Motorsport students hit top gear at Neil Howard Stages
- Published
- Tuesday 12 November
Recently, a group of Motorsport students from Myerscough took on the mammoth task of running seven cars on the Neil Howard Stages, ran at Oulton Park Circuit.
Images: Flat Shift Media
The infamous Neil Howard Stages, with its slippery rally section, water splash and classic circuit sections, has become a favourite of competitors and spectators alike and something Myerscough Motorsport had to be involved in.
In the run up to the event, Myerscough Motorsport were approached by two separate teams to deliver servicing for five extra crews on the event. As well as running two of our own crews, an additional five cars on the event has enabled Myerscough to offer 38 students the opportunity to work on the event and gain some real life experiences alongside their studies. Gaining this experience will enable students to develop skills needed for their future employment in Motorsport.
Higher Education students were again tasked with running the Myerscough Fiesta R2 of Lecturer Bart Lang, co driven by second year degree student Meg Digard. Making her co-driving debut, Meg was an excellent new addition to the team and impressed some seasoned co-drivers with her organisation and calmness.
Meg loved her experience and said: “I want to thank Myerscough for the opportunity and encouragement to start my career in motorsport.
‘’The event was fantastic and I enjoyed every moment. The support and guidance I received from the lecturing team ensured I was well prepared for the event.’’
Lecturer Bart Lang was equally impressed with Meg’s rallying debut, adding: ‘’Meg was an absolute star. Jumping into a rally car is very intimidating, and I think we forget that.
‘’The noise, the G-force and the pressure are immense, all whilst you're very busy and having to be accurate. However, from the word go, she was so professional. Calling out all the notes when needed and handling the very tricky splits that lots of crews made a mess of, incurring penalties.
‘’She didn't lose her place, make a wrong call or mess up a timecard once, which is no mean feat. More importantly, when she did need confirmation of what lap we were on, she asked me in plenty of time, showing that she knows how to handle and overcome small errors under pressure.
‘’Should she decide to pursue the sport, I think she could have a really impressive career in the co-driver's seat.”
Our further education students were given the task of running lecturer Danny Cowell’s road rally Subaru Impreza on this event. Ex-student Tom Grice again made his co-driving debut on a stage rally, during the event.
During the event the Subaru suffered a rear drive shaft issue which students were able to repair in service and keep the crew in the rally.
Degree level students were joined for this event by Team TTS. The students got their hands on two 2.5 Millington powered MK2 Escorts driven by father and son duo, Ian and Adam Holt. The students were supported on this event by TEG Sport’s Arron Newby who was full of praise for the commitment and attention to detail shown by the students.
Arron said: ‘’“The students did such a great job. I didn’t know what to expect form the students as most were first year degree students, but I was blown away with their work ethic and attention to detail.
‘’They all kept themselves busy throughout the day and needed little direction which is really impressive. I am really looking forward to working with them again and offering them some more exciting opportunities.”
Further education students were also tasked with running a Subaru Justy and two Honda Civics for Team Merrills. Current second year degree student Joe Merrills was joined by brother and college alumni George Merrills in car 67 for the event.
Another college alumni Rowan Dowell, in his first year of rallying also joined the team in his Honda Civic. The students had plenty to do on this side of the garage with two crews suffering with overheating issues and one needing to replace the CV joint during the service interval.
George said: ‘’The students did an amazing job and showed the upmost professionalism and determination throughout the whole weekend. From the service area set up to each and every service, the students went well above our expectations.
‘’The students made our lives so much easier throughout the day and ensured we could concentrate on competing. We will be working hard to get them on events with us in the future.”
Due to the nature of the mammoth undertaking by Myerscough Motorsport for this event, support was given by a group of seven Management and Logistics degree students to help with the planning, organization, data collection and social content on the event.
The effort before and during the event was seen throughout the service area and has enabled the department to use the content collected for team development and promotional material for future events.