Malton Stages - 02 Nov 08

WALSTER CLAIMS DRAMATIC ANCRO TITLE

Posted: November 5, 2008 4:44 PM

Nottinghamshire driver Tom Walster emerged victorious in the 2008 Pirelli ANCRO Challenge after a dramatic conclusion on Sunday's Malton Forest Stages Rally.

Going into the North Yorkshire event as one of three drivers who could have claimed the crown, the Papplewick driver was up against Cumbrian Ford Fiesta ST driver Kris Hall and the Proton Satria of Abbots Langley driver David Hull.

It looked as though the battle would go down to the wire as all three drivers fought it out in the classic Yorkshire forests but when Hull's gearbox expired on the very last stage and Hall was excluded for a technical infringement, the title was 21-year-old Walster's at the Pickering finish.

Despite their misfortunes, Hall and Hill hung onto second and third places respectively whereas Walster added the Junior Driver and Class 3 to his tally for good measure. Andrew Edwards made it a clean sweep of Overall Co-Driver, Class 3 and Junior Co Driver whereas David and Bryan Hull took the consolation of winning Class 1.

Abu Dhabi Juniors enjoy British forest rally experience (Killan Duffy and Allan Harryman Co-drive)

Posted: November 4, 2008 11:15 AM

Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team members Sultan Al-Ameri and Bader Al-Jabri endured wind, rain and appalling forest special stage conditions in North Yorkshire, when they both took part in a one-day British forest rally on Sunday.

The pair took part in the Malton Forest Rally, a round of the prestigious British Fiesta Sporting Trophy, to continue their exciting development programme in international special stage rallying. The Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team has been put together by BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi with support from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which is run under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan.

Al-Ameri and Al-Jabri were partnered by Ulsterman Allan Harryman and Irish co-driver Killian Duffy in a pair of Ford Fiesta STs. Al-Ameri eventually finished 35th overall from 70 starters, but Al-Jabri was sidelined with gearbox problems on the seventh of nine stages. Had Al-Ameri been registered for the Fiesta Sporting Trophy he would have finished eighth and scored championship points.

Heavy drizzle, standing water and pot-holed surfaces were a far cry from the hot, sandy conditions they are used to in the UAE, but the young Abu Dhabi rookies enjoyed their first experience of British forest rallying, as they slithered their Ford Fiestas around some of the most famous forest special stages in the world. Both drivers were evenly matched over the tricky surfaces, although Al-Jabri had lost time when he slipped off the track in the second stage.

The duo were able to check their stage times against the cream of Britain's young rallying hopefuls, including the highly-rated 19-year-old Ulsterman Alastair Fisher, Max Utting and Meilyr Evans. Their times were respectable throughout the event and both drivers found the outing a very rewarding and invaluable exercise.

"It was fun, really enjoyable," admitted Al-Ameri. "It was great to finish the event and quite a challenge to drive in these weather conditions."

The schedule offered two loops of special stages in the rain-soaked Cropton, Gale Rigg and Langdale forests, in addition to three runs through a tricky spectator stage at Pickering Showground, adjacent to the event's muddy service park.

On Friday (October 31st), both drivers had attended a test session at M-Sport's Greystoke forest in Cumbria, where former British rally champion Martin Rowe had driven the pair around Ford's forest test stage and offered advice and tuition on the techniques of gravel rallying, before Al-Ameri and Al-Jabri were permitted to drive themselves.

"It has been really enjoyable and so different to what we are used to in the Middle East," admitted Al-Jabri. "The test session was very useful and I have learned several things that will be vital in the future. Rallying through the forests is so different to the deserts. It is strange keeping to a tight, narrow track, there are many trees and the weather made the stages very slippery.

"I slid off on the second stage. Maybe I was a bit quick into a left corner and we went into a ditch and lost several minutes, but there were some spectators there to help. But then the gearbox started to play up in the fifth stage, it got worse in six and we stopped in seven."

"This rally has been a great experience for both Sultan and Bader," admitted Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. "But it would not have been possible without the support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). This first year for the Abu Dhabi Junior Team is just the beginning of an exciting and ambitious programme for young Abu Dhabi drivers. We hope to announce a new programme for 2009 very shortly. We are actively looking out for Abu Dhabi youngsters who may be keen to get involved in this exciting sport in the future."

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) Junior Development programme has been established to create opportunities for young Abu Dhabi citizens. The Abu Dhabi Junior Team will provide a stepping-stone for talented Abu Dhabi drivers and to develop strong support and interest in the sport of rallying in the UAE's commercial capital, in addition to promoting the destination of Abu Dhabi on an international scale.

Fisher flies in Fiesta finale

Posted: November 4, 2008 10:09 AM

Last weekend saw the sixth and final round of the 2008 VK Fiesta SportingTrophy, the Malton Forest Stages Rally. 13 registered crews arrived at the Northern Events Showground in Pickering on Sunday morning to be greeted by atrocious weather conditions. Heavy rain had caused the stages to be flooded in places and would make the driving conditions treacherous in places. After eight special stages Alastair Fisher (19) from Trillick, Co. Fermanagh and navigator Barry McNulty took the victory, but only by the decision of a tiebreak. Meilyr Evans (19) from Machynlleth, Wales, and navigator Andrew Edwards finished the event with the same cumulative times as Fisher, but Fisher’s time on Stage 1 was one second quicker than Evans’ and it was this criteria that decided the victor on the day.

SS1, the 1.04 miles of the Showground stage, designed specifically for spectators, was won by a newcomer to the series, Mark Donnelly (17) from Omagh, Northern Ireland and his co-driver, 2007 series champion, Jonny Hart. It was Donnelly’s first time in the UK and his early pace on the event, certainly attracted the notice of his fellow competitors. There was a setback for one of the series’ more experienced crews, Richard Archer from Downham Market had a loose battery terminal connection on the third corner of the stage and dropped three minutes to the top crews. Tom Walster (21) from Nottingham also suffered, booking into the first time control of the event one minute early, resulting in a one-minute time penalty, which proved to be crucial as the event unfolded.

SS2, the 8.25 miles of Cropton 1, saw the crews tackle the first proper forest stage. Fisher set the equal quickest time with Kris Hall (19) from Appleby, Cumbria, of 9 minutes 11 seconds. Third quickest was Walster, who was now driving absolutely flat out in an effort to gain back the time penalty he received on the first stage. Four more crews hit trouble on the first gravel test of the event: John Lloyd from Penrith, Cumbria, overshot at the end of a long fast straight and got stuck in deep mud, losing seven minutes to the leading crews; Clive Hilton from Nottingham and his new co-driver Ian Bevan also overshot the same junction and ended up stuck right behind Lloyd. Hilton was able to pull the car out of the mud before Lloyd, but lost four minutes in the excursion; Stephen Wright (18) from Co. Monaghan was also caught out in the very tricky conditions, sliding off the road on a left-hander; a handful of helpful spectators assisted in getting him back on the road, having dropped just over a minute to the leaders. Craig Breen (18) from Waterford, Cork, a new competitor for the final round of the season, clipped a bank on a tricky left-hander and ripped off the rear wheel of the car forcing him into retirement.

SS3, Gale Rigg, was a short three-mile blast for the competitors. Meilyr Evans was the quickest competitor through the stage, just one second quicker than Hall. Walster continued his charge, setting third quickest time through the stage.

SS4, the eight miles of Langdale, was the final stage for the crews before service. Fisher took the stage win by two seconds from Walster even though he had a half spin during the test. Wright quickly recovered his confidence after his small ‘off’, setting an impressive third-fastest time. Young Mark Donnelly was caught out on the final stage of the first loop when he beached his car during the stage and, although he was able to get back on the road, he incurred a stage maximum penalty of 17 minutes and 48 seconds, dropping him out of contention with the leading pack.

As the competitors returned to service, Fisher was leading the event, but only by two seconds from Meilyr Evans. Third were Max Utting (22) from Oxford and co-driver Huw Mathias, currently doing all they needed to finish second overall in the championship.

SS5, a repeat of the short spectator stage at the Showground, saw Fisher set quickest time, nine seconds faster than Evans, who slid wide on a hairpin losing valuable time. Hall and Walster were joint second fastest on the stage.

SS6, a repeat of the 8 miles of Cropton, saw Fisher again set the quickest time. Evans was three seconds behind, with Walster rounding off the top three. Fisher had now opened his lead to 14 seconds over Evans. This stage witnessed the end of the rally for Clive Hilton, who was forced into retirement with a broken driveshaft.

SS7, a repeat of the 3.3 miles of Gale Rigg, saw Evans quickest, setting a time four seconds faster than that of Fisher and reducing his lead with one stage to complete. Utting and Hall finished the stage joint third quickest and, with both drivers fighting for second overall in the championship and third overall in the event, there was plenty of potential for drama on the final stage of the final event of the year.

SS8, the 8.3 miles of Langdale, was the stage where the potential drama would unfold. With weather conditions deteriorating and fog descending, Evans set a phenomenal fastest time of nine minutes eleven seconds, with Fisher second quickest, 10 seconds slower than the Welshman. This left the two crews with identical times in joint first place and it was only the tiebreak that handed the victory to Fisher. Evans had actually stalled his car on the final corner of the stage, which proved costly, but the young Welshman had again showed his future potential.

Away from the overall fight, Walster was third fastest on the last stage and finished fourth overall. Without his first stage time penalty, however, he would have won the event by eleven seconds; a cruel reality for the talented Englishman. Nonetheless, Walster enthused that he had had great fun during the day and was not concerned about the overall result, he was just happy to be back on the pace of the leading crews.

The final fight to be decided was that of second and third overall in the championship. Utting set fourth fastest time and then had an anxious wait to see how rival Kris Hall would fair on the final stage. Unbeknown to Utting, Hall had suffered from the cruellest of luck - a miscalculation on fuel would mean that the MSA British Rally Academy member ran out of E85 Bio-fuel on the final stage, dropping over a minute to Utting. Hall was then towed through the final control in order to exit the stage, but this was deemed to count as outside assistance and eventually resulted in the Cumbrian being excluded from the event. Hall was devastated at the outcome, whilst Utting’s jubilance was reflected in his overall championship position of second, his best result to date.

Fisher set four fastest stage times throughout the event, making him the winner of the Castrol Hard Charger Award, whilst Evans took the MIS Insurance Most Improved Driver of the Day.

Event winner Alastair Fisher said:
The event has been incredibly challenging, the weather was unbelievable and the stages were so slippery. We had a couple of moments where I don’t know how the car stayed on the road but to get to the end and find out that we did win was a great way to end the season. It was Barry’s [McNulty] first time in the UK and his first win which is great for him and I’m really happy with how the end of my season has turned out.

Pos. Driver Co-driver Road Penalties Total Time
1 Alistair Fisher Barry McNulty 0:48:42
2 Meilyr Evans Andrew Edwards 0:48:42
3 Max Utting Huw Mathias 0:49:12
4 Tom Walster Tim Sturla 1:00 0:49:31
5 Liam Regan Andrew Roughead 0:49:32
6 Stephen Wright Paul McGee 0:50:26
7 Mark Donnelly Jonny Hart 0:58:16
8 Richard Archer Brian Cammack 0:58:43
9 John Lloyd Steven Egglestone 1:00:17

Results

Posted: November 2, 2008 6:14 PM

Results and Times

Tynemouth Computer Services Rally Results

ABU DHABI JUNIOR RALLY TEAM HEADS TO ENGLAND FOR YORKSHIRE FOREST TEST

Posted: October 28, 2008 2:10 PM

The next step in the development programme for drivers in the new Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team will be a trip to England to take part in the Malton Forest Rally (MFR), based at the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire. The one-day special stage rally takes place on Sunday, November 2nd, over forest tracks selected by Malton and Selby & District Motor Clubs.

The Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team was put together by BP-Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team driver Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi with support from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which is run under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan.

A selection of talented young Abu Dhabi rally drivers have already taken part in a couple of UAE national rallies, rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and two small club events in the UK during the summer. The trip to England for the Malton event is another step in the learning process for the rookie members of Team Abu Dhabi and Bader Al-Jabri and Sultan Al-Ameri have been selected to represent the team in the Yorkshire forests.

Al-Jabri tackled the recent Jordan Rally at the Dead Sea and set several competitive stage times, while Al-Ameri is one of the most young talented drivers in the region and is relishing the prospect of visiting the north of England for motor sport for the first time as one half of young Team Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Junior Rally Team members have been using three M-Sport-prepared Ford Fiestas on rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship this season, but these three cars are currently in transit between Jordan and the UAE to be prepared in time for the Dubai International Rally at the end of November.

Therefore, the two Abu Dhabi rookies will run a pair of Ford Fiesta STs supplied and serviced in Yorkshire by David Greer (DGR) Motorsport under the management of their regular Australian team chief Ron Cremen, himself a former FIA Middle East Formula 2 rally champion.

Al-Jabri will be co-driven by the popular Irish co-driver Killian Duffy and Ulster's Allan Harryman - the son of former Peugeot factory co-driver Terry - will partner Al-Ameri. Allan was also in Jordan Rally action recently sitting alongside young Abu Dhabi driver Khalil Al-Sheikh.

Both Abu Dhabi rookies will take part in a test session on Friday (October 31st) at M-Sport's Greystoke testing ground, near Penrith in Cumbria, before heading across the north of the country to Pickering for scrutineering and documentation for Sunday's Malton Forest Rally.

The event will be based at the Northern Events Arena on the showground in Pickering and uses around 45 miles of classic former Lombard RAC Rally special stages, such as Langdale, Gale Rigg and Cropton, the scenes of many historic battles between the likes of Lancia, Peugeot, Ford and Austin Rover on legendary WRC events. There will also be a one-mile 'showground' stage.

The fact that this is a counting round of Britain's Fiesta Sporting Trophy and several regional rally championships will give both Al-Jabry and Al-Ameri the opportunity to compare their stage times with those of their British rivals running in similar machinery.

"This exciting training and development programme would not have been possible without the support of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)," admitted Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. "We are grateful to them for backing this venture to nurture young Abu Dhabi rally drivers on the international circuit and to give them this fantastic opportunity."

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) Junior Development programme has been established to create opportunities for young Abu Dhabi citizens. The Abu Dhabi Junior Team will provide a stepping-stone for talented Abu Dhabi drivers and to develop strong support and interest in the sport of rallying in the UAE's commercial capital, in addition to promoting the destination of Abu Dhabi on an international scale.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: October 28, 2008 11:14 AM

Malton MC (Malton Forest Rally)

Final Fiesta battle of the year

Posted: October 28, 2008 11:13 AM

Next Sunday sees the final round of the VK Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series when registered competitors will tackle the all new round for 2008, The Malton Forest Stages based in Pickering, North Yorkshire. The event run by Malton Motor Club will see the crews tackle 40-45 miles of classic Yorkshire stages in the Cropton, Langdale and Gale Rigg forests along with the events unique one-mile spectator stage.

Twelve registered crews will take to the start of the rally, with Alastair Fisher (19) from Trillick, Co. Tyrone leading the crews away from the Pickering Showground. Fisher, who came second in the Irish series only due to a tie break on points with Elfyn Evans on the final round, will be hoping that he can finish the year off on a high with a victory on the last meeting of the UK championship. Fisher has not had the best season during the year but has shown the pace he is renowned for on all rounds he has taken part in. Recently he won a local 2wd rally outright in his ST, the first ever outright win recorded for the Fiesta in the UK and Ireland - an amazing achievement which will stand the young Irishman in good steed to get a good result come Sunday night.

Although Fisher is out of contention for overall spoils and with Elfyn Evans taking the championship victory on the previous round - the McRae Stages - there are four drivers on the event who will be battling to take the runners up spot in the championship.

First of these drivers is Max Utting (22) from Oxford, who will be partnered once again by Huw Mathias. Utting is currently second in the standings and needs a finish as well as some solid points to ensure that he will remain in his current position. The youngster has struggled to repair his car in time after a crash on the fifth round, the McRae Stages Rally, but has met the deadlines just in time and he will be hoping all his hard work will be justified with a successful finish to his best season in the FST to date.

James Everard (22) from Hull and Sam Collis are the second crew in the race for the runner up honours at the event. Everard had a superb start to the season and was leading the championship after round two. With a number of steady results in the latter part of the season he is still in contention for a good finish to the year.

The final two drivers in the battle are Kris Hall and Liam Regan. Hall (19) from Appleby, Cumbria has increased his performances throughout the year and will be in high spirits after recently competing on the Isle of Mull and finishing an impressive sixth overall. With second overall on round four - The Swansea Bay Rally and round five - The McRae stages, Hall will be hoping to go one better on the Malton Stages to get his first win of the season and claim that elusive second overall in the championship.

Meanwhile Regan has had a steady season with his best finish being third overall on round one - The Malcolm Wilson Rally, since then he has scored consistently over the remaining rounds and with only one non-finish he is still well in the fight for the chance to finish the season in second.

Tom Walster (21) from Nottingham makes a return to the series after sitting out the previous round. With a third and fourth overall on rounds three and four respectively, Walster has certainly got the potential to claim a podium result on the final round and put a spanner in the works for the crews in the fight for second.

Two more series regulars will be in Yorkshire for the event, John Lloyd from Penrith, Cumbria and Meilyr Evans (19) from Machynlleth, Wales as both come to the final round in high spirits. After an impressive fourth place for Lloyd on the previous round, the newcomer to the series has shown improvement on every event. He will be hoping that he can finish the final meeting of the year with a top-three finish. Evans has contested both the UK and IE series this year and along with regular co-driver Andrew Edwards they will hope for a successful finish to their yearlong campaign.

The sixth round also sees another returning competitor, Stephen Wright (18) from Co. Monaghan who makes the trip across the water from Ireland to compete in his second UK event. Wright, who unfortunately retired on the Swansea Bay Rally, enjoyed his loose rally experience and is looking forward to another attempt at the relatively unfamiliar surface.

Mark Donnelly who has competed on one round of the Irish series comes to the event for a taste of the UK series; the Irish youngster is competing to gain more seat time before a possible full assault on the series next year.

Clive Hilton and Richard Archer round off the registered entries for the event, the pairing who are the more “mature” competitors, are set for another good battle with the youngsters of the series to show them that experience counts in rallying!

The event also sees three other Fiesta crews tackling the event, Craig Breen from Ireland, and the two Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority entries of Bader Al Jaber and Sultan Al Ameri.

With the fiesta crews fighting for a prize fund of almost £3000 on each event, competition for the top prize will be highly competitive, with any of the crews having the opportunity to walk away with the top money award.

Top seed Alastair Fisher said:
"I am really looking forward to getting back onto the gravel, I haven’t driven on it since August. I’m also being partnered by my regular Irish co driver Barry [McNulty] for the first time on the mainland which will be good, but as always there is a lot of quick guys taking part so it will be a close event"

Unseeded Entry List

Posted: October 17, 2008 10:25 AM

Malton MC (Malton Forest Rally)

Club Website

Posted: January 28, 2008 10:44 PM

Malton MC (Malton Forest Rally)

• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK