Having successfully survived her three trial rallies as co-driver to Sky Sports News F1 analyst Tony Jardine, Peta Todd last week achieved her advanced BARS (British Association of Rally Schools) certificate. This guaranteed the fourth and final signature required to allow her to ride shotgun with Jardine on this week’s (November 13-16) Wales Rally GB – the final round of the 2014 World Rally Championship.
This is an extraordinary feat by former glamour model Peta, who’s nowadays best known as a patron of Help for Heroes and the wife of British champion cycle racer Mark Cavendish. She undertook the complex driving test and written exam under the watchful eye of Bill Gwynne, the founder/owner of Bill Gwynne Rallyschool International, Brackley, Northants. Commenting on her performance he said: “Peta has a very natural feel for the car. She was incredibly nervous about driving, but she should have more confidence in her ability behind the wheel.”
Peta responded: “That’s very kind of Bill. Thankfully for the time being I can focus on co-driving and leave the driving to Tony. I’m relieved to have got this far, given the ups and downs we’ve had, and over the moon to have received my fourth signature. There’s still a lot of homework to do, but I cannot wait to tackle Wales Rally GB, which is what everything else has been about.”
Kumho’s European Motorsport Manager, Steve Thompson, was among the first to congratulate Peta: “She has done a remarkable job to get even this far; especially when you realise she underwent major surgery for a collapsed lung after her first rally. We wish the pair all the best for this week and will do all we can to help them achieve a good result.”
They will be campaigning a Kumho-shod ProSpeed Mitsubishi Evo 9 on the event. A long time Kumho ambassador, Jardine won his class last year; ably assisted on that occasion by Skeleton Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams MBE. Jardine was especially complimentary about the tyres, noting that ‘lots of people had punctures, but we had no issues at all’.
