rallycodriver magazine - daily international rally motorsport news plus latest rallying information and online magazine subscription

Personal
Name:	Eddie Myatt
Age:	** 34
Marital status:	Married
Children:	none
Occupation:	Sales Manager
Place of birth:	Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Country or county where you live:	Shropshire
Does your spouse / partner like rallying?	yes
Any other hobbies?	Enjoy most forms of Motorsport (except F1) and Mountain Biking.
Your opinions
Favourite food:	Chinese ** or Italian
Favourite drink:	Red Wine or cold Belgium Beer.
Favourite Motorsport paper / magazine:	** Motorsport News or Rally XS
Favourite sports person (other than rallying):	Steven Redgrave
Favourite film star:	Gene Hackman ** or Al Pacino
Favourite holiday destination:	Italy was nice but I have not had time for a holiday for a little while.
Which TV sports programmes do you watch?	Anything with Rallying in it, usually Sky or BBC. ** I think Channel 4 have done a good job in 2002 bringing the sport to the masses.
Starting out
How did you start out?	Competing on 12 cars, scatters & navigational events organised by Telford Auto Club. They were great fun and I learnt a lot about maps.
First driver you sat with:	My brother, Andrew in a Talbot Samba.
First event:	Starlight Road rally in Shropshire. We went OTL when a car got stuck on a white in front of us. They car was driven by another friend so he had some stick over that.
Rallying background
Type of licence held:	International
Which motor club do you belong to?	Telford Auto Club.
Do you contribute towards your rallying?	Usually something, Hotel, Maps etc.
Have you ever driven on a rally?	Yes twice. First was a local road rally and we finished 22^nd and this year on a 12 car where we finished 2^nd.
Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?	Yes. Mostly when Telford Auto Club organises events, about 3 or 4 times a year.
How many events do you get to watch? (e.g. per year)	** Usually about 5 or 6 events.
How many rallies do you take part in? (e.g. per year)	14 in 2002 ** and 2000 and 18 in 1999.
Have you competed abroad? Where and when?	No. Only if you count the Tour of Mull!
Your opinions (rallying)
Favourite rally car:	Peugeot 206 WRC, it's amazing how successful Peugeot are at building rally cars.
Favourite rally driver:	** Marcus Gronhom
Favourite rally co-driver:	** Phil Mills
Favourite bit of road or forest:	** Kielder
Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?	Don’t mind. I have been using maps for many years and more recently a shift toward notes. Both offer different challenges.
Things you dislike about rallying?	High costs and having to work for a living to support my rallying.
Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2001?	Colin McRae.
....... and in 2003?	** Very difficult for next year. I think Richard Burns, Marcus Gronholm and Sebastien Loeb will all feature well. And don't exclude Colin McRae if he can settle with a decent co-driver.
Rallying history
Drivers you have sat with:	Maurice Leach, Martin Kenny, Dave Bagshaw, Phil Ward, Tony Hutchings, Roger Davies, Mike Davies, Andy Cross, Andy Myatt, Lance Gilmore ++++++!
Best driver you have ever sat with?	** They are all better than me, but Chris Moore in 2002 is very quick.
Best result:	2^nd overall in Heart of England championship. ** 2002 won two 206 Super Cup rounds - Quinton and Welsh - both were very satisfying.
Worst result:	2000 Mid Wales this year, steering collapsed one-mile from the end that felt really bad. Also, Mull this year, we finished last after a catalogue of problems, but that just turned into a laugh. ** 2002 Not finishing the Pirelli this year. We were leading and slid off on a very slow corner (with Chris Moore, Peugeot 206 Super Cup)
Championships contested:	** Peugeot 206 Super Cup in 2002. Mobil 1 BRC in 2001. Others include ANCRO, BTRDA, Welsh National, Welsh Clubmans, Heart of England, Peugeot Challenge, Welsh Road Rally Championships.
Best Championship result:	2^nd overall on Heart of England and Class win on Welsh road rally championship. ** 6th overall Peugeot 206 Super Cup 2002
Best rally memory:	2000 - Holding onto the bonnet of a front wheel drive car during heavy snow & ice in an attempt to get some traction, on a road rally somewhere in Wales. ** 2002 - finishing Mull after a very tough event.
Strangest incident on a rally:	Changing a drive shaft on a stage. And then going on to pick up a class award. Sitting on the bulkhead working the throttle to get out of Kerry Forest ** 2002 Watching the trailer come off the van, then watching the trailer and rally car roll off until it ran into someone else's service van!
Biggest accident:	I have been very lucky. Rolling on the Quinton and at Salisbury plain were probably the worst.
Achievements gained from rallying:	Loads of friends. Seen loads of places you would not normally travel to. ** I always feel sad for people in the office on Monday morning when all they have done is watched football or played golf!
Your current performance
Your current driver(s) and events or Championships being contested in 2002	Chris Moore in Peugeot 206 Super Cup
....... and in 2003?	Anyone looking for a competitive co-driver for 2003? Click here
How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?	** Have more free time and cash
How could you improve your current driver’s performance?	** Give him loads of cash!
If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?	Start a young co-driver Scholarship programme.
Your future in rallying
Where would you most like to compete (in the world):	New Zealand ** or Australia
Which rally would you most like to compete in?	** WRC Rally GB
Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?	** Colin McRae or Gilles Panizzi
Ambition in rallying for the future:	** I would like to win an overall championship and compete on selected BRC events
What would you like to put back into rallying?	Help new up and coming co-drivers. Raise the profile of UK rallying across the world.
The future of rallying
Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?	** Stuart Jones or Justin Griffiths
Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?	** Richard Pashley or Tim Sturla?
What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?	Never give up, be positive and accept any challenge that come your way. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Any other comments	Enjoy life, enjoy Rallying and then have a beer to celebrate.
updated 16/12/02 (items marked **)

Eddie grows older but is as still as keen as ever about his rallying - updates marked ** (16/12/02)

Eddie grows older but is as still as keen as ever
about his rallying - updates marked ** (16/12/02)