Image Courtesy Simon Clarke

Welshman Matt Edwards turned in a gutsy and determined performance on Saturdays Somerset Stages, the third round of his BTRDA 1400 Rally Series campaign, to take the runner up spot in the category aswell as an astonishing 19th overall from a field of 130 starters.

This his third event aboard the 586 Sport MG ZR would mark only Edwards second visit to the event, and then again he would be taking just three stages experience of the demanding terrain with him following a differential failure in 2008 in a Subaru Impreza. The EvoParts.org, Racing Lines.com, Pamaya.com and Tradeaways supported car, would this time co-driven by Paul Williams from Kidwelly, as regular co-driver Sam Collis would be on British Historic Championship duties in Northumberland on the same day, adding to Edwards unfamiliarity.

With no rain for 17 days in the Minehead area, dust in the stages would be a recurring problem during the day, with Edwards also admitting to hitting the wrong pedals a couple of times on the short one mile opening stage, but a good run through the long second stage would see him lying fourth despite nearly coming to a standstill on several occasions in the hanging dust.

With full trust already between driver and co-driver, the pairing were able to push on significantly in the remaining two stages of the morning loop to maintain position going into service, where the 586 sport team would be called into action to rectify a leaking power steering rack that would leave Edwards grappling for control when fluid ran out in the system.

“Its been a very tough morning for us to say the least! The first and second stages we lost a lot of time in the dust and I also took the first stage to settle back into the car to be honest, but considering our main rival has full visibility i think we have done well to stay in touch. I just hope we can rectify the steering problem here as its very hard to control when the system looses all its fluid!” explained the 25 year old.

The famous Porlock Hill tarmac stage followed the short service halt, and would prove to be a key point in the outcome of the event. Despite not being able to cure the power steering fault, Edwards was able to re-fill the resevoir before stage starts to regain assistance, and this he used to great effect with a full attack of the Porlock stage to haul himself up to second in the standings, taking significant time out of his closest rivals despite lower power at his disposal up the long hills on the stage. Edwards was not able to match the pace of the main championship rival in the more powerful Proton Satria however, losing 10 seconds over the two runs of the stage, leaving him in second place, 22 seconds in arrears heading back to the forests for the final loop of stages.

With another attempt to stop the leaking power steering system at second service, Edwards and Williams would head out determined to at least increase their scant 2 second advantage over the third place crew. This got off to a good start, taking a further four seconds on the 2 runs of Chargot, whilst also pipping back three on the leader thanks to the downhill nature of the stage. This preceeded the eight mile Croydon stage which the crew thought was realistically their last chance to fight for the outright win.

With some flat out and determined driving from the start, the pair began to catch lingering dust pockets as the car ahead on the stage retired with a broken drive shaft, meanwhile their own power steering had also failed once again with over half the stage still to go. Nevertheless, full committment was still required as Edwards fought for control of the car over the bumps, pulling him from side to side, but they safely made the finish and were amazed to have equal fastest time despite their difficulties. However, with the leader too far ahead to catch in the remaining 5 miles, no power steering, and second place now safe with the unfortunate retirement of their rivals, a catutios approach for the final two stages was the safe bet.

Image Courtesy Simon Clarke

“We had a realy good push all day today really and felt I committed to the notes as much as I ever have despite the unfamiliar ground. I couldnt have gone any faster on the tarmac stages and gave 110% all afternoon. OK, we had dust and steering problems today so it would have been closer at the top but for them, but still this result is what we realisticaly came for in the circumstances so Im more than happy; all be it feeling more like Popeye after fighting the car most of this afternoon!” joked the enthusiastic North Walian at the finish.

Edwards efforts now turn to finding the budget to contest the next round of the series in Welshppool on the 15th May, so with only three weeks to go, Matt would appreciate any parites interested in getting involved visiting the ‘Get Involved’ section on his website at www.merallysport.com. Edwards now lies just points behind in second place in both the BTRDA sereies and the MSA English Championship, whilst leads the MG ZR Challenge after his third maximum points score in a row.

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