Boardman Motorsport

Lancashire rallyman Dan Boardman has had the best result of his career in the 3 day International Rally Isle of Man winning his class again by a staggering 12 minutes thisweekend. Dan stormed up the rankings throughout the event finishing an incredible 29th overall (from a start position of 68) in the lowest powered class, N1, in his Suzuki
Swift 1300 GTi.

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! Continue reading →

Daniel Boardman entered the Grizedale rally with Autobreakers this weekend as a round off to the 2006 rally season but an electrical gremlin and driveshaft problems hindered their recent winning streak.

“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

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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.

Lancashire rally driver Dan Boardman will be competing on the roads of mid-Wales next weekend in the ‘John Price Rallying’ Tour of Epynt on Sunday 2nd March 2008 in his new Peugeot 206 Challenge Cup rally car.

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.