Autosportfoto

Dream podium after sleep nightmare

Cash-strapped WRC 3 driver Louise Cook slept in her recce car during last weekend's ADAC Rallye Deutschland en route to a category podium.

The Briton and co-driver Stefan Davis spent six nights sleeping in their tiny Ford Fiesta recce vehicle after being unable to afford accommodation at the Saarland-based fixture.

"It was a bit cramped and very tough. I didn't have much energy as the week went on because you don't get the deep sleep you really need. You can't lie fully flat in a car," Cook told wrc.com.

"We couldn't afford hotels after taking into consideration our other costs like tyres. We struggled for food as well because when we arrived in the service park at the end of each day the shops and supermarkets were closed. But we were just happy to be there," she said.

Cook used crowd funding to help gather money for the rally. She finished third on her first drive in a Team Floral Fiesta R2 to climb to seventh in the WRC 3 standings after a tough weekend on the stages as well as off them.

It was her first sealed-surface rally for six years. Her debut in a turbo-powered car was hampered by an opening leg handbrake problem, requiring her to reverse at the many tight hairpin bends in the Mosel vineyard speed tests.

A puncture on the marathon Panzerplatte special stage allied with brake problems cost more time. New discs improved the stopping power and Cook set her first fastest time in WRC 3 in Sunday's tricky Grafschaft test.

Next month's Rally Turkey (13 - 16 September) is Cook's next target and her battle for funding resumes.

"Germany was the toughest rally I've ever done but now I'm focused on raising enough money for Turkey. Crowd funding is a hard way to go but it's a real motivation to give something back to those who help me," she said.

Zdroj: wrc.com