Park Systems Stages - 9 Sep 06

Posted: September 10, 2006 8:10 PM

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MIDDLETON/HERNAMAM WINS IN SCOTLANDc` Welshman Craig Middleton and co driver Robin Hernaman kept their title hopes very much alive by clinching overall victory on the Park Systems National Rally which comprised round six of the ANCRO-organised MSA Gravel Rally Championship today.

The Hyundai Accent WRC pairing finished forty-four seconds ahead of series leaders Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield (Subaru WRC) who in turn finished nearly two minutes ahead of Jon Burn and Jim Ward. Richard Gower and co driver Aled Davies crossed the finish ramp in fourth place overall but claimed third placed championship points in his Hyundai Accent WRC.

Despite intercom problems, Middleton held the joint lead after the opening stage, setting an equal time to Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent WRC) over the nineteen mile Arroch Hill test. The young Llandrindod Wells driver pulled ahead after stage two and set quickest time through the next two stages to hold a twenty-two second lead over Duckworth going into the final stage.

Craig explained, “We had a problem on the rear end on the final stage, I think it is a damper problem. I tried to save the car and cooked the brakes in the process which was a bit worrying”. Nevertheless, Craig went on to take a further twenty-one seconds from Duckworth and crossed the finish line in first place to claim maximum championship points for the third time this season.

Duckworth opted for harder tyre pressures over the opening stage in order to avoid punctures and this resulted in him dropping time to the leading cars. A cracked manifold over the closing stages caused some concern and resulted in a lack of boost in his Subaru WRC meaning Roger opted to switch off the anti-lag on the final stage in an effort to get the car to the finish.

Richard Gower and Aled Davies lost their intercom on the opening stage and took a steady approach through the remaining four stages to get the car back to the finish. Richard commented, “We probably lost one second a mile but we got home safely”. Pre event favourites Barry Johnson and Stewart Merry dropped two minutes on the opening stage after they picked up two punctures and they retired from the event on stage six. A fuel pressure problem had deteriorated throughout the event and they retired at the start of the final stage. Championship contender going into the penultimate round of the series, Marcus Dodd, also retired from the event with a blown engine on stage three.

Rob Smith and Alun Cook took overall GpN victory and also claimed maximum points in the Subaru GpN Trophy section of the event. The Towcester driver finished nine seconds ahead of Alistair Tough and Alistair Mackay after a faultless run over the stages. Tough and Mackay suffered anti-lag problems on the opening stage and endured intermittent turbo issues for the entire event. Despite this, they brought their TEG run Impreza back to the finish twenty-seven seconds ahead of Anthony Willmington, who claimed maximum Mitsubishi Ralliart Evo Cup points.

Declan Magee and Thomas Nugent took overall honours in the TMS 206 Super Cup. Of the three 206 crews that started the event, only Declan made it back to the finish. Miles Johnston and Max Utting retired after they hit a rock and damaged the sump on stage two while Mike Harris and Ben Garrod holed their radiator on the same stage.

The overall standings after round six show Roger Duckworth leading the drivers championship on 106 points ahead of Craig Middleton who holds second place on 97 points but with the drivers' two worst scores still to drop, it's still anyone's title going into the final round - The Bulldog Rally - on October 21st

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Thomas takes second FST UK win and title lead.
George Thomas scored an emphatic Fiesta ST victory on the Park Systems National Rally, the seventh round of the VK Vodka Kick supported Fiesta SportingTrophy UK (FST UK).

Thomas set the fastest Fiesta ST time on three of the four stages including the mammoth 19 mile Arroch Hill which ended the event. He was classified in sixth position on the overall standings and also took victory in the C3 class. He was first Fiesta ST home by almost a minute and took the Castrol Hard Charger Award.

The win, taken with co-driver Graham Hopewell, is the second this season for the duo after winning the Pirelli Trophy Rally back in May. It moves them into the championship points lead with one round remaining and he also leads the ANCRO Clubman Driver Championship.

The rally may only have had four stages but it certainly provided a short, sharp, shock to more than one Fiesta ST competitor. The day started with blue skies and sunshine but cloud cover and increasing winds soon joined the party. The major concern, however, was staying on the road.

The first stage, the 7.55 mile Thorney Hill, saw Thomas open up with a time four seconds faster than his next Fiesta ST rival, Mike Faulkner. Faulkner, Fiesta ST winner of the Eventsigns Mewla National Rally two weeks ago, saw his run cut short on the next stage with contact with two rocks meaning he had to drive through with a broken wheel and into retirement.

The second stage, Cairn Edward, saw Jonathan Greer go fastest with two-time winner Chris Moore next. Greer was credited with a time almost thirty seconds faster than any other Fiesta ST with many runners being held up by crashed cars and the Belfast driver catapulted into the lead.

The third stage, Barney Water at 7.27 miles in length, saw Thomas back to the fore, going three seconds faster than Tom Walster and back into the Fiesta ST lead from Walster and then Greer.

The fourth stage was the big one. At 18.98 miles Arroch Hill would always be a challenge, but with so many cars having fallen off the road earlier it was a case of conservation mode for those remaining. Despite this approach Thomas still went almost three quarters of a minute faster than Tom Walster and his local co-driver Kirsty Riddick to take the win from his rival with Greer taking third.

Previous championship leader Chris Moore had looked set for a third place finish until a driveshaft failure with 16 miles remaining of the final stage. The winner of the Severn Valley and Swansea Bay rallies nursed his car home to finish in sixth.

Fourth spot went to Fraser Jones who drove a canny rally to avoid the incidents of so many competitors. He was frustrated to be stuck behind the ailing Chris Moore on the final stage. Fifth spot went to an enthused Richard Moore, with his season’s best result.

Many competitors fell foul of the tricky conditions. The tally of rolled cars included Owen Murphy, Ean Lewin, Richard Parry-Jones and Colin Greer whilst contact with immoveable rocks befell Simon Hughes and Mike Faulkner causing terminal damage. Kevin Davies retired with clutch failure.

The final round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy UK takes place on the Bulldog Rally based out of Oswestry on October 21st.

Quotes
#117 George Thomas
I’m chuffed to bits to take the win. There’s one round left and it’s going right down the wire. It’s been a bit different driving around all the rocks, I was absolutely knackered after 19 miles, but I thought I took it quite steadily. I had some moments on the first stages. I was totally off the road at one point, on a six right that tightened, but it tightened into a square right. On the first stage we were flying, we went off in the second one then the third was rough but we were going well. I’ve altered my driving style to keep the car rolling and pace up and it certainly seems to have worked.

#126 Tom Walster
It wasn’t a bad day. We caught a car in the last stage and had to give it a nudge to let them know we were there. After we got past there was a problem with the car cutting out, then we tipped onto our side on the very last corner which cost us about 20 seconds. It was a shame as we’d taken the first three stages steadily to conserve the tyres for the final one as that was crucial. I’m still happy to have taken second.

#127 Jonathan Greer
It was very rough, quite tricky but a good event. The last stage was hard to get through. I’ve done 15 miles before but never 19. We drove to our pace, if we’d gone harder we would have been in a ditch somewhere.

#139 Fraser Jones
It was not a bad day for us but it was carnage in the stages. The first one was slippery and we had to slow down for two or three accidents so we decided to be cautious from there. The second one was even worse, there were cars everywhere, so we just kept on going. The last stage was really frustrating as we got stuck behind Chris Moore and lost bags of time there, but he couldn’t see us because of the dust.

#140 Richard Moore
I’ve got points! I’ve got points! I really enjoyed it. We didn’t have a clean run on any of the stages, we had a puncture on the first and the last one, but the stages were fantastic. It was a lot of hard work out there. The stages seemed very slippery, although that could be because of coming from the grip of the Mewla two weeks ago.

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FST UK goes under scrutiny.
The Fiesta SportingTrophy UK had its penultimate round on the Park Systems Rally where the front-running competitors found their cars under extra examination.

The top two competitors in the championship had their cars taken to post rally scrutiny after the seventh round of the hotly contested series to ensure that the strict rules are being adhered to with the one make cars.

Items specifically checked included the inlet and exhaust manifolds, suspension springs, fuel pump pressure and flow rate, ECUs, pistons and bores, stroke, exhaust catalysts and various other parts conformity. Fuel samples have been taken for subsequent examination.

“As in any championship there is always scope for a competitor to stray from the rules,” says championship co-ordinator, Stella Boyles. “Whilst there has been no suggestion of impropriety from our competitors, in order to ensure the rules are obeyed and seen to be obeyed, we decided to comprehensively test these cars as the championship nears its conclusion.

“After several hours of examination by Mike Harris, the championship scrutineer and Phil Bradshaw, the dedicated M-Sport technician, both the front running cars of George Thomas and Chris Moore were deemed to conform to the championship regulations. This leaves a straight fight for the title between the two on the last round.”

The Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK is an eight-round championship using Ford Fiesta STs turned into GpN rally cars using kits designed and supplied by M-Sport. It is aimed at both young ambitious competitors and those more experienced wanting equal competition on a professional level with low costs.

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Full Results
flyingfinish.co.uk

Park Stages Rally (Scotland)

• 2006 Scottish Rally Championship

• 2006 ANCRO MSA National Rally Championship
• 2006 Fiesta Sporting Trophy UK