Run by Marches 4×4 and sponsored by Britpart the MSA British Cross Country Championship (BCCC) is the only national event which can provide the level of experience, training and expertise the Race2Recovery team need to give themselves the best chance on the international Rally Raids in 2012.

The standard of racing in the Britpart BCCC is phenomenally high and it has a myriad of different vehicles taking part. The Race2Recovery team competed in 2011 in four of the six rounds of the new Freelander Challenge with a road legal, V6 auto, race prepared by Exceed Motorsport. Tom Neathway also had the experience of co-driving with experienced racer Greg MacCleod for part of the season.

The team first competed as Race2Recovery in the third round of the Freelander Challenge in Scotland and although they made a good start, a complete engine failure meant that they could not finish, to everyone’s disappointment.

The fourth round at Radnor in July proved both successful and eventful. Tony Harris and Matt O’Hare in the Race2Recovery Freelander came second in class. This was a brilliant result for them and the mechanical crew who had spent a frantic weekend replacing the engine and bringing the vehicle back to life. Tom Neathway had two spectacular crashes as co-driver, with Greg MacCleod driving. The second crash turned them end over end and wrote off the vehicle but, thankfully neither of them sustained injuries.

The team travelled to south Wales to compete in the second day of the fifth round at Brynffyon. The mud at RallyDay the previous day had certainly challenged the team, but the conditions at Brynffyon were even worse. However, the team was able to gain highly useful experience on treacherous conditions and they immediately saw the benefits from the all-new Ohlins suspension set-up, provided by UK distributor Aurok.

The sixth round clashed with Matt’s wedding day and as he also required Tony’s presence as Best Man, an alternative driving team was required. Dave Reeve, the team’s mechanical manager and Phillip ‘Barney’ Gillespie, who had his first taste of sitting in the co-driver’s seat, stepped up to the mark. They came third in class, not far behind the leaders and might have improved their position if they hadn’t picked up a puncture.

The opportunity to spend time around so many experienced people in cross country rallying and racing has really begun to rub off on the team and it is with relish that team look forward to the challenges of 2012 season. Although it  is the skill of the driver and the navigator that make all the difference on the track, without the phenomenal support of Dave Reeve and the mechanical crew then the team would cease to function. Race2Recovery have been blown away by the support and advice from all the other teams taking part and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped them in the Britpart BCCC.

If you would like to be an event sponsor, help fundraise or would like more information about the Race2Recovery Campaign then please get in touch with tony@race2recovery.co.uk or email info@race2recover.co.uk