John ‘Johnny’ Boardman was famous for his exploits on events such as the Monte Carlo Rally, the Tulip Rally and the Liege-Rome-Liege events in the 1950s.

Born in Great Harwood in 1920, John taught himself to drive at the tender age of 11 in a wagon around the family farm.

After demonstrating his prowess behind the wheel, John started out in motorsport by competing in trials and hillclimbs, quickly progressing to rallying.

He contested the Monte Carlo Rally four times, starting in 1952 in a Jaguar, and the Tulip Rally eight times – winning his class, and silver awards, every time…

I know it will be the most important year of my life because it would be my big break; I will give it my all and work my socks off to give myself every best possible chance of success. I know what is involved and what I have to do. It will be hard work. I want to win the championship and also win the sponsors so I can keep rallying and move up as a top British driver” says Daniel.

Daniel battled it out in the final, held last Saturday 29th October 2005, against 28 specially selected finalists from all over Britain for what turned out to be a gruelling weekend of tests and assessments at the fabulous RallySchool UK forest test venue near Bradford. Each and every one of the finalists gave it their all, making the final decision very difficult indeed for the panel of judges, which included Ian Grinrod, co driver to Jimmy, Colin and Alistair McRae. It took many hours of deliberation, but in the early hours of Monday morning they finally reached a unanimous decision.

Speaking on behalf of the Scholarship, Innovation Motorsports director Chris Moore commented: “This has been one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make. I would have offered every one of the finalists a place in the team next year if I could, as it was clear to see that they had put a great deal of effort into winning the prize. There were a lot of very talented individuals to choose from, but in the end we believe we have chosen a great team. Despite their obvious youth and inexperience we are confident they will work very well together, and to do a great job for us here at Innovation Motorsports next year!”

The prize has always been an entire season competing in the Peugeot 206 1400 Challenge, along with training and development for the team, which is like a dream come true for Daniel. “To be part of a professional team will bring out the best in me and help me to concentrate on my own talent and career. It will also massively help my appeal to the sponsors that are already very interested”.

However there are plans to offer an even greater prize and this is due to how much Daniel’s talent and potential has impressed the judges. They feel that they have in fact found someone better than they had bargained for and so are this week considering whether to enter the Innovation Motorsports Rally team into an even higher level of competition, perhaps the Peugeot 206 1600 Supercup! More details will be announced later in the week.

Daniel adds “This is massive step in my hearts’ direction. For me, it has always been about getting the chance to work and drive with a professional team, to have the opportunity and probably the chance of a lifetime, to achieve my maximum potential at what I love. I really enjoyed the work that has gone into this scholarship and it has boosted my confidence that finally somebody would believe in me.”

Visit www.go-rallying.com for more details on the scholarship.

Daniel will be driving Innovation Motorsports’ Peugeot 206 Supercup car which he hopes to be driving next season, although this decision is yet to be taken. The scholarship prize was intended to be an entire season competing in the Peugeot 206 1400 Challenge, which is a lower level of championship to the 1600 Supercup. However due to how much Daniel’s talent and potential impressed the scholarship judges, the Innovation Motorsports Team Manager is currently exploring whether they can raise the additional sponsorship necessary to fund this much higher profile championship.

“I am looking forward to driving the new car at Grizedale competing against mainly 4 wheel-drive turbocharged cars which are much more powerful than mine” says Daniel. “I have been seeded at a modest 68 but am hoping to finish in the top 20 as my new Peugeot 206 should be quite competitive for a 2 wheel drive car.”

Sitting beside Daniel for this preliminary event will be experienced co-driver Chris Camble from Burnley, as the new scholarship rally team co-driver Yolandie Walsh, from Rishton, is still undergoing intensive training for next season.

Daniel desperately hopes both he and his team-mates will be able to attract the support needed over the next few weeks to enable him to continue in this car next season rather than having to step sideways into the 1400 Challenge.

“As my ambition is to be competing in the British Rally Championship as soon as possible, success in the 1600 Supercup will be a significant step closer to progressing towards this than if I were to stick with the 1400 Challenge” says Daniel. “It has given me great confidence that the scholarship Directors think I will be competitive in this superior level, so I am extremely keen to have this chance to prove myself once and for all”.

For anyone wishing to know more about sponsorship packages available for next season, which offer innovative marketing and publicity opportunities including corporate rally days at Innovation Motorsports’ private forest rally test stage, contact Daniel on 07970 533383.

Visit www.go-rallying.com for more details on the Innovation Motorsports Rally Scholarship.

Notes to editors:

(1).The Innovation Motorsports rally team will consist of:

Driver: Daniel Boardman. Age: 26. Previous rally experience: Has contested a few events in his self-built Peugeot 205.
Quote: “I’d say I’m just about the happiest man on the planet at the moment! I would just like to say a massive thanks to Chris and everyone else at Innovation Motorsports. It has been a great experience. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the winning team and get down to some serious work and training in the car! I’m going to do you all proud!”

Co Driver: Yoliandie Walsh. Age 21. Previous rally experience: None
Quote: “I cant believe it! This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is going to be a tremendous experience learning from such a great team, and I intend to give it my best shot!”

Mechanic: Niki Savelio. Age 19. Previous rally experience: None
Quote: This is a dream come true. I have wanted to be part of a professional rally team for years! I can’t wait!”

Mechanic: Stuart Farrell. Age 19. Previous rally experience: None
Quote: “This has been a fantastic experience. I’m so proud to have won a place in the team! I’m going to give it my all!

(2) Photos and interviews with Daniel can be arranged.
(3) Current sponsors: Autobreakers in Preston; Lancashire Salvage and Brian Chisholm Car Repairs in Blackburn; K N Transmissions in Preston; Blackpool College; ATS Tyres in Preston.
(4) Contact Helen Ray on 07813 919333 to request photos / interviews.

Not only is this his first class win, but this was his first ever tarmac rally, the first time he had competed in the newly built Suzuki Swift rally car, and also his first time alongside Manx local co-driver Gina Shelly.

Dan now plans to enter the Manx International rally in July this year, a 3 day event, and based upon this weekend’s performance, we can expect yet more exciting first class results.

Dan started the rally as car 91 (seeded highest in class N1), in a Suzuki Swift 1300 GTi, and finished the event in a very respectable 51st position and was even faster than Harry Dodd driving a £300,000 world rally car on some stages who finished 49th and the Dorset Police backed 300bhp Subaru which finished 56th overall. “We entered in the standard Suzuki Swift as it is a relatively cheap car to run and to gain some tarmac experience. Despite being in one of the slowest and most standard cars in the rally and that I had never made my own pace notes or competed in night stages we managed to beat several 4wd rally cars which produce around 3 times the power. I made a rather spectacular start to the event, spinning near the start of both the first and second stages, much to spectators’ delight, but then soon settled into the event. We broke an engine mount at the end of the first nights stages, which a fellow Fiesta competitor helped me fix, at which point we were lying some 3 minutes ahead in the class. I am ecstatic with my results as it was the first time I had ever driven on roads like this, to beat local crews in much higher powered machinery is just about the best credibility I can get. I hope it proves to everybody that I have the all round skills, passion and talent needed to take my career to the top!” says the TVR Design Engineer.

A week prior to the event Daniel and co-driver Gina had made their own pace notes for the event. It was the first time Daniel had made his own notes but despite the first stage being over cautious the rest of the stages were spot on and Gina did a great job to get the team back in 1st place. “It was a great result and I enjoyed the rally” she said.

The RBS International Manx Rally covered a total of 14 stages (120 competitive miles) on closed public roads through high streets, hills and countryside, returning to the famous TT grandstand in Douglas for a high profile finish. The event included one of the longest stages in Europe some 21miles long.

“The Manx island roads are extremely technical yet rewarding with open fast and flowing A roads which turn off on to the narrowest of B roads (or rat runs) across fords and “hairy” big jumps with wonderful scenery. It’s one of the only events, which I can drive on the same stages as all the World Champions have done in the past. Although I have done a few rallies now I had only competed on gravel so it was a good opportunity to practice a less sideways driving style. The car is a lot different to the Fiesta ST but I gained valuable experience, I am hoping for some good results to set the scene for the two tarmac rounds of the Fiesta SportingTrophy later on this year” says Dan.

“It’s a great event to watch too as there is good access to all the stages and there were thousands of rally fans to lend their support. I’d like to say a special thank you to John Kneen who prepared the car, and also thank all my sponsors for their support so far and including, C.B. Horne, EBC brakes, Rossall School, Lancashire Salvage and Total Fitness who help me keep physically fit, which is an extremely important part of being a professional driver. Koni, Sportsline, Leda and Bilstein, Silverstone Tyres, Luke and Corbau also sponsored Daniel which helped with the overall build of the Suzuki Swift rally car. Without the sponsors help I would not be rallying. Thanks has to go to the organisers and marshals who did an outstanding job to make the event run safely and smoothly. I will defiantly be back soon.

“This event was part of my plan to gain much-needed tarmac experience and now I feel I have more than proven my potential on tarmac” said Dan. Dan’s gravel experience is only slightly greater, having competed in just a handful of forest rallies. However his potential on gravel has also been proven in the Ford Fiesta championship, finishing 8th out of 24 seasoned rally professionals, with a number of top 4 stage-times on the first round, which was the Malcolm Wilson in March.

Daniel is now beginning to gain the recognition he deserves for his rally driving talent, and has ambitious plans to contest the British Championship within 3 years’ time.

The classic Manx runs over two and a half days with 180 Special Stage Miles on some of the fastest tarmac roads in the world. This is a World famous event, previous winners include Colin McRae, Ari Vatenen and Toney Pond and Dan is hoping to put his name alongside these all time greats. “The Manx island roads are extremely technical yet rewarding with open fast and flowing A roads which turn off on to the narrowest of B roads (or rat runs) across fords and ‘hairy’ big jumps with wonderful scenery. It’s one of the only events in which I can drive on the same stages as all the World Champions have done in the past” says Dan. “It’s very well organised and a great event to watch too as there is good access to all the stages so there will be thousands of rally fans to lend their support”.

After his win on the island in May, he is confident of another class win but is sure the competition will be fierce as this time the rally is part of the British Rally championship.   He will again be driving the Suzuki Swift 1300 GTi .  “This will be the biggest and longest event I have done by far.  I am more used to the forest events, which are around 40miles in total, the longest forest stage I have done is 12miles but some of the Manx stages are 25miles long.  On the longer stages it is more difficult as a driver to keep concentration to a maximum whilst still processing information from the co-driver and car.  I have therefore put in a lot of extra preparation before the biggest rally of my career so far” says Dan.

Dan is very professional about every aspect of preparation of the team before events. He is sponsored by his local gym Total Fitness in Preston; he believes that if he is physically fit it also improves mental fitness. He has been keeping in shape with a bespoke motorsports training regime with his personal trainer.

Dan will be travelling over to start his preparation in the Isle of Man a week before the rally, taking a weeks holiday off work, to ensure the car is finished for scrutineering. Fortunately for Dan the car is kept over on the island by good a friend, John Kneen, who has also been preparing the car.  In addition to preparing the car to meet the stringent International rally specifications, there is also the navigation to rehearse.  Prior to the rally, each competitor will drive the stages 2 or 3 times, what is known as a “reccy”, where they make “pace notes”. On the first pass through the stages the driver will read out his description of the road ahead, on the second pass the co-driver will read back his short hand notes of the road and on the 3rd pass the driver will make minor adjustments to finely tune the description. “Fine-tuning the pace notes is crucial to getting the most out of the road and car, there is a lot of detail to take on board whilst travelling at speeds over 110mph including road surface, lines and breaking points so it is critical that I have confidence in our pace notes and in Kev the co-driver, delivering the pace notes just at the right time” adds Dan.

Competing in an International event is a big financial commitment for Dan who is sponsored by Rossall School and by Preston based Autobreakers who have supplied Dan with various parts for his rally cars throughout his career and are helping the team financially. “It’s an expensive sport but it gets a lot of media coverage so if you are imaginative you can act as a marketing tool for commercial enterprises. This year we are taking sponsors’ clients out to rallies as VIP guests where they will get to see exclusive behind-the-scenes action as part of the team. Sponsors will also be using VIP guest days as incentive schemes for their staff. In addition to corporate hospitality, the team also offers specialist tuition rally days – a real personal touch” says Daniel. To contact the team or to find out more information on the Manx rally and how to get involved visit Dan’s website www.rallydan.co.uk

This epic event finishes on Saturday afternoon with ramp celebrations at the TT Grandstand and later the infamous after-rally party.

Daniel is now beginning to gain the recognition he deserves for his rally driving talent, and has ambitious plans to contest the British Championship next year.

This was Dan’s second visit to the Island and second consecutive class win – he won the N1 class in May on his Manx debut (RBS International Manx Rally 2006).

3 days, 24 stages, 180 special stage miles

The International event is a long 3 day rally which is a big test of endurance as well as speed. Dan’s priority was to finish the event, as many crews did not. The first two stages claimed two top drivers and were cancelled so the cars could be recovered, so Dan’s first stage was the famous night spectator stage that through the center of Castletown which included Jeremy Clarkson amongst the crowds at the roadside. The crew set a blistering time beating much higher placed cars and went back to the service area for a simple spanner check and then the cars were put in Park Ferme for the evening with a 55 second lead in class.

The second day saw 3 more cancelled stages as top competitors came off the road. The conditions were changeable in the morning and the crew drove on wet tarmac for the first time, made even more difficult by opting for a slick tyre! “It was very interesting driving on slicks in the wet but it was a good experience and I enjoyed learning how to cope. That is what a rally is about, driving to the conditions and the car set up that you have” says Dan. The afternoon dried up and thanks to the new Handkook tyres Dan increased his lead to 5 minutes. By now he was also leading the next class above 1600cc, (N2) and lying second in the 2.0ltr class (N3) and Dan was determined to keep pushing to beat the 2.0ltr class leader!

So far the car’s only damage was to the sumpguard bolts which was caused by a huge jump, referred to a “car breaker” in the co-drivers pace notes, near Peel. Dan took the jump flat out which kicked the back of the Suzuki high in the air, landing on the nose of the car and bending the sump guard bolts right back. [see photos attached].

The final day was a case of survival and ensuring the car was brought home in one piece. Dan was not content with leading his class and was pushing to set some good times against the 2.0ltr class leader. “I was under a lot of pressure to finish the event which I knew I had to do. I was content with a class win but I also would have like to beat everyone in the two classes above. They have much more power and experience but if you’re competitive you’re competitive so if there is someone ahead I want to beat them. After landing in the grass at 100mph off a nasty jump I received a good telling off from Kevin my co-driver which then prompted a phone call before the last stage of the rally from the team boss, John Kneen, telling me the importance of finishing the event” says Dan.

“The beginning of the final leg was a little nerve racking as I could hear every squeak and rattle in the car; I would be extremely disappointed if the car was to let me down now. I started the penultimate stage cautiously but after that I was enjoying myself too much to slow down and we set a good time. The final ‘Classic’ stage was the best of the rally past the famous Brandywell cottage and winding down some very fast and technical roads into Douglas town and across the finish at the TT Grandstand in front of thousands of spectators. That was an amazing feeling! Just brilliant! I cant wait until the next rally.”

“Dan and Goliath”

Dan went out to win his class on the highest profile event he could enter to raise his profile in the sport and to prove that he has the talent to compete against the best in the country. The class he won, N1, is a production class limited to 1400cc homologated vehicles. Dan’s self-built Suzuki Swift is completely standard 1300cc engine; the only modifications to the vehicle are the suspension and mandatory safety equipment. “The engine was out of an old banger with 110,000 miles on it, I put a cambelt on it to improve the reliability and that was it!” says Dan.

Dan would not have competed in the event without the last minute deal struck with Autobreakers.co.uk in Preston who have backed him in this exciting and rewarding sport. “Our sponsors are absolutely critical when competing at this level so it is very important that we perform well and finish rallies. It is very satisfying to win the class but to win by 12 minutes and to beat much more powerful machinery, and finishing 29th overall is the best confidence boost I could have. It was a long event, and a fine line between finishing and driving quickly, which is a crucial skill, but I felt we struck a great balance throughout” says Dan in conclusion.

Dan is determined to win the British Rally championship and firmly believes when he is given the opportunity in a top class car that he can. “Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my sponsors Autobreakers, Rossall School, EBC Brakes and Lancashire Salvage, and all my family and friends and who have put aside a lot of time and money supporting me in this fabulous sport. It is a huge team effort and it would be completely impossible without them. This weekend has proved how worthwhile it has been and we all look forward to doing much more” ends Dan.

- ENDS -

“We did the local event as a round up for the end of the season as we struck a last minute deal with Autobreakers which enabled us to enter the event” says Dan.  “Kevin (co-driver) and I had a great start to the rally, the quickest start I’ve ever had, the car felt good and we were dancing through the first stage in great form until an electrical fault immobilised the car half way through.  We managed to get it going again to rejoin the Trophy rally but then suffered a drive shaft failure on stage 5.  It’s the worst luck we have had on a rally but we have had a lot of success this year so I suppose it is expected at some time; we still learned a lot and have a positive outlook for next year.”

“We took 2 Autobreakers staff members up to the rally as part of the team and gave them an insight into the exciting world of rallying. We took them round the service area, the spectator spots to watch the car in action and they had front row seats to watch the mechanics service the car between the stages. Not everyone knows what rallying is about and how it works, the guests had a great day out with the team and learnt how involving and exciting rallies are.”

Dan’s talent won him a rally scholarship at the beginning of the year and he went on to have great success in the Isle of Man, his maiden visit to the Island; his first tarmac rally where he convincingly took an outright class win. Encouraged by this success the team entered the Manx International Rally with Autobreakers and again won the class beating the reigning British Class Champion by a staggering 10minutes. “The event just goes to show that the team and I are very capable of producing results and have the speed and consistency to be British Champions, it was an awesome event and I look forward to doing it next year.” says Dan “It was the team’s second outing in the car which was built up from second hand parts on a very tight budget and they still managed to beat 2000cc Turbo charged 4wd cars! We turned a lot of heads and embarrassed some drivers in much more expensive cars, so it was quite satisfying”

Sadly, this weekend’s Grizedale was the last event for Dan’s first rally car, his Peugeot 205.  Dan plans to enter the 2007 British Rally Championship (BRC) in a new car and is in talks with local businesses who use the team as a marketing tool. “We are talking to current sponsors and new ones” says Dan.  “We run the car ourselves, which keeps costs to a minimum but we also have deals in place with EBC Brakes who have offered to supply our brakes consumables, a gearbox repairer and an engine specialist. Its ideal to have all these different product sponsors helping us out.  We involve specialists on each part of the car to ensure we have maximum reliability on all our components. It has taken a lot of hard work and time to get these deals into place and I know feel confident to run a professional team in the BRC. We are looking forward to next year and are very confident they can win the championship with the help of the local sponsors without whom it would be impossible”.

Dan has a great website with an online rally game and interested readers can also find out more about the car, events, sponsors and results at www.rallydan.co.uk. The British rally championship starts in March 2007 and Dan will be building a new car over the winter months in time for testing in February 2007.

To enquire about partnership with Boardman Motorsport in 2007, which offers innovative marketing and publicity opportunities, contact Daniel on 07970 533383 or dan@boardmanmotorsport.com.

Photos at:

http://www.rp-rallyphotography.com/pages/cgscar059_jpg.htm

http://www.jadrallypix.me.uk/Grizedale%202006/index.html

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:
(1) About Autobreakers: Autobreakers.co.uk is part of the recycling.co.uk group. Founded in Preston in 1961, the group has grown to become one of the largest and most reputable scrap metal recyclers in the north-west.   Autobreakers.co.uk began as an old fashioned scrap yard selling parts locally in 2002. They have grown to become a major player in the UK mail order car parts market.
(2) Photos and interviews with Daniel can be arranged.
(3) Current sponsors: Autobreakers in Preston; Rossall School, Lancashire; Lancashire Salvage and Brian Chisholm Car Repairs in Blackburn; K N Transmissions in Preston; Blackpool College; ATS Tyres in Preston.
(4) Contact Helen Ray on 07813 919333 to request photos / interviews.

”The Palliative care my mum, Helena Boardman, received last year was outstanding and I want to help keep the Hospice in business to help others. You can help them by sponsoring me.”

Dan has just had his name pulled from a hat of Marathon hopefulls, after discussing what he could do to raise money for St Catherine’s.  “I was just inquiring before Christmas when Barbara told me she would put my name in a hat along with 6 other candidates. Last week I got a call from Barbara, saying I had the place. The first time they have had a ticket”  Reality set in very quickly for Dan, there is just 12 weeks to the marathon so Dan has just started an intensive training regime, 10km a day at the moment and working towards a half marathon at the weekends. “Its going to be quite a challenge to get up to the mileage I need to be able to finish in a reasonable time, but I am looking forward to the day and raising lots of money for the hospice!”

Please take a moment to sponsor Dan. It’s really easy – you can donate online by credit or debit card at the following address: http://www.justgiving.com/danielboardman.

The Boardman Motorsport rally team will also be promoting and raising money for the hospice through their website and on the rally cars throughout the season.

All donations are secure and sent electronically to St. Catherine’s Hospice ( Lancashire ) Ltd. If you are a UK taxpayer, Justgiving will add an automatic 28% bonus to your donation at no cost to you. Please join me in supporting St. Catherine’s Hospice ( Lancashire ) Ltd and a fabulous cause!

Thanks and best wishes,

BMS ]]> http://www.boardmanmotorsport.com/rally-dan-to-do-flora-london-marathon-2008/feed 0 http://www.boardmanmotorsport.com/040309-grandad-john-boardman-rally-driver-aged-88 http://www.boardmanmotorsport.com/040309-grandad-john-boardman-rally-driver-aged-88#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:31:56 +0000 Focl http://www.boardmanmotorsport.com/?p=20 Continue reading →]]>

ONE of East Lancashire most well-known rally drivers has died at the age of 88.

John ‘Johnny’ Boardman was famous for his exploits on events such as the Monte Carlo Rally, the Tulip Rally and the Liege-Rome-Liege events in the 1950s. Born in Great Harwood in 1920, John taught himself to drive at the tender age of 11 in a wagon around the family farm.

After demonstrating his prowess behind the wheel, John started out in motorsport by competing in trials and hillclimbs, quickly progressing to rallying. He contested the Monte Carlo Rally four times, starting in 1952 in a Jaguar, and the Tulip Rally eight times – winning his class, and silver awards, every time…

Dan has bought the Group A 1400 Peugeot 206 Cup Car for this season which was originally built for the Peugeot 1400 championship. “…it should be very reliable and get us on our feet this season.  Later in the year we may upgrade to a 2ltr car so we can compete higher up in the field for overall places.  I enjoy winning classes but want to win rallies outright.”

The Peugeot is being prepared at LNT Automotive in Garforth.  LNT Automotive is parent company to Ginetta race cars and also ran the Le Mans-winning Panoz cars in 2006.  The final finishing touches and testing is underway to ensure car is 100% reliable.

The Tour of Epynt opens the 2008 Richard Egger Insurance MSA Asphalt Rally Championship. The famous Epynt Military Ranges, in the Brecon Beacons, has attracted a quality entry list and is renowned for a 100mph jump called Deer’s Leap. The first car leaves the start at 9.00am on Sunday 2nd March competing on 10 special stages then arrives back at the finish in Llandovery at 4.00pm across.

Later in the season, as part of the championship, Daniel aims to repeat his 100% record of easy outright class victories on the Isle of Man, competing in the May stages followed by the Manx International in August.