MSA WELSH NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP - WOODPECKER CONFIRMED AS BEST EVENT IN 2011
Posted: February 3, 2012 8:07 PM
The organisers of the MSA Welsh National Rally Championship announced the winner of the Speedsports Shield for 2011 at their annual awards presentation in Llandrindod Wells on Saturday 28th January.
The Speedsports Shield is presented to the Best Event in the championship. The award was presented to the organising club Sixty and Worcester Motor Club, for the well received Woodpecker Rally.
Pete Wood, Clerk of the Course, commented on behalf of the organising team,
"It's great to hear that the 2011 Woodpecker has picked up this award. This being the second award the event has won for 2011, helps to reflect the efforts put in by all members of the organising team. I am sure the team will join me in saying thanks for the award and thank you to all those competitors that helped make the event a success. Hopefully we can continue this in 2012 and again offer the competitor an enjoyable day’s motorsport."
BURTON WINS WOODPECKER RALLY FOR HISTORIC 10TH TIME
Posted: September 9, 2011 10:05 AM
Kumho-shod cars fill the first three places
Should the Woodpecker Stages Rally ever be renamed, the Andy Burton Rally would seem the obvious moniker to choose, as last Saturday (September 3) the Herefordshire farmer won the event for an historic 10th time.
This is proving quite a season for Burton, who had already clinched the 2011 BTRDA Rally Championship and, in doing so, become the first person in the 58-year history of the series to win the title four times. Such successes are particularly poignant for Burton and his Presteigne-based co-driver Robin Kellard, as their all-conquering Kumho-shod Peugeot-Cosworth is being forcibly retired at the end of the season due to a change in regulations.
The team didn’t have things all their own way on the popular 130-car Woodpecker event, though, and it was another Kumho equipe – Roger Chilman and Andrew Sankey in their Subaru Impreza WRC - who led the rally for the first three stages. Once some early overheating problems were resolved, however, Burton was able to ease the mighty Peugeot-Cosworth to the fore and eventually running out 40 seconds clear of the Chilman/Sankey pairing. Just 33 seconds behind them was yet another Kumho duo – former National Gravel Champion Roger Duckworth and his co-driver Shaun O’Gorman; also Impreza WRC-mounted.
Commenting on the results, Kumho’s European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson said: ”This is obviously a very pleasing result for us in what is proving to be something of a vintage year for Kumho on both stage and track. The ultimate beneficiaries are our road tyre customers, however, who get to buy products developed in the heat of competition.”
A second Kumho driver secures Silverstone Tyres BTRDA title
Burton secured his BTRDA Gold Star title back in July, when there were two rounds of the series left to run. Now, with one rally still remaining, Warren Philliskirk has clinched the BTRDA Historic Cup. Having fought a season-long battle with the Welsh pairing of Terry Brown and Tomos Whittle, Philliskirk and co-driver Matt Whattam emerged victorious from another titanic struggle on the Woodpecker Rally to claim the title with their Kumho-shod Ford Escort MKII.
Tom Cave tops BTRDA Production Cup after Woodpecker class win
Posted: September 8, 2011 11:47 AM
Following a fourth Group N class win on this weekend's Woodpecker Stages Rally, teenage rally driver Tom Cave now tops the points table in the BTRDA Production Cup category. In addition, the 19 year-old from Aberdovey was also elevated to fourth overall in the Gold Star Driver category and leads the points in the Junior Driver category.
Driving a rented Clark Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9, Cave and co-driver Craig Parry were on the attack from the outset. They knew that to keep the Production Cup campaign alive, they had to beat Jamie Anderson, who led the series going into the Woodpecker.
Cave and Parry took the Group N win on the first three stages of the event, as they instantly found the right rhythm for the car and conditions. They were beaten into second-fastest on the fourth stage by just one second by Tom Naughton and by the mid-point of the event, held a commanding 10-second lead over Naughton who was a further four seconds ahead of Anderson.
On the first of the final loop of three stages, Dylan Davies tried to redress the balance, taking five seconds from Tom with Anderson also taking four back. However, Tom and Craig responded immediately and took the class win on the last two stages, stretching the winning margin back to 13 seconds over both Davies and Anderson.
With the series now into dropped-score territory, with the best six of eight rounds counting, Tom tops the leaderboard, with 111 points to Anderson's 105. However, while Tom can still add six points to his overall total, Anderson is only able to add a further four. Third-placed James Grint is on 91 points but cannot gain enough points to trouble Tom.
Tom's performance also elevated him to fourth in the Gold Star category for overall performance, one position behind Anderson. However, again with dropped scores taken into account, a class win on the final round of the championship, the Cambrian, could promote him to third overall, ahead of Anderson and a fitting end to the season.
Commenting, Tom said: "It was a great weekend - everything went according to plan. The car was perfect - no problems at all, we didn't make any mistakes and found a really good feeling with the car straight away.
"We weren't doing anything silly and it all came together. We found a good pace and stuck with it. The others were pushing hard to catch us and Dylan and Jamie took some time out of us. But we upped our game and took it back again and I am delighted to take the class win.
"I understand that we are in the running for winning the Production Cup, Junior Driver and the Welsh Rally Championship, if we get a clean sweep of class results on the Cambrian, like we did on the Woodpecker. So there's still a lot to play for on the last round. I'm certainly not going to back off yet."
Puncture Denies Perez On Woodpecker Stages
Posted: September 8, 2011 11:19 AM
Following on from his victory on the Woodpecker Stages Rally twelve months ago which sealed the 2010 BTRDA Rally Series, Kick Energy rally driver Steve Perez was back in action and hoping for a repeat of the success but it wasn't to be after a puncture ruined his chances on the Ludlow-based event today.
Making a rare appearance in the Ford Focus WRC, the Chesterfield driver along with co-driver Carl Williamson were soon into their stride and after setting fifth fastest time on the day's first stage, they upped the pace to hold third after the third of seven tests in the penultimate round of the 2011 Silverstone Tyres BTRDA Rally Series.
But very early on into the 8.3-mile SS4, they ran wide on a corner and the resultant front puncture meant they had to stop and change the wheel which dropped them over eight minutes and with it any chance of victory.
Undeterred, Perez valiantly continued and with a series of top six times, managed to claw himself up from 98th position after SS4 to a little bit more respectable 60th overall at the finish.
Perez commented: "It's only the second time I've used the car this year and it took a little getting used to again and it also took a little while for Carl and I to get up to speed on the pacenotes too. All was going well when I ran wide and punctured just a short way into the fourth stage and with over seven miles to go, we knew we had to stop and change the wheel. I must admit, I was a bit rusty doing that as I've not had to change a wheel since the last East African Safari Rally two years ago! But we decided to battle on and see how far we could get back up the leaderboard and in the end, I was happy with my times."
Teenage rally driver Tom Cave will have just one objective on his mind when he competes in next weekend's Woodpecker Stages Rally, the penultimate round of the 2011 BTRDA championship: a fourth class win. The 19 year-old from Aberdovey has vowed to push from the very start, despite destroying his Group N Subaru Impreza on his last outing, the Neath Valley Stages.
Tom and regular co-driver Craig Parry were contesting the Neath Valley Stages to maintain their momentum as they progress through their 2011 BTRDA Production Cup campaign. However, an unseen rock on the inside of a corner launched their Impreza into the air and after three rolls, the car came to rest in a very sorry state.
Subsequent investigations revealed the shell and roll cage too badly damaged to use again, so the car will be re-shelled. However, this process will not be complete until well after the Woodpecker, a pivotal rally for Tom in his goal of clinching the 2011 BTRDA Production Cup. Therefore, he and Craig will start the event in a rented car.
While many drivers might approach their next event carefully to settle themselves back in after such a large accident, Tom is keenly aware that with just the Woodpecker and the Cambrian Rally in October left this season, if he is to stand a chance of becoming 2011 Production Cup champion, he has to push from the off.
Explaining, Tom said: "Of course it was devastating to damage the Impreza as we did but I guess, that's an occupational hazard in rallying. I suppose I could argue that if I didn't have incidents like this, I'm not pushing hard enough!
"I'm really glad we've managed to source a car for the Woodpecker though. I'm not nervous about getting back into a car - I can't afford to settle back in gradually. If I want to do well this year in the Production Cup, then I've got to attack from the start of the very first stage.
"It's not going to be easy. Jamie [Anderson] is pretty quick, as is James [Grint], so it'll be a tough fight. I'll also have to make sure I don't get dragged into a battle with any of the local drivers who are doing the event but aren't registered for the championship, as it would be all too easy to throw it away for the sake of a stage win or two."
Tom is currently second in the Production Cup, seven points adrift of Anderson. However, Tom has the possibility of adding 25 points to his total over the final two rounds, as six of the eight scores count, whereas Anderson can only add an extra 12. So it's still all to play for as the series approaches its conclusion.
Commenting, Tom said; "It's going to be an interesting end to the season, that's for sure. The maths is relatively straightforward - I need the best result possible and that means going to Ludlow looking for the class win."
The one-day event runs on Saturday 3 September and is based at the racecourse in Ludlow. It uses stages close to the base including Haye Park, as well as two runs over roads in Radnor.
Planning for the 2011 Woodpecker Stages is progressing well. The route will use an initial loop of three stages in the Marches area, including the ever popular Haye Park plus two other stages not used by the Woodpecker for some years. First service at the racecourse will be followed by a visit to Wales for two stages in Radnor. Finally, after second service at the racecourse the event will conclude with two stages again through the Marches, including the only double stage usage a reverse run through Haye Park.
The rally will once again be based entirely at Ludlow Racecourse for all pre and post event activities and for two service visits during the event.
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