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BTRDA : SIG Motorsport Rally Team: August ‘07
SIG Motorsport Rally Team Announcement
It is with a
deep regret that due to medical reasons the SIG Team can not continue rallying.
Alan has been told
he is a Type 1 diabetic and has become insulin dependent. This does not affect his normal day to day
driving but however affects his competition license.
Alan would like
to thank everyone who has been supportive in these last few weeks but would
like to say a special thank you to Mum and Dad, Lisa, TESCO, William, Tony and
Phil.
However the SIG
Team members will still be out and about with William Kelly co-driving on the
Woodpecker in September and hopefully on the Tour of Mull in October.
Keep Smiling!!
BTRDA : Dukeries Review: June
‘07
Quinton brings more points for Howard
26 year old
After
severe floods had made country wide headlines in the weeks leading up to the
Llandovery based event the last thing the crews expected was bright sunshine
and dusty stages and yet, bizarrely, that is exactly what they got!
Alan’s
early running was hampered by a problem with his handbrake which slowed the car
and reduced his confidence on hairpins. When the crew returned to first service
they were languishing down in 51st position but with the handbrake
issues resolved they began to push. Although Alan, co-driven as always by
Irishman William Kelly, was suffering with a lack of traction out of corners,
and as a result the little Corsa was eating tyres at an alarming rate, the pair
were pushing as hard as they dared and their second run through Halfway
reflected this.
The pair were a full 6 seconds quicker
through this 5 mile stage than on their first run, showed how hard they were
pushing. Equally impressive improvements on their times through both Crychan and Route 60 saw the little Corsa
climb the ladder on each stage.
Well what can I say?
With
the majority of the 1400cc crews ahead of them not registered for points Alan
and William took 2nd place points in the BTRDA Tesco 99 Octane 1400
Rally Championship.
The
Shift into Gear team now has a bit of a mid summer break
as the next round, the Woodpecker Stages, is only on September 1st.
For more on the championship please visit
www.btrdarally.com
BTRDA : Dukeries Review: June ‘07
Oh Gear, Oh geary me
Young Welshman Alan Howard and his Irish
co-driver William Kelly had an eventful Dukeries
Rally. Arriving at the Race-course Saturday morning, the crew found the car
caught in the middle of the flood overnight (Friday) (Picture – Left). After rescuing the Vauxhall Corsa the crew had barely enough time to sort themselves
out to get to the first stage.
The opening stage was extremely slippy, and the Tesco/Greenergy backed driver took the
stage cautiously, but quarter the way through Alan reported that the car was
struggling to accelerate smoothly. “It seemed to be caught on something in the
engine bay, I couldn’t accelerate passed 7,000 rpm” Alan said to his
mechanics back at service.
The next 3 stages were to be no better,
with the same apparent problem. Alan was
now losing time, hand over fist to the other competitors. On the way to service
after Stage 4 the crew started to hear a sound coming from the gearbox. The mechanics immediately got to work.
It soon became to light that the crew
would no longer be able to continue. The
Crownwheel in the gearbox had chipped a tooth.
Causing it wear against the pinion, making the worrying sound.
“It is a real shame we had to retire but
we didn’t want to cause more problems to the gearbox. We would have liked to
get a few more points on the board. But
sometimes you can’t anticipate these sort of
problems.”
Hopefully Alan and the SIG Team will be
able to fix the gearbox in time for the next rally in 3 weeks time. The Quinton Stages - Mid
For more
on the BTRDA Tesco 99 Octane 1400 Championship please visit
BTRDA : Red Dragon Review: May
‘07
Red Dragon success for Happy
Howard
A very happy Alan Howard and William
Kelly took a fine class podium and maximum Silverstone Tyres
BTRDA 1400 championship points on the Pro Art Signs Red Dragon Rally.
Manchester based Alan, and Irish
co-driver William, faced tricky conditions throughout the 45 mile rally, with
the weather alternating between torrential rain and dry spells throughout the
event, and even survived a scare on the penultimate stage when an exceptionally
slippery corner saw the little Tesco/ Greenergy backed Vauxhall Corsa entertain the gathered spectators with a small spin.
With the opening stages proving very
slippery after overnight rain, Alan opted for the cautious approach and his
tactic worked well as the pair increased their pace throughout the day,
experiencing a faultless run in the Corsa. A string
of top 5 times showed how the personable youngster has gotten to grips with his
new steed.
This is the first time I’ve competed in
The young Tesco employee is not sure
whether he will be contesting the next round of the championship, the Dukeries Rally, as funds are rather tight, but either way
Alan and the Tesco/ Greenergy Vauxhall Corsa will be
contesting the Quinton Stages in Mid Wales in July.
For more
on the championship please visit
BTRDA :
Gear Problems Halt Howards run
After a promising result on the Malcolm
Wilson, Alan Howard was looking to push his Greenergy backed Vauxhall Corsa on this
After leaving the start line heading towards the Langdale 1 and with two miles to go, Alan tried to engage 4th gear but it did not select which left the car rolling to a halt. Frantic efforts to find a solution came and went. After going OTL and returning back to service, the problem was the gear selector pin had snapped and it was unable to select any gears at all.
The next event for SIG Motorsport team
will be the
For more on the championship please visit
www.btrdarally.com
BTRDA : Malcolm Wilson Rally Review: March ‘07
Howard nets class podium on
Malcolm Wilson
After a snow bank hindered his debut in
the 2007 Tesco 99 Octane BTRDA 1400 rally championship,
With
this being his first true test of the car Alan knew that stage miles were more
important than quick times and as such the 25 year old and his Irish co-driver,
William Kelly, tackled the opening run through the famous Greystoke
forest with caution. And with the slippery conditions catching out a number of
drivers this approach was certainly a wise choice as the little Tesco/
Greenergy backed Vauxhall Corsa emerged unscathed
from the very tricky stage.
Stage 2 saw Alan and William tackle yet another famous stage, Grizedale, and with the pair quickly getting into the swing of things and feeling more confident with the Corsa they pushed a little harder and were rewarded with the 2nd quickest B9 time! Despite this Alan, who is only in his second full year of rallying, refused to be drawn into a fight as he was conscious of the need for a solid result and thus focused more on a good finish than challenging for the lead. Having said that the young shift manager still went on to set a string of top 3 stage times throughout the rest of the rally, including a time on the final stage, Wythop, that was just 5 seconds off the pace of the class winning Citroen C2!
When the pair returned to the finishing
ramp in Cockermouth they were amazed to find that
they had finished 5th in the 1400’s and taken a well deserved class
B9 podium in their first gravel event in the car!
This result is fantastic! We came here
focused more on a good clean run as I really need time in the car. As the day
developed so I found more confidence and was able to push a little harder but
rest assured there is more to come from both the car and myself!
This strong result moves Alan and William
into 5th overall in the Tesco 99 Octane BTRDA 1400 rally
championship! Next up for the Tesco/ Greenergy backed Shift into Gear rally
team is the North Humberside Rally at the end of the month. Alan and William
have prior experience of these roads from their successful 2006 Stars of the
Future British Rally Championship campaign and will be hoping for another solid
run as the learning curve continues.
.
For more on the championship please visit
www.btrdarally.com
Here you
will find an article from the Motorsport news about the Tesco 99 Octane 1400’s
- Malcolm Wilson Rally News Articles
BTRDA :
Tough Wyedean Test For
Howard
Young Tesco employee Alan Howard had a
baptism of fire on the opening round of the 2007 Tesco 99 Octane BTRDA 1400
rally championship when he debuted his new car in
horrendous conditions on the Get Connected Wyedean
Forest Rally.
With
the area having been besieged with snow in the run up to the event the newly
acquired Vauxhall Corsa was delayed en route and only
arrived shortly before the start of the rally! With no time to test and up to 8
inches of snow in some of the stages, Alan knew that he had a steep learning
curve ahead of him!
A
cautious run through the opening stage saw the Greenergy supported youngster
still set a respectable time, going quicker than some of the established BTRDA
regulars but Alan admitted that the conditions were very, very tricky.
Another top 10 time
through the second stage gave Alan and co-driver William Kelly some confidence
as they adjusted to their first event in a full blown B9 rally car but then an
innocuous bump half way through Serridge, the longest
stage of the rally, saw the pair plough into a snow bank and come to a halt.
Despite the valiant efforts of William, some marshals and spectators a lot of
time was lost before the Corsa was eventually
extracted and the pair would eventually be excluded for exceeding the time
limit.
However, as the rally was basically a
test session they were allowed to continue and as Alan became accustomed to the
car their times improved throughout the day.
I had not even sat in the car until 5 minutes before the start of the
rally so it was one big learning curve throughout the day. The conditions were
horrendous and just made learning the car’s characteristics THAT much more
difficult. Our visit to the snow bank was really frustrating but then we were joined
by a couple of other cars as well so at least it wasn’t just us!
The ‘Shift Into
Gear’ team now has nearly a month to prepare for their next outing, the Cockermouth based Malcolm Wilson Rally and Alan is hoping
to find the opportunity to do some of testing ahead of his second outing of the
year.
BTRDA : Pre-season Preview: January
‘07
Howard to use championship winning car in 2007
Welsh born Alan Howard is eagerly
anticipating the start of the 2007 Tesco 99 Octane BTRDA 1400 Rally Championship
as it signals the beginning of his third year of rallying. Not only that, but
for the first time in his young career the young Tesco manager will have a
fully fledged rally car at his disposal.
After achieving some incredible giant killing
feats at the wheel of a near standard Suzuki Swift throughout the 2006 Tesco 99
Octane MSA British Rally Stars of the Future championship Alan and Irish
co-driver William Kelly were eventually rewarded with a fine 1st in class at
the end of the year!
So pleased with the performance of the
pair are Greenergy, the makers of Tesco 99 Octane, that the partnership will
continue for a second year. After lessons learnt in 2006 Alan and William are
under no illusions as to the challenge ahead and one of the steps the ‘Shift
Into Gear’ team have made is to acquire the 2006 BTRDA 1400 Championship
winning Vauxhall Corsa from the reigning champion,
Neil Weaver.
I am really looking forward to driving
the Corsa this year but I think it will be quite a
steep learning curve as the Vauxhall has nearly double the horsepower my little
Suzuki had last year! We won’t have much of an opportunity to test the car but
even so I cannot wait to get my season started. I have to say a huge thank you
to Greenergy, the makers of Tesco 99 Octane, as they have been a huge help to
me.
For 2007 Alan switches to the Tesco 99
Octane BTRDA 1400 Rally Championship which takes place over 10 rounds
throughout the
Here you will find a Press release from
Motorsport News about our season ahead.
All photographs geoffmayesmedia.com
© SIG Motorpsort ‘07