|
Personal |
|
| Name: |
Robin Hernaman |
| Age: |
49 |
| Marital status: |
Separated |
| Children: |
None |
| Occupation: |
Hi-tech Engineering Project
Manager |
| Place of birth: |
Wickford, Essex |
| Country or county where
you live: |
Herts, England |
| Does your spouse / partner
like rallying? |
Yes - except when we cover
her in dust ;-) |
| Any other hobbies? |
Squash, Music, Theatre
and Film, cooking and eating! |
|
Your opinions |
|
| Favourite food: |
Thai, Chinese, Indian,
Italian ……….. you name it! |
| Favourite drink: |
Real ale or Champagne |
| Favourite motorsport paper
/ magazine: |
Motorsport News, still
the Motoring News to me! |
| Favourite film star: |
Pete Postlethwaite |
| Favourite holiday destination: |
Tuscany. |
| Which TV sports programmes
do you watch? |
World Rally. Cricket. Athletics.
Downhill skiing. |
|
Starting out |
|
| How did you start out? |
Marshalling, then 12-cars
at University. |
| First driver you sat with: |
Richard Humpleman |
| First event: |
Bradford University Freshers
Rally 1972 |
|
Rallying background |
|
| Type of licence held: |
International |
| Which motor club do you
belong to? |
West Essex Car Club |
| Do you contribute towards
your rallying? |
Yes |
| Have you ever driven on
a rally? |
Yes, numerous road
and stage rallies in UK and Europe, including MN road events and two
RACs. |
| Did you ever marshal on
events? When and where? |
Yes, mainly in East Anglia.
Chief Marshal and Stage Commander on West Essex road and stage events.
Also Forestry Liaison Officer for East Anglia. |
| How many events do you
get to watch? (eg. per year) |
2-3, more if you include
watching after retirements! |
| How many rallies do you
take part in? (eg. per year) |
Approx 10. |
| Have you competed abroad?
Where and when? |
Since the early 80s, I've
competed in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Morocco
and even ...... Scotland ;-) |
|
Your opinions (rallying) |
|
| Favourite rally car: |
Lancia Stratos |
| Favourite rally driver: |
Ari Vatanen |
| Favourite rally co-driver: |
Ian Grindrod |
| Favourite bit of road or
forest: |
Tobermory to Dervaig, Isle
of Mull |
| Do you prefer pace notes
or map reading events? |
Really no preference, I
enjoy the challenges of both and think it's a shame that maps are
falling into disuse. |
| Things you dislike about
rallying? |
The time consuming scrutineering
and documentation preamble. |
| Who do you think will win
the World Rally Championship in 2004? |
Sebastien Loeb |
|
Rallying history |
|
| Drivers you have sat with: |
Richard Humpleman, Malcolm
Pearce, Pete Goodwin, Craig Salter, Alex Banyard, Ian Mahaney, Mike
Cawthra, Paul Hernaman, Steve Gipson, Ernie Graham, Roger Mustoe,
Danny Kent, Paul Green, Roger Dowgill, Craig Middleton. |
| Best driver you have ever
sat with? |
Craig Middleton |
| Best result: |
Finishing 44th
on the 1985 RAC; the longest ever, with 550 stage miles and over 2,000
road miles, all done off the map because my driver was too mean to
buy a trip!
Closely matched by 11th O/A on the 2003 Mutiny National with Craig
in the 2WD Hyundai Coupe, against a host of 4WD turbos.
|
| Worst result: |
Retiring on the 2nd
Stage of the 2001 Catalunya |
| Championships contested: |
Belgian Open, ANCRO, Regionals,
Skoda Trophy. |
| Best Championship result: |
Accompanied Craig Middleton
to A7 ANCRO title in 2003 and Roger Mustoe to 3rd N1 BTRDA in 2003.
A pretty good year! |
| Best rally memory: |
Co-driving with Pete Goodwin
on the '96 RAC, on the 38 mile (!!!) Pundershaw stage we overtook
at least 8 cars, in thick snow and on sheet ice; the stage finish
marshals couldn't believe the time we’d set ……… in a 1300 Skoda! |
| Strangest incident on a
rally: |
In Belgium, on being rescued
from an inverted rally car, laying underwater in a dyke; we were given
some hot soup but told to make the most of it ……….. because we'd taken
the domestic electricity supply out in the course of our accident! |
| Biggest accident: |
Kielder, '96 Pirelli, with
Pete Goodwin. A rock broke the suspension and hitting a tree stump
head-on sent us cartwheeling into the trees. I was apparently still
calling the next note when we hit the first tree fifteen feet off
the ground! The spectators loved it but couldn't believe it when Pete
tried to restart the car as soon as we landed; he always was a tryer! |
| Achievements gained from
rallying: |
I've seen a lot of places
that I wouldn’t otherwise have even heard of and I've made some great
friends along the way. |
|
Your current performance |
|
| Your current driver(s)
and events or Championships being contested in 2004 |
Craig Middleton.
After winning the ANCRO Junior Driver, Formula 2 and A7 titles in
2003, Craig is being supported by Matador Tyres to run a Hyundai Accent
WRC in the same series in 2004. The target just has to be at
least one overall win by the end of the year. |
| How could you improve your
‘own’ current performance? |
More frequent outings ………
but I'm nearly perfect as it is ;-))) |
| How could you improve your
current driver’s performance? |
Hard to see how at the
moment .............. he seems a 'natural' to me! |
| If
you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?
|
Pick three absolute classic
events, ideally the Tour de Corse, Rally of Finland and the Rally
of New Zealand; and get Craig to take me on a high speed tour! |
|
Your future in rallying |
|
| Where would you most like
to compete (in the world): |
Finland |
| Which rally would you most
like to compete in? |
Rally of Finland (1,000
Lakes) |
| Which driver(s) would you
most like to co-drive for? |
Ari Vatanen - if you can
talk him out of retirement |
| Ambition in rallying for
the future: |
A National Overall Title
and at least a Class win on a round of the WRC. |
| What would you like to
put back into rallying? |
Introducing as many people
to the sport as possible, both future active participants and 'interested'
observers. |
|
The future of rallying |
|
| Which up-and-coming rally
driver can you recommend? |
Craig Middleton - of course! |
| Which up-and-coming rally
co-driver can you recommend? |
A promising young whippersnapper
from Essex who uses the pseudonym 'Crow'. |
| What would be the best
tip you could give to other co-drivers? |
Be prepared and don't let
your driver distract you from your job! |
posted
26/8/02
updated 29/1/04 |
|
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