MSA ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 - SIMPSON BACK TO THE FRONT!…
Posted: May 31, 2011 12:58 PM
Having been unable to contest a full season of events due to business commitments for the past couple of years, 2007 MSA Asphalt Rally Champion Steve Simpson is back and has started his campaign in the best possible fashion – by winning the opening round, the Tour of Epynt, in his Subaru Impreza WRC. Fastest time on the opening stage of the Brecon-based event put the Manchester driver, and co-driver Aled Davies, into a lead they maintained through to the finish.
The Tour of Epynt was the one event that defending MSA Asphalt Champion Damian Cole failed to finish last year, and this year’s was not without its problems! Trailing Simpson by as little as one-tenth of a second after the second stage, Cole maintained his runner-up spot throughout the event but, on the final test, his Ford Focus WRC suffered a broken rear driveshaft. The gap between Simpson and himself rose to 75 seconds but then the offending shaft needed to be replaced in order to cover the road section back to the finish. The job was completed, leaving Cole just time to reach the final control before going OTL – phew!
One of the ‘Drives of the Rally’ came from Dave Pattison/Paul Whittaker in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO6. Dave, son of original EARS/Motoring News Tarmac Championship sponsor Mike, has recently returned to the sport and, whilst his ability is not in doubt, his lack of ‘match practice’ could have worked against him. Not a bit of it! Fifth after the first stage, the Stockport driver just kept banging in the times to the point that, following the retirement of last year’s Epynt winner Peter Lloyd (Subaru Impreza WRC), he moved into 3rd and stayed there! Dave was awarded the John Horton Motorsport Management ‘Star Performer’ award and he is definitely one to watch as the season progresses.
Of the 87 crews that started on the Epynt Ranges, 46 were REIS Championship contenders and, by the end of the day, nine of the Top Ten finishers had opened their accounts in the points tables. Fourth were Simon Mauger/Brian Cammack in their amazing Ford Escort MkII which not only gave them a class win by two-and-a-half minutes, but also saw them claim the inaugural Millington Escort Challenge awards. Jay Stanley’s similar car was second and Roy Millington, of Millington Racing Engines, was on hand to witness the prize-giving at Brecon Leisure Centre.
5th place was more than enough to see Seb Ling/Aled Rees take the Group N category in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9, finishing just three seconds ahead of the Skoda Fabia WRC of John Stone/Patrick Walsh after 84 miles of special stages. One of the Fabia’s front wings bore witness to a close encounter during the morning but it continued at unabated speed to return northwards with a healthy bag of points.
The Top Ten was completed by several crews who are back in the Championship after absences of several years - Graham Coffey/David Gamblin were 7th in their Subaru Impreza S12B, the Darrian T90 GTR of John Indri/Dave Engwell was 9th and Bob Fowden/Jason Sugden 10th in another Impreza.
From the very impressive line-up of MSA Asphalt Championship crews in Wales, other finishers included :
* David Hardie/John McCulloch Subaru Impreza 11th
* Jay Stanley/Paul Williams Ford Escort MkII 12th
* Michael Glendinning/Andrew Roughead Subaru Impreza 14th
* Graham Hollis/Alan Jones Ford Escort MkII 15th/1st in class
* Mark Worley/Hamish Campbell Subaru Impreza WRC S9 17th
* Gary Le Coadou/Paul Hollingham Toyota Corolla WRC 18th
* Neil Arden/Giles Corbett Subaru Impreza 19th
* Chris Rice/Lee Carter Subaru Impreza 23rd
* Adrian Spencer/Mark Hewitt Subaru Impreza 25th
* Andy Davison/Mike Curry BMW M3 26th
* Richard Clews/Barry James Subaru Impreza 28th
* Jim Sharp/Amy Mackinnon Subaru Impreza 30th
* Andrew Egger/Val Thompson Vauxhall Nova 34th
* Myf Owen/Baz Green Mitsubishi Lancer EVO7 36th
* Stuart Bliss/Richard Marsh Honda Civic 40th/1st in class
* Tim Daltry/Paul Ohren-Bird Peugeot 205 41st
* Paul Culverwell/Jo Saddington Peugeot 205 RWD 42nd
* Richard Felgate/Mark Mason BMW 325 43rd
* Craig Jose/Nigel Hewett Peugeot 205 45th
* Dave Allmark/Leigh Woodington Ford Escort MkII 48th
* Ian Copping/Dave Rowley Ford Fiesta RWD 49th
* Nigel Killerby/Colin Watson Mitsubishi Lancer EVO5 54th
* Michael Davison/Josh Davison Proton Satria Compact 55th
* Andrew Hicks/Richard Bliss Honda Civic 56th
* Geoff Glover/Bob Brown Vauxhall Astra RWD 57th
* Chris Daykin/Dan Megannity Subaru Impreza 58th
* Stuart Spyer/Pete Williams Vauxhall Corsa 59th
* George Cooke/David Millard Citroen Saxo VTS 60th/1st in class
Meanwhile, in addition to Peter Lloyd, others who appeared on the retirement list included :
* Chris Marshall/Simon Hunter Mitsubishi Lancer EVO5 Rear diff. – SS2
* Gary Nuttall/Mark Perryman Hyundai Accent WRC Retired SS1
* Mark Ellis/Janice Moore Subaru Impreza Gearbox SS7
* Phil Turner/Simon Anthony Subaru Impreza Retired SS3
* Peter Rayner/Den Golding Ford Escort MkII Retired SS5
* Darren Underwood/Sue Underwood Vauxhall Nova Retired SS6
* Eliot Dunmore/Susanna Kenniston Subaru Impreza Turbo - SS6
* David Green/Mark Powell Ford Escort Mk4 RWD Retired SS2
* Tom Preston/Yan Griffiths BMW M3 Retired SS6
Each of the nine rounds of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship is being filmed for television and the Tour of Epynt is scheduled for broadcast on Motors TV on 9th April – see TV listings for further details.
The Championship now moves to the Isle of Man for the second round, the Manx Telecom Rally (6/7th May) and, with five events to count from the total, every competitor has a great deal to play for.
Defending REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Champion Damian Cole is returning to the series this year with a view to taking back-to-back titles. With Craig Drew reading the notes in the Get Connected! Ford Focus WRC, Cole’s season begins with the one event he failed to finish in 2010!...
For the first time Port Talbot Motor Club’s Tour of Epynt takes Brecon as its base with the meat of the rally taking place on the Epynt Military Ranges. Seven stages, totalling 80 miles, constitute the meat of the event and the first car is due to start on the Ranges at 8.55am on Sunday 13th March. That first car will be the Subaru Impreza WRC of 2010 event winners, Peter Lloyd/Graham Handley, while Cole/Drew are next.
Simon Mauger was 3rd overall in his Ford Escort MkII on last year’s Tour of Epynt which set the Bicester driver on his way to taking the runner-up spot in the MSA Asphalt Championship and winning the BTRDA Asphalt Rally Challenge outright at the wheel of his two-wheel drive machine. His performances have set the scene for the Millington Escort Challenge which is running on all nine events of the Asphalt Championship this year, catering for up to 2.5 litre front-engined (not necessarily Millingtons!), rear-wheel drive MkI-Mk5 Escorts. Obviously, Mauger must be regarded as a serious contender for this but, with the likes of Jersey’s Steve Leonard, Dave Allmark, Jay Stanley, Pete Rayner, Tommi Graham and Graham Muter in his amazingly quick 1300 BDA version on the blocks, there is already considerable interest in the new category.
John Stone/Patrick Walsh will be hoping to start the new season as they finished the last – with a win! Stone’s Legend Fires Skoda Fabia WRC emerged victorious at the end of the Cheviot Keith Knox Stages Rally last October, confirming his 3rd overall in the 2010 MSA Asphalt Championship. Meanwhile, having recently won the Oak Leaf Stages in their Hyundai Accent WRC, Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt have been putting in
some pre-season practice as they attempt to improve on last year’s 7th place on Epynt.
Jasper contested the event in his MG Metro 6R4 and he will be followed away from the start by another former Metro pilot. After an absence of several years, John Indri and co-driver Dave Engwell are set for a full season in their Darrian T90 GTR – a car which is a proven winner on Epynt, especially if the weather stays dry.
Graham Coffey/David Gamblin (Subaru Impreza WRC) and David Mann/Alun Cook (Subaru impreza GpN) are rejoining the Championship this year and each has the talent and machinery to dominate their respective categories.
With an entry of more than 90 cars, more than half of which are registered for the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, the Tour of Epynt marks the beginning of the long road to the coveted title which, through the good offices of headline sponsor REIS, in conjunction with a number of individuals and organisations, will be filmed for subsequent transmission on Motors TV. This is a major step forward for the premier asphalt series in the UK and the organisers are very grateful to all those involved in putting the programmes in place.
Each competitor’s best five scores, from the nine events, will count towards their final score and, in this way, all budgets will be catered for. In a calendar which includes such a diverse selection of events, it goes without saying that some will be more expensive to contest than others and, with such a scoring system in place, competitors may choose which ones to enter.
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