17-year-old County Down teenager, Stuart Biggerstaff, took his first outright rally victory on Saturday while navigating for his father, Denis, at Kirkistown’s New Year Stages Rally!
Posted: January 25, 2006 10:27 PM
Driving their Feckin Irish Whiskey sponsored Subaru Impreza WRC, the father and son team took a convincing start to finish win over their nearest rivals.
With British Rallycross and Northern Ireland Rally Championship titles to his name, Denis is one of the country’s leading drivers. His CV boasts a long list of successes but this year’s 500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland event marks a special win for the Kinallen man.
It was only the second time that Denis and Stuart joined forces and what a potent package they have already proved to be. After narrowly missing victory at last year’s New Year event, when their car coasted to a halt during the final stage, they were determined to make it second time lucky.
Fastest on the opening stage well and truly buried any lasting nightmares from 2005 but as they accelerated from the stage two start line, it looked as though bad luck was set to thwart their attempts once again.
“A shaft broke on the start line,” Denis recalled after the event. “The car was really difficult to control and by the time we reached the finish, we lost around 15 seconds.”
Seconds can make the difference between winning and losing so it was a substantial blow to the Eurocables backed crew. They were in the clutches of the chasing pack but with a new shaft in place, the father and son duo were back on song for stage three.
They continued their attack and when second placed Sean Devine was forced out with gearbox trouble just one stage from the finish, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief. A solid run over the final test would ensure victory but the event had one final blow in store for the Impreza crew.
“One of the bonnet pins was loose!” an exasperated Stuart said at the finish line. “The bonnet was flapping constantly - we were just waiting for it to fly off and hit the windscreen but thankfully it didn’t!”
“I’m really happy, dad drove a great rally and it’s fantastic to get my first win with him! It’s not often an older model Impreza can beat the more modern machinery. Hopefully, there will be more victories to come in future!”
Sean Devine was running in second position with his S9 specification Impreza until a gearbox problem forced him out of the event after stage five (of six). Martin Doherty finished second (Subaru Impreza WRC S9) ahead of Greyabbey's Dickie Curran (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8.5) while Bangor's Michael Curran (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) finished fourth.
Results
1 Denis Biggerstaff (Subaru Impreza WRC)
2 Martin Doherty (Subaru Impreza WRC)
3 Dick Curran (Mit. Lancer Evo 8.5 MR)
4 Mike Curran (Mit. Lancer Evo 7)
5 George Robinson (Escort RS Cosworth)
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