Roofing Rally Team

Recovering, slowly.

2009-03-19T13:47:00.003Z

The good news for Roofing Rally Team members and fans is that both Adrian and Erik are slowly recovering and hope to be able to enter one or two events this year.

The sharp eyed amongst you may have noticed that the Evo the duo used in Jersey last year is currently for sale. Adrian explained this "With both Erik and I recovering from serious injury it is pointless holding onto the Evo. It's a great car but we're not sure when we'll be back out competing so it makes more sense for the car to go. I really enjoyed rallying it, it certainly is powerful enough!"

Erik has been active during his enforced layoff and has managed to secire 2 personal sponsors who can't wait for the team to get back onto the stages. "I was talking to a chap who runs German Cars Blog {link} and he was really keen to get some coverage in the world of rallying. We did a bit of a deal and they're now sponsoring me. EWR Quail {link} are also sponsoring me but as I'm EWR Quail it's not a shock that they've come on board!!"

Both Adrian and Erik are looking forward to rallying again but they both acknowledge that their health is going to determine when Roofing Rally Team returns to the stages. "You can't rush a recovery and health is more important than anything else so we won't be competing until we're both 100% fit." said Adrian.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-15T10:49:00.005Z

Happy New Year to you from everyone at Roofing Rally Team.
Unfortunately the end of 2008 saw both Adrian Smekss (driver) and Erik West (co-driver) visiting hospitals more often than they would have liked. The result is that both are now injured and unable to rally for quite some time.
As Adrian commented "It's disappointing not to be out in the forests soon but rallying is a hobby and health and family are definitely more important. I'll wait to start rallying again until I feel I'm fit enough, until then Roofing Rally Team will be a little quiet."
Erik added "Yet another leg injury is so frustrating and the healing time for this is possibly longer than my quads rupture so I can't see me rallying much before Jersey in October! It's a blow but as Adrian said there are more important things than rallying right now; health being the main one!"
Everyone involved with Roofing Rally Team send their best wishes to both Adrian and Erik.

Paperclix Jersey Rally 2008.

2008-10-30T14:20:00.000Z

Roofing Rally Team experienced very mixed fortunes on the recent Paperclix Jersey Rally. On their 4th visit to the picturesque channel island the team of driver Adrian Smekss and co-driver Erik West were hoping to finish the event after 3 successive retirements.
After reliability problems with the Metro 6R4 they used last year Adrian opted to change to a different car, choosing a Mitsubishi Evo 8 built to Group N regulations. Whilst not as highly tuned as the team’s old 6R4 the Evo 8 is none the less a well developed and highly competent rally car.
Unfortunately delays in the car arriving resulted in Adrian having driven the car fore less than 10 miles before it was put on a trailer for the long trip to the Channel Islands, Erik first saw the car as it was unloaded off the trailer in Jersey!
The team were very aware that the lack of competitive mileage in the car could present a real problem in the tight and twisty confines of Jersey ’s lanes and were aiming to take a cautious approach to the first stages.
The first stage proved to be a huge anti-climax and somewhat disappointing for both crew members, “It felt really, really slow and not at all impressive” was Adrian ’s comment about the first stage. For the second stage the team decided to try a more aggressive form of turbo management, known as stage 2 ALS.
This change to stage 2 ALS brought instant and noticeable results, improving the speed and performance of the Roofing Rally Team Evo considerably. “It transformed the car.” said Adrian “Stage 2 ALS gave the Evo tremendous power out of the corners making it far quicker. It also meant that it was harder to slow the car as the engine was always pushing on.” The result of the stage 2 ALS was increased power everywhere, even when Adrian was breaking and not using the accelerator.
Stage 3 was completely different in character to stages 1 and 2 which had been wide and very fast. This stage was tight and twisty with walls and banks at the edge of the stage. Despite this Adrian and Erik opted to keep using stage 2 ALS and were happy with the result at the end of the stage. They headed into stage 4, another tight and twisty stage, in confident mood.
Stage 3 had been a 3 mile dash through Jersey ’s lanes and stage 4 was a little shorter at just over 2½ miles. Everything was going as planned with Adrian attacking the stage in a controlled manner until 2 corners from the end when an error in the team’s pacenotes saw them enter a tightening left too quickly. With the stage 2 ALS pushing the car on Adrian was unable to keep the front wheel from touching a bank on the outside of the bend. This very minor impact was completely undamaging but forced the front across the road making the rear slide into the self same bank. Once again contact was minor but, ironically, it settled the car and allowed all 4 wheels to grip. This was exactly the opposite of what Adrian and Erik wanted to happen as the instant grip forced the front of the car across the tight lane and up a wall and bank wedging it firmly sideways across the road. After manhandling the car back onto the tarmac it was clear that damage was not as bad as initially feared, although it was enough to ensure the team’s fourth attempt at the Jersey Rally ended in retirement.
“We’re very disappointed” commented Adrian “One of our pacenotes was a little optimistic which meant we were carrying more speed than we should have been. With the ALS set as it was we had no chance of scrubbing that speed off and from then on things were out of my hands.”
Erik added “We were very unlucky. Normally we would have understeered into the bank, bent the front wing, cursed a bit and carried on. For the back to just touch the bank and settle the car with full grip again is pretty astounding, we could try to do that another 100 times and I doubt it would happen again!”
As the team waited and watched at the side of the lane another 15 cars clipped the same bank but none suffered the cruel twist of fate that the Roofing Rally Team Evo had just suffered minutes earlier. “It sums rallying up.” said Adrian “if you’re unlucky the slightest error results in an accident, when you have luck on your side you don’t even notice the bank you clipped!!”
Roofing Rally Team are now preparing the Mitsubishi Evo 8 to gravel specification and hoping to compete in a forest rally before the end of 2008. As principal mechanic Mick mentioned the Evo 8 complies with full international Group N regulations and is an ideal gravel rally car, being well balanced and surprisingly fast.

Pictures of the Roofing Rally Team 6R4 (now sold)

2008-09-11T09:34:00.003Z

New car for Roofing Rally Team!

2008-09-11T09:26:00.003Z

With 2009 in mind Roofing Rally Team have switched from their 2.5 litre MG Metro 6R4 to a Mitsubishi Evo 8. The first outing for the car will be the forth coming Jersey Rally in October.
Team driver Adrian Smekss commented "We're planning on doing far more loose surface rallying and the 6R4 isn't a practical option for that so we've bought an ex-Aaron McHale full international Group N spec Evo 8. The car has a high specification and offers a bit more practicality than the 6R4 did. It should also be able to cope better with the rough-and-tumble of gravel rallies better too"
More information and pictures will follow shortly.

Jersey Rally.

2008-09-11T09:15:00.002Z

The Roofing Rally Team of Adrian Smekss and Erik West have had their entry accepted for the 2008 Jersey Rally. The team are now completing preparations for the event aiming for a finish on this exceptionally demanding event.
Jersey has been an event close to the hearts of the team and they are very keen to lay the ghosts of old Jersey rallies to rest. "We really enjoy the rally" said Adrian "but have yet to finish it! We have finished the trophy rally but never the main event. We're aiming to change that this year that is for sure!"
The team have entered the Jersey Rally in various cars but have been dogged by bad luck on every event. last year saw the climax as they retired with a broken rear diff on the final night stage on Friday. Things then got even worse for Erik as he tripped over whilst spectating and ruptured his quads ~ an injury he is still recovering from!
2008 sees the Roofing Rally Team praying for rain. Why? "If it rains speeds are lower because of reduced grip and visibility. This helps preserve the transmission and engine on the car, giving us a better chance of finishing the event!" commented Erik.

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

2008-07-05T08:25:00.004Z

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.