The brakes go on Emily and Liam’s Woodpecker Rally

Photos by JCCB Rally Photography

A faulty handbrake put a stop to Liam Clark and Emily Easton-Page’s charge on the Woodpecker Rally.

Although the pair finished a very creditable fifth overall on the BTRDA event, they had looked certain podium finishers before the problem arose.

“It was so, so disappointing. We were second fastest on stages two, three and four, and had got into a really good rhythm,” explained Emily, our reigning JEA winner.

“We went into service at the halfway point feeling really confident. Then the handbrake on the Fiesta broke.

“All the stages had hairpins, and you need a functioning handbrake to get you around quickly. Instead, we were doing three-point turns and losing swathes of time.”

“The last stage of the day was a one-and-half miler in Sweet Lamb and we dropped 24 seconds. It was just a nightmare.

“To make matters worse, we really needed to finish ahead of Russ Thompson to get ahead of him in the BTRDA standings. Instead, he finished ahead of us.”

Despite the agony of missing out on a deserved podium, Emily was keen to take the positives out of the day.

“If we had been offered fifth place at the start of the season, we would have grabbed it. But we’ve both progressed so far this year, that the podium is now our target every round” she said.

“But Liam’s times from SS2 in the morning really showed that he has the pace to be a genuine BTRDA contender.

“Luckily, the championship resumes with the Trackrod Rally on September 29, so we won’t have long to get over it.”