DROITWICH racer Tom Delaney excelled on his senior debut at Woodpecker Rally over the weekend despite the poor weather conditions and suffering with gearbox issues.
The 17-year-old former Droitwich Spa High School student travelled to the Ludlow-based course on Saturday for his gravel debut after recently passing his driving test just ten days after his 17th birthday.
After starting 144th out of 160 cars, Delaney proved his seeding wrong as he ended the day 114th overall and remarkably fourth in class in his Suzuki Swift.
With fog and rain leaving the Welsh forests in treacherous conditions, survival was the key for Delaney with several cars not even completing the first stage just outside Ludlow.
Delaney and co-driver Matthew Walk suffered gear selection problems at Stage Two meaning they had to take the last half of the stage stuck in third gear.
And after negotiating a series of tight uphill hairpins which lost them valuable seconds, Delaney still recorded a decent time – beating a couple of higher class four-wheel drive turbocharged cars.
Repairs were made to Delaney’s Suzuki following the stage to enable him to continue but the gear changing continued to be a problem.
The conditions continued to deteriorate ahead of the daunting 11-mile stage in the notorious Radnor Forest but once again Delaney and Walk came through with flying colours, catching and passing two cars which had started two minutes ahead of them.
With the final stage at Haye Park next, the decision was made to hold station due to the poor conditions and concentrate on a finish.
Delaney and Walk emerged from the stage with a sense of relief as they completed their aim of a finish coupled with a good result.
Speaking after the rally, Delaney said: “With the conditions we faced on the morning, I would happily have taken our result.
“Fog, rain and mud was not what we wanted for our debut but we stuck at it and got through.
“I have to say thanks to our service crew and all the Marshalls for persevering in this weather.”
Delaney and Walk are now making preparations for their next event at the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire in early October.
