause
I can’t call the Great Orme. To my delight, due to a hold
up, we only have one slowww.. run around the Great Orme and
then into the woods. The weather was awful and the screen
mists over and we rip a hole in the floor under my feet but
we get round and finish 6th in class - but the engine's not
well.Last event for me was a non-competitive outing as Course Car with Rob Smith holding the steering wheel at Longcross for the Carfax Stage. I was asked to drive and had been kindly offered the loan of a car by John Cross but bottled driving after my multiple spins in 2001 and am happy to be chauffeured around by Rob who had volunteered to help me. Other rallying activities As well as the co-driving I’ve acted as Deputy Clerk of the Course for the Brook Motorsport Stages at Longcross, Stage Commander on the Michelin Tempest Stages, Radio Op on the Network Q and marshalled on Mull and a few other events up and down the country. And now for 2003.... So, an action packed year in 2002 but what does 2003 hold? Well hopefully a fulltime job and a lot more rallying. First rally in the diary is another visit to Sweet Lamb with Duncan subject to the new engine being ready in time and then a run on the Robin Hood Stages with Kevan but as you can see from the above list I’ll sit with anyone so if the phone rings expect to see me sat in a rally car at short notice. Bryan Hull |
| Read Bryan's reports from the Midnight Sun Rally 2002 |
| << page 1 |
| Return to Top Co-drivers for even more exclusive interviews |
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