Tyneside Stages - 1 Aug 10

Photos

Posted: August 22, 2010 11:23 AM

cmwi.net

MAUGER’S FIRST MAJOR!…

Posted: August 22, 2010 11:18 AM

Having been knocking on the door of an outright victory on a round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship for quite a while, it all came right for Simon Mauger on the Tyneside Stages at the weekend as, co-driven by Ashley Trimble, he guided his Ford Escort MkII to top spot on the Otterburn Ranges. It is the first time that such a car has won a round of a National Championship for many years and, consequently, gave much cause for celebration! Mauger accepted the John Horton Motorsport Management ‘Star Performance’ salver at the event prizegiving in recognition of his achievement.

In the absence of Championship leaders, Damian Cole/Craig Drew, John Stone – co-driven on this occasion by Patrick Walsh – took full advantage of the situation to put his Skoda Fabia WRC at the top of the timesheets on the opening stage. The leaderboard remained the same for the next one but a spin and stall on the third saw the Fabia drop to 3rd place. Having to slow for some errant cattle saw Stone drop a further place after SS4 but, clear of distractions, a determined fightback ensued. Mauger’s winning margin was reduced from 37 seconds after the fifth stage to just eight by the finish. One more stage and the leaderboard may well have had a different look to it!

So, with three rounds to go, Mauger leads the race for the MSA Asphalt Championship Drivers’ title, with Stone second and Cole occupying the final podium spot.

Michael Glendinning/Andrew Roughead (Subaru Impreza) took their best ARC Championship result to date with 3rd place overall after a fine drive on their ‘local’ event, while Mark Mason guided John Cope round the Otterburn Ranges to 5th place in his Impreza WRC.

Top 10 finishes also went the way of Steve Cressey/Sam Collis whose Impreza’s progress had been impeded by a minor indiscretion on the second stage which had crushed an intercooler pipe, and Andy Davison/Mike Curry whose BMW M3 was looking decidedly the worse for wear by the end of the day!

Jim Sharp/Amy Mackinnon’s Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9 was troubled with a slipping clutch for a time, but 13th overall brought with it a good haul of Championship points. Rounding off the Top 20 were Tim Seipel/Martin Haggett in their MG ZR – an excellent run after a disappointing ‘early bath’ on the Rally of the Midlands.

The ever-smiling James Martin, with Steve Pugh on the notes, brought his Vauxhall Astra to maximum Class B11 points whilst, a matter of seconds in arrears, Richard Clews/Barry James took an event class win in their Group N Ford Fiesta.

Geoff Glover/Bob Brown overcame a number of problems – one involving the co-driver’s overalls and another with their Astra’s dry-break fuel coupling – to complete the route and take a bag of points back to Teesside. Tim Daltry/Paul Ohren-Bird (Peugeot 205) weren’t far behind them, finishing one place in front of the 1.3 BDA Ford Escort of Graham Muter/Steve Hallmark which had been slowed by a bent steering rack after a heavy landing on one of the famous Otterburn ‘yumps’.

Craig Jose/Nigel Hewett’s journey up to Otterburn from their homes in Cornwall had seemingly taken forever but a finish and, once again, some good class points made it worthwhile.

Chris Daykin/Dan Megannity used the event to gain more experience in their Group N Subaru Impreza, not to mention top class points as they moved ahead of Chris Rice in the ‘production’ category with three events to go. Ian Copping/Dave Rowley (Ford Fiesta RWD) had no major dramas to report which is more than can be said for Martin Newson/Peter Morris. Both were winded after a particularly heavy ‘return to earth’ in their MG ZR and then, later in the day, the car’s sumpguard began making a gallant bid for freedom. It all held together – just! - but then the crew were faced with the long trip back to Norfolk with a ‘poorly’ service barge.

A total of 22 ARC-Championship registered crews started the Tyneside Stages and, although there were sixteen finishers, the day was to end in disappointment for the other six. First to go were Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt whose hired Hyundai Accent WRC slid off the road into a ditch at the end of a long straight on the opening stage. Starting at No.3, George Mackey’s rally came to an end when his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO6 lost a wheel and 2009 BTRDA Asphalt Rally Series winners Adrian Spencer/Mark Hewitt went out when their debut in a new Impreza was cut short by turbo failure. They were able to continue to get some more miles under their belt but, obviously, didn’t feature in the final results.

Although the Lancer EVO5 of Chris Marshall/Simon Hunter had been restored to its former glory following its much-publicised ‘off’ on Rally of the Midlands, a broken rear driveshaft on the second stage on Otterburn was directly attributed to the earlier accident. Phil Merrills/William Kelly’s demise was from a combination of suspension trouble and a badly cracked windscreen sustained when their Honda Civic Type ‘R’s bonnet flew up. With no spare to hand, they had no option but to put the car back on its trailer. A novel reason for retirement was that of Martin Murray/Peter Weall whose Peugeot 205 ‘hit a salt bin and broke its radiator’!...

There is now a month to regroup before the next round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, the Eventsigns Mewla Rally, which takes us back to the Epynt Ranges on Sunday 29th August.

Full Results and Times

Posted: August 22, 2010 11:14 AM

Full Results and Times - Tyneside Stages - 1 Aug 10

Seeded Entry List

Posted: July 28, 2010 2:50 PM

• Tyneside Stages

MSA ASPHALT RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP - STONE FACED WITH OTTERBURN CHALLENGE!…

Posted: July 22, 2010 11:48 AM

Legend Fires MD John Stone, who had been leading the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship since early May until his retirement on the recent ALMC Stages, travels to the Tyneside Stages Rally needing a good result in his Skoda Fabia WRC in order to reassert his advantage in the series.

The ‘early bath’ in Ireland, caused by a turbo problem, allowed both Damian Cole (Ford Focus WRC) and Simon Mauger (Ford Escort MkII) to move ahead of him in the points table. Cole, who now has four consecutive maximum scores to his credit, will not be travelling to the Otterburn Ranges this time, leaving Stone with the opportunity to reverse the order at the top.

However, Simon Mauger, whose 2.5 litre Millington-engined Escort has once again been a constant thorn in the side of the World Rally Cars this year, will be present and, barring problems, he and co-driver Ashley Trimble can be relied upon to put in another giant-killing performance.

Stone’s Legend Motorsport team-mates, Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt, were also casualties on the ALMC Stages after one of their Metro 6R4’s rear brake discs broke. The resultant loss of a wheel rendered the car immobile and so they, too, could do with a change of fortune, not to mention some Championship points!

Jim Sharp/Amy MacKinnon return to the series in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9, while the EVO5 of Chris Marshall/Simon Hunter has been restored to full health following a high-speed off on Rally of the Midlands. Also rejoining the battle for points is George Mackey whose EVO6 registered a DNF on its last foray, the Jim Clark National Rally. Similarly, Michael Glendinning/Andrew Roughead are out again in their Subaru Impreza – the difference here being that they did finish the Jim Clark!

Having had to forego the trip to Ireland, Group N front-runners Chris Daykin/Dan Megannity will be bringing their Subaru Impreza up from Norfolk as they attempt to re-establish their class lead.

The 2007 & 2009 BTRDA Asphalt Rally Series winners, Adrian Spencer/Mark Hewitt, are making their first appearance of the year in a brand-new Impreza and expect to contest a few events as a prelude to a full season in 2011.

With entries for the Tyneside Stages still open at the time of writing, the REIS MSA Asphalt Championship is well-represented with over one-third being from series contenders. In order of receipt, the others are :

* Graham Muter/Steve Hallmark Ford Escort
* Martin Murray/Peter Weall Peugeot 205
* Craig Jose/Nigel Hewett Peugeot 205
* Ian Copping/Dave Rowley Ford Fiesta RWD
* Tim Seipel/Martin Haggett MG ZR
* Steve Cressey/Sam Collis Subaru Impreza
* Tim Daltry/Paul Ohren-Bird Peugeot 205
* James Martin/Steve Pugh Vauxhall Astra
* Martin Newson/Peter Morris MG ZR
* Geoff Glover/Bob Brown Vauxhall Astra RWD
* Richard Clews/Barry James Ford Fiesta ST
* Phil Merrills/William Kelly Honda Civic Type R
* Andy Davison/Mike Curry BMW M3

The first car leaves the start of the Tyneside Stages on the Otterburn Ranges at 9.00am on Sunday 1st August and nine stages, totalling 90 miles, must be completed before the finish at the Otterburn Leisure Centre during the afternoon.

Regulations / Details / Entries Received

Posted: January 1, 2010 12:01 AM

• Tyneside Stages