You CAN go Rallying in your Street Car!

Jacob and Ryan enjoy the ecoNRG SW Targa in a standard VW Golf!

SW Targa 2024 - Report from Car 36

Last year, for the inaugural event, I had entered as a driver with my brother navigating which was an absolute joy. He couldn’t attend this year so I paired up with Ryan Williams, no relation besides the shared surname, Ryan has been a close friend since we were at school and is often a fellow competitor on Camel Vale’s scatters. As this was Ryan’s first time entering a targa rally, or any interclub status event for that matter, he opted for the driver’s seat. The problem that posed was Ryan’s only roadworthy car at the time was a Passat. As interesting as that would have been to enter, I’m not sure Ryan’s wife would have approved so he had the trusted privilege of piloting my mk2 Golf.

Running as car 36 our seeding was set by our class but given Ryan had never driven the car before, not least on an event he had never done before we were quite happy to have a lower pressure position. We had agreed from the start the aims were to:

Have a laugh
Keep the car in one piece
Achieve a finish. (In that order)

That said, given I wasn’t overly confident on the second one I had packed a boot full of spares to improve our chances of the third. Nevertheless, we didn’t need to use a single tool all day. The car was running poorly at partial throttle but fine flat out – so no issue on the tests! This was later diagnosed as a split intake pipe. Besides that, not one mechanical or electrical fault, I had even driven to and from the event on the same wheels and tyres.

As far as some targas go, this event is comparatively smooth. The farm track had the potential to cause issue if driven beyond the limits of the car, but a stop/go and RC strategically placed on the worst section meant most came away unscathed. The RC board became evermore muddy throughout the day, obscuring the letters, meaning even those that could read at pace were taking a longer look. There was one large pothole near the middle of the airfield we kept finding, every time with me calling “There’s a hole around this corner…Yep that one” as we drove straight through it on every test.

Much simpler than last year

The tests themselves were also much simpler this year, far fewer splits and merges making everything seem to flow a lot more. The event still maintained a strong mileage which was was aided by the addition of two new ‘roads’, and all tests ran. Despite the simpler tests I must confess to nearly slipping up on a split, surely I can count to two? We did end up going the correct route but at the expense of sitting their stationary debating if we had done that loop yet or not! Still better that than a penalty. Looking at the results we scored the second fewest ‘faults’ behind Tony and Mark who completed the day with just one stop-fault.

Ryan Williams / Jacob Williams on their way to the class win

After test 3, we were second in our class to Father/Son Barry and James Thrower. Up at the pointy end, James Appleby and Sam Treleaven took an early lead that they held throughout the day securing them a well-earned overall win. Second overall was taken by last minute entry Ethan Davies and Trevor Disney after Car 1 Chris and Jamie Woolley suffered an issue on test 8.

We won the Streetcar class!

Back in the Clubman classes, Barry and James acquired a few faults on test 4 & 5 meanwhile Ryan and I were getting into the swing of it and were delighted to come away with a class win.

The ease of instant online results, and the damp weather at lunch time meant there weren’t many people out and about around rally HQ or the food van, at least the queue was nice and short. It had been drizzly for most of the morning, we felt sorry for the marshals stood outside in it, however it did keep the dust down and possibly lessened tyre wear.

Of course, a massive thank you goes to the marshals braving the weather while still executing their duties with enthusiasm and a smile. Similarly, all of us competing owe our gratitude to the event organisers. A small team of people put a phenomenal amount of time and effort into running an event like this. Viewing it from the competitor’s perspective Ryan and I were very impressed both overall and with the interesting and varied tests, making full use of what the venue has to offer. Ryan also noted how efficient and refined the running was even without considering the event is only in its second year. 29 finishers from 41 starters is not bad going either.

While packing up the venue Alan asked if I had a sump guard fitted, to which I said it hasn’t – it’s a completely factory standard car hence the ‘street car’ class entry. Doing a bit of post event maintenance though it was evident that I could have done with one. I noticed a huge dent in the sump with a crease that pinches into a corner. Just proves in rallying there are many things that can cause you not to finish, but on this occasion we had a close escape.

Jacob - Car 36 Navigator