Rally Prep Primes the Pistonhead’s Supremo’s BMW for the Wyedean

When Chris Harris and Dan Prosser set their minds to a challenge they throw themselves in 100%. And this one….taking to the stages in a rear wheel drive rally car while competing on a budget – and a limited budget at that – and yet still

having great fun … was one we thoroughly agreed with!

Making sure that you can have the maximum enjoyment from your motorsport whatever budget you have available is central to the ethos here at RallyPrep.

Add to the mix that these two are among the very best and respected automotive journalists out there, and it was clear that we were in for a treat of clubman perspective motorsport articles from some likeminded petrolheads.

The pair have now been out ‘in anger’ several times in the trusty 325 and the BMW was begging for a little love and affection! While both Chris and Dan have immense knowledge of what makes a car tick their schedules don’t allow for them to get too involved in the oily bits, so they handed the car over to us to prepare for the upcoming Wyedean Stages rally – their next competitive foray and their first adventure in the woods.

But before that – back to the beginning – the first step for the pair was to buy a rather battle worn BMW E30 325i, and familiarise themselves with the principles of rally driving, preferably with the ability to have it all go wrong without damaging themselves or the car – so an ice covered lake seemed the perfect place to play and learn……….

• http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=25315

Having got a good feel for grabbing a car by the scruff of the neck and throwing it around in style the guys prepared for their first rally, and what an experience it turned out to be……..

• http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=26395

Press Release

And so it was back to Brands Hatch for outing number 2 – this time with Chris at the wheel…….

• http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=129&i=27074

And then it was over to us!

After Brands, the guys had a list of improvements that they wanted to make to the car to allow them to enjoy future outings even more.

Top of the list were a quicker steering rack and some brakes which actually worked!They also appreciated the fact that there were quite a few TLC issues requiring attention as in the three outings so far, and all of the down time in between, the car had not had a single spanner laid upon it!

So after some intense surgery in the RallyPrep workshop she is back in fighting fit condition and ready to take on the challenges of the Wyedean. A thorough freshen up has taken place including the installation of a quicker power steering rack, overhaul of the entire braking system, a full nut and bolt check, a little bit of panel beating, and setting the suspension up correctly to deal with the rigours and demands of the gravel roads which make up the classis Wyedean stages such as Speech House and Swallowvallets.

So all is set for their introduction to proper forestry rallying. The ambition for the event is simply to get to the finish – although knowing Chris I suspect that the competitive spirit will be in full flow from about half a mile into stage one, and once the initial nerves have settled

I’m expecting to see the 325 fairly flying through the woods.

I’ll give you the post rally handbrake and hairpin adventures next month – so for now its over to you Chris and Dan – enjoy!

To keep an eye on what they are doing follow them on Twitter!

@harrismonkey @TheDanProsser

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@Rally_Prep