ADAM SETS STUNNING TIMES BUT CRASH COSTS POTENTIAL PODIUM
13/07/2009
Pirelli Star Driver Adam Gould turned in another scintillating performance in his debut year at the highest level of British rallying, but just missed out on a second successive British Rally Championship podium finish after he went off the road on Rally Isle of Man on Saturday.
Driving the Pirelli-liveried Subaru Impreza WRX, the 22-year-old Gould set an astonishing pace through the opening day of this latest round of the British Rally Championship. On what's acknowledged as one of the toughest rallies in the world, Gould belied the fact that he'd only visited the island once before - and never in a four-wheel drive car - to post third fastest time on the very first stage, despite not having driven the car at competitive speeds for seven weeks. That stage time was no mean feat; the Staarvey stage is among the most challenging of the entire route: a classic complete with blind crests, flat-out corners, dips, bumps and compressions. In the past, Staarvey has caught out some of the world's finest drivers; including Alister McRae who spectacularly cart-wheeled a Golf down this stretch of road in 1997.
Gould said: "Staarvey was always going to be an amazing start to the event, so we decided to go for it. I wasn't taking big risks, but we were pushing. I was really pleased with the time when we came out at the other end. The car was working well and the notes were perfect. That was one of the things I was a little bit concerned about. Last year I came here in a Renault Clio and I thought we were absolutely flying, but this year we were going even quicker. I had no experience, during the recce, of how the car would react. Would it jump or just go light over this crest? How far would we fly at that jump? How would it settle over those bumps? Those were all questions I was still asking myself at the start of SS1."
Six-and-a-half minutes later and Adam and co-driver Sebastian Marshall had answered most of those questions. Unfortunately for them, their efforts to cement third place on the next stage were undone by rear suspension damage after Adam clipped a rock buried in the grass on the inside of a corner. Despite the Subaru now demonstrating a crab-like approach to the island roads, Gould still collected third fastest time in SS3.
Gould dropped to fifth position, but moved back into third place on Saturday morning's opening stage. By this point, Gould was locked into a fascinating battle with Alastair Fisher (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) - with both of these young drivers utterly determined to grab third place behind the two acknowledged stars of BRC 2009: Mark Higgins (Gould's team-mate and fellow Subaru driver) and Keith Cronin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX).
"In all honesty," said Gould, "this year's title is going to be between Mark and Keith. Once that became clear, I really felt that this year was about me showing what I can do in a rally car. I've been given this amazing opportunity by Pirelli and the British Rally Championship and I'm not going to sit back and settle for fourth place or whatever. I'm here to fight and that's what we were doing when it all went slightly wrong."
Of the 16 gruelling Manx stages Gould completed, he was only out of the top-five times once (when he damaged the suspension in SS2 and set ninth fastest time) and was among the top three times on 11 stages.
Five miles into the 17th stage, Adam was just too quick into a right-hander. The car clipped the bank and rolled. Both Adam and Sebastian emerged unscathed, but their heroic effort was over.
"We were really pushing hard," said Gould. "Newtown was a 20-mile stage and we had to push on, if we hadn't been pushing, we could have dropped 15 or 20 seconds in there wasn't the mileage to get that back before the finish. I was caught out by a fourth-gear corner. I took it in fifth and mid-way through the corner, it tightened slightly. That was it, we understeered into the bank, ran along the bank for a while and then hit something which tipped us into the roll. I think we rolled three times, but, to be honest, I wasn't really counting.
"That was the first time in my life I've rolled a car. Seb and I were both okay, except I had a bit of a stiff neck. I guess I deserved that! I was so frustrated, but, I'm not here just to make up the numbers. I wanted third and was doing all I could to get it."
Pirelli's motorsport manager Martin Pallot echoed Gould's sentiments, adding: "The team, myself, we all told Adam to go for it. What was the point in hanging around and waiting for fourth? That would have been the easy way out. He was so close to third, it was definitely worth the push. So, it didn't pay off this time, that's the sport: it can be cruel sometimes. Adam has still exceeded our expectations already this season. Once again, he showed fantastic pace on in this event."
Adam's next outing will be the Ulster Rally (August 21/22).
