Mid-Wales Stages - 28-29 Jun 08

BHRC report

Posted: June 30, 2008 5:29 PM

Martin McCormack returned to the 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship for the Mid Wales Historic Stages on 28/29 June and turned in a mighty drive to claim category three spoils.

On an event that once again drew rave reviews from the competitors, McCormack and Joe Agnew charged back into the lead after delays on the opening day, while an equally strong recovery drive after an even bigger delay from Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper netted third in the category behind Darren Moon/John McNichol.

David Stokes/Guy Weaver finally shrugged off their bad luck with a great run in category two, but were edged back to second by Steven Smith/John Nichols, while Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies bagged another category one win in their Sunbeam Tiger.

Category 1
The rally opened with two stages on Saturday afternoon and crews went straight into the amazing Pikes Peak stage, a long climb up the mountain via a series of wide-open hairpins. Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride set the pace in their Porsche 911 despite a puncture towards the finish and ended the first leg with a lead over the rumbling Tiger. "I'm surprised we took time off Patrick," said Nutt before the restart on Sunday morning.

The opening two stages in Hafren on Sunday were in superb condition and Watts really got into his stride to take over the lead of the category. He duly went on to build his advantage to nearly a minute.

"Perfect; we enjoyed ourselves," said Watts back at the finish in Newtown. Nutt dropped time in Myherin when a stone jammed between the wheel and the caliper, but still took second, clear of a tremendous battle for class B4. Into the last stage it was level between Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson (Lotus Cortina) and Graham Waite/Mike Reynolds (Volvo Amazon) and it took a big push from Calvert to grab the class from the charging Volvo. Then, there was a late scare for the Cortina crew when the car refused to restart for the run to the finish and they only just made it to the final control on time.

Clutch problems on Saturday cost Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson a chance of joining the contest, but they still took third in class in their Lotus Cortina.

B2 was a straight fight between Terry Cree/Richard Shores (Mini Cooper) and James Stait/Gill Cotton (MG Midget). Until the water crossings in Sweet Lamb, Stait had been trading times with the B4 pack and reckoned third overall was within reach. But the Midget didn't like the deep water and the time lost helped Cree/Shores to class victory.

"The best event," reckoned Geoff Taylor after taking B1 spoils in his Sunbeam Imp Sport, partnered by Steve Greenhill. Into second, and delighted just to finish, came Mike Barratt/Jody Watson (Sunbeam Stiletto).

Category 2
Putting a torrid season firmly behind them, Stokes and Weaver were on the attack from the start and headed the category overnight, four seconds up on Smith/Nichols, while Tim Mason/Graham Wild were well in touch in third in their Porsche 911.
Through Hafren, Stokes and Smith were virtually level and it was not until the 13-miler in Myherin that the Porsche edged ahead. Then, it all nearly went wrong for Stokes when he slid off at the flying finish of the Sweet Lamb stage and it took eight minutes to get back on, but fortunately they were over the flying finish line, so their result was not affected.

Smith/Nichols duly claimed the category after a fine run, while C5 spoils and a top finish were long overdue for the Escort crew. Sadly, Mason's ill-luck struck again, having set a pace well in touch with Smith for much of the event. Then, a puncture in Sweet Lamb cost them eight minutes and a top result. Into third in the category went Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard (Escort Mk1).

In C3, Tim Jones and Don James were dominant winners in their Escort Mk1, winning by nearly two minutes over Peter Smith/Russ Langthorne, who had a good run in their XS Racing run Escort Mk1.

"The stages were very good and we were driving to make sure of the class," said Jones, after leading rivals Neal James and Kevin Jones went out on Saturday afternoon with gearbox failure. Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes got their Escort to the finish but time lost due to an electrical gremlin and then a puncture left them well down the order.

The new partnership of Vince Bristow/Ian Harden was easily clear in C2, their Escort Mk1 a long way clear of the similar car of Kevin Broadhurst/Andrew Turner.

Category 3
The action in category three kicked off on the opening stages as McCormack/Agnew lost third gear and then had the fire extinguisher go off, while Hill/Cooper hit a post and damaged their steering. McCormack was 40s down, but Hill was two and a half minutes down overnight. Instead, Paul Griffiths/Sam Collis led at the end of the first day after a storming start, but Darren Moon/John McNichol were only three seconds behind in their Escort Mk2.

On Sunday morning it was all about McCormack and Hill as they flew through the pair of Hafren stages. McCormack was 18s quicker than Hill and they were both well clear of the rest in a stunning display. That pace soon put McCormack into the lead and he was able to measure his pace through the later stages on his way to a resounding victory. "We were really flying. It felt so good and the adrenalin was pumping," said Martin.

Griffiths should have bagged second, but lost around two minutes driving four miles of Sweet Lamb with a puncture, so it was Moon/McNichol in second after a tremendous performance on their first run through these stages. Hill's mighty recovery drive netted third in category three and fastest times on the final two stages.

In a typically competitive D5, a gaggle of quick Escorts packed out the next places with Terry Brown/Den Golding fourth from Griffiths/Collis and Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing.

An inspired Arwel Evans, co-driven by Arwel Jenkins, blitzed D3 and finished well up among the D5 cars in their Escort RS2000, while second after a time-consuming puncture were Will Onions and Tim Hobbs in their RS2000.

Results

Posted: June 30, 2008 5:24 PM

Newtown And District Automobile Club

BHRC preview

Posted: June 19, 2008 11:59 AM

Round four of the 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship will pit crews against some classic forest stages on the Mid Wales Historic Stages (28/29 June). The Newtown-based event will cover stages in the Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Myherin region, so the BHRC crews will be competing over the stages that will form the opening day of Wales Rally GB in December.  

Category 1
The oldest cars in category one (pre '68) will lead the field away and a double victory on the Robin Hood and Pirelli rallies was the perfect start to the year for Patrick Watts and Elgan Davies in their Sunbeam Tiger. However, they retired from the most recent round, the Severn Valley Stages, after sliding off the road and so they will be eager to get their title bid firmly back on track.

Heading the Porsche challenge will be Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride in their familiar Porsche 911, with other 911s for Phil and Barbara Smith and Steve Troman/Kevin Devine.

But the Porsches will be pressed hard by the fastest of the Lotus Cortinas, notably those of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson and Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson. Chasing the Cortinas in class B4 will be the mighty Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite/Mike Reynolds.

Class B2 will again 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 it is Stait/Cotton who are firmly in contention for the overall title after the opening three rounds.

Two Hillman Imp variants contest class B1, including round one and three winners Gary and Jane Edington (Singer Chamois) and round two winners Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Imp Sport).  

Category 2
Category two will be a battle between the Porsches and Ford Escorts Mk1s, although the ever-improving Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez will be a welcome addition to the field and could be a major contender. Set to head the Porsche contingent is the 911RS of Steven Smith and John Nichols, which has now won twice from three events.

Among the Escorts, it will surely be the cars of David Stokes/Guy Weaver and Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard setting the pace. It has been a dire season so far for Stokes, the defending champion, with just one delayed finish to his tally from three starts. Graham, meanwhile, has three strong results under his belt and is currently top dog overall in category 2.

However, another very strong contender will return to the BHRC for the Mid Wales in the form of the Escort of Rupert Lomax/David Alcock. After a famous victory on the Pirelli Historic Rally, they missed the Severn Valley due to the clashing Rally Barbados, but they are now back and looking to go very well on home ground.

However, category 2 is not just about classes C4 and C5. The 2-litre C3 category regularly delivers some great battles, and it is brothers James and David Young who currently top the points after a great run on the Severn Valley. Their opposition is very tough and includes Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes and strong Welsh crews of Tim Jones/Don James and Neal James/Kevin Jones.

The class C2 entry marks the return to rallying of former class pacesetter John Worthing, partnered by John Cadwallader in his Escort Mk1. On his first rally of 2008, Worthing should start as favourite over stages he knows well, with Kevin Broadhurst/Andrew Turner leading the challenge.  

Category 3
Category three is all about a gaggle of very quick Mk2 Escorts, all of them capable of challenging for victory. With two wins from three starts, Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper are the men to beat, but Darren Moon and John McNichol have been right on the pace despite a complete lack of prior knowledge of the Welsh stages. If gearbox problems are resolved in time, Moon will be flying. So too, will be Martin McCormack on his return to the BHRC having missed two events while campaigning a Citroen C2 in the BRC. The last time all three crews competed together just seven seconds split them at the finish, so another mighty battle is likely.

Other established Escort Mk2 contenders include Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing, Simon Tysoe/Rob Dyson, Phil and Mick Squires, Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby, Frank Cunningham/Ryland James and James Potter/Steve Smallbone, while Paul Griffiths/Sam Collis could be right at the head of the action in their Escort Mk2.

Class D3 for the 2-litre non-multi valve cars will also deliver a fine contest, with the fastest cars getting up amongst the BD-powered cars in D5. Will Onions and Tim Hobbs (RS2000) are leading the championship standings, but have plenty of rivals including Richard Lane/Frank Richer and Arwel Evans/Arwel Jenkins, while BTCC racer Mike Jordan makes his Welsh rallying debut in his RS2000. A dark horse could be the Escort Mk2 of former Avenger driver Stephen French and Colin Booth.

Elsewhere in category 3, welcome variety to the Escort pack will be provided by the Sunbeam Lotuses of Adrian Seabridge/Daniel Seabridge and Julian Burch/Simon May and the Vauxhall Chevette HSR of Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks.  

The Rally Marketing Mid Wales Historic Stages is organised by Newtown and District Automobile Club Ltd. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: www.newtown-mc.co.uk

The historic rally starts from Newtown at 4pm on Saturday, 28 June and resumes at 8am on Sunday morning.  

Unseeded Entry List

Posted: January 28, 2008 10:42 PM

Newtown And District Automobile Club (The Mid Wales Stages)

• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship