Roofing Rally Team

Armstrong Massey Rally, Driffield.

2008-07-10T20:51:00.007Z

The Roofing Rally Team didn't have the best event when they contested the Armstrong Massey Rally at the weekend, the stage times were, generally, very heartening though!
The venue should have suited not only the team's 2.5 litre MG Metro 6R4 but also Adrian and Erik perfectly.
The venue's muddy nature suited forest M&S tyres more than the tarmac specification tyres the Roofing Rally Team 6R4 was fitted with. Those significant problems resulted a couple of time consuming spins and a general lack of grip on the muddy (and rough) gravel sections. With the three leading cars being fitted with M&S tyres Adrian and Erik resigned themselves to being quickest of those using tarmac tyres.
At lunch the lunch service halt the team and their MG Metro 6R4 were 3rd overall which was an extremely creditable position to be in. The duo were aiming to stay there for the remaining 4 afternoon stages feeling that there with no chance of moving up because they lacked the grip of the front runners.
The first 4 stages had certainly been eventful for Adrian and Erik! Stage one had seen a general lack of grip and vision (not surprising when you look at the pictures and see how bad conditions were!) hamper their progress, not helped by an intercom fault that prevented Adrian from hearing Erik's calls clearly. The intercom issue was sorted for stage two but the windscreen wipers then started to fail!
Stage 3 saw the duo suffer two time consuming spins (including 1 stall) when their tyres failed to heat up sufficiently. The wipers were still failing but thanks to clever use of tank tape vision was marginally improved. Stage 4 saw the wipers really start to fail ~ the faster the Roofing Rally Team 6R4 went the slower the wipers moved, resulting in Adrian and Erik driving through a downpour flat in top gear with no wipers at all!! "Probably the most terrifying experience I've had when driving" commented Adrian. A large water filled hole accounted for the 6R4's front spoiler towards the end of stage 4 as well.
Over the next two stages the pair reinforced their overall position and were actually in second overall as stage 7 started. Conditions had become extremely rough on all the gravel/loose sections and continued rain had made the sealed surface parts of the stages slippery too. Neither Adrian, Erik or the car were really enjoying battling through holes, ruts, mud and water so when a minor clutch glitch manifested itself at the start of stage 7 Adrian and Erik opted to push the car onto the trailer and not risk damaging the car any further.
"We decided that we would be better served by retiring and stripping the car than pushing for a second place trophy and risking damage. Conditions had also resulted in the worst retirement and damage rate I've seen at any single venue rally so we were relieved to still have a fully functioning, virtually undamaged car to push back onto the trailer!!" said Erik
The team's stage time had been consistently far quicker than those using comparable tyres, on occasions the duo were setting stage times astoundingly close to those running with full forest tyres. "We're delighted with our performance." added Adrian "Not only is the car still in 1 piece and relatively undamaged but we set some really impressive stage times with minimal grip on all the difficult sections. Once we've washed the car down and checked the slight clutch noise the car will be ready for another event."
Despite not finishing the team are very upbeat, knowing that conditions that were not to their liking had actually proven just how quick they can be. The first rally of 2008 with the complete Roofing Rally Team has marked them out as a threat on any event they enter.

The pictures used in this posting were taken by Matthew Rudd of matthewruddphotography.co.uk. Visit his site here to see more of his excellent pictures.

Armstrong Massey Rally, Driffield

2008-07-05T08:25:00.003Z

Roofing Rally team are seeded car 3 for this weekend's Armstrong Massey Rally (link)at Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The team are hoping to build on their success at Down Ampney, where they finished a creditable 3rd overall.
The team are still getting used to the car and are thus really pleased to see such a strong entry for the rally, it will be an excellent gauge to how good the cars is. It should also help the team discover areas that need improvement.
The mixed surface venue offers everything that Adrian and Erik like in a signle venue rally so they're hoping for a good result. "It would be nice to finish in the top 5 at the weekend, we've only driven the car a few times and the last rally was a long time ago. With a 6R4 the more time you drive it the quicker you get so we know we'll be lacking a little of our usual pace" said Adrian.

No	Driver	Co-Driver	Club	Car
1	Robert Lowe	Stephen Shephard	Carlton	MG Metro 6R4
2	Neil Fewlass	Stephen Varey	North Humberside	Mitsubushi Evo
3	Adrian Smekss	Erik West	Cannock/Beverley	Metro 6R4
4	Nigel Hobson	Tim Hobson	Y.S.C.C	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6
5	Gavin Read	TBA		Subaru Impreza
6	Chris Cawthorne	Roger Laister	Mablethorpe	Subaru Impreza
7	Alan Kirby	Lawrence Kirby	North Humberside	Subaru Impreza
8	Ken Sturdy	Richard Wood	North Humberside	Mitsubishi Evo6
9	Chris Platt	Mad Mick Robinson	Ilkley	Vauxhall Tigra
10	Dick Lebeter	Ross Lebeter	De Lacy	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3
11	Robert Stevens	Michelle Jenkins	Dukeries	Proton Satria
12	Steve Adamson	Marcus Blenkinsop	York	Subaru Impreza
13	Andy Rowe	Cat Lund	Beverley	Mitsubishi Evo3
14	Garry Hirst	Andrew Kitchen	Lindholme/	Ford Escort Cosworth
15	Tim Crombie	Barry Young	Trackrod/RAFMSA	Mitsubishi Evo 7

This rally sees the return of the Erik into the co-drivers seat, something he has looked forward to for quite some time! "I've missed not being able to rally and certainly hope my 9 months away haven't slowed my note calling down." Despite having been away from rallying for 9 months Erik assures the team he was not pregnant just recovering from his Jersey tumble!

The only trophies from 2007.

2008-06-08T15:58:00.003Z

Sadly in 2007 Roofing Rally Team only won trophies in the Streetly Motor Club {link} championship. Pictured above are the trophies Adrian and Erik won; they're nice but the team had hoped for a far more successful year!
Adrian collected 2nd in class whilst Erik collected 3rd in class.

Picture from the EMCOS stages.

2008-06-02T19:55:00.002Z

Many thanks to Julian Jones Photography (website link here) for allowing us to show you this excellent phot he took of Adrain and Chris in action on the recent EMCOS Stages.
An excellent picture capturing an excellent drive, well done to both!

Excellent result on the EMCOS Stages.

2008-05-28T20:28:00.005Z

Adrian Smekss & Chris Neale scored an excellent 3rd overall on last weekend's EMCOS stages rally at Down Ampney in the Roofing Rally Team MG Metro 6R4.
The first stage saw the duo suffer a half spin and stall "The tyres were cold and our mechanics had left the rear suspension on gravel settings which just caught me out. I didn't expect the car to be so loose at the rear and it just went round on me. Chris calculated that the stall and spin cost us about 20 seconds." said Adrian.
Once Adrian settled into rallying after an 8 month break his times began to tumble and the team started to establish themselves as the second fastest car on the event. "Our first stage loss meant that the winning Toyota was too far ahead of us to make it worthwhile risking damaging the car for. We settled into an enjoyable and close battle for second place instead. Our main aim from the rally was to get used to the car and not to do any damage so we opted for a competitive but safe pace."
That pace was fast enough to pull clear of 4th overall but, unfortunately, thanks to the cancellation of stage 7 wasn't quite enough to take 2nd overall. Adrian and the rest of the team were still delighted though. "This is my first rally in 8 months and only the third time I've sat in the car since Christmas. To be so competitive has been pleasing. To get a finish after all of the retirements in the last 2 years has also been great. In fact I have really enjoyed today's event and can't wait to get out again!"
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Top 5 results:~
1. Gary Le Coadou / Paul Hollingham Toyota Celica
2. Donald Smith / Robert Smith Subaru Impreza
3. Adrian Smekss / Chris Neale MG Metro 6R4
4. Tony Hewitt / Emma Hewitt Ford Cosworth
5. Julian Jones / Stephan Brennan Ford Escort Mk2
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Roofing Rally Team are now considering what events best suit their needs for the remainder of 2008. Any events need to fit nicely around the Jersey Rally in October (a traditional event for the team) which both Adrian and Erik hope to finish this year.

EMCOS Stages

2008-05-20T21:21:00.004Z

Roofing Rally Team head to this weekend's EMCOS Stages fresh from a successful test and shakedown session. As Adrian commented "I'm nice and familiar with the car now and really looking forward to Saturday's first stage. The venue has altered a little since last year whicht should help us a little bit. Last year Erik and I went really well until the Escort broke, I'm hoping that the 6R4 will be quicker and more reliable! Running 7th on the road is ideal, there should be a clean line with very little rubbish dragged onto the corners and braking zones"

Chris Neale has taken over co-driving responsilities for the event after Erik was forced to withdraw because of continuing knee problems. Chris' brother starts 2 cars behing the Roofing Rally Team 6R4 adding a little extra spice to the event. Adrian and Chris have rallied together before so don't expect any communication problems. "It's always difficult when a different co-driver siuts next to you" said Adrian "I know how Erik calls bends and can tell from his voice and body language how we are doing. luckily Chris is similar in style to Erik whioch should mean we're straight on the front running pace from stage 1."

The top 11 are listed below for Saturday's EMCOS Stages, for more information and a full entry list visit the EMCOS website here.

1. Gary Le Coadou / Paul Hollingham Toyota Celica GT4

2.Donald Smith / Robert Smith Subaru Impreza

3. Ian Godney / Gareth Short Subaru Impreza

4. Jim Munden / David Perrott Ford Escort

5. Gareth Hurford-Jones / Rob Smith Ford Escort Cosworth

6. Julian Jones / Stephan Brennan Ford Escort Mk2

7. Adrian Smekss / Chris Neale MG Metro 6R4

8. Mark Ellis / Chris Jones Ford Escort Mk2

77. Ron Aiken / Brian Neale Ford Escort Mk1

9. Tony Hewitt / Emma Hewitt Ford Cosworth

76. Eric Weaver / James Bailey Darrian T9

2 more pictures.

2008-05-05T20:57:00.005Z

Here are 2 more pictures from the Roofing Rally Team archive. Both are of the 2.8 MG Metro 6R4, one from Wilbarston (top) and one from Smeatharpe (bottom). As can be seen from the Wilbarston picture Adrian and Erik have never lacked commitment!

video taken by JerseySandy - thanks mate!

2008-04-21T21:22:00.002Z

Pictures from Down Ampney in 2007.

2008-03-30T11:27:00.005Z

For 2 more pictures from Down Ampney visit Erik West's website here.

EMCOS Stages 24.05.2008

2008-03-27T13:27:00.004Z

Roofing Rally Team are entering the EMCOS stages on May 24th 2008 at Down Ampney. Adrian Smekss, Erik West and the rest of the team are heading to the venue for the second time in as many years. After an unsuccessful event last year both Adrian and Erik hope to use the event as a final, successful shakedown for their 2.5 MG Metro 6R4.

"Last year's event was enjoyable so we thought it would make sense to return to the venue with the 6R4. The Escort was going quite well last year until it broke so we're hoping to be able to use this year's event as a thorough test of the Metro 6R4. Whilst we don't know the venue anywhere near as well as many of those entered we do like the layout and challenging nature of the stages." said Adrian

"It's not as loose or rough as we would probably like but we're hoping that this event will really clarify where we stand with the performance of the 6R4. The couple of events we did last year showed that this new (to Roofing Rally Team) 6R4 is quick but we have yet to gauge properly just how quick it is. The EMCOS stages should be an ideal gauge of performance." added Erik

Roofing Rally Team have spent plenty of time over the winter rebuilding and re-preparing their MG Metro 6R4 and hope that the car will erase the memories and disappointment of the exceptionally unreliable Escort Cosworths of last two years. Adrian commented "With the car rebuilt and Erik fully fit again the EMCOS stages should really be good fun, hopefully we can get a top 5 finish in what is really the car's first event in the specification we want it. Jersey proved to us that this car is far quicker than our old blue-and-white 2.8 so now we need to fine tune it to suit my driving style. That's what we'll mainly be doing at Down Ampney, although we still want to be pushing just as hard as we can for the whole event!

For more information on the event visit the EMCOS website {link}.

Better communication.

2008-03-18T14:42:00.004Z

Communication experts Phonak are currently sorting out new hearing aides to help combat the extreme noise problems experienced by Adrian and Erik in the Roofing Rally Team MG Metro 6R4. They have spent many hours designing and developing the system to suit Adrian's requirements and the results thus far have been impressive. Adrian said "I can't thank Phonak enough, they have spent lots of time and money perfecting the system and the whole team are really looking forward to using the finished system. Michelle has been a great help and her efforts are greatly appreciated, especially with how things are now developing."

Chief mechanic Mick added "The staff at Phonak have spent more time with the 6R4 than {co-driver} Erik has recently! Their system certainly looks promising, Adrian is very pleased with it. Hopefully the extra confidence will add a bit of extra speed to the Roofing Rally Team 6R4 too!"

There are more developments being undertaken at present and Adrian, Erik and the rest of the team hope to have the final system in time for their first rally sometime next month.

2008 season.

2008-02-26T16:08:00.002Z

Roofing Rally Team are in the process of confirming their 2008 plans and will post full details here as soon as they are available. With the new intercom delayed and Erik still recovering from his post-Jersey Rally injury the team are in no urgent rush to enter an event.

Adrian commented "We want to enjoy our rallying, especially in this new (to us) Metro 6R4. We won't enter rallies just to use the car as that's a pointless excercise. We are intent on picking and choosing events and venues we enjoy and that suit the car. After last season we want to finish all the rallies we enter in 2008; we are thinking very carefully before commiting to any events or championship."

Pictures.

2008-01-30T16:24:00.000Z

Two pictures of the team's white rally cars. Both were taken by Marcus at Pose Rallying. The top picture is of the first Roofing Rally Team 2.8ltr Mg Metro 6R4. The bottom picture is of the Mitsubishi Evo that was replaced by the famous blue and white MG Metro 6R4.
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Roofing Rally Team picture.

2008-01-23T16:49:00.001Z

This picture of Adrian in his Subaru was taken at Oakington near Cambridge on the S M Roofing Stages Rally. Run by Streetly Motor Club the event was very, very wet as can be seen in the picture.

New look for 2008.

2008-01-15T16:57:00.000Z

The Roofing Rally Team blog has had a face lift for 2008. Naturally we will be posting all the usual news, views and event information on here (as before) with pictures whenever possible.
The whole team are looking forward to the coming season and we look forward to posting on here regularly.

Autosport International.

2008-01-14T11:18:00.001Z

The team’s first event of the year was Autosport International at the NEC last week. Unfortunately Erik’s injury meant that Adrian was the sole Roofing Rally Team representative bit it still proved to be a very interesting and productive show. Adrian came back with plenty of new ideas and enthusiasm for the coming season.
First on the team’s list is a revised intercom system allowing the to finally hear each other clearly. The system is almost complete and should be fully functioning over the coming weekend. More information to follow shortly…

Pictures from Hixon.

2008-01-09T12:20:00.000Z

Here are 2 pictures taken at Hixon in Staffordshire. (Pictures from Pose Rallying)

The car is the team's first MG Metro 6R4 (a 2.8) which was very successful until a Mitsubishi Evo got over familiar with it!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-05T17:06:00.000Z

We, the Roofing Rally Team, hope you had a pleasant journey into 2008 and that the coming year proves to be both successful and enjoyable for you.

The team all had a nice Christmas and New Year break and are now starting to focus on the forth coming rally season. The MG Metro 6R4 is sat without a gearbox at present and a new development intercom is currently being readied for action. Otherwise there is very little to report on the car.
The team's rally plans are still quite fluid at present, Adrian and Erik would certainly like to return to a few venues they have visited (and excelled at) before and the now traditional entry on the Jersey rally seems almost certain. None of the team members are in a hurry to commit to a first event, preferring to complete the winter rebuild of the 6R4 before selecting 2008's first event.
Adrian commented "Jersey is such a challenge and so much fun that we will certainly do everything in our power to be there for 2008 as for other events and venues we'll have to get the car ready and then take it from there. I can't wait to be rallying again, especially as this Metro 6R4 is very competitive. There are plenty of rallies we can enter but our main priority is getting the car ready to rally first, with the gearbox not fitted there can be no rallying! Our season never really starts before February so we're not rushing as yet."
Erik added "Jersey is still unfinished business for us, we have yet to complete the whole event which makes us even more determined for this year's event. As for other events we'll have to see. It's a well known fact that both Adrian and I enjoy a mixed surface stages so perhaps we'll concentrate on venues that offer those type of stages. I still have to start walking without crutches again so I don't expect to be able to rally before the end of Feb."

2007-12-19T12:58:00.001Z

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Adrian Smekss and Erik West along with everyone else at Roofing Rally Team.

Jersey pictures.

2007-11-26T11:39:00.000Z

Here's a couple of pictures of the Roofing Rally Team Metro 6R4 just before the start of the event, as you can see the big front spoiler and 'pigs ears' have been removed.

Pictures of Erik.

2007-11-22T12:29:00.000Z

There are now 2 pictures on Erik's site showing him post-tumble. Click here to see them.

Roofing Rally Team's 6R4s.

2007-11-19T16:29:00.000Z

Here are the 6R4s that we have rallied starting with our current one. We hope you like the pictures!

Another site worthy of visiting.

2007-11-17T16:24:00.000Z

Here’s another website worth visiting if you’re a fan of the MG Metro 6R4 {link}. Containing excellent information, pictures and a forum 6R4.info really does offers the Metro 6R4 and motorsport fan hours of interesting surfing. As with excellent Metro 6R4 Online News website {link} 6R4.info has plenty of excellent quality pictures of the Roofing Rally Team car in the gallery, for which we are very grateful.

2007, good or bad?

2007-11-17T16:22:00.000Z

The Roofing Rally Team endured a very disappointing year of rallying in 2007. The team didn’t finish a single rally all year. It has been the worst year of motorsport that either driver Adrian Smekss or co-driver, Erik West, have ever experienced. It is very easy to dismiss the year as a failure but the team don’t look at it that way.
“Certainly the rallies in the Ford Escort Cosworth were massively disappointing.” said Adrian. “The car was quick but unreliable, we set some excellent stages times in the car and really surprised a lot of people. Sadly we never got near the finish of a rally, we retired from every event just after lunch or before. I hoped the Metro 6R4 would change our luck but it wasn’t to be. The problems we had have actually been teething problems for a new car as the 6R4 was a road car when I got it and had never really been rallied before we used it. I’m pleased with how quick we were when both cars were working and I think we’ll get the 6R4 sorted before next season”
Erik’s thoughts were “Whilst we’ve not finished an event in 2007 our speed has been very impressive and Adrian has developed as a driver. The forestry and loose events we did in the Cosworth have really helped Adrian find extra speed and there is no doubt that the team’s Metro 6R4 is a very quick car. It’s easy to write the year off as a waste but we now have a very quick rally car and a driver who can definitely push it to its limits. 2008 looks like being a great year and it can’t arrive soon enough for me, hopefully I’ll be fully fit too!”

Adrian Barker Memorial Stages.

2007-11-17T16:20:00.000Z

This was the last event in 2007 for the Roofing Rally Team and their 6R4. With the astounding run of bad luck they have had the team wanted to finish this local single venue event before re-preparing the Metro 6R4 over the winter.
Adrian and Erik have won the Adrian Barker Memorial Stages previously so the team headed off to the event hoping for a good finish to end 2007. With Erik unable to co-drive due to his injury Adrian teamed up with local co-driver Chris Neale.
The team has fitted a new rear diff to the Metro 6R4 but left the bodywork as it finished the Paperclix Jersey Rally. “This event is only 5 days after the car returned from the Channel Islands so our priority was to get the diff in and working” said chief mechanic Michael. “We’re here to get a finish, nothing else.” added Adrian.
After a slight off on the first stage 1 Adrian and Chris settled down into a fast yet safe rhythm that saw them move rapidly up the leader board. Disappointingly the gearbox problem that occurred at Driffield re-appeared with first gear breaking and the duo entered a chicane.
Adrian opted to retire from the event rather than continue with only 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gears. “There was point in doing any more mechanical damage, we’ll take the car back and assess why the gearbox has broken twice. Next year I’m sure the gearbox will work perfectly.”