Severn Valley - (Sat) 2 Jun 07

Posted: June 4, 2007 7:57 PM

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BHRC report, round three: Severn Valley Historic Rally
A daunting 17-mille opening stage in Radnor set the pattern for the rest of the Seven Valley Historic Rally, round three of the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship on Saturday (2 June).
Richard Tuthill/John Bennie led both category 2 and the overall event from start to finish in their Porsche 911 to score an overdue first win of the season. Meanwhile, Jimmy McRae/Andy Richardson (Ford Escort Mk2) and Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) were never headed on the way to victory in their respective categories.

Category 1
‘Brilliant’ was Nutt’s first word after pulling out a 34-second lead over Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies (Sunbeam Tiger) in the opening stage in Radnor. “It just wasn’t a Tiger stage, there were too many chicanes and 90s for us,” said Watts.
Philip Atkinson/Simon Coates led fellow Lotus Cortina crew Jonathan/Graham Gale, with Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson hot on their heels. It was fortunate for Gale that it was hot and dry, “I checked the oil before the start and the bonnet flew off 100 yards into the start, so we had to carry on without it,” he explained.
Stage three in Halfway had a dramatic effect on the leader board. “We got a puncture with four miles to go, drove to the finish and then changed, but the spare was only 22psi,” Nutt explained. However, Watts was unable to capitalise on his rival’s misfortune, as he went off and out of the rally. Suddenly Nutt’s previously unassailable lead was down to just 11s over Atkinson, with two stages left in the Epynt region.

Nutt held onto a well-deserved victory, however. “I went better in the afternoon, but still couldn’t catch Dessie. In the morning we had been in reverse four times, with chicanes and hairpins,” said Atkinson, after winning class B4. Stuart Rolt/Richard Pomfret (Porsche 911) pipped Gale for third on the final stage. “I was so off the pace on the first stage, but then got going and started to trade some top times. I mustn’t have six months off again,” said Rolt on his first rally since November. The Lotus Cortinas of Calvert/Cookson and Bob Bean/Colin Thompson completed the top six.

In class B2 Clive King and Bob Ward attacked the stages with typical gusto to dominate in their Mini Cooper S. “We were down on power on the first stage, then changed the plugs and it was fine,” said King. Terry Cree/Richard Shores (Mini Cooper S) had an early battle with the MG Midget of James Stait/Gill Cotton, before Stait retired in Halfway. The Saab 92 of Nick Pinkett/Alex Lucking ran solo in class B3, and despite fuel pressure and overheating problems, they made it back to the finish in Builth Wells.

Category 2
Tuthill/Bennie established themselves at the top of the stage times from the start, and despite being held up on the opening stage, they still had a lead of 11s over fellow Porsche crew Sean Lockyear/Chris Wood after the Radnor test. “It was a messy stage for us,” said Tuthill. “No problem, after about two or three miles I really got to grips with it,” Lockyear replied.
Although Nick Whale and Sally Wood were third in their Porsche 911, Nick was far from happy. “That was slow, I psyched myself out a bit, it was more meow at the start than grrr, when the green light went,” he reckoned. Russell Morgan/Martin Kenyon made a flying start in their C3 Escort Mk1 to hold fourth, from fellow Escort crew Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard. Tuthill was never seriously threatened again, after Lockyear punctured on stage two, but still retained a strong second. “They were good stages. It was good fun and we got a result,” said the victorious Tuthill.

David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1) took third in the category and first in C5 after Whale went off on the Epynt R60 stage. “It was a double caution and a right-hander which I thought we’d done, so we were flat and went off backwards a long way,” Whale explained.

Although Whale got going again and fought back on the last stage, Stokes still held the place by less than a second to add another strong result to his championship campaign. “I was a bit slow out of the blocks this morning, so had to fight for it,” said Stokes. Graham Samuel/Tony Phillips followed Stokes home in C5 in their Escort Mk1.

Morgan/Kenyon held onto a superb fifth place and a resounding C3 win, while Phil Rogers/Steve Weston were pipped for second in C3 by Neal James/Kevin Jones on the final stage. “We hit a gate post in Radnor when I grabbed the handbrake too hard at a hairpin, and then lost the brakes on the last stage,” said Morgan.

In C2 Vince Bristow/Dean Mitchell (Escort Mk1) reigned supreme. “Apart from a bit of ditch hooking and a few slides, it went well,” said Bristow. “We just couldn’t match Vince’s times,” replied second place John Worthing/Bill Robertson, while Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes rolled out of the rally in their Escort Mexico.

Category 3
McRae/Richardson had a faultless drive to dominate category 3. “We caught Stokes towards the end of Radnor; well that’s our excuse,” said McRae, after their Escort pulled out a first stage lead of 12s over Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan. “I had to get into the flow with the tight hairpins, and then it was okay,” said McCormack on his first rally in Wales. Only three seconds initially covered the next three Escorts of Steven Smith/John Nichols, Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James and James Potter/Steve Smallbone, before Lloyd upped his pace on stage two to snatch second from McCormack. “I’m always a slow starter, so today was better than usual,” admitted Lloyd.

McCormack kept the pressure on and snatched the place back on the final stage. “I had a half spin on Epynt and that made me push harder on the last stage,” said McCormack. “I just didn’t expect Martin to come back like that. He’s becoming a nuisance,” reckoned Lloyd. Smith and Potter held station behind, with Jason Lepley/Howard Pridmore completing the top six in their Escort.

Richard Perry and Clive Townend (Talbot Sunbeam) were unchallenged in D2, while Simon Hawthorn and Steve McPhee (Ford Escort Mk2) were never headed in D3. “A misfire on stage one and the diff leaked all day, and it was noisy,” said Hawthorn of their rally. Richard Lane/Frank Richer (Escort Mk2) chased Hawthorn until they went off on Epynt. “We were bit late at a 90 right, then I didn’t see the ditch as we tried to get back on,” explained Lane. Despite their gearbox being ‘on its last legs’, Stuart Thomas/Mark Keherin claimed second in D3.

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Morrow does it again!
Phillip Morrow, co-driven by his brother Simon, recorded his third Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge victory of the season on Saturday, when he won round four of the one-make championship for Group N Lancers - the Severn Valley National Rally.

The event also represented round four of the Hankook Gravel Rally Championship, with the 17 Evolution Challenge teams taking part responsible for 36% of the National event’s entry.

The start, finish and two service halts were all based at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground in Builth Wells, with the rally’s 63 competitive miles split into seven stages: six in the forests on the Brecon Beacons, plus one additional stage, the longest of the rally, in Radnor Forest.

Before the event the scene was set for an epic battle between the series front-runners in their bids to become 2007 Evo Challenge Champion and 2008 Mitsubishi works driver.

In his determination to win this holy grail of motorsport, Julian Reynolds purchased one of last year’s works Lancers from the MMUK team a few days before the event. Consequently, he was delighted to emerge from his very first stage in the car 1.5 seconds ahead of Seb Ling and 12 seconds ahead of Morrow who was in third and complaining of a loss of power.

First to leave the Evo Challenge fray was David Bogie, who dropped his Mitsubishi into a ditch halfway through SS1. Although still driveable and only suffering minor damage, the car was stuck and could only be pulled out when the stage was closed – a great shame, as the young Scot was expected to feature in the top positions.

Another caught out by the dry and dusty conditions, which saw a layer of loose gravel over the surface of the roads – likened to driving on marbles – was Daniel Sigurdsson who experienced his first UK roll during the opening stage. Luckily for the current Iceland Rally Championship leader, the car was hardly damaged and was quickly un-inverted by a band of helpful spectators.

In the first service halt of the day following stage two, Reynolds found he had extended his lead to six seconds ahead of Ling, who reported a slight delay caused by a slow puncture, whilst Morrow’s crew took the opportunity to change his car’s turbo-charger.

Wayne Sisson was pleased to be in fourth, but not pleased to have been held up in the dust after catching another car – a story echoed by many other Mitsubishi competitors who were slowed by the conditions.

One such driver was round three winner Neil McCance in fifth, followed by an almost ecstatic Nik Elsmore in sixth. Having rebuilt his car from a bare shell in just three weeks, following a big accident on the Isle of Man, Elsmore was delighted to confirm that his car was running perfectly and only a hastily installed rear suspension set-up was all that was causing him any lack of pace.

With a 17-mile run through Radnor Forest ahead of them, competitors knew that this stage could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the results – and they were right!

Not far from the start of the stage Reynolds’ car lost power, the fault traced to a split turbo-pipe, losing him one-and-a-half minutes and plummeting to sixth. Ling was also having problems and lost around 40 seconds when he caught the car ahead and was unable to see in the dust. In contrast, Morrow had a clear run and, with his Mitsubishi restored to full-power, he blasted through the stage to take a 30-second lead.

Sisson also suffered a blown turbo-pipe, but his stage three problems got worse when a puncture was followed by a broken driveshaft, dropping him to 10th. Others to lose time in Radnor were Daniel Barry, who clipped a pile of logs after getting caught up in the dust of the slowing Sisson. Errol Clark then got caught in Barry’s dust, clipped a tree stump, broke his car’s oil cooler and retired with just a mile of the stage left to go.

McCance’s car had now developed a mysterious miss-fire, whereas Wayne Radford was a third driver to experience a split turbo-pipe.

Following the second service halt, a further four stages in the forests in and around the Eppynt Military ranges remained. Besides the dust, Morrow could now taste victory and was in fine form, posting an impressive second overall stage time on SS6. Try as he might, Ling knew that unless Morrow had a problem he was unlikely to catch him and, with no pressure from behind, he sensibly elected to hold station for the rest of the event.

However, Reynolds was on a charge, looking to make up places following his SS3 frustrations – which he did, climbing back up to third place and keeping his championship chances alive in the process – even with no intercom for the final stage.

Unfortunately for McCance, his engine’s miss-fire became so bad during the afternoon he retired after SS6. This elevated Elsmore to fourth, who was glad to make it back to Builth Wells – especially when he found he had no other gears except third just a few miles from the end of stage seven. His efforts for getting the car ready – and to the finish - were rewarded with the Tesco 99 Octane Spirit of the Event Award.

Stephen Petch was pleased to claim fifth place after admitting at the finish to a couple of minor indiscretions on the first and last stages, although he was happy to be setting comparatively faster stage times.

Barry finished sixth having collected his thoughts following his earlier incident, as had Sisson in seventh and Sigurdason in eighth. Rounding off the top ten were Alan Carmichael and Thomas Naughton, both reporting they had enjoyed a relatively trouble-free day in the Welsh forests, albeit delayed on occasions when behind slower cars. However, the same could not be said for Jon Sparks, who retired on stage five when his car’s head gasket sprung a leak.

For Morrow, it was another successful event, his third win of the season seeing him now four points ahead of the rest in the points table and a step closer to the Evo Challenge title.

“After a few problems this morning I thought I was going to have another one of those days”, said Morrow. “But when the car was back to 100% I really got stuck in. It just goes to show that you mustn’t give up, as others have problems too. I’m very pleased, as this result really helps my championship position.”

The Evolution Cup, for closer-to-standard specification Group N Mitsubishis, also saw a third-time winner in the shape of Miles Johnston. He was followed by Mark I’Anson in second and then Radford, who nursed his car to the finish with a suspected ECU problem.

Evolution Challenge competitors now take an enforced Summer break before the fifth round of the championship and a return to Wales for the Swansea Bay Rally on 21st July.

The Evolution Challenge offers drivers what is widely regarded as the best prize in British rallying – the chance to become a Mitsubishi works driver in the 2008 British Rally Championship.

Also included in this year’s Mitsubishi championship are the Pirelli and Performance Friction Brakes Cups.

The series is backed by Mitsubishi Motors UK Ralliart, with support from its associate sponsors: Pirelli, PIAA, Speedline Corse, Sparco, Performance Friction Brakes, Shell Helix and Tesco 99 Octane - suppliers of the controlled fuel for the championship.

Evo Results
Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Round Three
1 Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn) – 1:03:26.7
2 Sebastian Ling (Llandysul)/Aled Rees (Crymych) – 1:04:08.0
3 Julian Reynolds (Narberth)/Patrick Walsh (Aberystwyth) – 1:05:01.8
4 Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Vicky Allen (Denbigh) – 1:05:21.7
5 Stephen Petch (Richmond)/Michael Wilkinson (Tow Law) – 1:05:22.2
6 Daniel Barry (Enniskerry)/Mark Bowens (Cork) – 1:06:51.5
7 Wayne Sisson (Carnforth)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield) – 1:07:25.4
8 Daniel Sigurdsson (Iceland)Asta Sigurdardottir (Iceland) – 1:08:38.7
9 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena) – 1:13:01.0
10 Thomas Naughton (Bury)/Horace Saville (Bury) – 1:16:32.3
11 Wayne Radford (Dinnington)/Paul Drew (Stroud) - 1:17:17.5

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Cup
1 Miles Johnstone (York)/Ian Bevan (Wrexham) – 1:08:10.6
2 Mark I’Anson (Haydon Bridge)/Graeme Walker (Henley) – 1:10:05.8
3 Wayne Radford (Dinnington)/Paul Drew (Stroud) - 1:17:17.5

Retirements
SS1 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Rob Fagg (Isle of Man) – Accident
SS3 Errol Clark (Irvinestown)/Martin McGarrity (Lisnaskia) – Oil Cooler
SS5 Jonathan Sparks (Glastonbury)/Bradley Magnus (Downham Market) – Head Gasket
SS6 Neil McCance (Coomber)/Ian Windress (Northallerton) – Misfire

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McCORMACK/MOYNIHAN A SUPERB SECOND ON REID DEBUT
21 year old Draperstown charger Martin McCormack finished in second place to five times British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae. The young gun was entered in the category three class for 1975-1981 cars driving a similar Ford MK2 Escort RS1800 on the Severn Valley Historic Rally in Wales on Saturday. The result netted him third overall in the Historic Rally and once again Martin’s stage times very much grabbed attention on the event. As part of the MSA Historic Rally Championship, which Martin and co driver Liam Moynihan are contesting, the crews gathered in Mid Wales for the start of this tough forest event, but as Martin and his team took to the seas with the teams co sponsors P&O Irish Sea, it was their first time to compete in Wales, let alone traverse the tremendously fast Welsh forests, which could not be reeced before the event, instead Martin using the excellent safety notes prepared by Brian Patterson.

Starting their first ever Welsh stage the crew could have been understandably nervous, but on the last round of the series, on their first visit to the daunting Kielder Forest complex in England, they had won outright, so they could not be discounted for a win despite the knowledge possessed by the other crews. But stage one was to prove a little difficult for the Reid Motorsport team. “There was a bad noise coming from the front of the car, and I was a bit worried about it. We got to the end of the stage and found a wheel rim had been flattened slightly, and was rubbing on the brake calliper, so we changed the rim, but we had lost 13 seconds to Jimmy McRae on that first stage” said Martin. On stage two Martin was third fastest behind Jimmy McRae and Welshman Gareth Lloyd running his ex Roger Clark Escort RS1800, but to prove how close the competition in these 30 year old designs is, all three tied on time on stage three, Martin really getting into the swing of the Welsh forests. “To be honest we probably choose a little too soft a tyre early on as conditions were hot, but I must say that overall our tyres were one of the real strong points of the day, especially when we moved onto the hard compound. I really felt that the pace had gone up also since the Pirelli Rally, and every stage I was learning to take certain types of corners in the notes that bit faster.” After further top three times on stages 4, 5 and 6, Martin headed for the final thirteen mile stage looking to get second place behind Jimmy McRae. Well known MK2 Escort exponent from the past, Reggie Britton advised the team to put lighter Minilite wheels onto the car reckoning would help the car turn in better, hardly a high tech development compared with the electronic trickery of the modern rally car, but whether it was Reggie’s advice, Martin’s progressing feel for the flowing forest tracks, or both, it definitely worked as he slashed 18 seconds out of Gareth Lloyd and 13 out of Jimmy McRae, the equivalent of a second a mile, finishing his first rally in Wales with a flourish and scooping valuable championship points.

The next round of the series is the Mid Wales stages based in Sweet Lamb on 23rd-24th June, before the series moves to three tarmac rounds on the Isle of Man, on the Welsh ranges and in Flanders before it’s finale with the Trackrod Forest Rally on the 6th October. “Before the next round we plan to get some testing in Wales beforehand to help set up the car and give me a few more miles before the event to start off as sharp as possible, as we still have a good change in this championship.” All in all it’s been a promising start for the newest member of Reid Motorsport.

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Maximum Points for Dodd on Severn Valley Rally
Marcus Dodd claimed maximum points in round four of the 2007 Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship, the Severn Valley National Rally, earlier today as Andy Burton took the overall win.

Burton and co-driver Shelley Rogerson brought home their Peugeot Cosworth 4.5 seconds ahead of the Hyundai Accent WRC of Dodd and Andrew Bargery on the Builth Wells based event despite suffering with brake problems later on.

Dodd and Bargery finished 8.3 seconds ahead of series leaders Steve Perez and co driver Claire Mole to take their second Gravel Championship win of the season.

Perez and Mole clinched 22 points in the series to maintain their lead as they ended up third overall in their VK Vodka Kick 03 Ford Focus WRC while brothers Phillip and Simon Morrow were fourth, taking 20 points as well as being first in the Production Cup and winners of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evo Challenge.

“We’ve just gone steady today because we wanted to beat Steve, as long as we beat him that’s what matters,” Dodd said.

“It’s been very hot but other than that nothing very exciting has happened. The result is brilliant for our championship but we could have done with someone finishing between me and Steve to score points as it’s becoming a bit of a two-horse race, but it’s been a good event.”

Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick finished fifth and took the honours in the Subaru Group N Trophy. Sebastian Ling and Aled Rees were sixth and third Group N in their Mitsubishi Evo 9. They lost time earlier in the day in the Radnor stage after catching Bob Ceen, who was struggling with a puncture, and despite their best efforts could not make up the time.

Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh were eighth in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 behind Nigel Griffiths and Andrew Owens. Nik Elsmore/Vicky Allen and Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson rounded-up the top 10 in their Mitsubishi Evos.

Winner of the previous round on the Isle of Man, Roger Duckworth, was an early casualty across the 63 miles of forest gravel stages as he and co-driver Mark Broomfield retired after stage three whilst in fourth spot with an engine problem on their Subaru Impreza.

Kevin Wills and Lorna Hill won the VK 1400 Challenge in their Nissan Micra kit car whilst Rod Bennett and Henry Richardson in their Fiat Stilo took the HPM Motorsport 2WD Challenge.

In the Hankook Forest Rally Challenge Dave Brick and Rob Woodhouse clinched full points as they finished third overall in the Severn Valley Clubman Rally in their Mk2 Ford Escort. Tom Walster and Tim Sturla were second in their Ford Fiesta ST.

The battle recommences when competitors return to Wales next month for the Swansea Bay National Rally which takes place Saturday July 21st.

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ANOTHER PODIUM FOR PEREZ
VK Vodka Kick rally driver Steve Perez maintained his impressive record with his fourth consecutive ANCRO podium as he maintained his 2007 MSA Gravel Rally Championship lead following the Severn Valley National Rally today.

Along with Berwickshire co driver Claire Mole the Chesterfield businessman was using his 2003 Ford Focus WRC as his 2005 car is en route back from the Barbados Rally Carnival whereby he was contesting the event last weekend, and despite some tyre problems earlier on Perez maintained a good pace to lie in third overall after the first loop of stages.

Once the problem was rectified the 2004 National Champion speeded up but his progress was hampered when he lost first gear in the long Radnor stage, but he battled back to end up at the Builth Wells finish in third place overall behind the Peugeot Cosworth of Andy Burton and main ANCRO rival Marcus Dodd (Hyundai Accent).

More importantly Perez maintained his championship lead thanks to being the second placed points scorer in the ANCRO Championship and as a result goes into next month’s Swansea Bay National Rally 17 points ahead of Dodd when battle recommences on July 21st.

“We made a mistake with our tyres early on. It’s been good. If we’d not put those tyres on we might have done a bit better but it’s a good result for the championship points. I thought we were going to do better than that (3rd) but it’s been a good rally today and well organised. I look forward to seeking revenge over Marcus on the next event” said Perez

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Barry kicks up the dust to score Mitsubishi Championship points
This weekendʼs mid-Wales-based Severn Valley National Rally saw Daniel Barry from Enniskerry and his co-driver Mark Bowens from Castlemartr, score a well-deserved sixth place in the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge, the highly competitive one-make championship for production specification Mitsubishi Lancers.

They overcame problems in the dusty conditions to collect a points score good enough to elevate them to eighth in the series at the seasonʼs mid-way point. Starting and finishing at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground in Builth Wells, the rally featured six stages in the forests on the Brecon Beacons plus a 17-mile run through Radnor Forest – the longest stage of the event. 22 year old Daniel was up against 16 other Evo Challenge crews and a further 30 competitors in the National rally field.

The dry weather meant that the forest roads were covered with a layer of loose gravel, making the fast and flowing stages extremely slippery in places. Undaunted, Daniel set off for the first two stages eager to prove he can be on the pace of the front-runners. However, at the first service halt of the day he reported his car was not handling to his liking and had even spun when passing another Mitsubishi competitor who had gone off the road ahead of him. With a few adjustments made he set off for the infamous Radnor stage intent on improving on his eighth place in the Evo Challenge.

But again, luck was not on his side and, following an excellent drive through the first part of the stage, he found his visibility reducing more and more in the clouds of dust as he began to catch the car ahead.

Concentrating hard the young Irishman tried to get close enough to overtake but suddenly, out of the gloom, a pile of logs appeared. Acting on instinct he flicked the car sideways, rather than go straight on and break something mechanical – a good move, as the car only sustained minor cosmetic injuries.

With this Mitsubishi checked for any other damage, during the second service halt, Daniel embarked on the remaining four stages which took place on the gravel roads and forests in and around the Eppynt Military ranges.

With no other problems encountered and this time, without slower competitors impeding his progress, Daniel was able to make up for some lost ground and crossed the line back in Builth Wells sixth in the Evolution Challenge and a creditable 12th overall.

“The first half of the event was a bit frustrating, as I was looking to have a good run and score championship points”, said Daniel at the finish. “Iʼm really pleased with the way that last group of stages went though, as I had a clear road. Overall I enjoyed the event and Iʼm happy that we are now up to eighth place in what is one of the most competitive championships around.”

This result also sees Daniel move up to third in the standings for the PIAAJunior Award for under 25 year- old drivers competing in the Mitsubishi series. The Barry Motorsport team now take a well-deserved Summer break before the fifth round of the Evolution Challenge - the Swansea Bay Rally on 21st July.

Danielʼs 2007 campaign is supported by: Peggy Murphyʼs of Enniskerry, BPI Telecom, Henco under-floor heating and SC Signs.

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Morrow takes third Evo Challenge victory of the year
This weekend’s mid-Wales-based Severn Valley National Rally saw Lisburn brothers Phillip and Simon Morrow make it three Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge wins so far this year, the result extending their lead in the highly competitive one-make championship for Mitsubishi Lancers.

Starting and finishing at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground in Builth Wells, the rally featured six stages in the forests on the Brecon Beacons plus a 17-mile run through Radnor Forest – the longest stage of the event.

Phillip was up against 16 other Evo Challenge crews and the rest of the National field and, following a hasty refurbishment of his car following last week’s Jim Clark Rally, he was looking forward to this event, the Welsh forests his preferred rallying location.

The dry weather meant that the forest roads were covered with a layer of loose gravel, making the fast and flowing stages extremely slippery in places. But this posed no problem to Phillip as he set off for the first two stages of the day.

However, his performance was compromised when he found his Evo unusually down on power and although third of the Mitsubishi runners, he was behind his main Evo Challenge rivals Julian Reynolds and Sebastian Ling.

At the first service halt his team took the opportunity to change his car’s turbo-charger and, with Radnor Forest ahead of him, Phillip knew that this next stage could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the results.

Not far from the start of the stage it was the turn of Reynolds’ car to lose power, the fault traced to a split turbo-pipe. Ling also lost time when he caught the car ahead and was unable to see in the dust. In contrast, Phillip had a clear run and, with his Mitsubishi restored to full-power, he blasted through the stage to take a 30-second lead.

Following the second service halt, a further four stages in the forests in and around the Eppynt Military ranges remained. Besides the dust, Phillip could now taste victory and was in fine form, posting a stunning second overall stage time on SS6.

Try as he might, Ling knew that unless Morrow had a problem he was unlikely to catch him and, with no pressure from behind, he sensibly elected to hold station for the rest of the event. Reynolds was on a charge, looking to make up places following his SS3 frustrations – which he did, but was too far behind to catch the flying Ulsterman.

At the finish, back in Builth Wells, Phillip crossed the line 37 seconds ahead of Ling and almost a minute ahead of Reynolds. His third win of the season sees him now four points ahead of the rest in the Evo Challenge standings and another step closer to the title.

“After a few problems this morning I thought I was going to have another one of those days”, said Morrow. “But when the car was back to 100% I really got stuck in. It just goes to show that you mustn’t give up, as others have problems too. I’m very pleased, as this result really helps my championship position – and that’s the most important thing, as my goal is to win the Mitsubishi works drive next year.”

Phillip and Simon’s performance was also good enough to see them win the event’s production class and finish in fourth place overall. Phillip also won the PIAA Junior and Gravel Championship awards for under 25 year old drivers.

The team now take a well-earned Summer break before the fifth round of the Evolution Challenge - the Swansea Bay Rally on 21st July.

Phillip’s 2007 campaign is supported by Morrow Fuels, Pirelli Tyres, Lyons European Haulage, Lagan Motor Factors, DGM Motorsport, Kelly’s Toyota, Proflex, PIAA, Speedline Corse, AMS gear kits, BADMC and RPM Promotions.

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Fiesta's - Walster Wins in Wales
Nineteen Ford Fiesta ST’s started round four of the Vodka Kick supported 2007 Fiesta SportingTrophy, the Severn Valley Clubmans Rally, based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Bulith Wells, Mid