DV8 Motorsport Team

Richard “Numeros” Faircloth

From horseradish farmer in the badlands of west Norfolk to one of the top accountants of his generation, Richard “Numeros” Faircloth doesn’t take the standard approach to life. So, he fits right in at DV8 !

After we had trained him up to identify the Darrian as a rally car and not a tractor (that’s a 6R4 Numeros) and we had persuaded him that not everything needed tractor-size torque applied to it, there was no looking back.

Richard works with us on preparing the car, and running it on events. Despite protestations from his colleagues on the team, he is sometimes allowed to drive the management car as well !

Richard at the 2001 Heuverally, Monteberg, Belgium

Sarah Hathway

Continuing the farming theme (so appropriate for Norfolk) Sarah, currently on maternity leave from her position at the Soil Association is also someone who doesn’t fit the “standard life mold”. Sarah grew up surrounded by Triumph sports cars (her dad was an expert/ and is a superb mechanic as a result. To this day, the only female I know who services their own road car !


Sarah at the TT Grandstand, Manx National 2003

A demon driver in her own right (make sure she’s got her specs on, or you could be in for a fright) Sarah works with us on car preparation, on-event servicing and management.

Jon “Fingers” Ellis

In charge of "Kwality Kontrol and integration of important thingies" at Barnes Group UK, (although Porn Star in the making) Fingers got his name one wet November weekend when we were first building the Darrian.

An heroic attempt to cut his own finger off (honest I didn’t let that sharp bit of metal slip Jon) saw us all up at the A&E department of the Norfolk & Norwich hospital. Fingers isn’t keen on blood (bad news as there was lots of it) but is very keen on Rallying, which is good news !

Jon has worked with us on the car right from the outset and does car preparation, on-event servicing and also gets to drive the management car from time to time.

Fingers struts his stuff at the Rolling Road, March 2001

John “Essex” Indri.

One of the fastest Tarmac drivers around at National level today (or so he keeps telling us) John is a regular on the championship circuit driving his immaculately prepared fragile special-interest tractor (Sorry, Sorry 6R4 John).

Despite being very busy preparing his own tractor (ooops, sorry again) he manages time to come and visit our special-interest-plastic-car-gimp-club
(as he calls it).

Almost a Suffolk man, (he lives right on the border) John has been persuaded to donate his unquantifiably valuable time and help us with preparation. He has also been known to come and laugh at us (not with us) on events.

John Indri in his historic Yellow tractor

Mark Straker    

Once known on the club circuit as “The Moose”, apparently due to the size of one of his three legs, this is another experienced driver that comes out to play with the DV8 crew from time to time.

Mark is a very successful driver in his Vauxhall engined T9 Darrian, and before that in his Talbot Sunbeam.

Mark helps us to service and run management.

Currently running his own car in a number of UK, EIRE and continental events you can see him and his talented brother in his Cox GTM at various events this year.

  Phil “The Wood” Reeve.

Otherwise known as “Chef” or “Boss Bitch”. An accomplished driver in her own right, she has been seen variously on track at Snetterton, on the starting grid at Silverstone, on track at Spa, at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and was last seen hillclimbing at Prescott.

Chris is our van Chef and provides the (kwality-kontrolled, soil association-approved organic) bacon butties, but unlike the real chef, she doesn’t want you to lick her salty chocolate covered balls.

Chris has also done many long hours of management & support car driving for us. Absent of late from the rally scene as she has been busy producing Chef junior, we are looking forward to her return to rally-land.

Oliver Pearson.

Lookout lay-dees here he comes ! Part co-driver and part love-machine, Olly is constantly on the lookout for suitable material although word-on-the-street is that he is currently “Taken” (or is that being taken ?).

Olly joined the team in 2000 and set about gaining experience as fast as he could. He has co-driven on events as diverse as the Fat Albert Stages all the way through to the Manx International. Small (but perfectly formed) he is an ideal Darrian co-pilot, combining a complete lack of fear with a great organising ability.

Olly at Monteberg 2003

Promenade stages 2002   

Winning our class Manx National 2003

Peter Sullivan


Team lawyer and sometime “pettitfogger” as he describes himself on entry forms, Peter is on hand 24/7 if Oliver gets us into trouble. A veteran of the hillclimb circuit in his venerable MGC, and a new convert to the church of the Caterham 7. With a breadth of experience in all things motorsport, and a strong enough stomach to sit in the silly-seat come testing time, Peter is a genuine petrol-head.


Peter in celebratory mood.

This year you'll see him sprinting and hillclimbing at Wiscombe, Abingdon, Jersey, Guernsey and Longleat in his Superlight Caterham 7.

Maurice Jellie  

Maurice, or “The Love Doctor” as we prefer to call him, joined us in 2004 to help raise the standard of James’ driving (not a difficult task !).

Maurice has competed as both co-driver and driver for more years than he is prepared to discuss and brings to the team a fantastic level of experience and a sharp stick for poking the driver.

Known to harden his soft Irish accent when under stress (for stress read “sitting next to James in the car”), it has taken us a while to decipher one or two Irish vernacular phrases he comes out with ! Currently back in Northern Ireland he can be seen out in his wild 2 litre Turbo Toyota Starlet prepared by that well known rally firm “Mo-Drive”or in his forest Escort Cosworth.

Maurice & James win 2nd overall, Manx International Trophy Rally 2004

  Gordon & Lynne Wellbelove

Team Mum & Dad. What would we do without these two ? Well, not a lot probably as we are dependant on Gordon’s fantastic engineering skills for a host of special bits on the car. Gordon has been helping James make “specials” for his cars for more than 15 years.

“Gordons Goodies” as James call them are a large part of why our car is unique. Gordon, Lynne and their company Breckland Precision Engineering Ltd have been producing aerospace quality engineering solutions for over 35 years. Not content just running their own business Gordon & Lynne are keen Imp enthusiasts, owning a beautiful Clan Crusader. Gordon is also building a K-series engined Tiger and will be out on the hills later this year.

Tim Duffee

Glassfibre Guru and man of many beards, Tim is the originator of the Darrian marque as we know it today. Tim and his crew at Team Duffee Engineering make the Darrian chassis at their workshops in Llangybi, Wales.
There is not much that Tim hasn’t seen or done in Rallying over the past 30 years. Tim often comes with us on events and has been instrumental in developing the suspension on our V8 engined car.

As well as making new cars, and repairing the many that are rallying & racing today, Tim works with the Swansea Technical Institute to train up a new generation of motorsport engineers. Darrian cars runs a very successful works Darrian T90 GT “R“in the hands of John Dalton.

Tim Duffee of Darrian Cars

  André Morgan

The only Welsh-Mexican co-driver in the world. Chico, as he is known to the Team, has been our map-specialist co-driver back in the days when the Jersey rally was run on maps alone, with no notes and no recce.

Chico reads a map like pace notes anyway and is one of the least flappable co-drivers we have ever known. Widely known as “Chunky” for obvious reasons he is famous as the long-standing co-driver of “Mad Mick Jones” (BTW we don’t think he’s mad, just angry).
Never one to give up, Chico once urged James to engage 1st gear and try to get out of a ditch in Belgium when the car was on its rear lights and pointing at the sky like a Saturn rocket. James & Chico, Jersey Rally 2002

James Hoseason   

Every Chico needs a Pablo and this is ours. James started rallying as a
co-driver in 1990 for Jerseyman John Startford. After a couple of years in various Peugeots and then a Lotus Sunbeam, John stopped rallying. James went on to build a very pink twin-cam mini, described by MiniWorld magazine in 1991 as the fastest rally mini ever. The car was very quick, and very fragile. After funds ran out, the car was sold to a race team in Columbia, South America.

Men & Motors Michelle interviews James. Manx National 2003 

James then spent 6 years navigating in first Peter Keel’s T9 Darrian and then Tom Lamberts Millington-engined similar car. In 1996 he was involved in a very big accident at Cadwell Park, whilst co-driving in a early Goodmans 2.5 6R4. He carried on co-driving for another year, but was determined to build his own car and be the “nut behind the wheel” once more.

Inspired by the late Roger Hearn’s awesome 3.5 litre V8 Darrian T9 James applied to the MSA and was one of the first to receive Category III status to build a 3.9litre V8 Darrian. James runs Indigo Commercial Properties Ltd and is responsible for press-ganging the above crew to come out and play.

Gordon, Numeros, Fingers & James