Last weekend saw the Jack Neal Memorial Rally take place at Blyton in Lincolnshire where 16-year-old Carnforth driver Arron Newby was in action, partnered by Wiseman Dairies BRC co-driver Julian Wilkinson once again.
Comprising a round of the Junior 1000 Championship, the pair were ready to take the challenge to the front-runners following their success the previous weekend and their TEG Sport prepared Micra did not let them down, with the crew finishing third overall and just losing out on second place by two seconds.
The day dawned with good weather and 12 stages of smooth tarmac awaited the crews for the action packed day ahead. Newby was quick but cautious on the first three stages which saw him posting times in the top five, but only a handful of seconds separated the front-runners so competition was tight.
By stage four Newby was right on the pace and was inside the top three stage times, a position he never dropped below all day. With no problems throughout the day and only routine maintenance required by the TEG Sport team, Newby and Wilkinson decided to push hard for the last four stages and the crew were happy to be consistently second fastest on all but one of the remaining stages, which they improved upon by setting fastest time on the final test, no mean feat considering this was Newby’s fourth ever rally and only the second rally the crew have competed in together.
Arron said afterwards: “I’m so pleased to be here at the finish I can’t stop smiling. I really wanted a good result today and was confident I could get one and I have! The team has worked really hard this week to develop the car a little bit more, she’s been on a small diet so she’s ‘semi-skimmed’ and I tried to drive it as hard as I possibly could do. Jules has really helped my confidence in the car and I think we have done ourselves proud. I wish we could do another day’s stages because I feel like I’m getting better with every mile, it’s been mega!”
Jules commented saying: “Amazing! I can’t believe the commitment and pace of these young guys, Arron has driven brilliantly all day, absolutely inch perfect, he hasn’t put a wheel out of place in 12 stages. We were totally committed on every inch of tarmac, late braking, drifting, you name it we were doing it to get every last second we could. I must have a few more grey hairs tonight than I had this morning! Of course, this is a competitive championship even at this level and I would especially like to thank our sponsors Wiseman Dairies, Pirelli, TEG Sport and Revolution Wheels for their continued support.”
Pictures attached courtesy of Marcus Andrews.
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