Super 106 Cup Round 6: The Quinton Rally - 29 Jul 00

Posted: August 29, 2000 12:02 PM

The Quinton Rally hosts a 45 mile stage event starting from Llandrindod Wells on Saturday 29th July, using the smooth, flowing stages of Crychan and Caeo, two of the stages also used by the worlds top drivers in the final round of the World Rally Championship, The Rally of Great Britain. This rally not only gives the 106 Cup contenders an opportunity to prove their mettle on some of the worlds best stages, but offers the still to be decided runners up of the Championship the chance to drive the stages they will revisit on their Rally of Great Britain prize outing in November. Andy Burnell currently leads the Championship by a margin of 7 points after his win in Aberdeen in April and a consistent performance throughout the season. He will lead his rivals over the 106 Cup ramp in championship order. However the question on everyone's lips is with five winners from the first five rounds, is it possible that yet another driver can top the table?

With less than 30 points splitting the top five the one guarantee for the weekends rally action is fast and fierce competition as the battle for points hots up and the desire to win becomes even greater. With only two rounds left after the Quinton, there is all to play and win for. Martin Sansom will be hot on the heels of Burnell, full of confidence and spurred on by his storming final stage performance and well deserved win on the Jim Clark which also moved him up to second place in the Championship. Paul Wedgbury, winner of the Carlisle Stages is currently lying in 3rd place despite his share of problems over the course of the year and is set for a late season charge.

Fourth in the Championship is Ulsterman Seamus Donnelly, winner of the previous Welsh gravel round the Red Dragon Rally. Seamus has again sought the services of a map expert in the co-drivers seat and means no nonsense in his bid for points as he already carries two no-scores this season. Taking up fifth is Dave Nutt, the only man in the top five not to have taken maximum points. A disastrous entanglement with a fence on the Jim Clark Rally dropped him twelve minutes and out of the podium placings.

At the other end of the scale of the Cup the Rookie Championship for the beginners in the sport is as keenly contested as the overall Championship. Youngster Simon Hughes is keeping Australian James Gloster at bay, while Geno Cook is hoping his run of bad luck will stop long enough for him to also make his mark. Grace Owen has already clinched the Ladies Championship and she is now hoping to make inroads into the Junior Championship.

Whilst the season is coming to a head for the 2000 Super 106 Cup contenders we welcome Robert Gough and Alan Jones as newcomers to the Championship, as they prepare for the 2001 season. The action starts at 09:00 from Llandrindod Wells, finishing at 15:30 in Builth Wells. Central servicing is in Llandovery. Updated results will be available from the website as soon as they are final on www.peugeotsportuk.com, and the SMS text message on mobile telephones will also be running.