World Cup Rally 2003

After 4 years managing a team on the British Rally Championship it was time for me to make a foray into the world of rally navigation. "Sophie Robinson and her 1.4-litre Volkswagen Polo Group N car claimed a fighting third place overall in the World Cup Rally, which finished in Tunisia this afternoon (Tues) after 3000km of gruelling competition."

"Sophie and her co-driver Paul White crossed the Tunis finish line 16 minutes behind the winning Mitsubishi of Nicky Porter and just 40 seconds adrift of the second-placed MG of David Winstanley."

Now this was taking things to another level. I built the sponsorship package, raised a substantial amount of the costs of the rally and then sat in the navigator’s seat with Sophie Robinson who I met for the first time only two weeks before the rally. This broke all of the rules and had the potential for disaster. First day was a gruelling drive through the French Alps retracing some of the Monte Carlo stages to the port of Marseille. 24 hrs of continued competition. Our fall off the leader board and then climb back up to finish within 40 seconds of second place could be told in an epic thriller. What did this rally teach me?

“It’s only a Rally” and never take competition to a point where your personal integrity or desire for success get in the way of treating another human being properly. Sophie and I went from being part of a sponsorship and media plan to laughing and crying together, to pulling off Sophie’s best result in International rallying.

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