To finish first, first you have to finish. This is not about speed, horsepower and performance – the basic quality is ensuring nothing falls apart, and things that might drop off are easy to fettle in the middle of nowhere.

Here at RPS, we have an appreciation of what a car will be put through, because all of the team here have done it ourselves. Rally preparation is a vastly different mind-set to circuit racing. Vibration, desert corrugations, dust, rain, rocks, river crossings where mud can get between a sump-guard and the bottom of the engine and then set hard in minutes, like concrete, all of these are issues that do not confront the race-preparer. Suspension that is supple enough to take the shocks yet firm enough and tall enough to avoid the unseen help a crew battle the fight against fatigue...we have been here, it’s all that we do.

 

Ten pointers to SUCCESS....

1)      Radiators need to be mounted on rubber or polyurethane bushes with enough movement to avoid the radiator shaking itself apart. It needs protection against clogging up with simple problems such as a swarm of butterflies as well as stones and mud. Cooling is a major concern for any rally car working hard...

 

2)      Electrics: Waterproofing, and sound connections, to ensure you don’t have a ball of knitting around your feet, and keep the dust and grime out – nothing is worse than trouble shooting in the dark with electrical problems providing nothing but frustration.  The RPS team includes a specialist car-electrician.

 

3)      Under-body protection. Wings can be lined to protect bodywork, all items that could snag on rocky ground such as spring hangers need skid-plates, and the sump guard and gearbox are areas where we give a great deal of planning.

 

4)      Petrol tanks are often an item that requires changing – here we need to consider the weight implications, and how it’s mounted so nothing vibrates, comes loose, and causes problems with leaks with unions on events...a long range tank might be the answer but it needs careful planning.

 

5)      Filters are vital – no rally car can venture far without substantial fuel filters that can help a crew combat the evils of water, and muck, entering the engine...air filters are also a key ingredient.

 

6)      Axles – the right ratio and the right bearings inside. Rarely does the inside of an axle get looked at and often crews say “it was ok on the last event” but the pounding and punishment that an axle has to endure is enormous...and often a regular item for a sudden failure, and time consuming on event repairs...

 

7)      The steering and suspension needs planning with a quality approach...

 

8)      Brakes can often be uprgraded, and protected, in keeping with the event regulations and ensuring the governing bodies who limit modifications such as the FIA and FIVA are complied with...

 

9)      Luggage and crew comforts, seating and navigation equipment, interior lighting and other oddments that can make a vast difference to help a crew live in the car come naturally to the team here at RPS ...we are all past competitors ourselves. We are agents for the excellent Monit trip-meter and Avanti map lights.

 

10) Finally engine, transmission, and the drive line are the heart of the car. From the little things like ensuring the exhaust system is flexible so nothing is going to snap off on the first rocky road to providing the right amount of performance blended with reliability...these are the things we will want to discuss with the competing crew.