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Exclusive Interview with
British International Co-driver
Tim Line
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For 2003, Tim will be co-driving Craig Johnston
in the Middle East Rally Championship in a Group N Subaru WRX 2002
and continuing to assist with the BRC
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Hot off the press!
Tim's excellent articles
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And don't forget to check out Tim's overseas rally reports
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| Personal |
|
| Name: |
Tim
Line |
| Age: |
**
39 |
| Marital
status: |
Married
to Mette |
| Children: |
**
3 Girls, Laura (10) Sophie (8) Leah (6) |
| Occupation: |
HM
Forces |
| Place
of birth: |
Tunbridge
Wells |
| Country
or county where you live: |
Wiltshire |
| Does
your spouse / partner like rallying? |
She
tolerates it! |
| Any
other hobbies? |
DIY,
Vehicle mechanics |
| Your
opinions |
|
| Favourite
food: |
A full
English breakfast |
| Favourite
drink: |
Strong
black coffee |
| Favourite
motorsport paper / magazine: |
**
Motorsport News/Rally XS |
| Favourite
sports person (other than rallying): |
Michael
Schumacher |
| Favourite
film star: |
Jamie
Lee Curtis |
| Favourite
holiday destination: |
I’ve
never had the time to have one |
| Which
TV sports programmes do you watch? |
Anything
with motorsport in it |
| Starting
out |
|
| How
did you start out? |
Someone
at work organised a 12 car and convinced me it would be good fun. He
was right! |
| First
driver you sat with: |
Dave
Boden |
| First
event: |
The
Devils Tour – Run by Devizes and District Motor Club |
| Rallying
background |
|
| Type
of licence held: |
Rally
International |
| Which
motor club do you belong to? |
BAMA |
| Do
you contribute towards your rallying? |
Financially,
no, but I put as much time and effort in for the team as I can. |
| Have
you ever driven on a rally? |
Yes,
I drove for 3 years in total and have had class wins on some BRC events. |
| Did
you ever marshal on events? When and where? |
Yes,
I have, but quite a long time ago. Can’t remember. |
| How
many events do you get to watch? (eg. per year) |
1 or
2, but it’s becoming more difficult. (See below) |
| How
many rallies do you take part in? (eg. per year) |
This
year it will be ** 10+ |
| Have
you competed abroad? Where and when? |
**
Hunsruck Rally and Rally Reykjavik – 1995-99
Most of the
Belgian Div 1 and Div 2 Tarmac Championship. Terre d’ Auxerre
(French gravel rally) Tour d’Arras (4WD Rally French Off
Road Championship) Luxembourg, Deutschland, Cyprus, Acropolis, Finland.
– 2001
Dubai International
Rally 2002
Planning to
do the entire Middle East Championship this year plus selected other
events including the Safari.
|
| Your
opinions (rallying) |
|
| Favourite
rally car: |
Subaru
Impreza (Up to 2000) |
| Favourite
rally driver: |
**
Petter Solberg (Works) Justin Dale |
| Favourite
rally co-driver: |
Andrew
Bargery |
| Favourite
bit of road or forest: |
Dalbeattie |
| Do
you prefer pace notes or map reading events? |
I like
both, but marginally prefer notes. |
| Things
you dislike about rallying? |
Individuals
and organisations that try to rip off the motorsport enthusiast by
overcharging and looking to make a fast buck. ‘Motorsport Leeches' |
| Who
do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2001? |
Tommi
Makinen |
| …
and in 2003? |
**
Petter might just do it…………… |
| Rallying
history |
|
| Drivers
you have sat with: |
Dave
Boden, Joe Bain, JJ Walker, Bernie Stevens, Alan Paramore, Mark Burton,
Derek Harden, Jamie Vincent, Mark Saunders, Scott Vogl, Mark Taylor,
Adj Davies, Ben Briant,
** Craig Johnston and quite a few more… |
| Best
driver you have ever sat with? |
**
Ability is one thing, but attitude, willingness to learn and application
are important too. Scott Vogl |
| Best
result: |
**
Cyprus Rally 2001 – 17th overall after having 5 punctures
– 3 of which needed changing on stage |
| Worst
result: |
Winning
the ‘We made it last’ Trophy on the Welsh Hill Rally (twice!).
Unfortunately, I am the proud owner of two very nice glass snails. |
| Championships
contested: |
Armed
Forces Rally Championship 11 times
Daihatsu Rally
Challenge 2000
** Belgian Division 1 Championship
WRC Production Cup
Middle East
Rally Championship (2003)
|
| Best
Championship result: |
Champion
Co-driver – Daihatsu Rally Challenge 2000 |
| Best
rally memory: |
Winning
the Landrover class on the Jim Clark Memorial Rally as a driver in
1999. |
| Strangest
incident on a rally: |
Free
falling off a 10-15 metre high cliff, backwards on the Rally Reykjavik
1999. More info on this strange moment in Tim's history. |
| Biggest
accident: |
**
Tour of Ypres Rally 2001 - 100+ mph into a concrete electricity pylon
- Ouch! Ypres pictures |
| Achievements
gained from rallying: |
I’m
addicted to the buzz and have developed a huge desire to win. |
| Your
current performance |
|
| Your
current driver(s) and events or Championships being contested in 2001 |
Ben Briant
Belgian Div 1 International Tarmac Championship
Belgian Div 2 Tarmac Championship
Selected rounds of French Gravel Championship
Selected WRC events |
| …
and in 2003? |
**
Craig Johnston
Middle East Rally Championship
Selected one-off events including the Safari |
| How
could you improve your ‘own’ current performance? |
By
having more time to do everything I would like to do. |
| How
could you improve your current driver’s performance? |
**
Continued encouragement. |
| If
you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?
|
I would
set up a school for co-drivers. I believe the MSA’s idea of forcing
new drivers to have tuition is a good one, but believe that the co-driver
should also be included. In my opinion a co-driver with little or no
knowledge is more likely to be the cause of an accident than the driver
acting on his own. |
| Your
future in rallying |
|
| Where
would you most like to compete (in the world): |
Africa
** (Hmm this section was filled in in 2001 – It’s coming
true!) |
| Which
rally would you most like to compete in? |
The
Safari |
| Which
driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for? |
Petter
Solberg |
| Ambition
in rallying for the future: |
To
become World Champion |
| What
would you like to put back into rallying? |
Anything
that I can do that will influence organisers, championship co-ordinators
and the MSA to attract new talent to the sport. This includes looking
at ways of reducing the financial burden for new competitors to the
sport. |
| The
future of rallying |
|
| Which
up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend? |
**
Let me think a little longer on this one……………. |
| Which
up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend? |
**
Roger Herron |
| What
would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers? |
Try
to be as organised as possible, but most importantly ask for advice
from those that have more experience than you. It’s much quicker
and less painful to learn by other people’s mistakes and experiences. |
| Any
other comments |
Favourite
saying: "It’s not over until
it’s over"
** For details
of the teams activities go to:
protrak |
| What's
this about you falling backwards off a cliff? |
| It was while driving on
Rally Reykjavik 1999. It was the last stage of the rally and indeed
the last stage of the championship. I was leading the championship
and only needed to finish 4th to ensure victory.
I went in to the last stage with a 6 sec deficit and, determined
to win, I basically threw my brain away. On the recce I had actually
stopped all the less experienced crews and told them that whatever
they did 'Don't get this one wrong' and the rest you know. We actually
managed to get to the finish with the anti roll bar being the only
thing keeping the back axle attached to the vehicle. Oh yes, and my
crutch straps were much too tight and bore the brunt of one of the
impacts going down the cliff.....
Perhaps I should also mention my poor long suffering co-driver,
Mark Burton, who had the uncanny knack of calmly saying, 'I told you',
in the middle of any large 'moments' that resulted in us hitting something
or, in this case, falling off something. Luckily, it wasn't the tourist
season, because we narrowly missed landing on top of a coffee shop
on the beach, that closely resembled your average garden shed.
By the way, the only reason that we finished the rally in the first
place, was because when the course closing car turned up (with the
rally doctor) they were so gobsmacked that we were more or less in
one piece, that they forgot to take our timecard off us. It was after
they had left we managed the get the piece of scrap, that was once
one of Solihull's finest, moving again. A couple of kms further into
the stage we caught up with the course closers who were dealing with
Phillip Walker's Mazda 323, which had given up the ghost. They stopped
us and told us that we could not continue, until I showed them the
timecard. Not really believing what they saw they sort of waved us
on. We got to the finish 2 or 3 seconds inside OTL.
Plenty more stories, similar to where that one came from......
Tim
11/4/01
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| We
knew there was more to the story above and now Tim has completed it..............
|
| On the way back into Reykjavik
it was quite difficult to negotiate queues of traffic on account of
the fact that the vehicle was 'crabbing' so badly, it was nearly double
its normal width. Of course as we were in a hurry, there was loads
more traffic than normal and all the traffic lights were on red.
It was while we were sat at one of these sets of traffic lights,
waiting to go straight on, that an accident happened. The driver of
a car coming from our left (according to legend) took his eyes off
the road ahead to look at the state of our vehicle and ended up veering
to the right, crashing through the central reservation just behind
us and flipping over onto its roof.
At that point the lights went green and we shot off (with less than
2 minutes to OTL). The rear propshaft decided, at this point, that
it had had enough of trying to turn through the impossible angle that
I was demanding of it and broke, almost flipping us onto our roof
as well! Luckily it broke at the front end as well and, as I
selected Diff lock to provide the front axle with some drive, we could
hear it bouncing down the road.
Just as we neared the finish, two Police motorcycles left Parc Ferme
in the direction of the accident. As they were apparently the only
'traffic police' on duty in Reykjavik that afternoon, the final leg
of the rally was somewhat delayed. The police riders were used to
escort all the finishers of the rally, in reverse order, to the finish
ramp in the centre of town. I think it must have been quite a sight
to see a convoy of about 20 vehicles, ranging from an extremely out
of shape and unroadworthy Land Rover to a WRC Subaru, being led by
two Police motorcyclists through the centre of the city. We were first
to cross the ramp as 'last finisher' and although only 3 wheels were
actually touching the ramp we made it over, to a huge applause from
the waiting crowds. Icelanders seem to appreciate this sort of 'never
give up' attitude.
Well that's it, now you've got it all.
What I can say to finish with is that rallying in Iceland is an experience
not to be missed. The Icelanders enthusiasm for their Motorsport is
unequalled and there is no rally in the world that I know of where
you can drive on so many different types of surface in one rally.
If you want to know more about rallying in Iceland e-mail
Tim Line
Tim Line
30/4/01
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The
Story So Far............
from the co-driver's eyes
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| "To
achieve success in rallying, you have four key elements, which must
work in complete harmony with each other". |
| These
four individual things may seem obvious to even the most uninterested
in motorsport; they are of course, the driver, a co-driver, car and
mechanics. It is essential that all four components are individually
up to the job, but the most important thing is how they all work together.
It is very difficult to explain this part of the equation; all I
can say is that you instinctively know when something feels right.
You don’t get this feeling unless you are on a special stage,
in the arena of competition and everything works collectively as one.
The Driver
The driver must obviously have driving ability, but I think all
of the following are essential to success. In no particular order he
must have courage, determination, concentration, be adaptable, have
controlled aggression, be willing to learn from others and probably
most importantly, have a real ‘need’ to win.
The Co-driver
In many ways he needs the same qualities as the driver, but the
most important ones assist in bringing out the best in the driver,
which results in him driving the car faster which, in turn, makes the
co-driver happy. I think the best qualities a co-driver can have are
enthusiasm, a positive attitude, accuracy, a finger on the pulse and,
once again, a real ‘need’ to win.
The Car
A known product, properly developed for rallying is essential.
When setting out on a World Championship event you must have confidence
that the car is going to perform. Cars with inherent problems, such
as drive shafts, brakes, clutch, etc. will ultimately impact on the
driver’s ability to get the car to the finish.
The Mechanics & Service crew
The fourth element often gets overlooked when evaluating a team’s
potential. A good car cannot perform unless it’s assembled correctly
and faulty parts are routinely diagnosed and replaced. Regardless of
how good the driver and co-driver are, results will not be achieved
unless their mechanics are solidly behind them.
As a new team, we have learnt and put into practice a great deal,
but we still have a lot more knowledge to gain and that, in turn, will
result in more speed and even better results.
From my point of view, I am extremely grateful that Ben has given
me the opportunity of working with him. Ben is a very brisk driver
with a natural talent that has passed down from his father. He fulfils
all the qualities that you would want to see in a driver and I believe
that from the word go we have worked extremely effectively together.
We are both very focused on what the future holds in store and I think
that if our results so far are anything to go by, then our prospects
ahead look good.
Tim Line
Co-driver to Ben Briant
April 2001
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|
THE
FIRST THREE MONTHS
Co-driving for Ben Briant!
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| It all
started with when I spotted an ad in a Motorsport publication saying
‘WANTED – A serious and committed co-driver to do the BRC
and selected WRC events’. I replied to the ad as soon as I saw
it, because I felt that I fulfilled the two criteria asked for and was,
at the time, looking for a driver with similar qualities. Having won
the Daihatsu Championship in 2000 alongside Scott Vogl, I very much
wanted to move forward to bigger things. This was the right opportunity,
at the right time, but would I even get a reply?
Obviously I did and, without having even met, we loosely agreed that
I would sit alongside Ben for 2 events ‘to see if we got on’.
The events in question were Boucles de Spa in Belgium and the Sunseeker
Rallye in the UK. I met Ben and the team a few days later at the Stages
Rally, near Weston-Super-Mare. He was competing for the penultimate
time with Konnie Huq from Blue Peter, in order for her to qualify for
an International licence prior to disappearing off to Scandinavia for
the Swedish rally the following week. My initial impressions were that
here was someone who enjoyed his rallying, but was determined to make
it to the top, whatever it takes.
Encouraged by what I’d seen, the next time that Ben and I were
to meet was in Belgium, as Ben had travelled there directly from Sweden.
Despite being confident in myself that I could do a good job for Ben,
I would be kidding myself if I said that I wasn’t nervous. This
was to be my first Belgian event, a round of the European Championship,
in the most powerful car I’d ever co-driven, with a 20-year old
driver who I’d only met once and we’d been seeded No 15!
I remember thinking to myself that our start number was a bit on the
optimistic side, but we set our sights on beating our seeding anyway.
The first time in a car together was on the reconnaissance and almost
immediately it became apparent that Ben knew what he was doing. The
first time accuracy of his pacenote making was the best that I had
ever come across and that allowed us more time to concentrate on minor
detail. Pacenote making is a vital art if you are to succeed because,
at World level, competitors are only allowed two passes over each stage.
We seemed to get on well from the outset, being able to have a laugh
while at the same time remaining focused on the job in hand. However,
you only really find out whether the notes are correct when you drive
the stages competitively.
The first stage in the EVO was an unforgettable experience. Its power,
noise, speed and surefootedness on the road is nothing short of phenomenal,
bearing in mind that we are only in a Group N production car. When
you’ve sat with as many drivers as I have, it becomes easy to
distinguish between those who ‘think they can drive’ and
the ones who really can. Ben definitely falls into the latter category.
It was difficult to believe, as we flew through that first stage, that
this was the first time that Ben had driven the EVO in anger on tarmac.
Within a few hundred metres I felt an uncanny trust in him and he must
have felt the same way about me. For a driver/co-driver relationship
to be forged in this way is unusual as it normally takes a couple of
rallies to get used to each other but, in our case, it was more like
a couple of hundred metres.
Ben’s natural ability is not in doubt and he takes constructive
criticism well. Faults picked up in Spa he had rectified by Rally de
Hannut and the upsurge in speed was noticeable. This trend has repeated
itself for every event and is clearly reflected in the results.
If we can carry on the rest of the year as we have started, I think
the future looks very promising. In Spa we set our future sights on
beating the current Group N Championship leader. The last time we met
we nearly achieved that and I firmly believe it will not be long until
we are getting the better of him on a consistent basis. When that time
comes we will find ourselves another challenging goal.
The main challenges for the next few months will be the Cyprus Rally
and the Acropolis. Both of these events are renowned for being both
technically difficult and hard on the cars. We have deliberately set
our sights high and will be going for a place in the top 15 in Cyprus.
Watch this space!……
Tim Line
Co-driver to Ben Briant
April 2001
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|
Le Terre d'Artois
French Off-road Championship
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| I'll be at the Jim
Clark Rally this weekend and am travelling up with the afore-mentioned
person. They're trying to pressgang me into co-driving a Landrover
again on a one-off basis, but ............
I competed on the last round of the French Off-Road Championship
last weekend, the 'Terre d'Artois'.
I was co-driving a nutter in a Discovery in the T2 (modified production
class). We were going very well (2nd in class) and getting to grips
with the leader when we crashed out on stage 3 due to a mechanical
failure. The steering box main shaft sheared, the car steered left
(all by itself!) and crashed into a tree. Game over!
Event was won by the Simmonite sisters. Good fun while it lasted.
Tim Line
1/11/01
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10th
overall - Dubai International Rally 2002
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|
 Here's a pic
of me coming off the start ramp of the Dubai International Rally 2002,
the last round of the Middle East Championship.
I was co-driving for
Craig Johnston in a Subaru WRX 2002 Gp
N and we finished 10th overall after a considerable number of challenges!
Tim Line
8/1/03
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