For our April Club Night, we were given an insight into a family history of rallying by Steve and Rob Cotton, and witnessed a rare dynamic partnership between father and son, based around their shared passion for building and rallying cars.
Steve has been in Motorsport, particularly rallying, since the 80's and he now runs Cotton Competition Rally Services, specialising in Subaru cars. Rob is following in his dad’s footsteps and started Rallying at the tender age of 14 driving a Nissan Micra in the Junior 1000 rally Championship.
We heard how they sourced the present car – a Toyota IQ, along with a “spare” road car, had a special roll cage designed and made, obtained upgraded but allowable brakes and wheels, completed the build of the car against tight deadlines, and then how Rob went on to achieve a series of successes on very challenging stages in the world of rallying.
Of course, there were lots of pictures and videos, along with anecdotal stories, which gave a realistic appreciation of their experiences, but currently Rob is balancing the demands of the start of the rallying season alongside his studies for his A-levels, in both of which we wish him every success.