Tough weekend for Cox
Photo: Jason Byrne – alittlebitsideways.co.nz
FUCHS Rally Gisborne proved to be a tough event for Sloan Cox finishing 6th overall in his first rally in over 15 months. Although the Taslo Engineering Mitsubishi Evo X rally car felt better to drive than ever before, Cox struggled to get into the groove and realised early on that his own pace notes weren’t good enough for him to commit to the level he has on previous events.
This event was difficult for Cox due to getting use to the car again and working with co-driver Erin Kyle for the first time, and the first stage didn’t work for either of them.
The mighty Motu was the second stage of the event and at a massive 46kms the pairing knew they needed to pace themselves to get cleanly through it and they managed 7th through the stage. Stage three almost ended their event when 10kms from the end of the stage the left front jack shaft broke. Luckily Cox was able to nurse the car back to service for the team to fix it. As the event progressed Cox began to feel more comfortable in the car and started heading back into the direction he needed to be but Cox knows he still has a lot of work to do on his pace notes.
“I found it awesome to be attacking the old Rotorua Rally stages and loved them all, however I know my old pace wasn’t there. I need to focus more on my pace notes to get them consistent and as clear as I need them to be so I can begin to get my speed and confidence back,” says Cox.
The Cox Motorsport Team now turn their attention to their next event which will be Mahindra Goldrush Rally Coromandel on Saturday 22nd August 2015.
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