Cars hit 105mph on last stage
EVENT sponsor Olly Duquemin loved his return to rallying in the inaugural Resolution IT Guernsey Rally even though he found himself travelling at some very hairy speeds through island lanes.
Duquemin sat in the No. 1 car, the Ford Escort Mk 2 driven by Jerseyman Darryl Morris, runner-up in the most recent Jersey Rally.
On this occasion he had to settle for fourth spot, but Morris was far from downbeat.
‘It was really good and I really enjoyed it. The stages were nice and technical and against the expectations I had coming here, we’ve done really good,’ he said in the perishing cold of the pits area late on Saturday evening.
‘Well done to the Guernsey Kart Club.’
Morris went home with a class win, but was always going to be up against it with his big Jersey rivals driving more powerful cars. But, he said, the stages were not altogether different from what he is used to in Jersey. ‘It was very similar but of course at home we know where we are going, so coming over here it was quite interesting,’ he added, while praising his local navigator, Olly Duquemin.
‘He did really well as it is seven years since he has navigated.
‘He was spot on and kept me on the straight and narrow today, I couldn’t have asked for a better one.’
Duquemin was delighted with the outcome too, not just personally but in overall event terms.
‘We had a good day and Darryl is one heck of a driver.’
Morris said he is definitely planning to return.
‘We were pretty tidy and as I am doing another rally next week I couldn’t afford to hit the car this week.’
The new partnership rated the last stage as their favourite.
‘The St Andrew’s stage was the fastest and the most technical,’ said the driver of No. 1.
‘We were geared for 105 and we were at the top of fifth gear on that stage.’
