It was success all round this weekend, as two of the Race2Recovery team tackled their first stage rally as part of the Armed Forces Rally Team (AFRT). Corporal Tom Neathway, co-driving for AFRT stalwart Major Alan Paramore, won the Land Rover Challenge class of the Trackrod Rally, the final round of the British Rally Championship. Captain Matt O'Hare had a rather less successful event however, rolling into retirement on the sixth stage of the event despite his experience and speed increasing throughout the rally.
The Race2Recovery team had decided that a stage rally campaign, in addition to their Britpart British Cross Country program, would add experience that would prove invaluable in its 2013 Dakar Rally campaign. The aim is to amass navigational expertise based on route notes and 'tulip' diagrams and then combine this with mechanical experience of working on vehicles under pressure.
They were therefore delighted when the Armed Forces Rally Team, revered among the rally community, offered them the opportunity to compete on several stage rallies, beginning with this weekend's Trackrod Rally.
The AFRT runs a fleet of Land Rover Wolfs and over the years, has gained a reputation for not only competiveness but an unrivalled capacity for helping fellow competitors, regularly sweeping the road and helping stranded crews.
On the Trackrod, there was a separate Land Rover Challenge class for the marque, comprising seven entries, including six Wolfs and a single Freelander, which eventually fell by the wayside.
The combination of Paramore at the wheel and Neathway on the notes proved dominant: the pair were fastest on each of the nine stages forming the event, to claim the class win by more than six minutes by the end of the rally.
O'Hare, driving for the first time in competition and partnered by James Sunderland, were also close to the pace. After a slow first stage, they set a pair of top three times in the first loop and O'Hare's experience and pace were improving with every kilometre.
However, in the sixth stage, O'Hare misjudged a corner and suffered a light roll. Thanks to the strength and durability of the Land Rover Wolf, he and Sunderland were able to reach the end of the stage but decided the damage was too great to continue and hence, retired from the event.
Commenting on Neathway's first stage rally as a co-driver, Major Paramore said: "Tom has real talent as a co-driver; he is calm, accurate and immediately picked up the requirement to keep me informed of the course ahead." He was impressed with Neathway's adaptability, describing him as 'The real deal'.
Neathway himself said; "It wasn't a bad start to get a class win, and the event was amazing - I can't wait to see how we do at the next two events. Working with the AFRT is fantastic - they're a great bunch of guys who are absolutely obsessed with motorsport and who do incredible things with their Land Rover Wolves!"
Captain O'Hare was also impressed with the weekend: "This training has been absolutely pivotal to the overall efforts of Race2Recovery; stage rallying providing the dual challenge of navigation and the requirement to drive at much higher speed than we are used to. It is all superb experience in preparation for the Dakar and we will see how well we can do when Tom and I compete together on the next stage rallies."
The next outing for Race2Recovery will be back in the BCCC when they tackle the final round over the weekend of 15/16 October. However, they are currently finalising details for at least two more stage rallies by the end of the season and more details will be released soon.
McCormack/Moynihan Take Triple Crown
Posted: September 26, 2011 11:46 AM
Citroën driver takes British F2, British R3 and Junior Titles and sets sight on WRC
Yet another dominating performance on this weekend’s International Rally Yorkshire has sealed three British Rally Championship titles for Marty McCormack and the Sainteloc Citroën DS3.
The recent cancellation of the final round of the British Championship meant that, with all previous rounds now to count, the Citroën team could not let up the pressure having competed in one less round than their main rivals; the Renaults of Finn Mikko Pajunen and his team mate Estonian Slim Plangi. All three thereby starting the rally with a chance of taking the F2 title.
A cautious start to the rally saw Martin sitting in seventh place. McCormack commented ‘OK it was slippery but I just couldn’t find a rhythm and pace that was safe but consistent. I had to have a word with myself to get some focus!’
And focus he did, setting a string of fastest times to take the lead of F2 by the end of stage 7, the second running of the famous Dalby stage. A lead which McCormack then held to the end. McCormack continued ‘We didn’t take any risks and just settled into a pace that delivered the job in hand – a win for us and a win for Citroën in the F2 Championship’
Commenting on Marty’s performance Sainteloc team manager Nicolas Bernardi said ‘This has been a great year for Sainteloc and for Citroën. We definitely want to come back next year to win (the British Rally Championship) outright and we fully believe that we have the package here to do just that’.
Looking forward to their next event, the WRC Rallye de France, McCormack was circumspect saying ‘We are going with no expectations except to learn. We know the pace will be much faster and, in France especially, the R3 competition will simply be the best in the world. That will give us, and Sainteloc, the target for next year’
Greer matches career best result in Yorkshire
Posted: September 26, 2011 11:45 AM
Jonny Greer finished 2nd overall in his Simpson’s ŠKODA Fabia S2000 on the International Rally Yorkshire (24 September), matching his career best result in the Dulux Trade British Rally Championship.
The 22-year-old from Carryduff in County Down set three fastest stage times on the demanding gravel rally, which became the final round of the 2011 British Rally Championship following the cancellation of the Rally Isle of Man, which had been scheduled to take place on 27–29 October.
In scoring his third podium result of the season, Jonny also secured 3rd position in the BRC drivers’ standings.
Jonny made a strong start to the season-ending rally in his David Greer Motorsport-prepared Fabia S2000 as he set the second fastest time on the opening stage. His first stage win came just two tests later as he closed to within 13 seconds of the rally leader. He later flew through the fifth stage, the 5.8 mile Staindale 1 test, to further reduce the deficit to just 9.6 seconds.
With a clear margin to the 3rd-placed crew, newly-crowned British Rally Champions David Bogie/Kevin Rae, Jonny and co-driver Dai Roberts tackled the remaining stages with maturity and wise heads to consolidate the runner-up position on the Scarborough-based event, scoring 18 points towards the championship.
Jonny was able to maintain his impressive pace throughout the nine-stage event – where he also set six second fastest stage times – to finish within 30 seconds of rally winner Elfyn Evans following 80 miles of cut-and-thrust competition.
After six thrilling championship rounds, Jonny eventually trailed series runner-up Evans by just five points.
“Second overall on this rally is a fantastic result, so the whole team and I are really pleased,” said Johnny. “This event can be really challenging and it’s easy to make a costly mistake, so maintaining concentration was really important. The Fabia S2000 performed faultlessly throughout the rally and it was great fun to drive, but Elfyn deserves a lot of credit for his performance today.
“I’m also pleased to have clinched third position in the British Rally Championship. This has been a real learning year for me, but if you look at the results it’s clear that I’ve become more and more competitive in the S2000 car as the season has progressed. I’ve learned a lot about driving this sort of car in competition during the year and that will stand me in good stead for the future.”
Jonny’s next outing in his ŠKODA Fabia S2000 will be the MSA Rally of Scotland on 7-9 October, which forms Round 10 of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Bogie/Rae British Champion as Evans/Edwards win in Yorkshire
Posted: September 26, 2011 11:14 AM
David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae crossed the finish line of this weekend’s International Rally Yorkshire in third place and, in doing so, became 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Champions. The Scottish pair’s six podium finishes – three of them wins – from the season’s six rounds were more than enough to provide them with their first British title.
Elfyn Evans and co-driver Andrew Edwards in the Pirelli Star Driver Subaru led the event from the start and did all they could to try to lever the title away from Bogie and Rae. It was the Welshmen’s second rally-win of the season, the result confirming them as runners-up in the Championship, whilst Jonny Greer and Dai Roberts finished a strong second in the rally and third in the Championship.
With the announcement on Thursday that October’s International Rally Isle of Man had been cancelled, this weekend’s Yorkshire event took on a completely different completion, as suddenly it became the final round of the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship. It also meant that, because the Manx-based rally was to represent two points-scoring rounds, that competitors had to count all of this season’s scores and could not drop a round.
Therefore, all Bogie had to do was to finish 13th or higher to confirm his place in the history books. However, as anyone who has experience of the sport will know, it’s not that easy!
This year’s Rally Yorkshire kicked off with a ceremonial start on a warm and dry Friday evening at Scarborough’s West Pier, where the BRC cars and crews congregated on the sea front for a promotional gathering that attracted hoards of spectators. All of the event’s competitive action took place on Saturday in the picturesque forests of the North Yorkshire Moors, which featured nine special stages and a total competitive distance of 82 miles.
Stage one was a 14-mile run through the infamous Dalby forest, which caught many competitors unawares, the slippery conditions making grip levels a lottery. Unsure whether it was the indifferent road surface or the rock he hit a few 100 meters before, fast-Finn Jussi Kumpumäki was the first BRC driver to exit the event, when his Fiesta left the road on a tightening right-hander 10km into the stage. Unfortunately, heavy contact with a felled tree meant he was going no further and, although all of his car’s wheels were still pointing in the right direction, the front of the Ford was too badly damaged to continue.
Others also lost time in the conditions: Mikko Pajunen dropped 30-seconds when he planted his Renault Twingo in the bushes; Callum Black reported he was perhaps a little over-cautious and F2 front-runner Martin McCormack even admitted that it was one of the worst first stages he had ever had!
The slippery gravel surface played into the hands of the four-wheel-drive runners and, with nothing to lose, Evans blasted through the stage to lead Greer by 12.9 seconds. The Škoda Fabia S2000 pairing were in-turn 27.4 seconds ahead of Bogie, who had sensibly opted to take it steady - with thoughts of the British title in the forefront of his mind - whilst fastest of the two-wheel-drive cars was the Renault Clio of Peter Taylor in an impressive fourth.
The next three stages – which included two runs through Gale Rigg and one through Cropton forest – provided a surface that was more to the drivers’ liking – especially McCormack, who elevated himself from seventh to fifth by the time crews entered the auxiliary service halt north of Pickering. The first loop of four stages had also provided a close battle between the one-makes, with Desi Henry and Joe McGonigle swapping places in the Citroën Racing Trophy and Kit Leigh, Nick Cristofaro and Osian Pryce in the Fiesta SportTrophy all just a handful of seconds apart.
At the front of the field the leading four was unchanged as they embarked on another two stages: Staindale and Langdale. However, Evans threw nearly half of his 18-second advantage away with a spin on stage five, putting Greer within ten seconds of him before the main service halt of the day back in Scarborough.
Stages five and six turned out to be significant for the Fiesta drivers too, when Cristofaro’s car broke a driveshaft leaving the start line of SS6 and Leigh’s car lost third gear. In contrast, Alex Laffey’s rally was going well in his new Fiesta and he was rapidly getting back his confidence following his crash in Ulster last month.
The last leg of the day comprised a further three stages, all of them a second run of previous venues, starting with Dalby – which was far more grippy the second time around – Staindale and then Langdale. The first of these saw McCormack – who was now in the ‘zone’ - overhaul Taylor, which meant that, once again, the Citroën DS3 driver was ahead of the Formula 2 field.
For Bogie, this last loop of stages was the most important of his rallying career and possibly the hardest, as he knew he had to drive cautiously but, at the same time, maintain a level of concentration that would ensure he made no mistakes. In fact, he was feeling so stressed during the last stage, he even had to open a window as he thought he was going to be sick!
But it was a faultless performance from the young Scot, his co-driver and his Mitsubishi, which meant that he returned to Scarborough to be crowned the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Champion. An equally polished performance by Evans saw him record his second BRC victory of the season and claim second place in the Championship, whilst Greer did likewise to finish second and third respectively.
Dulux Trade MSA British Formula 2 Rally Championship
McCormack’s fourth place rewarded him with the British Formula 2, R3 Class and Junior titles, whilst Taylor’s fifth place and excellent pace during the event earned him the Pirelli Star Driver nomination. Mikko Pajunen’s day-long battle with his Autosport Technology Renault Twingo team-mate Siim Plangi was finally resolved in the Pajunen’s favour. It was a great fight back by the Finn following his stage one excursion, his efforts seeing him collect the spoils for the R2 Class.
Dulux Trade MSA British Teams Rally Championship
The performance of the two Renault drivers this season has meant that, even before this weekend’s final round, Autosport Technology were already confirmed as Teams’ Champions. Other Champions crowned at the end of the event were Louise Cook, who becomes British Ladies Champion; Osian Price who scoops the Fiesta SportTrophy and Desi Henry, who does likewise in the Citroën Racing Trophy.
At the finish a delighted David Bogie said: “It’s hard to sum up how I feel. I’ve been chasing this result all year and the dream has now come true. This has been the hardest rally of my life by far. I had to make sure we got to the finish and we did everything possible to achieve this. To win the title is a reward for everyone who has supported me: the team, my family and, of course Kevin, who has done a great job. It’s a huge achievement and I still can’t quite believe it!”
Having scored his second victory of the season, Elfyn Evans said: “We came here to do a job and that’s what we’ve done. David had a great start to the season and we had a bit of bad luck along the way, which has made all the difference for the final event. I must therefore congratulate David and his team on claiming the title. However, scoring a win this weekend is a great way to finish the season. It proves that we have good team, a good car and, of course, good tyres.”
The Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship would like to thank all of the teams, events and sponsors and events for their support during this season and congratulates all of its new Champions. BRC organisers have confirmed that further information about the 2012 season will be issued over the next few weeks.
Trackrod Rally Victory For Evans/Edwards
Posted: September 26, 2011 11:13 AM
Welshman Elfyn Evans took a fantastic victory on round six of the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship but it wasn't enough to lift the crown despite a brave performance on Rally Yorkshire today.
Along with Aberystwyth co driver Andrew Edwards, Evans knew nothing short of a victory would keep his title hopes alive and hope main rival David Bogie had problems, given that the event comprised the final round of the series following the recent announcement that the final two rounds in the Isle of Man had been cancelled.
With conditions perfect in the classic Yorkshire forests, the TEG Sport Pirelli Shoot Out sponsored Subaru Impreza N15 pairing set fastest time on the opening stage and were never headed throughout the day, setting fastest time on five of the eight stages and not being outside the top three on the remainder, but despite his best efforts, the 22 year old from Dolgellau couldn't do anything about Bogie who brought his Mitsubishi home in a safe third place to claim the title.
Despite the victory on the final round of the series, which added to his Bulldog International Rally of North Wales triumph earlier in the season, the result sees Evans confirm second place in the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship and for the Carnforth based TEG Sport team, it meant a runner-up placing to add to their two previous British Rally Championship titles.
Elfyn Evans: "The car has been great and we've really enjoyed it. We led from start to finish but had a bit of a hiccup with a spin on SS5 which lost us a little bit of time but we managed to claw it back. The team has done a great job once again and it's unfortunate we can't take the fight to what would have been two great rounds in the Isle of Man. Congratulations to David, he's a worthy champion and I can't be too disappointed with second place in my debut season for the team."
Lynn Newby - TEG Sport Team Director: "It's been brilliant. We're really proud of Elfyn, we've always wanted to win the Trackrod and now we've done it. It's just a shame we didn't have better luck during the year but Elfyn has been the fastest man today and we've ended up second in the championship. We're disappointed about the Isle of Man being cancelled as it's one of our better rallies but we've gone out on a high. Elfyn drove faultlessly and has been a dream to work with and it's a fantastic result given that it's his first year in a four wheel drive car."
Full Results (All Sections)
Posted: September 26, 2011 11:09 AM
1 Elfyn Evans/Andrew Edwards (Subaru Impreza N15) 1:15:56.8
2 Jonny Greer/Dai Roberts (Skoda Fabia S2000) 1:16:25.1
3 David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:17:52.3
4 Martin McCormack/David Moynihan (Citroen DS3 R3T) 1:21:24.2
5 Peter Taylor/Andrew Roughead (Renault Clio R3) 1:21:36.9
6 Callum Black/Paul Wakely (Suzuki Swift R2) 1:22:50.2
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