GOULD READY FOR THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
18/05/2009
Pirelli Star Driver Adam Gould returns to the scene of his greatest British Rally Championship glory in 2008, when he tackles the Jim Clark Rally in the Scottish Borders later this week.
Gould, 21, has an affinity for rallying in this part of the world, rating two of the stages on the third round of this year's British Rally Championship as the best of the season. Gould and his co-driver Sebastian Marshall will look to make the most of their synergy with the technical and twisty stretches of asphalt to return their TEG Sport-prepared Subaru Impreza WRX to the points - following a stunning fourth overall on their debut in the Pirelli car in North Wales - when the event finishes on Saturday afternoon.
Just getting to the finish of this event will be a big test, however, as mainland Britain's first ever rally to race down closed public roads, returns to its endurance roots with a six-stage Friday night leg followed by an arduous 11 stages through Saturday.
"It's going to be a fantastic rally," said Gould, from Bristol. "It's always one of my favourites of the year; partly because this is where we won our Pirelli Star Driver nomination for finishing seventh in the BRC standings last year. And, for me, there are two stand-out stages on this event. I rate Abbey [St Bathans] and the Bothwell stages as the best of the year. They are real drivers' stages; so technical, but in places quick and really bumpy. It's going to be an awesome challenge going through these stages in the Pirelli Subaru. I can't wait."
As if those two stages aren't challenging enough, Gould and the rest of the BRC field will be tackling them in the fading light on the first run and pitch black the second time through. Will the dark bother Gould?
"Hmm, I was a bit scared of the dark when I was youngerÂ…" he joked. "No, the dark will just add to the challenge. The one thing we have to get absolutely perfect is the pace notes. The notes are vital in the daylight, but in the dark they're even more important. There are lots of places in these stages where you're coming over small crests up on the moors; in the daylight you fly over them without hesitation, but when it's pitch black and there's no definition, nothing for the spot lights to pick up on, it's a real test of commitment to the notes."
Gould drove the Impreza WRX on asphalt for the first time last week, when he completed both a wet and dry set-up test at the Three Sisters kart track near Wigan.
"We couldn't have asked for better weather," said Gould. "The morning was dry and then it started to rain at lunchtime, so we had the chance to test all tyre variations and to see how the car ran on tar. Of course, a circuit's not quite the same as the bumpy Scottish lanes, but the really encouraging thing on this event is that the shakedown stage is entirely representative of the roads we're using on the event itself, so we'll leave our suspension set-up until we get to their on Friday (May 22)."
Unfortunately for Gould, having completed the recce with Marshall on Thursday (May 21), his co-driver will then have to return to Newcastle University for an examination, missing the shakedown stage. Marshall will then leave the world of academia behind and head north to meet Gould in Edinburgh for the ceremonial start on Friday evening.
