Rallye Sunseeker (Bournemouth) 25-26 Feb 05

Posted: March 1, 2005 10:57 PM

The Manxman co driven by Daniel Barritt headed home local hero and fellow Hyundai Accent WRC driver Marcus Dodd and co driver Andrew Bargery with Paul Bird and Ian Windress (Ford Focus WRC) claiming third after a frantic day in the Dorset forests.

A hard charging Andy Burton brought his Peugeot Cosworth in fourth position with Mark Perrott claiming fifth in his Ford Escort WRC and Ulsterman Brendan Crealey rounding out the top six in his Ford Focus WRC.

Higgins took the lead from overnight pace setter Paul Bird on the very first test of the day and never looked back despite coming under pressure from his pursuers who were enduring their fair share of drama.

Dodd clipped a gate post early on whilst defending ANCRO Champion Steve Perez suffered with a spin and a puncture in his Ford Focus WRC. Barry Johnson dropped time late on with rear differential problems also but all made the finish.

All that was except for Hyundai driver Craig Middleton who suffered a broken exhaust whilst in the leading bunch and retired in the latter stages.

Higgins meanwhile was upbeat with his debut victory on the event. 'The idea was to keep it clean and make no mistakes and it worked. It was difficult using the organisers? pace notes after a year of using my own but it wasn?t a major problem. The car was perfect and the team did a mega job and hopefully we will be out on the Border Counties Rally next month to defend our lead.?

Runner up Marcus Dodd commented 'David drove well but we have had a good day and the stages were good but we dropped a little time early in the day which meant we had to drive harder this afternoon. We had a couple of intermittent stalls with the car which lost us time but no real problems. We came for a top five position and second place is absolutely excellent. It makes up for the disappointment of retiring last year and I guess there?s always next year for us to try and win it again.?

Meanwhile Paul Bird continued his great Sunseeker form: 'I came here hoping to finish in the top three and that?s exactly what we have got. To finish so close to the reigning British Champion in David Higgins and four times winner Marcus Dodd, it is very satisfying especially as I was a little rusty. That?s three Rallye Sunseeker finishes for me now and each time I?ve got better so I think this must be my lucky rally.?

Whilst the battle for overall honours was intense the struggle for the support classes was just as tough. Stuart Jones pipped Phillip Morrow by just three seconds in both the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and Group N4 whilst Jonnie Wigmore took honours in the Peugeot 206 SuperCup and also Class A6.

Other class winners included Barrie Purrett in Class N1, Tony Jardine in Class N3, Lee Rennison in Class A7 and Brendan Crealey in Class A8. Class 9 went to Steve Colville whilst Class 10 went the way of Roger Ray. Alec Holding won Class B11 with Andy Burton taking the Class B13 victory.

With all top nine finishers being registered for the 2005 ANCRO Championship all will be to play for in the next round of the Championship which takes place with the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally based in Jedburgh on March 19th

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Owen Murphy Shows Pace
Owen Murphy shocked many of the 206 Super Cup challengers when he recorded 5 second fastest times and one fastest time on the Sunseeker rally the first round of the 206 Super Cup.


Photo: www.specialtuninguk.co.uk

It was a rally that promised so much but delivered little other then show exceptional pace from the Cork schoolboy co driven by Niall O’ Sullivan. Owen who had not driven the Peugeot since last years Clare Stages admitted to being rusty and tackling the first tarmac stages on Friday night was a bit of a handful on forestry tyres.

In to the forest and ruts being created by the four wheel drive cars at the front of the field were making the corners tricky. Early Saturday a time infringement at a control cost the team a 2 minute penalty which was hard to take however Owen kept with the task and set about climbing back up the field.

Even though he burst a shock and not having enough time to change it he drove his heart out and still set impressive times all this two slow punctures and a bent cross member did little to dampen the determination of this fantastic display of speed and car control.

On the final stage the boys encountered more drama when the light pod flew off the front of the car and in a very sporting gesture the lads stopped to come to the assistance of another competitor who had stopped on the stage with a fire ,three other cars passed but Owen and Niall stopped and offered them their fire extinguisher and this cost the lads ten seconds and a place.

With out the time penalty and the time lost stopping Owen could easily have made the top three. Owen said after the event "we showed that we can mix it with the front runners so I just can't wait for the next event".

Speaking to Dave McKinlay Competitions Manager for the championship he said "Owen showed spirit, determination and speed this weekend, typifying the spirit of Super Cup, simply getting to Bournemouth was an achievement in itself.
For his first visit to the UK forests he showed his speed, setting one fastest stage time in the process.
Despite the set back with road penalties he drove with maturity and speed, and other than for Owen and Niall's sportsmanlike action in stopping briefly on the final stage to check on a burning Subaru, his progress back through the field would have netted him a further place. Clearly Owen will be one all this years Super Cup contenders will be watching, along with ourselves."

Owen decided to go for a run in the forest on Sunday Morning and found the light pod in virtually perfect condition just the connection was broken ,Owen said it wasn't all bad because them Light pods cost a fortune!!!!!!!!

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Crealey gets off to a Solid Start
Driving their VRS Motorsport prepared Ford Focus WRC Brendan Crealey and co-driver Steve Harris finished an excellent sixth overall in this weekends Rallye Sunseeker, the first round of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship.

Based in Bournemouth this now traditional start to the National Rally Championship season lived up to its reputation of being a spectacular and high profile occasion and with 23 of the event's 108 car entry being WRC machinery, the competition was tougher than ever.

In front of hoards of spectators, the event began with two 1.6 mile stages on Friday (25th February) evening which took competitors from the town centre, through the botanical gardens and along the sea front esplanade.

With a series of successful test sessions and an excellent result in the recent Riponian Rally under his belt, Crealey is fast getting used to his new car, but admits he is still learning how to drive it on its limits.

Not withstanding their cautionary approach, Crealey, from Portadown and Harris, from Sheffield, found themselves in eighth place following Fridays two spectator stages.

The majority of the events mileage took place on Saturday (26th February), with 14 stages utilising the sandy gravel roads in the forests surrounding the host town.

Crealey and Harris proceeded to turn in a near faultless performance, their consistency seeing them record times inside the top ten on all of the events 16 stages.

Changing his Dunlop tyres to a wider and harder compound set during the day Crealey became more confident in the handling of his car and on Stage 11 set fourth fastest overall time.

With the intention of kicking his season off with a significant points haul, Crealey crossed the line back in Bournemouth satisfied he had achieved his goal:
Its been a good event. Ive learnt a great deal about the car and at the same time recorded a good points score. The Championship is really competitive this year with so many WRC cars out there, but the Focus ran faultlessly so I am confident that the combination of a reliable car and more experience will make a big difference when we get to the forests of Wales and Scotland later in the season.

Looking at the days performance from the co-drivers seat Harris was also pleased with the outcome:
The day went as good as we would have hoped, with no problems whatsoever. I know that we are capable of going quicker, so Im sure we can use this event to build on for the remainder of the year.

Crealeys Focus is prepared and maintained by VRS Motorsport of Chesterfield and supported by: Superdrive Motorsport Centre, Dunlop Tyres and Shell Racing Fuels. Crealey is currently seeking further support and sponsorship for his 2005 campaign.

Round two of the MSA National Gravel Championship takes place on the 19th March, when crews head north to the Border Counties Rally and get a chance to drive the infamous stages in Kielder Forest.

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Jones Shines on the Sunseeker
Making their Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge debut Stuart Jones and co-driver Ross Butler emerged as winners of this weekends opening round, the Bournemouth based Rallye Sunseeker, with Richard Hill/Daniel Stone second and Nik Elsmore/Nigel Gardner third.

The rally heralded the start of the fifth successive season for the Evolution Challenge, 23 of the events 108 car entry representing the one-make series for Group N Lancer Evolutions.

The rally got underway on Friday evening (25th February) with two stages through the host towns botanical gardens and along the sea front esplanade, the action watched by 1000s of spectators.

Right from the start 2004 Evo Challenge hot-shot, Phillip Morrow, signalled his intentions by recording the fastest time on both stages. He was closely followed by Stuart Jones and Nik Elsmore, both getting used to their new cars.

Saturday comprised a further 14 stages all within Ringwood and Wareham forests. Such was the ferocity of the competition, the days first five stages were won by five different drivers: Anthony Willmington, Elsmore, Jones, Morrow and Richard Hill all posting a fastest time before the first service halt. But all this activity was still not enough to topple Morrow from the top spot.

The next loop of three stages was to see Morrow and Jones up the pace, the pair of them pulling away from Hill and Elsmore, who were in turn ahead of another battling duo, Willmington and 2004 PIAA Junior Champion, Ed Stallard, who although suffering from a cold was quickly getting to grips with his new Evo VIII.

As crews entered the third and last service stop of the day, Morrow held a 10 second lead over Jones. Hill, was now holding third place, albeit over 30 seconds adrift, he and the others behind him resigned to the fact they were unlikely to catch the leading pair.

Morrow and Jones were nothing short of spectacular of the final three tests, Jones making up the deficit to within three seconds by the time they crossed the finish line.

However, at post-event scrutineering Morrows car was found not to fully comply with the series technical regulations and although unaware of this issue, the talented Ulsterman found himself excluded from the results.

This left Jones to collect the spoils and enjoy victory in his very first round of the Evolution Challenge.

Im over the moon! Of course I was hoping to win, but to do it on the first event is fantastic, not just for me but for the whole team. said a delighted Jones at the finish. I was able to improve the cars set-up as the day progressed and had a great battle with Phil (Morrow), especially towards the end as our times were so close.

Making the trip all the way from Spain to compete in this years Evolution Challenge is Alex Sabater. After posting a series of respectable times, the Spaniard finished in 8th place and reported to have thoroughly enjoyed his first experience of competing outside his native country, although the pace was quicker than he had expected.

The Evolution Challenge heads north for round two and its first visit to Kielder Forest with a new event in the calendar, the Border Counties Rally on 19th March.

The 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge is supported by: Mitsubishi Motors UK, Ralliart, Walon UK, Pirelli Tyres, Shell Racing Fuels, Speedline Corse, PIAA UK and Mintex.

 Results
 1st  Stuart Jones (Welshpool)/Ross Butler (Welshpool)  1:11:10.3
 2nd  Richard Hill (Chesterfield)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield)  1:12:19.6
 3rd  Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Nigel Gardner (New Tredegar)  1:12:26.5
 4th  Anthony Willmington (Dorchester)/Andrew Street (Ringwood)  1:12:46.2
 5th  Ed Stallard (Cheltenham)/Richard Edwards (Wolverhampton)  1:12:52.9
 6th  Colin Greer (Beith)/Neil Ewing (Largs)  1:13:24.3
 7th  Neil McCance (Newtownards)/Graham Hopewell (Worcester)  1:13:46.8
 8th  Alex Sabater (Spain)/Miquel Amblas (Spain) 1:14:14.0
 9th  Kevin Stevens (London)/Stewart Foley (Birmingham)  1:14:24.3
 10th Damon Harvey (Plymouth)/Aled Davies (Llanelli)  1:14:36.7
 11th Geoff Underhill (Peterborough)/Adrian Grinsted (Horley)  1:16:08.7
 12th Connor McCloskey (Kilrea)/Damien Duffin (Rasharkin)  1:17:36.5
 13th Noel Kelly (Isle of Man)/James Kelly (Isle of Man)  1:19:25.2
 
 Pirelli Cup Winner - Anthony Willmington
 PIAA Junior Award - Stuart Jones
 Shell Spirit Award - Alex Sabater
 Walon Best Prepared Car - Damon Harvey
 
 Retirements & Exclusions
 SS1 Darren Snape (Stoke-on-Trent)/Anthony Adams (Stoke-onTrent) - Engine
 SS5  Martin Newcombe (Plymouth)/Peter Newcombe (Plymouth) - Transmission
 SS6  Tim Pearcey (Harrogate)/Mick Johnson (Thirsk) - Electrical
 SS6  Paul James (Taunton)/ Derek Davies (Swansea) - Gearlinkage/Brakes
 SS8  Ryan Champion (Whitby)/Craig Thorley (York) - Suspension
 SS11  David Wright (Morecambe)/Shelley Rogerson (Morecambe) - Throttle Cable
 SS11  Jon Tucker (Barnstaple)/Hamish Campbell (Stow-on-the-Wold) - Engine
 SS16  William Bonniwell (Oban)/Ian Fraser (Tobemory) - Oil Cooler
 SS16  Simon Close (Stamford)/Jason Hunt (Wellingore) - Stopped
 Finish  Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn) - Excluded: Technical

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Peugeot 206 Super Cup - Wigmore Commands
Peugeot 206 Super Cup debutant Jonnie Wigmore laid down the gauntlet to fellow competitors on Rallye Sunseeker this weekend, taking victory by over one and a half minutes. Wigmore, with Robbie Durant on the notes set a string of fastest times to dominate Super Cup and finished 39th overall as first two-wheel drive car on the event itself which saw over 65 four wheel drive machines take the start.

With Wigmore already some 10 seconds clear of the opposition after two short stages in a bitterly cold Bournemouth, the Oxfordshire pair suffered a minor heart stopping moment on the way to the evenings finish when the fuel pump gave problems, but they recovered to take the Saturday morning restart with Paul Jones second and Clive Wheeler third.

Northern Irelands Colin Britton suffered from taking too hard a tyre, meanwhile Richard Sykes with new co-driver Simon Taylor alongside was comfortable with his overnight fifth place commenting "The target for this event is a podium position, lets get some points on the board." Cork's young Super Cup hopeful Owen Murphy posted notice of his intentions on his first visit to the UK, finishing the evening in fourth place.

With fourteen stages to challenge the crews on Saturday, all eyes were on the weather, and for the first time tyre choice with Kumho Motorsport offering a choice of compounds for competitors. With five stages making up the first loop, Paul Jones set fastest on stage 3, Greta's Mike Faulkner began to show pace second fastest time with Wigmore third. With the order reversed on stage 4 as Wigmore and Faulkner responded to Jones early pace, Wigmore continued the push on stage 5 where the Banzai back car emerged 4 seconds faster than Jones, with Faulkner a further 5 seconds adrift. The frantic pace at the front took its toll on stage 6 with Faulkner suffering transmission problems exiting a hairpin and retiring on the spot, with Wheeler suffering suspension troubles on stage 7.

" Everything is fine" reported former Ka champion Wigmore at first service, having extended his lead to 28 seconds over Paul Jones, with Richard Skyes in third. Young Irishman Owen Murphy had settled well as he adjusted to UK competition, and but for road penalties would have been third, but had dropped to ninth as a result, with fourth place being held by winner of David Higgins' scholarship, Letterkenny's Conor Harvey on his first ever gravel rally.

With Jones suffering a bent trackrod end on stage 9, Wigmore continued his progress through the three Wareham tests, returning to second service with a 1 minute deficit to Wigmore, with Sykes safe in third, Harvey fourth, and Martin, Wheeler, Barry, Owen, Magee and Mavitty following on, with Colin Britton and Kenny Hull having departed the event on Stage 10 with transmission problems.

As the tricky surface continued to take its toll, Declan Magee joined the list of retirements, loosing all drive on stage 11. Owen Murphy continued to push hard, taking time from Daniel Barry and Ben Doran who were recovering from damaging the car on a heavy landing.

Wigmore and Durant maintained a solid lead to third service, with Jones having lost fourth gear and having to defend his second place from Sykes. Clive Wheeler came into service with suspension problems, and the resulting repairs saw the Peugeot regulars out of time as they left serice. As the surviving cars left for the final four stages, Conor Harvey looked under increasing pressure from Super Cup regulars Trevor Martin/Ray Cleghorn, with Daniel Barry also under pressure from a hard charging Owen Murphy.

With Wigmore now consolidating his lead, and Murphy setting one fastest time it, the final stage saw the Cork crew stop briefly to check on the crew of a smouldering stopped car, the resulting notional time leaving them back in seventh at the finish, one place in front of William Mavitty/Kirsty Riddick. Sixth place went to Daniel Barry/Ben Doran despite a one minute road penalty, with the battle for fourth settled by just 0.5 second in favour of rally debutant Conor Harvey, from Trevor Martin.


Photo: www.specialtuninguk.co.uk

Ever smiling Richard Sykes said "Third is great, mission accomplished. We've put points on the board for a solid start to the year - there's a long way to go." Paul Jones was relieved that the lack of fourth gear didn't seem to have slowed him " Maybe five gears are enough" quipped the Kent man at the ramp.

Joining the elite ranks of debut winners on Super Cup, Wigmore and Durant climbed the bonnet of the Peugeot 206 to spray the champagne, and look forward to the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally in three weeks time when the challenge begins again.

Pos Driver/Co-driver Total
1 Jonnie Wigmore/Robbie Durant 19:09.1
2 Paul Jones/Steve Smallbone 20:44.4
3 Richard Sykes/Simon Taylor 21:07.9
4 Conor Harvey/Kevin Keys 22:37.5
5 Trevor Martin/Ray Cleghorn 22:38.0
6 Daniel Barry/Ben Doran 23:02.0
7 Owen Murphy/Niall O'Sullivan 23:10.3
8 William Mavitty/Kirsty Riddick 30:03.8

 Mike Faulkner/Peter Foy DNF
 Colin Britton/Kenny Hull DNF
 Clive Wheeler/Ken Bartram DNF
 Jonathan Sparks/Bradley Magnus DNF
 Declan Magee/Benny Grainger DNF

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Rally Results

1 David Higgins/Daniel Barritt (Hyundai Accent WRC) 1:07:14.9
2 Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent WRC) 1:07:39.5
3 Paul Bird/Ian Windress (Ford Focus) 1:07:55.7
4 Andy Burton/John Roberts (Peugeot Cosworth) 1:08:02.5
5 Mark Perrott/Patrick Walsh (Ford Escort WRC) 1:08:28.2
6 Brendan Crealey/Steve Harris (Ford Focus WRC) 1:08:59.4
7 Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Subaru Impreza) 1:09:08.2
8 Steve Perez/Neil Dashfield (Ford Focus) 1:09:37.9
9 Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1:09:46.2
10 Will Nicholls/Nick Broom (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1:10:33.8
11 Stuart Jones/Ross Butler (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8) 1:11:16.3
12 Steve Fleck/Tony Ettlinger (Subaru Impreza) 1:11:30.3
13 Malcolm Proudlock/Steve Clark (Subaru Impreza) 1:12:05.6
14 Ollie O'Donovan/Connor Bratton (Subaru P2000 WRC) 1:12:14.1
15 Richard Hill/Daniel Stone (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7) 1:12:19.6
16 Nik Elsmore/Nigel Gardner (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7) 1:12:26.5
17 Steve Hendy/Aled Davies (Ford Escort WRC) 1:12:27.0
18 Anthony Willmington/Andrew Street (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6) 1:12:46.2
19 Ed Stallard/Richard Edwards (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8) 1:12:52.9
20 Olly Marshall/Jon Desborough (Skoda Octavia WRC EVO 3) 1:13:01.2

Full Results and times ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship Website

• Event Websitewww.rallyesunseeker.co.uk

• 2005 ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship
• 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
• 2005 206 Super Cup

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PRE-EVENT NEWS

• Owen Murphy searches for the sun
• SEASIDE SPECIAL! - ANCRO Preview
• 206 Cup Preview - The Luck of the Irish
• Evo Challenge Preview
• Entry List available
• Event Details

Murphy searches for the sun
Young Cork rally driver gets ready for one of the biggest challenges of his career when he heads for the Rallye Sunseeker in the UK . Owen Murphy a finalist for the Billy Coleman award will be back in the UK where he perfected his loose surface driving to win the Ford Rallye Academy 2003 .

Owen is really looking forward to this the first round of the 206 Supercup For 2005 the eight round 206 Super Cup will once again follow the UK MSA National Gravel Championship, with one additional round, the Mewla National Rally over the classic Epynt ranges.

Owen will compete in this one make series in the Peugeot 206 against some of the quickest young drivers from all over the UK and Ireland, and one thing can be assured that all will be giving 100 % in an effort to win the championship because the prize is once again a Peugeot 206 Super 1600 drive on the 2006 British Rally Championship.

Owen will follow in the footsteps of one of his heroes Rory Galligan and the team this year is being spearheaded by Gerry McGarrity .Gerry having a wealth of experience running Irish lads in Peugeot Cup events over the years. Owen said "it really was the only option Gerry is the man he has the experience which is something I do not have a lot of , we seem to get on well together and I hope we can get the best out of each other".

While Owen may not have a lot of rally experience he has raced karts and competed in autograss for many years. His rise in rally circles this year has been meteoric and he is one of the most exciting young drivers in Ireland.

Owen hopes to mix it with some of the quick men of this championship some who are back for a second year for another cut at the fantastic prize.

Owen has prepared very hard for this event and the championship I am in the gym training and doing a bit of running but the place I want to be is in the car.

Owen says "we will use this event to judge our speed and get the feel for UK rallying hopefully as the year goes on we can increase our pace".

Owen is seeded at 82 for the opening round of the 206 Cup

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SEASIDE SPECIAL! - ANCRO Preview
The opening round of the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship gets underway this forthcoming weekend (February 25th & 26th) with competitors from all over the UK as well as Europe set to descend on Bournemouth for the Rallye Sunseeker.

Over 100 crews will start the south coast’s biggest motor sporting event on Friday evening with a run through the scenic Lower Gardens before a blast along the sea front promenade. Thereafter, a day in the forests to the north and west of Bournemouth will see remaining crews return to the town for the finish celebrations late on Saturday afternoon.

Leading the cars away will be last year’s winners Roger Duckworth (Towcester) and Mark Broomfield (Towcester) who will be both after maximum championship points as they go in search of a repeat victory albeit without the snowy conditions experienced in 2004. But the Subaru WRC pairing will face stiff opposition from a number of other ANCRO registered drivers in the Southern Car Club event.

Defending champion Steve Perez (Chesterfield) and co driver Neil Dashfield (Burnham on Sea) will be a major threat in their Ford Focus WRC whilst another former champion Mark Perrott (Leominster) is joined by co driver Patrick Walsh in his Ford Escort WRC.

Brendan Crealey (Portadown) and Steve Harris (Sheffield) are another pair to watch out for as will be fellow Ford Focus WRC pairings of Paul Bird (Penrith) and co driver Ian Windress (Northallerton) along with Brian Bell (Skegness) and his co driver Paul Spooner.

Reigning British Rally Champion David Higgins is another fancied runner along with fellow Hyundai Accent driver Craig Middleton whilst another one of the Korean marque is driven by four times winner and event sponsor Marcus Dodd on his local event.

Hopefully, former champions Steve Petch (Richmond) and John Richardson (Northallerton) will be on the start line to make it a quartet of Accent WRC’s in the top ten but having suffered a big crash on the recent Kall Kwik Rally, their participation is doubtful. Another registered contender in with a shout includes Damien Cole (Hereford) in his Subaru but throw in the likes of Andy Burton (Peugeot Cosworth), Julian Reynolds (Ford Focus WRC), Steve Fleck (Subaru) and Stephen Hendy (Ford Escort WRC) it makes for a great prospect.

And just for good measure, expect an impressive showing from the Subaru WRC’s of such drivers as Barry Johnson, Will Nicholls and yet another former champion David Mann as well as Ulsterman Stephen Harron and it’s anyone’s guess who crosses the line first.

Playing a little more than a supporting role this weekend will be the opening round of the 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge with twenty five crews battling it out for glory over the seventy five stage miles. Now embarking on its fifth year, the official one make series for Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions continues to attract some of the best production category drivers from the UK and beyond.

Also kicking off their series will be competitors in the Peugeot 206 Super Cup with over a dozen teams in action whilst the event also comprises qualifying rounds for the ACSMC/ASEMC Bigger Bites Multi Venue Stage Rally Championship and the ASWMC Plymouth Agencies Ltd Loose Surface Championship.

Keep an eye out too for some celebrities in the ranks also this weekend with television presenter Jon Desborough partnering Ollie Marshall in his Skoda Octavia WRC and ITV Formula One pundit Tony Jardine teams up with Autosport journalist Jim Holder in their venerable MG.

Competitors who have not yet registered are urged to do so prior to the start in order to be eligible to score points on the event. Details from Championship Registrar Dilys Trevethick on dilys@f2s.com or call +44 1530 222958.

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206 Cup Preview - The Luck of the Irish
With no less than 6 crews making the trip from Ireland, this coming weekend sees the opening round of the 2005 Special Tuning (UK) Limited Peugeot 206 Super Cup, the Bournemouth based Rallye Sunseeker.

With the crews lining up on Friday evening for two attempts at the Winter Gardens stage, we will have the first indication of the competition for the 2005 prize - a 2006 drive in a Peugeot 206 Super 1600 car on the British Rally Championship.

Richard Sykes will lead the field away, accompanied by Yorkshire's Simon Taylor for the first time. Sykes, a long time 206 competitor must view this season as potentially his, but he will be pushed all the way by the experienced Mike Faulkner/Peter Foy, and Northern Irelands Colin Britton.

Newcomer to the series, former Ford Ka Champion Jonnie Wigmore, partnered by Robbie Durrant, gave warning signs to all the regular 206 competitors on the Wydean Forest Rally, equalling Sykes on the first two stages, before mechanical troubles slowed Sykes. Clearly Wigmore in the former Peugeot Sport Celebrity car will be a man to watch.

Two younger drivers from the Republic of Ireland will look to show their promise on the season opener, runner up on the Wydean Peugeot 206 Winter Cup round, Enniskeery's Daniel Barry and Ben Doran have show pace as they adapt to the Group A 206 Peugeot, and County Cork's eighteen year old Owen Murphy, with Clonakilty's Niall O'Sullivan on the notes has a reputation for speed in his Peugeot 206.

Kent's Paul Jones, winner on the Wyedean Winter Cup round, showed he has the pace to be there at the end, and series regulars Trevor Martin and Clive Wheeler once again join the well supported Super Cup.

With Declan Mcgee, William Mavitty and Conor Harvey all crossing the Irish Sea for the Super Cup series, the Irish crews continue their great tradition of competition within Peugeot Championships. All will be hoping to emulate the past success of Peugeot Sport Champions such as Fisher, Galligan, Jennings and Gallagher.

New for 2005, driver now have a choice of two compounds of Kumho Tyres for the rounds, still with a limited number, adding a further challenge and the ability to extract the best from the rapid 1600cc Group A machines.

With 6 rounds to count from 8 events on the championship calendar, support for the series continues from Kumho Tyres, Total, Mintex, Champion, Motorsport News, Hella and Motorsport Travel

Rallye Sunseeker – Peugeot 206 Super Cup Entries

No Driver-Codriver Car-Capacity-Class
69 Richard Sykes, Simon Taylor Peugeot 206 Xsi-1600- A6
70 Mike Faulkner, Peter Foy  Peugeot 206 Xsi-1600 -A6 
71 Jonnie Wigmore, Robbie Durant Peugeot 206 XSi -1600- A6
72 Paul Jones , TBA Peugeot 206 XSi -1587- A6 
73 Colin Britton, Kenny Hull Peugeot 206 XSi -1589 -A6 
80 Michael O'Brien, TBA Peugeot 206 Xsi-1596- A6 
81 Daniel Barry, Ben Doran Peugeot 206 XSi -1600 -A6 
82 Owen Murphy, Naill O'Sullivan Peugeot 206 Xsi-1600 -A6 
83 Trevor Martin, Ray Cleghorn Peugeot 206 Xsi-1600- A6 
84 Clive Wheeler , Ken Bartram Peugeot 206 Xsi-1596 -A6 
91 Jonathan Sparks, Bradley Magnus Peugeot 206 Xsi-1598 A6 
92 Declan Magee, Benny Grainger Peugeot 206 Xsi-1596 A6 
93 William Mavitty, Martin McGarrity Peugeot 206 Xsi 1596 A6 
94 Conor Harvey, Patrick Robinson Peugeot 206 XSi 1596- A6  

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Evos Rise to the Challenge>
Series enters its fifth season 25 teams line up for Round One

The 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge blasts off in Bournemouth next weekend with the first of its eight rounds, the Rallye Sunseeker, providing the now traditional and high profile start to the season.

The event also hosts the first round of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship, 25 of the events 110 car entry comprising Evolution Challenge competitors.

Now embarking on its fifth year, the official one make series for Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions continues to attract some of the best Production Category drivers from the UK - and beyond, the furthest travelled being Alex Sabater who will be commuting from Spain for each round of the Evo Challenge.

We are pleased to report another great response for entries this year, said Series Coordinator, Simon Slade. With so many good drivers registered its difficult to predict who will emerge as 2005 Champion and become the 2006 Mitsubishi works driver, but one things for sure, we have an exciting season ahead of us.

There is little doubt that much of the appeal for the Evolution Challenge is the award on offer for the Champion: A fully funded Mitsubishi works drive in the 2006 British Rally Championship. Described as the best prize in British Motorsport, the award is presented by Mitsubishi Motors UK an will see the winner drive the very latest version of a Group N Lancer Evolution.

This year sees Pirelli increase their profile within the series, the tyre manufacturer providing Evo Challenge competitors, who compete throughout the season using only Pirelli Tyres, the opportunity to win additional awards.

PIAA are once again supporting the series Junior Category for under 25 year old drivers, the award won last year by 20 year old Ed Stallard, who starts this season in Rory Galligans Championship winning car.

The event gets underway at 7.00 pm on Friday (25th Feb), with two runs of a 1.6 mile stage through Bournemouths botanical gardens and along the sea front road, the stage destined to attract hoards of spectators.

Saturday (26th Feb) sees the event move into the forests of Ringwood and Wareham for a further 14 stages and the majority of the events 75 competitive miles.

The 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge is supported by: Mitsubishi Motors UK, Ralliart, Walon UK, Pirelli Tyres, Shell Racing Fuels, Speedline Corse, PIAA and Mintex.

List of Rallye Sunseeker entered Evolution Challenge competitors in start number order (home towns in brackets)

 21  Richard Hill (Chesterfield)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield)
 22  Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Nigel Gardner (New Tredegar)
 23  David Wright (Morcombe)/Shelly Rogerson (Morcombe) 
 24  Stuart Jones (Weshpool)/Ross Butler (Welshpool)
 25  Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn)
 26  Anthony Willmington (Dorchester)/Andrew Street (Ringwood)
 32  Ryan Champion (Whitby)/Craig Thorley (York)
 33  Tim Pearcey (Harrogate)/Mick Johnson (Thirsk)
 34  Alex Sabater (Spain)/Miquel Amblas (Spain)
 35  Gareth McHale (Rathcoole)/Clive Jenkins
 36  Geoff Underhill (Peterborough)/Adrian Grinsted (Horley)
 44  Colin Greer (Beith)/Neil Ewing (Largs)
 45  Neil McCance (Newtownards)/Graham Hopewell (Worcester)
 46  Kevin Stevens (London)/Stewart Foley (Birmingham)
 47  William Bonniwell (Oban)/Ian Fraser (Tobemory)
 54  Connor McCloskey (Kilrea)/Damien Duffin (Rasharkin)
 55  Ed Stallard (Cheltenham)/Richard Edwards (Wolverhampton)
 56  Damon Harvey (Plymouth)/Aled Davies (Llanelli)
 57  Darren Snape (Stoke-on-Trent)/Anthony Adams (Stoke-onTrent)
 59  Martin Newcombe (Plymouth)/Peter Newcombe (Plymouth)
 60  Simon Close (Stamford)/Jason Hunt (Wellingore)
 61  Jon Tucker (Barnstaple)/Hamish Campbell (Stow-on-the-Wold)
 62  Paul James (Taunton)/ Derek Davies (Swansea)
 63  Noel Kelly (Isle of Man)/James Kelly (Isle of Man)
 95  Stuart Haskins (Taunton)/Mike White (Highbridge)

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Entry List and Further details on Rally Website:

www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk

Other News:

• Fantasy ANCRO Championship
• Letterkenny teenager for 206 cup
• Crealey Focussed for 2005
• Brendan Murphy Sets Sights on MSA National Championship

• 2005 ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship
• 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
• 2005 206 Super Cup

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06/01/05
Rallye Sunseeker 2005 returns to Bournemouth on the south coast of England on Friday 25th February and Saturday 26th February.The opening round of the MSA Gravel Rally Championship will see Britain's top national rally drivers compete for honours over 16 special stages, timed to 1/10 second. These special stages will be run on roads within private estates and on gravel roads in the forests near Ringwood and Wareham.

Spectators will get their first opportunity to see the cars during Scrutineering on Friday 25th February when cars are put through safety, technical and documentation checks. Our commentary team will also be at Scrutineering interviewing the drivers and their co-drivers and assessing their chances of victory. Admission is free to spectators and full details of the location and timings will be placed on the website in due course.

Later in the day the competitors will tackle the opening 2 stages of Rallye Sunseeker in the dark, running twice through the famous Bournemouth Sea Front Special Stage, starting in the Lower Gardens, crossing Pier Approach and then heading along the sea front road towards Boscombe. The first cars will start at one-minute intervals and as cars that have completed their first run of the stage slot back in the gap between each car becomes 30 seconds. With the competitors running in reverse order of their seeding (fastest cars last), the action gets faster and more intense as the evening goes on.

The action continues on Saturday 26th February when the competitors head off to the gravel stages of Ringwood and Wareham forests and the private roads of Somerley Park.

As always there will be a full colour souvenir programme available to purchase, together with car park tickets for the Saturday by mail order prior to the event. The programme will also be available at selected locations throughout the area in the week prior to the rally as well as at Scrutineering, the Sea Front Special Stage and at the rally car parks on the Saturday. The colour souvenir programme contains feature articles, driver interviews, a full entry list, event schedule and colour maps of car parks, stage locations and recommended viewing locations. Details of how and where to purchase your copy are available by clicking on the Rally Website.

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• www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk

• Letterkenny teenager for 206 cup
• Crealey Focussed for 2005
• Brendan Murphy Sets Sights on MSA National Championship

• 2005 ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship
• 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
• 2005 206 Super Cup