JERSEY’S Sam Touzel made waves in the Dunoon Presents Argyll Rally last week, as he drove superbly to earn his maiden Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship victory with co-driver Max Freeman.
Riding in his Ford Fiesta Rally2, this was a commanding breakthrough performance, with the Caesarean securing 13 of 16 stage wins to lead from start to finish.
“The race went phenomenally well, it’s such a nice feeling to finally get the win, as we’ve been building up the pace for a while,” Touzel said.
“If the win wasn’t enough, I’m now the first driver from Jersey to win a British Asphalt rally, which is just a great feeling. We’ve encountered a few setbacks recently. This win is a breath of fresh air.”
It hasn’t been a smooth ride for the duo recently, with an early end in the Circuit of Ireland, due to a triple puncture on Special Stage (SS) 10 forcing retirement, before tragedy struck in the Jim Clark Rally to cut competition short.
However, they have remained determined in their championship quest, putting immense effort into preparation to ensure a high finish.
“I’d have to say our preparation was key to success this time around, we spent hours on the simulator to get used to the track, after purchasing the course video around ten days before,” Touzel continued.
“We really went over the pacenotes and worked with three-time British Rally champion Matt Edwards, as well as two-time National Asphalt Champion Callum Black, to get ready for this.”
“Car preparation was just as vital, with the team at PB engineering working incredibly well to get the car where it needs to be. Without them, we wouldn’t be half as quick. We had a new differential put in, made suspension changes and had constant adjustments on the rebound and set-up.”
There was something deeper with this race, as the pair dedicated their efforts to two people who have recently passed away, with Touzel saying: “We dedicated the win to Dai Roberts, who tragically passed away in the Jim Clark Rally last month, and Barry Rondel, who we lost from illness last week.”
“We weren’t sure about taking part, after the tragic events of the Jim Clark rally, but then we knew it had to be done to honour Dai’s (Roberts) memory. It’s what he would have wanted.”
Returning after a 13-year hiatus in 2017, this is now its fifth year on Argyll and Bute’s closed public roads. With over 66 miles across 16 special stages, everything was set to deliver a thrilling weekend of closed-road rallying.
The duo in pink began their efforts on Friday night, as drivers made two speedy passes through the iconic Dunoon Town Centre stage drew thousands of spectators, who lined the streets to welcome back the rally.
There wasn’t any hesitation to showcase their intent, as Touzel and Freeman set the two fastest times through Dunoon, to gain an early lead of five seconds after the opening two special stages.
Even though it was a great start, there was no space for complacency, as another five stages lay ahead on the day, including the dramatic eight-mile Oyster test, under the cover of darkness.
The Jerseymen continued their blazing speed, as another fastest time saw them maintain the lead through SS3. After the short opening stages, where it’s incredibly easy to be punished, the two Islanders profited big to maintain the lead.
No sign of slowing down was evident in the ensuing four special stages, as they dominated day one to win all seven stages, extending their lead to 24 seconds.
Although it was a flawless clean sweep of an opening act, the rally was far from over, so it was important to rest up and refocus.
Saturday ramped up the action, with its nine stages more than double Friday presenting a massive challenge.
Touzel and Freeman picked up right where they left off in the morning, picking up yet another stage win on SS8. SS9 saw them narrowly miss a stage’s top spot for the first time this event, but their joint-second fastest time was enough to lengthen their time on top, now at 31 seconds.
When competing in the UK, Touzel doesn’t take his representation of Jersey lightly, saying: “I’m always representing Jersey when competing, I’m immensely proud to fly the flag.”
“If it wasn’t for Jersey, I wouldn’t be doing this. The Island has really aided my development, for which I’m very appreciative.”
SS10 was incredibly tight but, ultimately, they narrowly missed top spot by one second to rank second again.
It was only a matter of time before Touzel was back on the stage-winning front though, storming ahead to set his ninth fastest time of the rally in SS11. They didn’t relent in their speedy pursuit, setting another fastest stage time in SS12 to increase their advantage to 36 seconds over second place.
That culminated in a great loop for the pair, who consistently extended the gap stage by stage. Before the next four stages, it was time for PB Engineering to check everything over and make final preparations.
Everything was clicking, but that wasn’t to say the course brought its challenges, as Touzel detailed: “That had to be one of the toughest rallies I’ve ever done.”
“The course was so bumpy, with lots of jumps. One of them was so bad, Max (Freeman) actually got a bloodshot eye from the landing.”
Just four stages separated the Islanders from victory, so no slip-ups could be afforded.
Luckily, the pair could afford to drop some time to their rivals, placing second through Kilfinan in SS13. Touzel and Freeman turned things up a gear for the next stage though, flying through SS14 to take their 11th stage win of the event.
A “wow” moment was produced in SS15, as they took a whopping 11 seconds out of their nearest rivals, which must have been a jaw-dropping spectacle. Their supreme showing would have put everyone on notice, as they led the rally by a phenomenal 52 seconds going into the concluding stage.
The two Jersey representatives remained on top of the pack with a SS16 win, to claim a memorable maiden championship victory.
Such a momentous victory has drastically boosted their championship chances, with Touzel now just one point behind Builth Wells’ table-topper Jason Pritchard. Freeman also jumped into second place on the overall co-driver standings, just two points short of the leading Phil Clarke.
Following on from this, Touzel isn’t prepared to rest on his laurels, eager to keep applying pressure on the leader: “We have to keep going and chisel away towards the title, as there’s just one point in it.”
“Rallying is a very hard sport, you have to eat-sleep-breathe it, and I’m dedicated towards progressing with the team.”
Next up in the Protyre Motorsport UK Rally Championship is Northern Ireland’s Down Rally, which will take place on 19 July.
There’s only one point in this enthralling title race, so expect action to be full throttle.
