Red Kite Stages - 21 Feb 16

Pritchard starts BHRC defence on Red Kite Stages

Posted: March 10, 2016 9:06 AM

Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke got their season off to a perfect start with victory on the Red Kite Historic Stages (Sunday 21 February), the opening round of the 2016 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship.

The ice and snow of the 2015 Red Kite was replaced by strong winds, persistent rain and, at times, thick fog to deliver another tough start to the season but Pritchard and Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2) never put a wheel wrong and took maximum points to open their title defence in style.

However, this was no easy win as Nick Elliott and Dave Price ran neck-and-neck for the lead despite their Escort Mk2 stalling on the opening stage. It was still very close for the lead until it happened again on the second run through Crychan and the engine refused to restart for around 15 seconds. While Pritchard could afford a measured approach in the final Caio stage, Elliott attacked to grab second place back from the impressive Joe Price and Chris Brooks (Escort Mk2).

A final stage gearbox drama that cost two minutes for John Perrott and Keaton Williams (Ford Escort Mk1) left the way open for Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver to win a Category 2 battle that had raged all day. Category 1 was also settled on the final stage as Bob and Dale Gibbons (Ford Cortina Mk2) emerged for victory when the chasing Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson had an electrical failure stop their Lotus Cortina.

"No dramas at all; we tried to avoid punctures and kept it nice and tidy," said Pritchard after spraying the champagne in Llandovery. Meanwhile, Elliott was frustrated to drop a total of more than half a minute when the engine would not restart, but was relieved to score a good result on the Red Kite after two troubled runs in previous years. He was also feeling decidedly groggy, so second overall was a good start to his season. The on-board footage shows them drop around 20 seconds on the opening stage.

While Pritchard/Clarke won the Holton Homes Category K, Elliott/Price won the RSR Historic Engineering Category 3 and immediately marked themselves as the two crews to beat for this year's BHRC crown.

Joe Price suspected that Elliott would push him back to third on the final stage but nevertheless turned in a cracking performance to show this he is now one of the BHRC pacesetters. Equally impressive was Irish ace Paul Barrett with Welsh co-driver Dai Roberts who drove their Pinto-powered Escort with big commitment to finish a tremendous fourth overall, well in touch with the top three.

Steve Bennett is getting ever closer to the head of the pack and, with M-Sport's Ian Tullie on the notes, he took fifth overall on the final stage when a steering problem cost the Fiat 131 of Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis half a minute. Despite the late issue, the pace of the Fiat on its first BHRC event was impressive. "That's a good start," said Robinson at the finish. "Even in the Escort I'd probably not have matched Jason and Nick down here," he added.

Only 20 seconds split the next four crews on a day when poor visibility was a major challenge for the second run over the fast sweeps on the top of Epynt on the Route 60 stage. Simon Webster and Jez Rogers just beat Rudi Lancaster and George Gwynn, while Orr/Weaver took the Capital Construction Category 2 with ninth overall. "We had a bit of a steady start but were going better in the afternoon," said Orr. Neil Williams and Peter James wrapped up the top 10 overall in their Escort Mk2.

The Gibbons father and son took the Vintage Car Radiator Company Category 1 but it was set for a tight finish as heading for the second run through Caio, the gap to Bean/Smithson was only 11s. Gibbons senior arrived at the finish concerned that he might have eased back too much.

However, Bean never made it to the finish after a complete electrical failure stopped the car mid-stage. "I was giving it a good go," said Bean who was later able to short circuit the system and drive the car back to Llandovery.

In class C2, a stand-out performance came from Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis who put their 1600cc Escort Mk1 into 13th overall on the driver's first rally in Wales. Incredibly, they only had one stage free of a persistent misfire and duly set seventh fastest overall on the second run through Caio. Milner finished one place down on class C5 winners Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris who had a good day in their Escort Mk1.

In Category 3, Chris Skill and Tom Jordan (Ford Escort Mk2) topped the 1600cc division despite suffering punctures on each visit to Crychan. "I've never had two punctures in one day before," said Skill after one front and one rear puncture. Class D4 fell to Guy Anderson and new co-driver Steven Davey (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus) who had a good day as they got used to the new partnership.

The new pairing of Phil Harris and Graham Wild (Mini Cooper) added to Harris' remarkable run of class B2 wins with another victory despite some incredibly tough conditions for the Mini.

Category winners were:
Category 1: Bob Gibbons/Dale Gibbons (Ford Cortina Mk2)
Category 2: Stanley Orr/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1)
Category 3: Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2)
Category K: Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2)

The Red Kite Stages was organised by the Amman and District Motor Club.

Results

Posted: March 10, 2016 9:05 AM

Red Kite Stages - 21 Feb 16 - NATIONAL A RESULTS
Red Kite Stages - 21 Feb 16 - NATIONAL B RESULTS

Results by: Amc Rally Results

BHRC ready for blast off

Posted: February 18, 2016 10:44 AM

The 2016 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship will start in style on the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 21 February) with a field of 70 historics tackling classic Welsh stages on the Llandovery-based event.

As the BHRC starts its second season under the management of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke will bid to retain their crown and their Ford Escort Mk2 leads the historic field. They won the 2015 Red Kite when ice and snow made conditions very demanding, but the weather forecast suggests that temperatures will be well above freezing this time around.

Pritchard and Clarke also head the Holton Homes Category K for cars running to FIA Appendix K regulations. Meanwhile, right behind them will be Nick Elliott and Dave Price in their Escort Mk2 from the RSR Historic Engineering Category 3 and for sheer pace on gravel Elliott will take a lot of beating.

The real darkhorse is the newly-prepared Fiat 131 of Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis, the latest car from RSD in Malton. Robinson's Escort pace on gravel is sensational and his progress with the Fiat will be a major early-season talking point, although preparations were hindered when a rock damaged the car's gearbox casing on Saturday's Cambrian Rally.

Leading the chase of the championship big three will be the Escorts of Joe Price/Chris Brooks and Terry Brown/Den Golding, with both crews also aiming to score well in the championship's Welsh Challenge. Meanwhile, two Pinto-powered Escorts from Northern Ireland will be battling with more powerful BD-engined cars. Paul Barrett/Dai Roberts (MK2) and Stanley Orr/Guy Weaver (Mk1) both have prodigious pace and very experienced local co-drivers.

Other crews poised to join the big league this season are Rudi Lancaster/George Gwynn, Steve Bennett/Iain Tullie and Simon Webster/Jez Rogers. All are Escort-mounted and all showed ever-increasing pace last year, while Phil and Mick Squires add further quality to the head of the field in their familiar Escort Mk2.

Away from the Escorts, several interesting cars could feature. The Hillman Avenger of Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith is the first such car to run in the BHRC with BRM power while there are rapid Sunbeam Lotuses for Guy Anderson/Steven Davey and Gary Cooper/Jon Riley along with the fresh Triumph TR7 V8 of David Kynaston.

In the Capital Construction Category 2, for pre-1975 cars, defending champions John Perrott and Keaton Williams should pick up where they left off in 2015 with their Escort Mk1 and have Warren Philliskirk/Nigel Hutchinson and Simon Tysoe/Paul Morris as key rivals along with Orr/Weaver.

Sadly, the revised running order arrangements have really hit the Vintage Car Radiator Company Category 1 for the pre-1968 cars and just five will start on Sunday. Father and son Bob and Dale Gibbons (Ford Cortina Mk2 GT) and Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson (Lotus Cortina Mk1) will set the pace. New pairing Phil Harris and Graham Wild head the smaller-engined Category 1 cars in their Mini Cooper.

In the classes, Irishmen Barrett (D3) and Orr (C3) will be hard to beat, but chasing Barrett will be Ben Friend/Cliffy Simmons in their Pinto-powered Escort Mk2. From the 1600cc ranks, Chris Skill and Tom Jordan will be the standard in Category 3, while Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis head the 1600cc Category 2 cars. Milner was a star of last year's Trackrod despite very limited experience and his pace out of from Yorkshire will be watched with great interest.

The rally will be based in Llandovery with Rally HQ at the Castle Hotel and the central service area at the adjoining Llandovery Mart. The first car will start at 8.30am on Sunday and return to the finish at 2.30pm.

The Red Kite Stages is organised by the Amman and District Motor Club. For more details about the event please visit www.redkitestages.co.uk

Seeded Entry List

Posted: February 15, 2016 11:14 AM

Red Kite Stages - 21 Feb 16 - SEEDED ENTRY LIST

Entries Received

Posted: January 1, 2016 9:50 AM

Available at:

RED KITE STAGES

Entries open for BHRC opener

Posted: December 18, 2015 7:35 AM

The regulations for the opening round of the 2016 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 21 February), are now available from event organisers Amman and District Motor Club.

One of the first major gravel rallies of the 2016 season will herald the start of a new BHRC season as Britain's leading championship for historic cars starts year two of a minimum five-year term under the management of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.

The Red Kite has proved to be an extremely popular rally over the last three seasons with outstanding special stages and a compact format, covering 45 stage miles and 88 road miles. One of the special stages on the 2016 route has not been used for many years and was first used by the Red Kite.

The organisers promise an event run by competitors for competitors and say that a warm welcome will be extended to all entrants. The entry fee is STG 506, which represents an increase of just Stg 2 over the 2015 fee. Demand for entries is likely to be high and the first 10 entries are already in.

The rally will, as usual, be based in Llandovery with Rally HQ at the Castle Hotel and the central service area at the adjoining Llandovery Mart. The first historic car will start at 8.30am on Sunday and return to the finish at 2.30pm. Scrutineering and documentation will be held from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday 20 February.

In 2016, the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club will promote the MSA BHRC in the second year of a five-year contract. The championship will be officially launched at Autosport International at the Birmingham NEC (14-17 January) when championship registrations will be open.

Regulations for the Red Kite are available from the event's website.

Regulations / On Line Entry / Details

Posted: December 18, 2015 7:18 AM

RED KITE STAGES