Pritchard wins WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round five
Posted: November 13, 2016 7:10 AM
Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke claimed a fine victory on the DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June), the fifth round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
From a field packed with quality, Pritchard (Ford Escort Mk2) topped a fierce battle that raged over six dry and dusty stages in the Kershope region as the top three crews were covered by 23 seconds and less than a minute covered the top six at the end of a rally that drew rave reviews from the competitors.
Second to Pritchard were Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis, while Meirion Evans and Iwan Jones turned in a fine performance on unfamiliar stages to take third overall. Crews were fulsome in their praise for the event, with first class forest stages and a compact format that included limited road mileage. The pace at the head of the field was tremendous and it could have been a different result had stage one pacesetter Matt Edwards not gone out on stage two with ignition failure.
Graham Waite and Gill Cotton had a fine run in their Volvo Amazon to take Category 1 from the Lotus Cortina of Paul Mankin/Desmond Bell. David Stokes and Guy Weaver turned in another accomplished performance to win Category 2 in their Ford Escort Mk2, while in Category O brothers Simon Crook and Alister Crook (Opel Manta) took another victory.
Heading into the western block of Kielder, this was perhaps the most open round of the season so far. Few, if any, of the drivers could claim much local knowledge and the warm weather added to the challenge of tyre choice.
Edwards was awesome from the start, going five seconds up on Robinson in the opening 10-miles of Kershope. But his Ford Escort Mk2 went little further and Pritchard set the pace across just the river in Newcastleton. After five miles in Ash Park, Pritchard arrived at service four seconds down on the consistently fast Robinson. Evans was right in the mix in third from Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks, Nick Elliott/Dave Price and Richard Hill/Pat Cooper. Half a minute covered six of the fastest Escort drivers in the country.
After service at Murray's near Longtown came a repeat of the three stages, now in even better condition after being swept on the first run. Pritchard flew through Kershope and took 10 seconds off Robinson to take the lead. Strong runs through Newcastleton and Ash Park sealed a first historic victory for Pritchard. "It's been awesome," he said. "We had a good clear run and the stages were really nice and flowing."
"Safe and tidy all day," said Robinson, who ended the rally 10s down in second. In turn, he was 13s up on Evans who had delivered a very impressive run on his first rally in the region. "Brilliant stages: we were sleeping a bit in the morning but we really wanted a finish," said Evans.
Fourth overall was a great result for Pearcey on only his second rally of the season. "The stages were superb: we had a couple of moments, two on the same corner," he said. Hill ended the day on good pace to take fifth, but a wrong tyre choice in the morning had cost him time. Elliott, meanwhile, was even more downbeat about tyre selection for the first loop. "We changed tyres at service and the car was transformed," he said.
Darren Moon/Alan Walker battled home seventh with an engine that would only run at more than 3000rpm and were chased by Category 2 winners Stokes/Weaver. "No problems: the stages were brilliant," said Stokes. Chasing them in the Category were Chris Browne and Ali Cornwell-Browne (Ford Escort Mk1) and there was less than half a minute between them at the finish.
Category 1 featured a tremendous battle between Waite's Volvo and the Mini Cooper of Ray Cunningham/Andrew Bushe. At service, they were dead level on times, but it went wrong for Cunningham when a driveshaft failed near the end of Newcastleton 2 and his rally was over. That took the pressure off Waite, who had lost 15s on the second Kershope stage with an off at a hairpin. Running first on the road had given Waite a sweeper role on the first loop of stages.
Elsewhere in Category 1 Steven Higgins and Don Bramfoot were out early in the first stage with a wheel missing from Saab 96 after a broken stub axle. Meanwhile, John Everard and Mark Sharpley unfortunately rolled their lovely Alfa Romeo Junior. Into second in the Category to Waite's Volvo went Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell, who were glad to finish in their Lotus Cortina after a troubled season to date.
In Category 2, there was a great win in class C3 for David Kirby and Chris Rixon (Ford Escort Mk1), with Phil Jobson and Arwel Jenkins second in their similar car. Kirby only finished repairing his car at 10pm on Thursday after its roll on the Severn Valley. "We kept it on its wheels this time," said Kirby. A first-stage puncture put the Opel Ascona of Peter Smith/Patrick Walsh out of contention in class C3, though they rejoined in the afternoon and set competitive times.
In Class C2 a relieved Robin Shuttleworth and Ronnie Roughead got to the finish ahead despite a broken steering rack on their Escort Mk1. Fortunately it was late in the final stage when the rack failed. Just 14s down in second was the Hillman Avenger of Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith. "Mint: a cracking day," reported Jordan.
Class D3, for the non-BDG powered Category 3 cars, heralded another win for Adrian Young/Gwynfor Jones in their Ford Escort Mk2. They dropped some time behind the ailing Peter Smith in the opening stage but otherwise had a strong run. Mike Reed/Joe Sturdy rolled their Escort out on the first Kershope and second in class went to Paul Fry/Mike Steele after a tussle with the similar Escort Mk2 of John Baker/Ian Jones.
In class D2, for the 1600s, there was another sporting contest between Keith Davison/Henry Richardson (Hillman Avenger) and Dave Hopkins/Tony Vart (Sunbeam Talbot). The stages were new to Hopkins and he dropped time in the morning, but they traded times in the afternoon as Davison stayed ahead.
In the Open category of the championship, brothers Simon and Alister Crook emerged for another victory despite spending 15s in a ditch in Kershope 2. However, a storming recovery from the Sunbeam Lotus of Owen Murphy and James O'Brien took them close after dropping a lot of time in the morning with a pedal box problem. Murphy's pace in the afternoon against the leading Escorts showed that the project continues to get stronger and stronger.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages was organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club Ltd.
The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship heads north to the Kielder region for round five, the DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June). A fantastic line-up of historic cars will tackle stages in the Kershope and Newcastleton forests on this very compact rally.
The event will mark the second event in the championship’s Northern Challenge as well as the next round of the highly successful Kumho Clubmans Challenge for crews competing on a maximum of six tyres for the event.
Leading the field away will be the pre ’68 cars in the Walker Diecastings Category 1, and it is the flying Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite and Gill Cotton at the head of the pack. However, right behind the Volvo will be the Mini Cooper of Ray Cunningham and Andrew Bushe, which has been in mighty form this season, and there should be another big battle for category victory. Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell should be in contention in their Lotus Cortina, while quality is added to the Category 1 field by the Alfa Romeo Junior of John Everard/Mark Sharpley and the Saab 96 of Stephen Higgins/Don Bramfoot.
In the Capital Construction Category 2, David Stokes and Guy Weaver head the field in their Ford Escort Mk1 from the similar car of Chris Browne and Ali-Cornwell Browne, while class C3 is set for another great contest as Peter Smith and Patrick Walsh (Opel Ascona) take on the Ford Escorts of David Kirby/Chris Rixon, Steve Magson/Jim Goodman, Phil Jobson/Arwel Jenkins and Simon Pickering/Colin Jenkins.
Running alongside the Category 1 cars at the head of the field will be the 1600cc cars from Category 2 and it is the Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth/Ronnie Roughead that will go up against the similar cars of Paul and Daniel May, Stuart and Linda Cariss and the Hillman Avenger of Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith.
The Holton Homes Category K continues to build support and is headed by the front-running Ford Escort Mk2 of Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke. Darren Moon/Alan Walker, Tomas Davies/Dai Roberts, Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James and Tom Coughtrie/Calvin Cooledge pack out the Category K field in more Escort Mk2s.
Nick Elliott and Dave Price head another superb entry for the Rob Smith Rallying Category 3 in their Ford Escort Mk2 in a field which, when added to the Category K entries, contains many of the fastest drivers in historic rallying.
Elliott and Price head to Carlisle leading the overall title race by a single point from Richard Hill, who has Patrick Cooper back in the co-driver’s seat for this rally. Right in contention will be crews like Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis, Matt Edwards/Paul Morris, Meirion Evans/Iwan Jones, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Tom Freeman/Paul Wakeley. Lining up to battle with the Escort Mk2s will be the mighty Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Owen Murphy/James O’Brien.
In class D3, another great battle is in prospect as Adrian Young/Gwynfor Jones take on Mike Reed/Joe Sturdy and more Escorts for John Baker/Ian Jones and Paul Fry/Mike Steele. Meanwhile, the class D2 cars run at the head of the rally as the Hillman Avenger of Keith Davison/Henry Richardson goes up against the Talbot Sunbeam of Dave Hopkins/Tony Vart.
Running alongside the historics are the cars in R.A.C. Category O for open two-wheel drive cars and the entry is led by the crowd-pleasing Opel Manta of brothers Simon and Alister Crook. Their opposition includes the Ford Escort Mk2s of Barry Stevenson-Wheeler/John Pickavance and Martyn Hawkswell/Nick Welch.
The event also includes the DMACK Modern Carlisle Stages and competitors in this event will run directly behind contenders in the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship, Heading the Modern field away will be the sensational Ford Fiesta R5 of David Bogie and Kevin Rae.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages and DMACK Modern Carlisle Stages are organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club Ltd. For more details about the event please visit www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org.
All systems go for DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: June 6, 2014 10:35 PM
It is all systems go for the 2014 DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June) as entries build for the rally that covers 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes for a competitive entry fee of £480.
Entries are coming in well for both elements of the rally: the DMACK Carlisle Stages Rally will form round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, while the DMACK Modern Carlisle Stages Rally will be open to all other competitors, including those in four-wheel drive cars.
“We are expecting another strong field of R.AC. Championship contenders but I’m also very pleased with the response to the modern event, where numbers are already well up on 2013,” said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “We are well on target with entries and everything is looking good.”
Heppenstall reports that the stages are in prime condition and route notes will be made early next week by the Pattersons’ crew. The rally will again be based at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle and will cover 45 stage miles and just 60 road miles. The first car will start at 9.30am and be back at the finish at 2pm on this very compact event.
The rally starts with a ten-mile stage in Kershope followed by seven miles in Newcastleton and then a four-mile test in Ash Park. After service at Longtown, the three stages will be repeated.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.
Prime stage conditions for DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: May 23, 2014 12:43 PM
Competitors on the 2014 DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June) can expect prime forest conditions for the event that covers 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes for a competitive entry fee of £480.
Rally manager Colin Heppenstall completed a route survey over the weekend (17 May) and says that competitors are in for a real treat as the forest roads are already in peak condition.
“The stages are lovely: they’ve been regraded and rolled since last being used,” said Heppenstall. “Only some sections of Kershope were used on the recent Pirelli Rally and they have been regraded, while Newcastleton has not been used since the Roger Albert Clark Rally last November. Ash Park has not been used since last year’s Carlisle Stages and is very fast and smooth.”
The rally starts with a ten-mile stage in Kershope followed by seven miles in Newcastleton and then a four-mile test in Ash Park. After service at Longtown, the three stages will be repeated.
Regulations are now available and entries are already coming in for both elements of the rally: the DMACK Carlisle Stages Rally will form round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, while the DMACK Modern Carlisle Stages Rally will be open to all other competitors, including those in four-wheel drive cars.
The rally will again be based at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle and will cover 45 stage miles and just 60 road miles. The first car will start at 9.30am and be back at the finish at 2pm on this very compact event.
The day before the rally (Friday 20 June) will start with a three-mile shakedown forest stage, which will be open to all competitors on the rally as a chance to give sponsors, service crews, family, guests and media a taste of forest rallying. The shakedown will have two sessions, the first running from 10am until 12.30pm and the second from 1pm until 3.30pm. The cost will be just £90 per car for a maximum of six runs.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.
Regulations for the 2014 DMACK Tyres Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June) have been released, with 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes for a competitive entry fee of £480.
The rally will feature two elements: the DMACK Tyres Carlisle Stages Rally will form round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, while the DMACK Tyres Modern Carlisle Stages Rally will be open to all other competitors, including those in four-wheel drive cars.
The rally will again be based at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle and will cover 45 stage miles and just 60 road miles. The first car will start at 9.30am and be back at the finish at 2pm on this very compact event.
The action starts with a challenging ten-mile stage in Kershope followed by a seven-mile stage in Newcastleton and then a four-mile test in Ash Park. After service back at Longtown, the three stages will be repeated.
The day before the rally (Friday 20 June) will start with a three-mile shakedown forest stage, which will be open to all competitors on the rally as a chance to give sponsors, service crews, family, guests and media a taste of forest rallying.
The shakedown will have two sessions, the first running from 10am until 12.30pm and the second from 1pm until 3.30pm. The cost will be just £90 per car for a maximum of six runs.
Scrutineering and documentation will run from 2pm until 7pm and will be followed by a barbecue for all crew members, including families and service crews. This mid-season social event is expected to be very popular as competitors, organisers and service crews all get together in a relaxed atmosphere.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.
DMACK Carlisle Stages to be ‘summer party’ for R.A.C. Championship
Posted: March 7, 2014 12:04 PM
The 2014 Carlisle Stages (Saturday 21 June), which will again be backed by DMACK, will form the core of a ‘summer party’ for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
Following on from the runaway success of the inaugural DMACK Carlisle Stages in 2013, round five of the 2014 R.A.C. Championship will run on Saturday 21 June and cover 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton forest complexes.
The day before the rally (Friday 20 June) will start with a shakedown forest stage of up to two miles, which will be open to all registered championship contenders as a chance to give sponsors, service crews, family, guests and media a taste of forest rallying. There will be a modest charge for cars taking part and there will be no limit on the number of runs.
When the shakedown stage closes, the focus will turn to pre-event documentation and scrutineering on Friday afternoon at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
Then, as scrutineering closes late on Friday afternoon there will be a championship barbecue for all crew members, including families and service crews. This mid-season social event is expected to be very popular as competitors, organisers and service crews all get together in a relaxed atmosphere.
This compact rally, with 45 stage miles and less than 70 road miles, will give crews a rare chance to tackle some of the most famous gravel stages in the UK during the summer months. The DMACK Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.
“We wanted to have a mid-season social get together for everyone involved in the R.A.C. Championship and the DMACK Carlisle Stages is the ideal event,” said Colin Heppenstall, championship manager. “Crews can shake the cars down and give some passenger rides on Friday morning, complete scrutineering on Friday afternoon and then enjoy the barbecue. On Saturday, the rally will finish from around 3pm to allow crews to start the journey home in good time.”
The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship is the only championship that runs historics first on the road on all events.
News Stories
Classifieds
Shop
TV Guide
Links
Upcoming 
Most