SHANDON rally star Fraser Anderson says he’s delighted to have got his season back on track in Belgium after several months away from competition.
Having seen his Junior BRC championship assault put on hold after a DNF in the first event of the year, the 19-year-old formed a new link-up with EDSL Sport for the Omloop van Vlaanderen – which translates as ‘the circuit of Flanders’ – and was delighted to finish in third place in the junior event at the wheel of his beautifully-liveried Ford Fiesta Rally4.
With Darragh Mullen stepping in at the last minute to fill the co-driver’s seat, Anderson – who hadn’t taken part in a competitive rally since April – posted some impressive stage times from the start, improving steadily over the 10 stages on the first day to reach the overnight service third in the junior standings and 21st over all.
Despite never having driven on the fast and often tricky Belgian tarmac roads, and with a new team, new co-driver and doing his own pace notes for the first time, Anderson nonetheless proved himself highly competitive against some of the top Rally4 drivers in Europe – and on a par with several experienced drivers in the more senior classes and in significantly more powerful cars.
Day two featured more consistent timings and several placings inside the overall top 20 during the day’s nine stages, matching the times of double European rally champion Marijan Griebel from Germany and multiple Belgian champion Gilles Pyck.
Afterwards Anderson said: “After four months out of the car I went into the weekend with very little expectation and was just planning on enjoying myself, safe to say I managed to surprise myself with the pace we had.
“We definitely had the pace for P2, as we were comfortably there on Saturday’s stages, but getting caught on the wrong tyres and a knock to the light pod meant that Friday’s night stages were done with very little grip and even less visibility… definitely the spookiest stages I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing!
“We really started to get into our stride on Saturday, even coming ever so close to grabbing our first stage win on the 17km’s of Passchendaele against some of the fastest Rally4 tarmac guys in the world whilst still keeping it calm and tidy.
“There are still a few little niggles with the car to sort out and more pace to find in myself, but I think we can be satisfied with the speed we showed and it’s nice to finally be heading in the right direction again.
“A massive thank you to EDSL Sport – having to rebuild the entire car in time for this event was not an easy task and they took it in their stride. Truly an incredible group of guys to work with and their pre and on event advice was invaluable.”
A spokesperson for EDSL Sport added: “An incredible job by Fraser all weekend – a proper team effort from start to finish and ultimately a fantastic few days in Belgium where rallying never disappoints.
“To be on the pace he was from the start was an outstanding achievement, and to come away with third junior was the cherry on top.
“It was a massive team effort to get the car ready in the last few weeks with lots of time spent getting things right to make sure Fraser had the best car under him for the event.
“A massive step in the right direction and great to have his raw talent on board.”
As ever, Anderson and his team are eager to hear from any companies willing to support his development through sponsorship: to find out more, email surveying@baxter andgillespie.co.uk.
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