December 2008
This time last year Stevie Brown had just finished his debut season in the County Saab Scottish Rally Championship. The 19-year-old driver competed on the championship opener the Snowman rally as a one off, but with the support of sponsors he was able to contest the entire season at the wheel of his Vauxhall Nova. The young driver went on to win the class 4 championships, beating a host of super 1600 machinery and more experienced drivers in the process.
Not sure of what to do for the 2008 season in order to ensure his career would continue to progress, Stevie looked at a number of options. "At first we were looking at getting a 1400 Corsa and doing the British Rally Championship Stars series, but at the time it wasn't getting much publicity and there didn't seem to be regular competition" explained Stevie.
He continues, "We were looking for a series that would be competitive and affordable and the Fiesta Sporting Trophy ticked all the boxes." A solid 10th overall on the Mull Forest Stages would mark an excellent debut for Brown in the Fiesta ST, just one week before the young Scot left for Norway as part of his John Easson Scholarship prize.
Stevie continued his fine form on the opening round of the VK Fiesta Sporting Trophy, taking the Malcolm Wilson Rally win. "For sure it was the dream start to the season that we were hoping for, we were just hopeful it would continue for the rest of the season." Unfortunately for Brown it wouldn't, as a series of mechanical failures would see the team struggle to make the top three podium places for the rest of the season.
"This year has been very frustrating as we know we have the pace to match the guys that have been winning the events since the Malcolm Wilson, but no matter how hard we tried we couldn't get near them" said Stevie. The team managed to diagnose an engine fault after the Swansea Bay Rally, but by that time it was too late in the season to do anything in terms of climbing back up the championship standings.
Although Stevie admits there was a period of time he wondered if the lack of performance was down to him rather than mechanical issues. "I was going out there and driving as hard as I could, and guys were taking time out of us that we were able to beat comfortably before. When you're in that situation and you're not getting the results, it's really demoralising for the whole team".
A test day with five times British Rally Champion Jim McRae would however put rest to Stevie's fears. "At the Scottish Rally Championship Juniors test day Jim sat in with me and noticed straight away that the car was down on power." With the car back to full health for the final round of the championship the Colin McRae Stages, Stevie and the team set about finishing the season on a high.
"Having won the Colin McRae tribute award it was really important to me to go out and win the final round of Fiesta Sporting Trophy." The team faced shock news a few days before the event as regular co-driver Ian Morrison would be unable to tackle the rally due to a blood clot in his leg. Experienced Scottish Rally Championship co-driver Stan Quirk stepped in for what was billed as the event of the century to celebrate the memory of Colin McRae.
The Colin McRae Stages would mark the lowest point of the season for Stevie and the team. "As soon as we drove off from the start line of the first stage I knew there was something wrong with the car, I just hoped it wasn't permanent and we wouldn't loose too much time." Unfortunately it was permanent. The core plug in the gearbox had dislodged causing gearbox oil to leak onto the clutch causing it to slip badly.
"I nursed the car through the first three stages to get back to service, but with no spare gearbox we had to withdraw. It was definitely one of the lowest points in my career as I felt I had let the team down, Colin and the people who selected me as the winner of the Colin McRae tribute award."
With the Tunnocks Tour of Mull Rally just a few weeks after the McRae, Stevie would tackle the demanding asphalt event with new co-driver Andrew Roughead. But as the MSA British Rally Academy member traveled to the event he says the McRae Rally was still on his mind. "I was still beating myself up about the McRae Rally; I kept thinking 'what if we had re-built the gear box'. Then when we started the Tour of Mull I was nursing the car to an extent that we were loosing time, simply because my confidence had been knocked and I feared the car would break again."
It appeared that Stevie's luck had changed and despite suspension and brake issues the pair were chasing a top ten finish. "Considering this was the first event that Andrew and I had competed on together we gelled very quickly, and were performing well. We had written our own pace notes and were always driving within ourselves."
On the penultimate stage the pair went slightly off line on a jump tearing the front suspension from their Ford Fiesta ST, the damaged caused by the heavy landing would provide a dramatic exit to the event. "When we wrote the notes we had keep left over crest when we should have had keep middle. For sure it was disappointing to be doing well and retire, but taking positives away from the event we know we have a good set of notes and can still safely go quicker."
"2008 has been a disappointing year for me as I know I can do better than the results we've achieved. It's made me work harder to improve myself so when we start the 2009 season I can perform straight out of the box."
A year on and Stevie has a 2009 season plan in place and new co-driver - there's only one last thing remaining. "Andrew is co-driving for me next year, we're planning to do the British Rally Championship in the Fiesta, so the only thing that's left to get sorted is sponsors."
While mechanical glitches may have hampered Stevie's 2008 season preventing him from challenging for championship honours, he has shown he has the speed to win and the ability to drive with his head. In 2009 Stevie and the team will be working harder than ever before as they make the step up to the British Rally Championship, where they will be hoping to put the mechanical gremlins of 2008 behind them, and return to their winning form.
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