WWW.MATTCOTTONRALLYING.CO.UK

To keep up to date with all the latest news from Matt Cotton Rallying, follow us on Twitter or LIKE us on Facebook. There you will find all the latest updates from both on and off events. Visit Matt's blog for his personal view on how the year is progressing, and also visit the Just Giving website to pledge your support for our rally 4 Cancer Research UK campaign. Safe rallying!
Matt

18/05/2012

The Jim Clark International “Jogathon” for Rally4CancerResearch

One of the thankless tasks for the rally co-driver is running back down the stage to find spectators to help retrieve the car from off stage excursions. But how far would a co-driver run for help, a mile, 2 miles, how about 16 miles?!

This year, British Rally Championship co-driver Glyn Thomas will be running the entire length of the classic Abbey St Bathans stage on the Jim Clark Rally in support of the Rally4CancerResearch campaign. Glyn, who partnered Fiesta Sporting Trophy driver Matt Cotton in this year’s series, has chosen to take on the challenge for their nominated charity, Cancer Research UK.

Glyn said "I've always used running as my main form of exercise and it's been something I've thought of doing for some time. The Cancer Research UK charity is very important to Matt and I, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to combine my love for running with my passion for rallying."

Matt and Glyn have recently had to withdraw from the British Championship due to lack of funding, but realise that the disappointment of not continuing in the series and entering the Jim Clark has to be put into perspective.

"Obviously it’s been a tough time for Matt and I having to withdraw from the British Championship after some great results this year. But when we think of the heartache that friends and family have had to face because of Cancer, it doesn't even come close in terms of a challenge."

As if running 16 miles over an undulating stage isn't enough, Glyn will be running the stage in full motorsport apparel, including his overalls and crash helmet! He may even read the occasional pacenote along the way.

"I'm determined to do this classic stage with or without a rally car, so I decided that
I should get into my rally gear for the run. I'll also have a DogcamSport headcam strapped onto my helmet to record the key parts of the journey too."

The Jim Clark Rally is the 4th round of the British Rally Championship and takes place on the closed roads of the Scottish Borders from 1st – 3rd June. Glyn will undertake his mammoth run in the very early hours of Friday 1st June before the event gets underway.

If you would like to support the team's fundraising efforts for Cancer Research or make a pledge to the cause, visit www.justgiving.com/rally4cancerresearch
You can also keep abreast of all the latest news, live images and updates from the run on www.facebook.com/rally4cancerresearch and follow them on www.twitter.com/rally4canceruk

11/05/2012
Cotton bows out of the ’BRC’ on a high....

It is looking unlikely that British Rally Championship contender Matt Cotton will be able to continue his assault on the British Rally Championship, due to lack of funds. After encouraging results on the first three rounds of the series, the Cornishman is devastated not to be starting the Jim Clark International Rally and continuing in the series.

“We had anticipated further funding coming in at this stage of the season, but it just hasn't materialised”, said Matt. “We have been working hard to try and secure backing for over 12 months, but it seems the economy is taking its toll on many businesses and their advertising budgets”.

Co-driven by Glyn Thomas from North Somerset, the pairing had produced strong finishes on the first 3 rounds of the championship to leave them 3rd overall in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy and 14th overall in the British Rally Championship at the half way stage of the season.

"The results we have had make the decision so much harder and I am very encouraged with the increase of pace on each event” said Matt. “But the financial risks necessary to complete the series are too great and I really have no other option but to withdraw at this stage. I really hope we can return to the championship very soon.”

The Matt Cotton Rallying team still hope to attend the remaining events in the calendar to support their fellow AVS Motorsport team mates and continue fundraising for the Rallying4CancerResearch campaign.

Matt and Glyn would like to thank Rally Collection UK, AVS Motorsport, Dogcam Sport, Firstclass Technologies and PIAA for their support.

30/04/2012

Cotton tames Killer Kielder....

British Rally Championship star Matt Cotton banished the memories of his 2008 crash when he finished a creditable 13th overall and 2nd in class on last weekend’s Pirelli International Rally. Partnered by co-driver Glyn Thomas, the rapid Cornishman from St Teath endured a hard fought battle with AVS Motorsport team mate Gethin Jones throughout the 96 competitive stage miles in Cumbria to lose out on a win by a scant 8.1 seconds at the finish.

Some of the world’s top drivers converged on Carlisle City Centre to kick off the event on Friday night as the International competitors headed towards the first 2 stages of the event which would be held under the cover of darkness. Crews would face a tough test within the ‘killer’ Kielder Forest complex - so called due to its notorious roads, deep ditches and unforgiving nature, meaning there would be no room for error without a substantial penalty.

Having finished second best on the first two rounds of the series so far, Cotton was conscious that a ‘flat out’ approach to the event would be the only course of action if he was to stay in with a chance to fight for championship honours. Taking the first stage win on Friday night was an important boost to his confidence as he dropped behind rival Jones on the second loop to ensure he was behind him on the road for the Saturday contest. “I’m pleased with our speed straight out of the box tonight” said Matt as he headed to the overnight halt. “We set some good times even though my style was a little too sideways for these stages. I’ll need to settle into a tidier rhythm tomorrow”.

The first stage on Saturday would prove to be the decider for the event as Cotton lost 17 seconds on the slippery Bewshaugh stage and would now need to push as hard as possible if he was to regain the lead by the time the crews headed back to Carlisle Racecourse for the finish ceremony. Responding to the deficit, Cotton set about trying to overhaul Jones and taking many stage wins throughout the remaining competitive miles. But despite his best efforts, the South West pairing crossed the finish ramp in second place by just 8.1 seconds. “It’s been an amazing battle all day long and we were trading times with Gethin throughout the event” said Glyn at the finish. I’m really pleased by our performance this weekend especially considering Matt ended this rally in 2008 upside down in a ditch! It’s clear to see we have improved on every event this season and are looking forward to the sealed surface of the Jim Clark Rally in a few weeks time”.

This encouraging finish boosts Matt and Glyn to 3rd overall in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy which is run by the Ford World Rally Championship organisation, M-Sport. This result is even more worthy as other contenders in the series pilot the far more powerful R2 category cars. They also lie in 14th place in the British Rally Championship and 2nd in class 8.

The Jim Clark International Rally is the next round on the calendar and takes crews to the first tarmac round of the series on 1st – 3rd June in the Scottish Border towns of Kelso and Duns.

22/04/2012

PERFECTION ON THE PIRELLI IS A MUST FOR COTTON...

Cornishman Matt Cotton will head to Cumbria next weekend when he contests the 3rd round of the British Rally Championship, The Pirelli International Rally. With a solid finish on the first two rounds of the series, Cotton has high hopes of obtaining a good result in the infamous Kielder forests.

Cotton returns to the Carlisle based rally after a disastrous end to his 2008 outing on the event when he rolled into one of the infamous ditches that gives the forest complex its nickname of “Killer Kielder”. Partnered once again by long time friend and co-driver Glyn Thomas from North Somerset; the South West pairing know that nothing short of a win will do;

Matt said “I’m really happy with the way the first two rounds have gone this year considering our lack of testing in the car, but we really need to push on this event to make sure we are still in with a chance of winning the championship. It didn’t end well last time I did this event, but that said, I`m really looking forward to getting into the Border Forests again. Its make or break this time“.

The Pirelli International Rally kicks off in the city centre of Carlisle with an autograph signing session on Friday night before the crews head into the woods for 2 stages under the cover of darkness. A brief overnight halt follows as an early start is required on Saturday morning when they head out to complete the remainder of the 95 miles. The successful competitors will then assemble back in Carlisle city centre to receive their awards and spray the champagne to celebrate finishing this tough event.

During the event, Matt will have a dedicated media team on hand to keep you informed with LIVE news from the event as its happening. You will find results, news and images of Matt’s progress both on and off the stages by visiting www.mattcottonrallying.co.uk, following us on Twitter (@mattcottonrally), or finding us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mattcottonrally).

26/03/2012
POINTS HAUL FOR COTTON ON THE BULLDOG;
MSA British Rally Championship contender Matt Cotton finished on the podium once again last weekend when he contested the second round of the world renowned series, The Bulldog International Rally of North Wales. Cotton piloted his AVS Motorsport run Ford Fiesta ST to a worthy 18th overall and second in class, ensuring he remains in the championship title hunt for the remaining rounds of the season.

International competitors from all corners of the globe assembled in the market town of Welshpool in Powys to tackle 90 competitive stage miles in the classic Welsh forests of Dyfi and Gartheiniog. With 15 of those miles to be contested in the dark on Friday night, the event was already shaping up to be a classic battle for all the British Rally Championship crews.

With co-driver Glyn Thomas alongside, the South West pairing were looking forward to the challenge ahead which included night stages for the first time this year. But a bitter blow was dealt just a few hours before the event was due to start when the organisers of the rally had to cancel the two stages on Friday which were due to run in the dark. This meant that the 10 stages planned for Saturday would become more critical for the team as they would need to attack from the very first stage.

After the ceremonial start in Welshpool town centre, the first loop of stages took crews into the fast and undulating Dyfi Forest complex where Matt would need to remain focused on the task in hand if he was to return to the first service of the day in the lead of his class. Matt said:

“I had a very scrappy first stage and we lost a lot of time with a few overshoots. It was hard adjusting to the different surface of the Welsh forests compared to Rallye Sunseeker as we haven’t got the budget to carry out testing between events, but hopefully we can learn quickly as its loosing us time on the faster sections.”

After a brief service halt, the crews returned to complete a second run of the morning’s stages which would prove critical for the Cornishman. As the stages were repeated, Matt started to build his confidence on the slippery gravel and set some encouraging stage times.
He said:
“Every mile I drive in the car I feel more confident and comfortable with how it performs. We should be able to claw back the seconds we lost this morning when we tackle the afternoon stages for the first time.”

However with the event running behind schedule due to a number of incidents, the organisers were forced to cancel the last 3 stages meaning the results were declared final after the second service of the day and the crews were re-routed to the ceremonial finish in Welshpool.

“I’m pleased that we have shown good pace today but we know what areas we need to improve on the remaining rounds. It was a shame we had 5 cancelled stages as we were building confidence with every stage. We need to look forwards to the Pirelli Rally where we can really push for that illustrious win” said Glyn at the finish.

Matt lies in 14th place in the British Rally Championship, second in Class 8 and fourth in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. The next round of the series The Pirelli International Rally based in Carlisle, takes place on 27th/28th April.

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15/02/2012;
LATEST NEWS FROM AVS MOTORSPORT;

Wrexham based rally preparation experts AVS Motorsport are delighted to announce two new signings for their 2012 British Rally Championship campaign. Up and coming English youngsters Alex Parpottas and James Grint have both signed to contest the remainder of the series with the team, boosting their total number of cars on BRC events up to an impressive five.

Parpottas will drive a latest specification Ford Fiesta R2, bringing yet another M-Sport designed car into the AVS fold, whilst Grint will use a higher specification Citroen DS3 in the R3 category. The two youngsters have both shown plenty of promise and talent in previous outings and both are hungry for success this year.

The two young guns along with respective co-drivers Chris Davies and Subaru USA factory co-driver Craig Drew will join three other AVS run crews on the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales. Held on March 24/25, the Welshpool event is the 'home' event for the team, being based only 30 miles away in Wrexham.

Using the classic forestry stages of Dyfi, Gartheiniog and Dyfnant, the two day event will pose a tough test for crews and team. Joining the two youngsters on the rally is the slightly 'older' guard of Gethin Jones/Kevin Devine, Matt Cotton/Glyn Thomas, and in the BRC Challenge category, Tony Simpson/Stefan Arndt. All three will be piloting their regular Ford Fiesta ST150's after highly impressive performances on the opening round of the British Rally Championship, Rallye Sunseeker.

Jones and Simpson took convincing class wins, whilst Cotton took a fine second in class behind team mate Jones. With the cars running faultlessly on the event, AVS Motorsport Director Gary Jones is excited about the next phase in the growth of the fast expanding company:

"We're delighted to have James and Alex join us for the remainder of the season. Both the Fiesta R2 and Citroen DS3 R3 are new cars to the team and we're really excited about making the guys welcome. We've put a lot of time and resources into making sure we're ready for the event and Gethin, Matt and Tony are all ready to build on their fantastic performances on the opening round. The pressure is on us as a team now to ensure that the cars remain running perfectly and everyone is excited within the team at the prospect of running five cars on the rally. It's very much our home rally, so we really hope the team can put in a fine performance and that all our crews can achieve their goals on the rally. We'll have a busy week of testing and preparation in run up to the event, but we simply can't wait to get started now!"

For more details on AVS Motorsport, visit the team website on http://www.avsmotorsport.co.uk, and for more details on the British Rally Championship, visit the official website at http://www.rallybrc.co.uk

01/03/2012; THANK YOU!
Well I think we have just about recovered from an amazing Rallye Sunseeker at the end of February. Glyn and I managed to bring the AVS Motorsport Fiesta ST back to the ceremonial finish at Bournemouth Pier in 12th overall, 2nd in class and 7th in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. It was a very steep learning curve for me with a new co-driver, team and new car but all performed perfectly through the day. I know there is plenty more speed still to come from the car and more seat time will bring a better pace. I must say thank you for all the support we had up to and on the event, to Glyn for his great note calling and encouragement, to AVS for a perfect car and finally to Bex for all her media work on the day!
For a complete story of our event, check out my blog by clicking on the links above or below. Safe rallying,
Matt

23/02/2012;
Rallye Sunseeker which takes place on the 24th/25th February will be my return to international competition for the first time in 4 years, so I`d say it will be an eventful one!

Hopefully many of you will of been folling our progress via Twitter and Facebook, but if not here is a very brief rundown;
I have entered the 2012 British Rally Championship and Fiesta Sporting Trophy with long time friend and co-driver Glyn Thomas. He brings Rally Collection UK to the team as a technical partner for the year. We will pilot a Ford Fiesta ST which will be run by the AVS Motorsport team based in Wrexham and have entered the teams championship in the BRC with team mate Gethin Jones from Chepstow.

You will be able to follow our progress throughout the event via my blog, twitter feed and facebook page which are below. The team has a media guru in the name of Bex Hinton who will be relaying all our news, gossip, results and images AS and WHEN it happens so it will be a good place to keep in touch with the news from the event.

Im really looking forward to getting behind the wheel again..wish me luck!
Matt :)

www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk
www.twiter.com/mattcottonrally
www.mattcottonrallying.co.uk
www.twitter.com/bexhinton
www.facebook.com/mattcottonrallying

22/02/2012;
South West rallying duo rally driver Matt Cotton and Glyn Thomas will contest the British Rally Championship (BRC) and Fiesta Sport Trophy in 2012 and will face some of Europe’s fastest drivers in the race to win the UK’s most prestigious rallying title. Matt from St Teath in Cornwall returns to top-flight competition after being forced sabbatical from international rallying in 2009 due to a lack of funds.

He will be co-driven by long time friend Glyn from Hutton in North Somerset. Glyn not only brings year of experience to the team, but embarks on a technical partnership with his Rally Collection UK business who will support their assault on the championship throughout the year.

The British Rally Championship takes place over 6 hard fought rounds with competitors converging from across the globe to compete in one of the best National rally championships in the world. The event’s range from the sandy gravel tracks of Rallye Sunseeker in Bournemouth, fast forest roads of the Bulldog rally in Wales, to the bumpy narrow roads of the Ulster rally in Northern Ireland.

But it's not all about fast cars and glamorous prize presentations –

Matt and Glyn would like to use the fantastic media exposure, high profile coverage and the spotlight on the team to embark on a fundraising campaign to raise money and awareness for Cancer Research UK.

Both on and off events, the team will be asking fellow competitors, spectators and supporters to dig deep in their pockets for this worthy cause that is close to their hearts and means so much to them both.

Matt said;
"I lost my father to cancer last year and it been a really tough time. I think we all know someone who has suffered from this terrible disease so we just want to give a little something back to this valuable cause"."My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, but has received successful treatment and is now in remission. This just highlights the need for everyone to get behind CRUK and support their valuable research".

The team will be at every BRC round this year and asking you to dig deep for this worth cause. You can donate via this page if you cannot get to see us, but every penny counts. We would love for you to introduce yourself at an event so come and say hello to the team.