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Robin Hood Stages - 08-09 Mar 08Posted: March 10, 2008 7:56 PM - 5519 Hits Round 1 - 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
Posted: March 10, 2008 7:56 PM
BHRC round one: Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages Rally The 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship got off to a magnificent start on the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend (8/9 March). A mighty 90-car field, big crowds, two former World Champions and a tie for victory at the head of category 3 made it a memorable event. Ultimately, it took a tie-break to confirm Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper as winners over Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan. Meanwhile, a performance that matched the Escort pace assured Steven Smith/John Nichols category 2 victory and Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies romped to category 1 honours. Category 1 The anticipated Sunbeam Tiger battle at the head of category 1 never really materialised as Watts/Davies pulled out a commanding 46s lead during the three stages on Saturday evening. Paul Kynaston/Gary Bulley lost time through a wrong tyre choice and the driver being rusty, and completed a troubled weekend by retiring on Sunday after over-revving the engine. For Watts it was a welcome result after finishing an engine rebuild on Friday evening. "It means I don’t have to take the engine out again; I'm fed up with doing that," said Watts at the finish. The battle for second in category 1 was only resolved on the final stage when a big push from Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride took their Porsche 911 ahead of the flying Lotus Cortina of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson. "I had to extract several digits," admitted Nutt, having gone into Birklands one second behind. For Bean it was a fine way to celebrate his 70th birthday. "I'm quite happy with the class B4 win; the car has been perfect," said the veteran. Class B2 was a two-way contest and it was the MG Midget of James Stait/Gill Cotton that took a clear win after the Mini Cooper of Terry Cree/Richard Shores lost time when a front hub split on the first stage. Stait had a scare when the gearbox drain pull fell out and they lost most of the oil after stage six, but they managed to fix the problem. In B1, the Singer Chamois of Gary and Jane Edgington topped an excellent entry and survived a clash with a log pile to come home clear a class winner. Category 2 With two former World Champions in category 2, there was a lot to play for and it was Smith/Nichols who emerged for victory after a masterful performance. They were on it from the start and had a 19s lead at the end of Saturday evening, and that had grown to over half a minute by the end of the rally. The margin could have been bigger still, as they lost first gear over the last two stages and dropped more than 10s. Into the final stage, they were ahead of the category 3 Escorts, but then lost time getting the car out of the slow corners. "I'm quite proud of that result; apart form first gear, everything else worked fine," said Smith. Mark Solloway/Den Golding were running second, despite a puncture in Clipstone South, until a broken halfshaft on the final stage put them out of a big battle with Bjorn Waldegard/Peter Martin in the VK Lancia Stratos. The Swedish legend claimed C5 spoils after a mighty run, which gave the Stratos its best result to date. Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp were right in contention in their Porsche 911RS and had the honour of finishing between Waldegard and Stig Blomqvist/Pauline Gullick (Escort Mk1) in the final category standings. Out on Saturday night with a misfire went the Escort Mk1 of David Stokes/Guy Weaver. Class C3 is shaping up for a cracking season and it was BHRC newcomers Tim Jones/Don James who took victory in their Escort Mk1, keeping clear of series returnees James and David Young (Escort Mk1). Neal James/Kevin Jones were third and could have been closer had they not dropped time with a misfire on Saturday evening. Vincent Bristow/Dean Mitchell (Escort Mk1) blitzed class C2 with a typically attacking performance. Category 3 For Hill/Cooper, even getting to the start was an achievement after major engine dramas in the run up to the rally. However, it was Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey who returned to service on Saturday evening with a 5s lead over Hill. Sadly, that was about as far as Reynolds went as the gearbox on his Escort Mk2 jammed in reverse gear as they tried to re-start on Sunday morning and their rally was over. Now it was Hill/Cooper battling with McCormack/Moynihan and there was nothing in it, with Hill taking a 2s lead into the final stage. That was gone by the end of the Birklands stage, but Hill got the verdict having been faster on stage one. "Martin's a quick lad," said Hill after a storming drive. "It sure doesn't get any closer than that," countered McCormack, who was getting used to a fresh car. Almost matching the pace of Hill and McCormack were Darren Moon and John McNichol, who had a mighty run in their Escort to be just 7s down at the finish and really establish themselves as BHRC contenders. Peter Slights and Joyce Champion were fourth, while another highly notable performance netted fifth for Simon Tysoe/Rob Dyson, their best result to date. Jimmy McRae and Andy Richardson used the event as a shakedown for the new Porsche 911RS from Prepfab and set a series of fastest stage times to show the car's pace. Unfortunately, road penalties cost them any chance of a good result and then fuel problems on the final stage stopped the car. In D3, Richard Lane/Frank Richer had a superb run to win, although their task was eased when rivals Will Onion/Tim Hobbs had to stop and change a puncture in Clipstone North. Arwel Evans/Arwel Jenkins took second in D3 on a return to the BHRC in Evans' Escort RS2000. PRE EVENT NEWS
07/03/08 BHRC preview: Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages Rally The most competitive entry in the history of the championship will make the opening round of the 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship one of the most eagerly awaited rallies of 2008. Two former World Rally champions will grace the entry as over 90 cars line up for the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend of 8/9 March. It is a truly stunning entry for the opening round of the BHRC and comes very close to matching the record 100-car entry for the 2007 event. The field is packed with fabulous cars and drivers; historic stage rallying just gets better and better! Category 1 As usual, the oldest cars in category one (pre '68) will run first on the road and heading the field away will be Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride in their familiar Porsche 911. However, a pair of Sunbeam Tigers will be chasing very hard as Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies are pursued by Paul Kynaston/Gary Bulley. This will be the first time that the two Tigers have gone fully head to head, as their only previous meeting on the Somerset Historic Stages was cut short when Kynaston hit engine trouble. Now, after a long break, Kynaston is back for the event he has won four times before and is determined to show Watts had it should be done. Chasing the three sports cars will be the rapid Lotus Cortinas of Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson and Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson, and with Bean celebrating his 70th birthday on the first day of the rally it will be a special occasion for the rapid pensioner. Class B2 is set to be a straight fight between the Mini Cooper S of defending class champions Terry Cree/Richard Shores and the MG Midget of James Stait/Gill Cotton, and there is likely to be very little to split the two rapid 1300cc cars. Meanwhile, the up to 1-litre class B1 is very well supported with a Mini Cooper, two Saab 96s and three Imps. John Parker/Robert Harrison will star in their two-stroke Saab, while former Mini crew Mike Barratt and Jody Watson switch to a Sunbeam Stiletto. Category 2 With two former World Rally champions in the top three cars, the category two entry is quite incredible. Add in some of the fastest Mk1 Escorts around and several very rapid Porsche 911s and the stage is set for a mighty contest. Heading the field will be Stig Blomqvist and Pauline Gullick in the Escort from David Sutton's team and the legendary Swede will be very tough to beat. Meanwhile, two cars back will be fellow Swedish legend Bjorn Waldegard in the VK-backed Lancia Stratos, with Peter Martin guiding the 1979 World Champion through the stages. Splitting the Swedes will be the Escort of Mark Solloway/Den Golding and this could be the fastest car of all in category 2. However, more potential winners in Escorts include defending BHRC champions David Stokes/Guy Weaver, Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard and Jeremy Easson/Alun Cook, so it really is wide open. Then there is the Porsche contingent to consider, with Steven Smith/John Nichols and Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp sure to set a fierce pace as they go up against the Escorts. However, category 2 is not just about classes C4 and C5. The 2-litre C3 category is shaping up to deliver some mighty contests this season, although potential frontrunners Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes will miss this event as they prepare their Escort Mk1 with a fresh Pinto engine. Russell Morgan and Martin Kenyon should be the benchmark in their Escort Mk1, but they have plenty of challengers including the Escorts of James Young/David Young, Tim Jones/Don James, Neal James/Kevin Jones and Ian Drummond/Tom Ward. Class C2 is well and truly up for grabs at the moment, with the pace likely to be set by Kevin Broadhurst and Andrew Turner (Escort Mk1). Trying to make it a family double will be youngsters Adam Morgan and Chris Kenyon, who will run alongside their class C3 leading fathers. Category 3 The standard of entry in category 3 is every bit as good with four-time British Rally champion Jimmy McRae starting first in the Prepfab Porsche 911. This freshly prepared car is one of the first 911s to run on a gravel event in category 3 and is sure to give the Mk2 Escorts a major fight for category spoils. As before, Andy Richardson partners McRae in the Stobart-backed entry. Lining up behind McRae will be a gaggle of 14 Mk2 Escorts, all of them capable of challenging for victory. Picking a pacesetter here isn’t easy, but Irish flyers Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan will be sensationally quick. So too, will be Julian Reynolds and Ian Oakey, while Peter Slights/Joyce Champion can never be discounted. Add in dark horses Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper and Paul Griffiths/George Gwynn, along with established contenders like Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and Jason Lepley/Howard Pridmore and the fans are in for a real treat. Class D3 for the 2-litre non-multi valve cars should also deliver a tremendous contest, with the fastest cars getting up amongst the BD-powered cars in D5. Top seeds are Will Onions/Tim Hobbs in their RS2000, but Arwel Evans/Arwel Jenkins and Richard Lane/Frank Richer are strong contenders. Elsewhere in category 3, welcome variety to the Escort pack will be provided by the Open Ascona of Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson, the Sunbeam Lotuses of Julian Burch/tba and Adrian Seabridge/Daniel Seabridge and the Vauxhall Chevettes of Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks and Mark Creswell/Rachel Brockington. Full Entry list on: 21/02/08 Waldegard to contest Robin Hood Former World Rally Champion Bjorn Waldegard will drive a Lancia Stratos on the opening round of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Stages (8/9 March). In an incredible development for both the BHRC and the Robin Hood, the 1979 World Champion has accepted an invitation to drive the VK-backed Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez. Perez continues to make good progress after suffering a neck injury on the East African Safari Classic Rally last November, but is not yet fit to return to rallying. Instead, he has invited Waldegard to drive the Stratos, and re-new an association that scored World Rally Championship success in the mid-70s. Waldegard will go head to head with Stig Blomqvist, the 1984 World Champion, who will also contest the opening round of the championship in a Ford Escort Mk1 from David Sutton's Historic Motorsport team. 07/02/08 Blomqvist to compete on Robin Hood Historic Stages Former World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist has registered for the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship and will compete on the opening round, the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Stages (8/9 March). Blomqvist, the 1979 World Champion, will contest the opening round of the championship in a Ford Escort Mk1 from David Sutton's Historic Motorsport team. Subject to funding, Blomqvist could then go on to contest a full BHRC season in the BDA-powered car. "We're taking a look at the British championship. Having done the Safari Classic at the end of last year, we fancied a bit quieter season," said Sutton. "We haven't got the funds in place yet for a full season. But we wanted to do the first event and if we can find the backing, we'll do a full campaign in the British Historic Rally Championship." Blomqvist's regular co-driver Ana Goni is not available for the Nottinghamshire event, so Pauline Gullick will rejoin the Swedish legend for the Lindholme Motor Sports Club event. Regulations and Entry From on:
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BHRC
Robin Hood Stages
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