Border Counties (Jedburgh) - 19 Mar 05

Posted: March 23, 2005 7:41 PM - 7166 Hits

Round 2 - 2005 ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship
Round 2 - 2005 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
Round 2 - 2005 206 Super Cup
Also a counting round of the Scottish National Championship

PEUGEOT 206 SUPER CUP - FAULKNER FLIES
JOHNSON WISES UP TO SHOW HIS CLASS IN KIELDER
Crealey Fights Back in Kielder
Evo Challenge - Morrow takes maiden win - by one tenth of a second

Posted: March 23, 2005 7:41 PM

PEUGEOT 206 SUPER CUP - FAULKNER FLIES 23/02/05
PEUGEOT 206 SUPER CUP - FAULKNER FLIES
Gretnas Mike Faulkner, partnered by Peter Foy dominated round two of the Peugeot 206 Super Cup on Saturday on the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, taking maximum points from a consistent Trevor Martin and Ray Cleghorn.

The opening stage of the day, run in Wauchope Forest, saw Kielder Forest live up to its reputation with three of the four leading Peugeot crews hitting trouble. Series leader Jonnie Wigmore was the first to hit a large rock, deranging the steering in the process and dropping a little over 5 minutes on the nine mile test to Mike Faulkner. The same rock was to destroy the track rod end of Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor, but the ever resourceful Sykes produced a replacement from his tool roll and managed to repair the car recording a stage maximum while undertaking repairs. With Faulkner avoiding the errant rock and setting fastest time, next up Paul Jones fell foul of the same rock, the impact causing the loss of some 6 minutes, and a further minute on stage two

In the wake of the first stage mayhem the young Irish contenders Daniel Barry and Owen Murphy took second and third places on the two opening tests with Faulkner continuing to fly at the head of the field. Both young Irishmen serving notice to the field of their potential as they adapt to British forest rallying. First service on Kielder Water revealed a 17 second lead for Mike Faulkner, with Daniel Barry holding second place and Owen Murphy with new co-driver David Monyhan a further 3 seconds in arrears.

With Wigmore, Jones and Sykes cars all restored to full health the scene was set for a fight back, Wigmore said Im not sure what we can salvage from the day, well have to see how far back we can get.. The ever smiling Sykes quipped Never say die, its not over yet. As if to prove his words stage 3 saw both Daniel Barry and Owen Murphy depart the fray, Barry with clutch problems at the end of the test, whilst Murphy had fallen prey to Kielders awesome reputation leaving the road beaching the undamaged car, and retiring on the spot, being unable to extract the car. Stage four claimed the cars of Clive Wheeler and James Robertson in similar style, both with undamaged, but stranded cars.

Faulkner and Wigmore exchanged fastest times on the remaining four tests, Faulkner showing signs of a momentary brush with something on stage 6, bending a bottom arm, but electing to continue without changing the damaged component its driveable, so no problems, well leave it said the leader as he left final service. Sykes was always a close third through the remaining stages, but just unable to stay in touch, I think the rock from stage one has also damaged the diff, so its a battle to stay in touch with Mike and Jonnie, Im just trying to salvage as many points as possible said Sykes.

Meanwhile Trevor Martin and Colin Britton were locked in a battle for second place, swopping fastest times and places in a battle which was only resolved on the two final stages, where Martin took a total of 29 seconds from the young Ulsterman to secure second place honours. Elsewhere in the field Declan Magee joined the list of Kielder victims, putting the car off the road on stage 7, becoming the fifth and final Super Cup retirement.

The Jedburgh finish ramp saw an ecstatic Faulkner take victory by over 4 minutes, with Martin second, Britton third, and a relived series leader Jonnie Wigmore in fourth place It was so nearly all over for us this morning, were lucky to be here said the former Ka champion. Mike Faulkner, with Peter Foy on the notes was naturally please with maximum points, That makes up for the early retirement on the Sunseeker, now we can concentrate on the rest of the year said Faulkner as he climed the car for the champagne spraying ceremony. Richard Sykes had similar feelings in fifth while Jonathan Sparks/Brad Magnus collected sixth, Willie Mavitty/Kirsty Riddick seventh.

Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally Results

No Driver Co-driver Total Pos O/All
63 Mike Faulkner Peter Foy 1:20:33.8 1 21
74 Trevor Martin Ray Cleghorn 1:24.28.4 2 26
91 Colin Britton Kenny Hull 1:25:07.2 3 29
61 Jonnie Wigmore Robbie Durant 1:25:53.8 4 30
62 Richard Sykes Simon Taylor 1:30:27.9 5 33
102 Jonathan Sparks Bradley Magnus 1:31:00.8 6 34
101 William Mavitty Kirsty Riddick 1:33:53.0 7 35
64 Paul Jones Steve Smallbone 1:37:22.2 8 37
99 Declan Magee Benny Grainger DNF Off SS7
96 Clive Wheeler Ken Bartram DNF Off SS4
98 James Robertson Mike Rollo DNF Off SS4
75 Owen Murphy Dave Monyhan DNF Off SS3
73 Daniel Barry Ben Doran DNF Clutch SS4

JOHNSON WISES UP TO SHOW HIS CLASS IN KIELDER
Former Scottish champion Barry Johnson turned on the style on his local event by winning Round Two of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship - The Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally – held in an unseasonably mild and sunny Kielder Forest complex today.

Driving the ex Petter Solberg Barrier Surveillance Subaru Impreza WRC with Channel Island resident Stewart Merry on the notes, the Shildon, County Durham driver edged out the Stobart Ford Focus WRC of Paul Bird and Ian Windress by just over 17 seconds with former champion Marcus Dodd and co driver Andrew Bargery finishing third in their Flitewise Hyundai Accent WRC half a minute further adrift.

The result means that all three drivers are separated by a single point going into the next round in the Isle of Man in May with Dodd and Bird sharing the lead and Johnson a point adrift in third.

Making a welcome sortie north, the second round of the ANCRO series was eagerly anticipated after the opening round in Bournemouth but without Rallye Sunseeker winner David Higgins making it to the Jedburgh start ramp, there was even more at stake.

Johnson stopped the clocks ten seconds faster than Leominster’s Mark Perrott on SS1 to set the precedent for the day but disaster lay just around the corner for the luckless Ford Escort WRC driver whose car snapped a cam belt on the way to SS2. Joining Perrott on the sidelines early on was Towcester driver Roger Duckworth whose Subaru suffered terminal gearbox problems at the same time.

Johnson increased his advantage over Penrith driver Bird on all of the next three stages to end up at the half distance regroup some 19 seconds to the good with Dodd a clear third ahead of Ulsterman Brendan Crealey and the unfortunate Andy Burton (Lyonshall) who suffered with a pair of punctures on SS1 which dropped him 50 seconds in his Peugeot Cosworth hybrid.

Mitsubishi front runner Stuart Jones was the pick of the Evo Challenge drivers in sixth overall ahead of Armajaro boss and historic front runner Richard Gower who was impressing in the SGP Hyundai Accent and the Morrow brothers in eighth.

However, news was filtering in from the stages that the Matador Hyundai Accent WRC of Craig Middleton had retired with turbo problems and defending national Champion Steve Perez had slid into one of Kielder’s unforgiving ditches on SS4 which led to his demise in the VK Ford Focus WRC.

Johnson was again fastest on SS5 before a combination of a cracked front disc and some spirited driving by Bird saw the deficit reduced to just nine seconds going into SS7. Johnson responded despite no rear brakes and reported no major dramas on the final two stages to clinch victory and with it maximum points.

However, the former trials rider explained that there was an eleventh hour drama with the car prior to the event:
“We nearly didn’t make it as when we were loading it onto the trailer on Friday, we noticed a problem with the gearbox so as a result, they had to strip and rebuild it. However the car ran faultlessly and I can put the victory down to two things: My supply of Jaffa cakes and the seven words of wisdom which the British Rally Champion gave to me during the week…” said Johnson who would elaborate no further.

Superbike team boss Bird was delighted with his fourth successive podium placing in as many months and he too was quick to praise his car:
“Other than a couple of mistakes on my part, everything was perfect and I’m very happy to be leading the championship along with a driver of Marcus’ class. Kielder is so daunting and fast you have got to be so accurate and today it all fell into place” said the Cumbrian.

Dodd meanwhile was relieved to get this event out of the way having not had good experiences in the forests of the Scottish borders in the past:
“I don’t mind admitting that Kielder is a weakness of mine and I remember losing a championship here back in 1999. I’m happy to take these points and move on but I really am looking forward to the Welsh rounds as those forests suit my style of driving” said the Poole businessman.

For Burton and co driver John Roberts, it was a case of playing catch up for the second rally in succession after his early problems in the Dunlop shod car and despite a twelve year absence from the region, did well to claw his way up to fourth. Following Burton home was North Yorkshire driver Steve Petch and stand in co driver Aled Davies who were pleased to bring the SGP Hyundai home in fifth after his big Kall Kwik accident, just edging out team mate Gower in the process.

In the supporting Mitsubishi Ralliart Evo Challenge, just a tenth of a second separated winner Phil Morrow from Ryan Champion at the finish after early leader Stuart Jones had rolled out on the penultimate stage and in the Peugeot 206 Super Cup, attrition played its part early on before Mike Faulkner ended up victorious to take maximum points.

Whilst the lead may be shared in the drivers’ championship, the co drivers table shows Hove’s Andrew Bargery at the top ahead of Ian Windress (Northallerton) with Jersey’s Stewart Merry two points further adrift.

Crealey Fights Back in Kielder
On this weekends Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, round two of the MSA National Gravel Rally Rally Championship, Brendan Crealey, from Portadown and his co-driver, Steve Harris from Sheffield, came home a sound 10th - a good result, but not a true reflection on their overall performance.

The event started and finished in the Borders town of Jedburgh and featured eight nine-mile special stages in the massive Kielder Forest, an area well known by the rallying fraternity as providing the most demanding and unforgiving roads in the UK.

Admitting to still be getting used to driving his ex-works Ford Focus World Rally Car, Crealey was pleased to set sixth fastest time on the opening stage.

However, on stage two the Ulsterman felt the cars brake pedal getting closer and closer to the floor, having to drive the last few miles with little or no brakes at all. Relived to get back to the service area unscathed, in fact moving up a place to fifth in the process, the VRS Motorsport team found that a stone had punctured a brake pipe and quickly rectified the problem.

Photo: www.roydempster.com

Crealey and Harris then set about the task in hand and on stage four moved up to fourth place, Crealey becoming more and more comfortable with the handling of his Focus.

With the forests fast straights encouraging high speeds organisers had seen fit to punctuate the route with chicanes made of logs in order to check competitors pace. Other than those driving small, slower cars, many crews reported to experience problems negotiating these man-made obstacles, including Crealey, who stalled the Focus engine whilst threading his way through one particularly tight example.

WRC engines are never the easiest things to start, especially when hot and it took Crealey well over two minutes to get the Focus running again. The subsequent time loss seeing he and Harris drop to 15th place.

Not prepared to accept a position outside the top ten, Crealey and Harris upped their pace again to such an extent they took the fastest overall time on the eighth and final stage, a performance good enough to see them cross the line tenth overall and move up to fifth in the Championship standings.

Having held fourth place I was really frustrated when we lost all that time trying to re-start the engine, said Crealey. But after climbing back into the top ten and recording the fastest overall time on the last stage I feel much happier about our performance. Weve shown we can be as quick as the others now and with some of the main Championship contenders not finishing our result this weekend has done our title hopes no harm at all.

The team now prepare for the third round of the series, the Roush Manx Rally, which takes crews to the Isle of Man for the seasons one and only all asphalt event on 6th & 7th May.

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

Evo Challenge - Morrow takes maiden win - by one tenth of a second
Philip Morrow, together with his co-driver/brother Simon, won round two of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge on this weekend’s Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally by the narrowest of margins, just one tenth of a second separating them and second placed Ryan Champion/Craig Thorley.

Philip Morrow/Simon Morrow - Photo: www.roydempster.com

For the 18 Evolution Challenge competitors entered it was an event packed with drama, the stages in Kielder Forest living up to their reputation of being the most demanding and unforgiving in the UK.

It was the first ever visit by the Mitsubishi series to this massive forest park, the event starting and finishing in Jedburgh and comprising eight nine-mile stages.

Round one winner, Stuart Jones, started where he left off and immediately surged into the lead following the opening stage. Morrow was hot on his heels, desperate to net a healthy haul of points following his exclusion from round one. Ed Stallard claimed third only .2 second behind, making it a junior driver 1, 2, 3.

First to succumb to the Kielder curse was Stuart Haskins. Making his Evo Challenge debut his recently rebuilt Evo VII slid wide just two miles into SS1 and dropped into one of the forest’s many ditches, the impact flipping the car onto its roof.

With a serious accident on stage two involving a non-Evo Challenge competitor, proceedings were temporarily halted, the leading Mitsubishi crews accredited with a notional time.

Stallard’s charge came to an abrupt halt halfway through SS2 when he launched his car off the road, the Evo coming to permanent rest in the soft Northumberland soil.

Nik Elsmore now claimed third, closely followed by William Bonniwell, Ryan Champion, Colin Greer and Richard Hill, only 22 seconds separating the top six Mitsubishi crews. Hill was the first of the bunch to retire, having reported transmission problems in the opening stages his day ended in a ditch on SS3.

As drivers became more familiar with the Kielder countryside, the pace amongst the Evo contenders picked up, Jones and Morrow beginning to edge away from the chasing pack. Then, on SS6, a broken shaft in the transmission of the Ulsterman’s car slowed him to such an extent, Jones caught him at the end of the stage.

Frantic work by Morrow’s service crew saw the problem rectified and, although now over a minute down on Jones, he set off hoping all was not lost.

As crews embarked on SS7 Jones found himself enjoying a 56 second lead ahead of a charging Greer. Then, halfway through the penultimate stage, Jones was caught out by a deceptive sequence of bends, his car dropping into yet another Kielder ditch which caused it to roll into the scenery. A similar fate also befell Bonniwell, the Scotsman ending his event at the end of the same stage.

All this activity meant that as crews prepared to start the eighth and final stage things were close - very close, four drivers now in with a chance of taking Evo Challenge glory, each separated by three seconds: Greer lead the pack ahead of a resilient Morrow, followed by Champion and then Elsmore.

All four were up for the fight, each reporting to have experienced massive moments in their quest to grasp the Evo Challenge lead. However, as the final nine-mile stage progressed Greer was horrified to find his car running out of fuel, the upshot of which saw him 25 seconds slower than Champion who was the fastest of the Evo drivers through the last stage.

At the finish in Jedburgh teams waited in anticipation for the final results to be confirmed, the times too close for crews to calculate themselves. Finally it was revealed that Morrow had done enough clinch victory, just one tenth of a second ahead of Champion.

“I can’t believe we’ve finally done it”, said a slightly bemused Morrow. “We have had a string of bad luck recently so it’s great to have some good luck at last. This is just what I needed to keep me in the Championship. I’m very happy.”

Having been confined to bed ill for two days leading up to the event, Morrow’s victory was further acknowledged by him being presented with the Shell Spirit award. His performance accredited him with the PIAA Junior Award and he was also the winner of the Pirelli Cup on this round.

With two third place finishes Nik Elsmore now heads the series standings and with such a change of fortunes between rounds one and two for many of the other leading drivers, this season’s Evolution Challenge is shaping up to be the most exciting yet.

Round three sees a of surface to asphalt, with the Mitsubishi crews heading to the Isle of Man for the Roush Manx Rally on 6th & 7th May.

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.


Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Round 2 – Results
1st  Philip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn)  1:13:35.2
2nd  Ryan Champion (Whitby)/Craig Thorley (York)  1:13:35.3
3rd  Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Nigel Gardner (New Tredegar)  1:13:45.7
4th  Colin Greer (Beith)/Neil Ewing (Largs)  1:13:56.5
5th  Anthony Willmington (Dorchester)/Andy White (Weymouth)  1:16:42.5
6th  Alex Sabater (Spain)/Miquel Amblas (Spain) 1:17:53.9
7th Connor McCloskey (Kilrea)/Damien Duffin (Rasharkin)  1:19:24.0
8th  Tim Pearcey (Harrogate)/Mick Johnson (Thirsk)  1:20:41.8
9th  Steve Blunt (Woking)/Robert Duck (Derby)  1:23:13.7

Pirelli Cup Winner - Philip Morrow
PIAA Junior Award - Philip Morrow
Shell Spirit Award - Philip Morrow
Walon Best Prepared Car - Damon Harvey


Retirements
SS1 Stuart Haskins (Taunton)/Mike White (Highbridge)
SS2 Ed Stallard (Cheltenham)/Richard Edwards (Wolverhampton) - Accident
SS3 Richard Hill (Chesterfield)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield) - Transmission/Accident
SS3 Damon Harvey (Plymouth)/Aled Davies (Llanelli) - Accident
SS3 Noel Kelly (Isle of Man)/James Kelly (Isle of Man) - Accident
SS5 Kevin Stevens (London)/Mark Jones (Birmingham) - Driveshaft
SS6 Neil McCance (Newtownards)/Graham Hopewell (Worcester) - Accident
SS7 Stuart Jones (Welshpool)/Ross Butler (Welshpool) - Accident
SS7 William Bonniwell (Oban)/Ian Fraser (Tobemory) - Accident

Rally Results
1 Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Subaru Impreza WRC) - 1:09:59.8
2 Paul Bird/Ian Windress (Ford Focus WRC) - 1:10:17.5
2 Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent WRC) - 1:11:07.2
4 Andy Burton/John Roberts (Peugeot Cosworth) - 1:11:44.5
5 Steve Petch/ (Hyundai Accent WRC) - 1:13:04.6
6 Richard Gower/Linos Jones-Edwards (Hyundai Accent WRC) - 1:13:29.6
7 Philip Morrow/Simon Morrow (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) GpN - 1:13:35.2
8 Ryan Champion/Craig Thorley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) Gp N- 1:13:35.3
9 Malcolm Proudlock/Stephen Clark (Subaru Impreza) - 1:13.37.7
10 Brendan Crealey/Steve Harris (Ford Focus WRC) - 1:13:41.4

Full Results on the Rally Wesbite:

www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk

Roy Dempster Photos

PRE-EVENT NEWS

Owen ventures into the infamous Kielder Forest
First Foray into Kielder Forest for Evolution Challenge
BORDER-ING ON BRILLIANCE! MSA National Gravel Championship Preview
Entry List available
(Unseeded) List of Entires available
Event Details

Owen ventures into the infamous Kielder Forest
Round two of the 2005 (206 Super Cup Series) is the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, which starts and finishes in Jedburgh on Saturday 19th March.

Owen Murphy is looking forward to this the second round of the series, Owen who stunned many with his speed on the first round will be hopeful of a trouble free run as he enters the infamous Kielder Forest .

For years as a young boy I watched the RAC Rally on the T.V. we saw the greats of the world championship go into the Kielder Forest many called its unique forest tracks 'Killer' Kielder it’s a new challenge for me.

Owen said "I feel much more at home with the car and I hope to increase my speed on the loose".

Gerry McGarrity did a fantastic job on the last rally and we are working well together.

For this rally and the Manx David Moynahan is in the co drivers seat , David is vastly experienced and is usually in the hot seat with Patrick Elliott on the National Rally Championship.

15/03/05
First Foray into Kielder Forest for Evolution Challenge
For the first time since it began four years ago the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge ventures into the infamous Kielder Forest for round two of this years series, the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, which starts and finishes in Jedburgh on Saturday 19th March.

Leading the Mitsubishi charge is round one winner, Stuart Jones. He is followed by a determined Phillip Morrow who will be eager to get his title hopes back on track following a no-score on the opening round. These two junior drivers were the talk of last months Rallye Sunseeker, the pair of them locked in battle throughout the event, their stage times only differing by a handful of seconds.

Another driver set on scoring points will be Ryan Champion. He starts third of the Evo Challenge runners this weekend and will be looking to make up for his non-finish on the opening round after suffering problems with his cars rear suspension. Champion will also be a driver to watch, as he has contested more miles in Kielder Forest than any other driver in the series.

Next up is Nik Elsmore, his third place finish in round one and the highest placed returning competitor from last years Evo Challenge signalling he will also be in with a fighting chance this time round. He is followed by another series returnee, Anthony Willmington, who will be debuting his Evolution VII having rebuilt it following an accident on the Wyedean Rally earlier this year.

Second in round one, Richard Hill, rounds up the top six seeded drivers and will be intent on recording his first ever Evo Challenge victory, his sights set well and truly on this years title.

Other drivers destined to fair well following their opening round showing are: Colin Greer, Kevin Stevens, Tim Pearcey, David Wright and last years PIAA Junior Award winner, Ed Stallard. Alex Sabater will looking to make his journey to the Scottish Borders a worth while exercise, the Spaniard travelling from Barcelona for each round of this years series.

The event also hosts round two of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship, 20 of the events 68 car field comprising Evolution Challenge competitors, a figure which represents 29% of the entry.

Competitors will contest a total of 72 competitive miles split into eight stages. Kielder is the largest forest in England and one of the largest man-made forests in Europe, comprising 150 million standing trees which cover an area of 200 square 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 Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally entered Evolution Challenge competitors in start number order (home towns in brackets).

20 Stuart Jones (Welshpool)/Ross Butler (Welshpool)
21 Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn)
22 Ryan Champion (Whitby)/Craig Thorley (York)
23 Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Nigel Gardner (New Tredegar)
24 Anthony Willmington (Dorchester)/Andy White (Weymouth)
27 William Bonniwell (Oban)/Ian Fraser (Tobemory)
31 Richard Hill (Chesterfield)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield)
32 Colin Greer (Beith)/Neil Ewing (Largs)
34 David Wright (Morecambe)/Shelly Rogerson (Morecambe)
39 Ed Stallard (Cheltenham)/Richard Edwards (Wolverhampton)
46 Neil McCance (Newtownards)/Graham Hopewell (Worcester)
48 Alex Sabater (Spain)/Miquel Amblas (Spain)
51 Tim Pearcey (Harrogate)/Mick Johnson (Thirsk)
53 Kevin Stevens (London)/Stewart Foley (Birmingham)
56 Damon Harvey (Plymouth)/Aled Davies (Llanelli)
60 Connor McCloskey (Kilrea)/Damien Duffin (Rasharkin)
77 Noel Kelly (Isle of Man)/James Kelly (Isle of Man)
79 Steve Blunt (Woking)/ Robert Duck (Derby)
80 Jon Tucker (Barnstaple)/Hamish Campbell (Stow-on-the-Wold)
86 Stuart Haskins (Taunton)/Mike White (Highbridge)

13/03/05
Round two of the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship takes place this forthcoming Saturday (March 19th) as competitors head for the quaint Scottish borders town of Jedburgh for the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally

This is the first time that the event has been incorporated into the ANCRO series and the organising clubs ' Hawick and Border Car Club and Whickham and District Motor Club ' have gained a reputation for running a good rally over the infamous and unique forest tracks of 'Killer' Kielder forest which also forms part of the County Saab Scottish Rally Championship, hence its inclusion.

Following on from an exciting and dramatic opening round on Rallye Sunseeker last month, the leading protagonists will again be battling it out for supremacy and with a distinct lack of attrition on the Bournemouth based event, most still have it all to play for on the Northernmost round of the seven rally series.

Most that is apart from two prominent Hyundai Accent WRC drivers in the shape of reigning British Rally Champion David Higgins and star-in-the-making, Craig Middleton. Higgins, who won in Bournemouth, is conspicuous by his absence on the entry list but the SGP Motorsport team are working hard to try to get the Trefeglwys-based Manxman to the start line although if he makes it, it will be without regular co driver Dan Barritt who is recuperating after a back operation.

Middleton and co driver Robin Hernaman were the only top runners not to see the finish ramp in round one when a broken exhaust scuppered their bid late on but the young driver from Llandrindod Wells will be determined to make up for that this time out in the Matador Tyres car.

Under the proviso that Higgins competes, the top ten drivers in the championship will square off against each other the seventy two miles contained within eight stages, all of which are virtually identical in length. Second placed driver Marcus Dodd (Flitewise Hyundai Accent WRC) will be hoping for a good result having made the long trip up from Poole whilst Cumbrian Paul Bird, who finished third in Bournemouth, has shorter to travel from his Penrith home with his Stobart Motorsport Ford Focus WRC.

Last year's winner of the event was Shildon's Barry Johnson who is a former Scottish Champion and has already got a victory under his belt north of the border this year. The County Durham driver suffered transmission problems in his Barrier Surveillance Subaru WRC on round one leaving him in seventh but his knowledge of the northern stages will prove invaluable. Two other drivers also missing out on a big points haul last time out included defending ANCRO Champion Steve Perez from Clay Cross in his VK Ford Focus WRC who ended up eighth, one place ahead of former champion Roger Duckworth in his Autosportif Subaru WRC.

Fourth placed Andy Burton from Lyonshall endured brake problems in Bournemouth in his Dunlop-shod Peugeot Cosworth and fifth placed Mark Perrott (Leominster) suffered gearbox problems in his PBS Ford Escort WRC also whilst Ulsterman Brendan Crealey gradually got to grips with his VRS prepared Ford Focus WRC to claim sixth.

Tenth overall and leading the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge as well as the Production Cup, Group N and Junior Driver class is Welshpool's Stuart Jones who enjoyed an epic battle with Ulster driver Phillip Morrow on round one. Jones took a narrow victory on the stages but Morrow was excluded at post-event scrutineering due to a technical infringement which allowed Chesterfield driver Richard Hill to claim second place points with Coleford's Nick Elsmore third. Such is the camaraderie of the series that Jones donated his prize money to the unsuspecting Morrow as a supreme gesture of good will.

Banzai Motorsport driver Jonnie Wigmore from Bicester saw off the opposition in the opening round of the Peugeot 206 Super Cup when he came home ahead of Rochester's Paul Jones and Stourbridge driver Richard Sykes and they will resume battle again this weekend.

In the all important co-driver ranks, and with Barritt not registering for the championship, Hove based Manxman Andrew Bargery heads the overall table from Northallerton's Ian Windress with Welshman John Roberts third whilst Ross Butler (Burgess Hill) dominates the Production Cup, Mitsubishi, Group N and Junior Cup. Robbie Durant from Bicester emulates Wigmore in the front wheel driver categories, also.

Swindon's Shelley Taunt heads the National Lady Drivers Cup with Anne Watson from Pollington leading the co-driver's section whilst the much prized National Manufacturers Award is being led in Group 'A' by Hyundai ahead of M Sport Ford, Prodrive Subaru and Mitsubishi whilst the all Japanese battle in Group 'N' sees Mitsubishi ahead of Subaru.

The first of the 120 crews leaves Abbey Place in Jedburgh at 08.30 with cars scheduled to return for a ceremonial finish around 17.00hrs and prize giving from 19.30 onwards.

www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk

06/01/05
Already an integral part of the COUNTY SAAB Scottish Rally Championship & ANECCC Rally Championship, the Jedburgh-based event will see the ANCRO National Series returning to the area for the first time in a number of years. Chairman of ANCRO John Trevethick said “This is great news, ANCRO are very happy that they will be joining with the Scottish Rally Championship on the Border Counties Rally, the return of the Championship to the Kielder Forest is most welcome.”

Sponsored by the Brick & Steel Construction Company of Glasgow, the Border Counties Rally, organised by Whickham & DMC and Hawick & Border CC, will run as a ‘dual-permit’ event.

The National ‘B’ Rally will feature 45 miles of forest special stages, in the South of Scotland and Kielder forests, whilst those competitors contesting the National ‘A’ event will face over 70 miles of forest stages in a total route of approximately 200 miles.

Scrutineering & Documentation for the event will take place in Jedburgh. There will be central servicing off the C200, the main access road through Kielder Forest.

Regulations for the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally will be available early in 2005.

Border Counties (Jedburgh) - 19 Mar 05

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