Rally Yorkshire (Trackrod) - (Sat) 6 Oct 07

Posted: October 10, 2007 8:00 PM

Philip Morrow - 2007 Evo Champion
Photo: Roy Dempster

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Morrow is Mitsubishi Champion
It was the perfect result for Phillip Morrow in Saturday’s Rally Yorkshire, when he scored his sixth Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge victory of the season and in doing so, became the 2007 Champion with one round still to go.

Based in Pickering, the event featured 11 special stages covering a total of 100 competitive miles, most of which was within the forests of the North Yorkshire Moors. Not only a round of the Evo Challenge, the event was also round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, which saw an overall entry of 40 crews, 11 being registered Mitsubishi competitors - five of which finished in the top ten overall!

Morrow went to the event sporting a significant 18-point lead, which meant that he needed to score at least six points by finishing fifth or higher to secure the title, with Welshman Sebastian Ling the only driver within a mathematical chance of spoiling the young Ulsterman’s glory.

Not knowing whether to drive at a reduced pace and run the risk of losing concentration or get down to business as usual, Morrow decided that a cautious approach was the order of the day. Therefore, he was surprised to emerge from the first stage in his familiar position of first in the Evo Challenge, with a time good enough to put him in fifth place overall.

David Bogie was second quickest of the Evos with Ling third, both drivers reporting overshoots and spins in unpredictably slippery conditions. But later that morning the few seconds lost here-and-there was to become the least of their worries.

Try as he might to get in the way of Morrow reaping his reward, Ling’s gallant efforts were dashed when a driveshaft sheared on stage two and he collected a puncture on SS4, the upshot of which lost him two and-a-half minutes and a drop down the Mitsubishi leader-board to seventh.

With Bogie keen to record his first Evo Challenge victory of the season, he upped his pace on SS2 and went into the lead, extending his advantage on stage three after Morrow also broke a driveshaft. However, it all went wrong for Bogie on SS4 when he slid wide and clipped a rock which flipped his car upside-down. Thankfully he and his co-driver Robert Fagg emerged unscathed, but the same could not be said for his Mitsubishi.

SS4 also nearly spelt the end of Morrow’s day, when he had to avoid a stray digger in the stage! Fortunately he saw the solid obstacle in advance and, after negotiating it, he and co-driver Daniel Barritt dutifully stopped at the next radio point to report the incident before completing the stage.

Although losing time, Morrow still held the lead, but was now just six seconds ahead of Daniel Barry who was out to prove the pace he has shown during the season, with Stephen Petch now third having set the fastest Evo Challenge time on stage four.

The main service halt of the day was followed by a short spectator stage in Pickering Showground, which although only half-mile long, saw the exit of Alan Carmichael, who’s Evo’s transmission started making strange noises when first gear broke as he left the start-line.

It was then back to the forests for stages six and seven, where Barry was slowed by a broken gearbox mounting. This subsequent loss of time allowed Petch to snatch second place, but arguments with banks and chicanes - plus a loose differential mounting, meant that he slipped back to third on SS8.

With Elsmore and his co-driver for this event Patrick Walsh now familiarised and going faster, an optimistic pacenote saw them go straight on at a junction and squeeze their Evo between two boulders, specifically placed there by the forestry commission to stop cars going beyond that point! Amazingly, no damage was incurred and they continued, albeit having to renegotiate the gap to return to the stage!

Icelandic Rally Champion Daniel Sigurdarson with his sister and co-driver Asta Sigurdardottir were thoroughly enjoying their visit to the UK until a rear suspension arm mysteriously broke on a road section between stages six and seven. However, they weren’t going to let this spoil their event - or the co-driver’s 18th birthday - and once repaired they went on to take sixth place, their highest finish in the Evo Challenge so far.

Also enjoying his day and running for most of it in sixth place - right up until stage eight - was Thomas Naughton with new co-driver Terry Wilson, their excellent run brought to an end when their car’s differential took a turn for the worse.

With three stages left to go, crews held their breath and did their best to keep out of trouble until the end - except for Sebastian Ling, who decided that now he couldn’t win the championship, he would show the rest of the Mitsubishi field just what he was capable of, as he proceeded to set five fastest stage times.

But it was Morrow’s day and, as he came to a halt at the stop line of the final stage, the combination of delight and relief on his face signified the end of four years of trying to win the most sought-after prize in British rallying.
“I can’t believe it! The team and I have worked so hard for this for the past four years, it’s difficult to describe what I’m feeling right now”, said Morrow. “This has been a great season where I have been able to put all of my bad luck behind me and use the experience I’ve gained during the past three seasons. I’m now really looking forward to next year and a full assault in the British Championship.”

As well as the Evolution Challenge being decided in Yorkshire, so was the Evolution Cup, the class that runs within the Mitsubishi Championship for closer-to-standard specification Group N Evolutions.

With just six points between them, series leader Miles Johnston and Wayne Radford went head-to-head to gain advantage this weekend, but the battle was short-lived, when Radford suffered a broken brake pipe on stage one. Having driven with next-to-no brakes for the following three stages the car was fixed at the service halt, but when a turbo problem developed on SS5 Radford decided to call it a day.

With his rival sidelined all Johnston had to do was to reach the finish and, having survived a few worrying moments when his car¹s oil light flickered on during the afternoon and then when one of the front brakes caught fire, he crossed the line to claim the title and was delighted with his first season in the Mitsubishi series.

The eighth and final round of the Evolution Challenge takes place in just two weeks time on 20th October, when the championship returns to the National Gravel Championship for the north-Wales based Bulldog Rally.

With the two headline awards now decided, the season finale will see battles concluded for the PIAA Junior award for under 25-year old drivers, plus 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.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Round Seven - Results
1 Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Daniel Barritt (Burnley) 1:34:40.7
2 Daniel Barry (Enniskerry)/Mark Bowens (Cork) 1:35:16.5
3 Stephen Petch (Richmond)/Michael Wilkinson (Tow Law) 1:35:29.8
4 Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Patrick Walsh (Aberystwyth) 1:36:02.0
5 Sebastian Ling (Llandysul)/Aled Rees (Crymych) 1:36:30.7
6 Daniel Sigurdarson (Iceland)/Asta Sigurdardottir (Iceland) 1:47:32.2

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Cup
1 Miles Johnson (York)/Ian Bevan (Wrexham) 1:39:39.8

Retirements
SS4 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Rob Fagg (Isle of Man) - Accident
SS5 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena) - Transmission
SS5 Wayne Radford (Sheffield)/Paul Drew (Stroud) - Turbo
SS9 Thomas Naughton (Bury)/Terry Wilson - Transmission

Morrow becomes Evolution Challenge Champion!
Having led the UK’s most competitive rally championship – the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge – since the start of the season, Phillip Morrow finally secured the title on this weekend’s Rally Yorkshire – with one round still to go. And he did it in spectacular style, by recording his sixth victory of the year – a record in the seven-season history of the series for Group N Mitsubishi Lancers.

The Pickering-based Rally Yorkshire not only represented the seventh round of the Evolution Challenge, but the fifth round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, featuring 11 stages on the North Yorkshire Moors and a competitive distance totalling 100 miles.

The 24-year old Lisburn driver went to the event sporting a healthy 18-point Evo Challenge lead, which meant that he needed to score at least six points - by finishing fifth or higher - to secure the title, with Welshman Sebastian Ling the only driver within a mathematical chance of spoiling the young Ulsterman’s glory.

Not knowing weather to drive at a reduced pace and run the risk of losing concentration or to get down to business as usual, Phillip decided that a cautious approach was the order of the day. Therefore, he was a little surprised to emerge from the first stage in his familiar position – lying first in the Evolution Challenge - with a time good enough to put him in fifth place overall!

David Bogie was second quickest of the Evos with Ling third, both drivers reporting overshoots and spins in unpredictably slippery conditions. Try as he might to get in the way of Morrow reaping his reward, Ling’s efforts were dashed when a driveshaft sheared on stage two and he collected a puncture on SS4.

With Bogie keen to record his first Evo Challenge victory of the season, he upped his pace on SS2 and went into the lead, extending his advantage on stage three after Phillip also broke a driveshaft. However, Bogie rolled his car out of the event on SS4 when he slid wide and clipped a rock.

Stage four very nearly spelt the end of Phillip’s day, when he had to avoid a stray digger in the stage! Fortunately he saw the solid obstacle in advance and, after negotiating it, he and co-driver Daniel Barritt (from Burnley) dutifully stopped at the next radio point to report the incident before completing the stage.

Although losing time, Phillip still held the Evo Challenge lead, but was now just six seconds ahead of Daniel Barry at the first service halt of the day at Pickering Showground, where the team restored his Mitsubishi to 100%.

With Barry slowed in the afternoon by a broken gearbox mounting, Phillip focussed on the remaining six stages and drove as neatly as possible to keep out of trouble – which he did, right to the end of the event. As he came to a halt at the stop line of the final stage, the combination of delight and relief on his face signified the end of four years of trying to win the most sought-after prize in British rallying.

“I can’t believe it! The team and I have worked so hard for this for the past four years, it’s difficult to describe what I’m feeling right now”, said Phillip. “This has been a great season where I have been able to put all of my bad luck behind me and use the experience I’ve gained during the past three seasons.”

On being confirmed as 2007 Evolution Challenge Champion and, having won the prize of a works drive with Mitsubishi Motors UK in 2008, Phillip praised his team, family and sponsors for their invaluable support.

“I could not have achieved this result without the support of my sponsors, family and the team. This result is not just for me, but for them as well, as without their help none of this would ever have been possible and I can’t thank them enough for their faith in me over the years. I’m now really looking forward to 2008 and a full assault in the British Championship.”

In addition to the opportunity of a Mitsubishi works drive in the BRC next year, having been selected as a finalist for the Pirelli Star Driver Award, Phillip has an opportunity of winning an alternative prize drive for 2008. Details of this award will be announced following the final round of the British Rally Championship, the Wales Rally GB, which takes place on 30th November – 2nd December.

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, Drenth gear kits, BADMC and RPM Promotions.

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PUNCTURE DENIES CHAMPION TRACKROD PODIUM

Local ace Ryan Champion’s hopes of repeating his Trackrod Rally Yorkshire victory of 2006 evaporated when a puncture half way through the long Langdale stage cost him over four minutes and scuppered any chance the Castleton driver had of success.

Returning to the sport after an enforced six month sabbatical, Champion was hoping to drive the latest Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 on his home event but when the proposed deal fell through, he resorted to using the Morgan Motorsport Subaru Impreza on the Pickering-based Rally.

Despite not having not driven the car competitively, Champion and co driver Craig Thorley from Pocklington were soon in the groove on the opening two stages in Dalby to emerge in fourth place and they held station through the Gale Rigg and Cropton tests to arrive at Service just 23 seconds down on Mark Higgins in third.

A quick blast around the Showground spectator stage saw them then head off to Langdale which is where disaster struck for the Procter’s Coaches backed pairing, when eight miles into the stage, a front puncture caused them to stop and change the offending wheel, dropping four minutes in the process and relegating them to 14th overall.

Bitterly disappointed, Champion fought back in typical fashion with a string of top five times through the remaining stages but in the end, had to settle for a tenth place finish.

“Having not driven competitively for six months, I was a little rusty to start off with and although the car didn’t have the speed to match the Mitsubishis, I was confident of securing a podium. But the puncture put paid to that and it was effectively game over and I’m very disappointed because a lot of people have helped to get us to the start. I’d especially like to thank Kevin Procter, Phil Morgan and www.extreme-rally.co.uk for making it possible and I’m sorry I couldn’t repay them with a good result” said Ryan.

Champion is undecided as to when his next competitive outing will be although he is hoping to make an appearance at the Northallerton Automobile Club organised Christmas Stages Rally at Croft Circuit on December 29th.

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Barry achieves a career best.

This weekend saw Enniskerry rally driver Daniel Barry score his best ever result since he started in the sport three years ago, when he finished a superb second in round seven of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and claimed an overall position of sixth, on what was also round five of the British Rally Championship.

The Rally Yorkshire featured 100 competitive miles split into 11 timed special stages, ten of them over the fast gravel roads in the forests of the North Yorkshire Moors, plus one spectator friendly affair around Pickering Showground, the venue also hosting the event’s start, finish and service area.

With this being the first gravel event in his Mitsubishi Evolution IX, Daniel and his team spent a few hours testing the day before the event and were pleased with the car’s performance.

Boosted by the outcome of the test Daniel, together with his regular co-driver Mark Bowens from Castlemartr, set off for the first stage with the bit between their teeth and were pleased to emerge from the first stage third in the Evolution Challenge. The time sheets showed that they were just three seconds behind one of the championship’s leading competitors, Welshman Sebastian Ling and a further 11 seconds behind the series leader, Ulsterman Phillip Morrow – especially as the conditions were unpredictably slippery.

On the next two stages both Ling and Morrow broke a driveshaft and dropped back, whilst young Scotsman David Bogie charged into the lead when Daniel slid wide and beached his car on a bank for a few seconds. However, Bogie rolled on the next stage and, when cars returned to Pickering Daniel had closed the gap on Morrow to just six seconds, following a display of spectacular, on-the-limit driving.

As his team checked the car over, they found that the exhaust was missing and gearbox mounting had been broken. Unfortunately, due to the extent of work, the team exceeded their maximum service time and Daniel was penalised 40 seconds for booking into the next time control four minutes late.

Now having been relegated to third, Daniel set off on the day’s remaining stages determined to claw back the lost time and, on the short spectator stage around the showground, he was the quickest of all other Evo Challenge competitors - the first time he had posted a fastest stage time since he began contesting the Mitsubishi series. He was also delighted to find he was third quickest overall!

Following a concentrated over the next three stages, Daniel reclaimed second place on SS8. With the gearbox mounting still causing some concern, he ingeniously removed one of the car’s bonnet retaining pins and jammed it in the hole and, for the final three stages, drove at a calculated pace to ensure he made it back to the finish in Pickering.

After a nail-biting final few miles, Daniel crossed the line to score the best result of his career so far: second in the Evolution Challenge, just 35 seconds behind Morrow and sixth overall in what was an International status event.

“Considering it wasn’t the easiest of rallies for us I am absolutely over the moon with the result”, said a delighted Daniel at the finish. “Although we had a few moments in the slippery conditions, I was very pleased with our pace – and if we hadn’t picked up 40 seconds time penalties things might have been even better! I now can’t wait until the next event.”

The team now prepare for the eighth and final round of the Evolution Challenge, the north-Wales based Bulldog Rally, which takes place on 20th October.

Daniel’s 2007 campaign is supported by: Peggy Murphy’s of Enniskerry, BPI Telecom, Henco under-floor heating and SC Signs.

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Mitsubishi takes third victory of the season
Guy Wilks, together with his co-driver Phil Pugh, scored their third Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship victory of the season for the Mitsubishi Motors UK Works Team, when they won Saturday’s round five, the Rally Yorkshire. Having led the event from the start Wilks was never challenged and now moves up to second place in the driver’s championship standings.

Team mates Gwyndaf Evans and Huw Lewis held second place – right up to the final stage – until a pin came out of a gear selection shaft when leaving the start line and, following the subsequent time loss whilst it was re-connected, they dropped to fourth.

With two rounds and three points scoring opportunities remaining this season, the Mitsubishi team were completely focussed on achieving a strong finish with both cars this weekend, in order to keep their hopes for the driver’s and team’s titles firmly on track.

Starting on Saturday morning from Pickering Showground, the Rally Yorkshire featured four stages in the forests of the north Yorkshire Moors, followed by a main service halt and a short spectator stage within the showground. The afternoon comprised a further six stages in the forests, before the finish back in Pickering after completing a total of 100 competitive miles.

As they have done on every rally so far this year, the two Mitsubishi’s immediately headed the field, with Wilks emerging from the first stage an impressive six seconds ahead of Evans and, more significantly, 11 ahead of the their main rival Mark Higgins in a Subaru.

Both Wilks and Evans continued to extend their advantage on stage two but, with noises coming from his car’s transmission when in third gear, Evans opted to drive with caution to ensure he made it back to the service halt after four stages. Even though he chose to skip third gear on occasions, Evans maintained his lead ahead of Higgins and, when cars headed back to Pickering following SS4 the time sheets showed Wilks now 20 seconds ahead, with Evans second a further six seconds up on the Subaru driver.

With 30 minutes of servicing available, the Mitsubishi team replaced the gearbox in Evans’ Lancer with time to spare and, with his car restored to 100%, the experienced Welshman set off to extend the margin between him and Higgins. Wilks, however, went out with the sole intention of consolidating his lead – which is exactly what he did.

With no mechanical issues at all throughout the afternoon, Wilks started the 11th and final stage 40 seconds ahead of Evans, who was now 10 ahead of Higgins, the team looking all set to score their second 1-2 result of the season.

Wilks completed the stage without a hitch to take a resounding 50-second victory, but the spectre of recurring misfortune returned to plague Evans. As he left the start-line for the 9.68-mile run through Cropton Forest, all was going well until he went to select third gear and suddenly he found he couldn’t select any gears at all! As the car coasted to a halt, Evans jumped out and opened the bonnet. After a few moments he discovered that a retaining pin had come out of a selector shaft and, after clipping it back on, he and Lewis were on their way again.

Although the remainder of the stage went well, around two and a half minutes had been lost, but such was the lead of the leading quartet of cars, Evans was still able to salvage a respectable fourth place, which combined with Wilks first position, was enough to launch Mitsubishi into the lead of the team’s championship.

The result also elevates Wilks to second in the driver’s standings and Evans to third, positions which will see the battle for the British Championship go to the final event, the Wales Rally GB, which takes place on 30th November – 2nd December. With this also being the final round of the World Rally Championship and over twice the distance of a normal BRC round, organisers of the British series have elected that competitors will score double-points for this event.

The Cirencester-based Mitsubishi Motors UK rally team is supported by HKS, Pirelli, Sparco, Speedline Corse, PIAA, Ricardo and Performance Friction Brakes. The team’s two Lancer Evolution IXs are built and run on events by ADR Motorsport of Chesterfield. Guy Wilks is supported by Mobil 1 and Sega Rally.

Team Quotes
Gwyndaf Evans
“Rallying can be cruel sometimes. Everything was going so well and we were looking to score another 1-2 for the team until the last stage and then to have something as simple as a retaining pin break is just so unlucky, especially as I felt we had earned second place. Fortunately it didn’t take us long to get going again, so at least we were able to claim fourth place, which added to Guy’s first is not a bad result for the team.”

Guy Wilks
“We knew what we had to do – and we did it, although it wasn’t as easy as that of course. We got ourselves an early advantage and then it was a case of managing the gap, which meant I didn’t drive flat out this afternoon. It’s a great result for the whole team – especially as my car ran faultlessly throughout the event. We’re now back on track for the title, which is where we want to be with one event to go.”

Paul Brigden - General Manager Ralliart
“It’s great to take our third win of the season and to see both cars finish strongly. This result puts us back on top of the team’s championship standings and elevates both Guy and Gwyndaf in the drivers table. Both drivers delivered a text-book performance and I am so disappointed for Gwyndaf that he didn’t get the result he deserved. We must now re-focus our sights on the Wales Rally GB and the task of winning both the team’s and driver’s titles.”

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BHRC report, round eight: Trackrod Historic Cup

Martin McCormack and Liam Moynihan won the rally while David Stokes and Guy Weaver won the championship title during the concluding round of the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Trackrod Historic Cup on Saturday (6 October).
The annual blast through the Yorkshire stages was an epic event, with stunning battles all through the field and the closest of all was in category two when just two seconds covered the leading three cars at the finish.
The spectacle of the BHRC crews drew massive approval from the thousands of fans who watched the rally, and it was a fitting finale to a superb season for historic rallying.

Category 1
Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) went into the rally needing to win category one to clinch the overall title and came very close to doing just that. Despite a puncture on the opening stage, they led the chase of the flying Sunbeam Tiger of Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies. However, Watts was still leading as they headed into the final 14-mile stage in Givendale. Meanwhile, Stuart Rolt and Richard Pomfret were just about level with Nutt/McBride in a Team Tuthill Porsche contest.
Then, with a failing head gasket, Watts slowed mid-stage and Nutt was held up when he caught the Tiger. "Patrick pulled over as soon as he could," said Nutt, but valuable time had been lost, Rolt bagged victory and the title was lost for Nutt/McBride.
Only half a minute adrift of the Porsches was the B4 winning Lotus Cortina of Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson after a tremendous run, chased by the similar car of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson. Tim Beall/Peter Dalton took B3 spoils in their Ford Cortina GT, while John Parker/Robert Harrison were clear in B1 in their wonderful Saab 96.
But the other big contest to be settled was in B2 and this was another battle resolved in a dramatic last stage. Clive King/Bob Ward and Terry Cree/Richard Shores set off at a stunning pace in their Mini Coopers and were just a second apart at the end of the opening Gale Rigg stage. But Cree/Shores than spent a minute and a half in a Cropton ditch, and the matter seem settled. Despite a failing head gasket and a broken front shock absorber, King pressed on and was within a mile of the finish of the final stage when a massive engine failure ended his rally. Despite another minute in a ditch, Cree/Shores duly took over the class win and the B2 championship title, as Graeme and Richard Godfrey took their Cooper S to second in class.

Category 2
A mighty battle for category two honours was also resolved on the final stage as three Porsche 911s emerged from the 14-mile Givendale stage covered by just two seconds.
With a couple of stages to run, Steven Smith/John Nichols seemed to have done enough to claim victory, but chasing hard were Sean Lockyear/Chris Wood and Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp. Smith took only a five-second margin into that stage and admitted that he concentrated rather too much on the gap to Lockyear. "I backed off too much and nearly got caught," said Smith. However, Lockyear had an overshoot in Givendale and it was Haddon who blitzed the stage to pull back a massive 18s on Smith and grab second, just 1.7s behind the XS Racing Porsche and four-tenths of a second ahead of Lockyear. "It's been a great battle all day," said Lockyear. Chasing the Porsches was the Escort Mk1 of Stokes and Weaver, but their focus was on the title contest. "We've been trying to win this for five years," said Stokes. "We got pretty close in 2005 and lost it by one point. I'm very proud of what we've done."
An impressive run by Chris Skill/Philip Stone kept them within 18s of Stokes, while third in C5 were Rikki Proffitt and John Madoc-Jones. The C4 title contest fell to Peter Lythell/Gill Cotton after a very attacking drive in their Porsche took them clear of Paul Drinkall/Roy Brown. One of the star drives of the event came from Russell Morgan and Martin Kenyon as they won C3 in their Escort Mk1 by over a minute from Peter Egerton/Russ Langthorne. "We had a slow start but picked up," reckoned Morgan after they finished 13th overall in the Pinto-powered car, beating a host of more powerful cars in the process.
The battle for the C2 championship crown was another settled in Yorkshire and it was John Worthing and Bill Robertson who took the title in their Escort Mk1, although victory on the event went to Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes. Out of the season-long battle in the long Langdale stage went Vince Bristow/Dean Mitchell when a distributor problem retarded the engine in their Escort.

Category 3
The rally was dominated by McCormack/Moynihan, who set a stunning pace on their debut in the Yorkshire forest, Only a detached exhaust through the final three stages hampered their mighty progress, but they underlined their superiority by being two seconds a mile faster than anyone through the 14-miles of Givendale. "Very challenging stages, but very enjoyable," said McCormack after a remarkable performance.
"We've not been able to touch this young Irishman today," said Peter Slights after taking second in category three with Joyce Champion. Slights was a minute and a half down at the finish, and only 16s up on Phil and Mick Squires, who took their Escort Mk2 to third place after one of their best BHRC outings to date. "The stages were excellent and the competition was very high," said Phil at the finish.
Less than 10 seconds covered third to fifth in category three as the Squires headed Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby in a great battle, while Rob Archer/Peter Field pipped Martin Freestone/Michelle Calvert for sixth.
D3 again went to Richard Lane/Frank Richer, while Richard Perry/Clive Townend won class D2 in their Talbot Sunbeam.

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Perez Untouchable on Trackrod
VK Vodka Kick rally driver Steve Perez ensured complete domination by winning every stage on his way to victory in today’s Trackrod Rally Yorkshire National event.

Driving the Ford Focus WRC after having to withdraw his historic entry following problems last weekend in his Lancia Stratos, Perez and Belfast co-driver Stephen Mcauley took victory by over two minutes ahead of friend and rival Paul Bird with last year’s Trackrod National Rally winner Steve Petch in third.

The 2004 ANCRO National Champion was fastest on the opening two Dalby stages as Bird tracked him, but when the Cumbrian driver had problems on SS3 Perez upped the ante to ensure he could not be beaten and in doing so took his second win in the fast Yorkshire forests following on from his previous North Humberside Forest Rally victory.

“Fastest on every stage will do me just fine. I came here to win and that’s exactly what we’ve done. I enjoyed Stephen sitting alongside me, he’s done a fantastic job and this victory is even sweeter because once again I’ve beaten Birdy. The stages were great, the car was fantastic and it’s been a perfect day for us. Hopefully we can continue our good run towards the end of the year.”

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Driveshaft Drama Thwarts Bird’s Bid
Penrith rally driver Paul Bird saw his hopes of victory on the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire National event evaporate when a broken driveshaft cost him time on SS3 of today’s event.

Driving the VK backed Stobart Subaru WRC, Bird and co-driver Andy Richardson from Kirkby Stephen were making their comeback to the forests for the first time since March on the Pickering based event and after a good run through the opening stages in Dalby Forest, Bird was hoping to close the ten second gap between himself and chief rival Steve Perez.

However half way through the seven mile Gale Rigg stage Bird slid wide into a ditch which cost him some time, but in extracting the Subaru he broke a driveshaft which meant he had to contest the remainder of that stage and the following high speed test in Cropton with transmission problems.

The TEGsport team rectified the situation in service but the two minutes time loss proved too much for Bird to claw back on the final three stages and as a result he had to settle for second place behind Perez.

Paul Bird: “I’m not too disappointed given I felt very rusty today. It’s the first rally I’ve done since May and my first time on gravel since the Border Counties in March so it was always going to be a tough challenge. We had a bit of an off which cost us about a minute and then breaking the driveshaft cost us another minute by which time Steve had disappeared off into the distance.

“I’m not too unhappy to finish second to Steve, I’m more concerned that it’s my turn to buy the champagne yet again!”

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Full Results:
Trackrod Rally (Yorkshire)

Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Photos:
Roy Dempster Photos

• 2007 British Rally Championship
• 2007 Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge
• 2007 Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship

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PRE EVENT NEWS

• MITSUBISHI AIMS TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN YORKSHIRE
• Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
• FIRST GRAVEL TEST FOR GASS’S C2
• BRC Preview
• David Higgins - NEW CAR, NEW IMAGE, SAME GOAL
• Entry Lists
• List of Entries to date
• Regulations

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02/10/07
MITSUBISHI AIMS TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN YORKSHIRE
The Mitsubishi Motors UK Works Rally Team will resume it's challenge for both the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship team's and driver's titles this weekend, when its two Lancer Evolution IXs driven by Guy Wilks and Gwyndaf Evans compete in round five, the International Rally Yorkshire.

After posting another front-running performance last time out on the tarmac roads of the Ulster Rally, the eventual outcome of a second place for Evans and retirement for Wilks means that the team is targeting a strong two-car finish this time round, in order to keep its championship aspirations firmly on track.

Having set more fastest stage times than all of the other competitors put together so far this year, there is no doubt that the two Works Mitsubishi's are the best performing cars out there - and that Wilks and Evans are more than capable of achieving the results - as proved in round three on the Isle of Man when they finished in first and second places.

With the championship now returning to forestry roads for the first time since round one in April, which was won by Wilks, the team has recently carried out a two-day test to ensure both cars and drivers are up to speed on gravel.

"We were very pleased with the performance of our cars during the test", said General Manager for Ralliart and team boss Paul Brigden. "We are now concentrating on ensuring they are as reliable as possible, which I am confident will result in us posting a strong finish - which is exactly what we need at this critical point in the season."

The forests of the North Yorkshire Moors are renowned for their long straights and flat-out bends, many of the roads following an almost direct line along the contours of the infamous 'Rigs'. The team therefore hopes that the high speeds will suit the Works Mitsubishis.

Following the recent test Evans said: "I am looking forward to this event as previous stage times have shown that we should have the speed that's needed to do well in these forests. Although rallying is difficult to predict, having had two-days testing I'm very comfortable with the car and we go to the event with it all to play for."

Having covered well over 100 miles, Wilks was also pleased with the outcome of the test and is now focussed on achieving the best result he can for the team:
"With my WRC campaign winding down this year I'm now 100% set on the British Championship. I like this event and after our test have confidence that we have the speed and the right set-up for the Yorkshire stages. It's good to be competing in a car that I know can win the event outright."

The International Rally Yorkshire features 100 competitive miles split into 11 timed special stages. It starts on Saturday ay 9.15 from Pickering Showground, where it returns at lunch-time for a half-mile spectator stage and a main service halt, with the finish scheduled for 6.00pm that evening.

Both drivers will be accompanied by their regular co-drivers: Wilks partnered by Phil Pugh and Evans by Huw Lewis.

The Cirencester-based Mitsubishi Motors UK rally team is supported by HKS, Pirelli, Sparco, Speedline Corse, PIAA, Ricardo and Performance Friction Brakes. The team's two Lancer Evolution IXs are built and run on events by ADR Motorsport of Chesterfield. Guy Wilks is supported by Mobil 1.

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Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge
The International Rally Yorkshire on Saturday 6th October hosts round seven of this year’s Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and, with just six points to find on either this and round eight, current championship leader Phillip Morrow has the opportunity to secure the title this weekend.

The event, which also hosts round five of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, sees an overall entry of 38 cars, 13 of which are competing for the Mitsubishi series - a figure that represents 34% of the International field.

2006 saw the first time the Evo Challenge visited this event, organisers keen to return this year to provide Mitsubishi crews a chance to compete in the forests of the North Yorkshire Moors.

Currently enjoying an 18-point lead, Morrow has to finish fifth or higher in the Evo Challenge standings to win the championship. Based on his form this season, with no less than five victories under his belt, the task may appear easy, but anyone involved with the sport knows that the most predictable thing about rallying is its unpredictability!

The only driver that can mathematically take Morrow’s glory is South Wales’ Seb Ling and, even though he has to score at least six points more than the young Ulsterman on this round, he has pledged to fight to the end. However, things could well have been different if Ling had not suffered a few frustrating results during the course of the season.

With third-placed Julian Reynolds realising his challenge for the 2008 Mitsubishi prize drive is over, he has opted not to complete the season. Therefore, following the two title aspirants is the battle for the remaining podium places, with David Bogie showing that there’s definitely more to come from this Scottish youngster and Nik Elsmore still in with a shout of the top three.

Back behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi is former British Champion Jonny Milner, who, although registered for the Evolution Challenge, has sportingly announced he will not take any points from this event, so as not to effect the battle between the series front-runners.

Debuting their new (or refurbished) Evolution IXs on gravel this weekend will be Connor McCloskey, who is another driver returning to the Evo Challenge fold, followed by Daniel Barry and Alan Carmichael, the latter two drivers committed to a full season in the Mitsubishi series, with the view of a major assault next year.

Running one car ahead of Carmichael is local to this event Stephen Petch, who could still end his season on the championship podium if he gets a good run on home turf and consolidate his position for the PIAA Junior Award for under 25-year old drivers.

Organisers are pleased to see late entries come from Thomas Naughton and the recently crowned Icelandic Rally Champion Daniel Siguordasson, who is making another trip from his home land to contest the Mitsubishi series in the UK.

The category for closer to standard specification Evolution Lancers is also reaching its climax. It is now being fought out between Wayne Radford and its current leader Miles Johnston, who will be driving his recently acquired Evo VIII as opposed to his former Evo VI for the first time this weekend.

The International Rally Yorkshire starts and finishes from Pickering Showground, the venue also providing the event’s main service area and a tricky half-mile spectator stage. The event gets underway at 9.15 on Saturday morning and features a total of 100 competitive miles split into 11 special stages in the forests over the North Yorkshire Moors, with the finish back in Pickering at 6.00pm.

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. It also features prizes for the Pirelli and Performance Friction Brakes Cups and the PIAA Junior Award for drivers under 25 years old.

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.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge entries
6 Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Daniel Barritt (Burnley) (J)
7 Jonny Milner (Huggate)/Ian Windress (Northallerton)
8 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Rob Fagg (Kirkmichael) (J)
9 Sebastian Ling (Llandysul)/Aled Rees (Crymych)
11 Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Stephen McAuley (Belfast)
12 Connor McCloskey (Kilrea)/ Robbie Durrant (Bicester) (J)
16 Daniel Barry (Enniskerry)/Mark Bowen (Cork) (J)
17 Miles Johnston (York)/Ian Bevan (Wrexham) *
20 Stephen Petch (Richmond)/Michael Wilkinson (Tow Law) (J)
21 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena)
38 Wayne Radford (Dinnington)/Paul Drew (Stroud) *
39 Thomas Naughton (Bury)/Horace Saville (Bury)
40 Daniel Sigourdarson (Iceland)/Astor Sigourdottir (Iceland)

* = Evo Cup
(J) = Junior driver

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FIRST GRAVEL TEST FOR GASS’S C2
Darren Gass and Neil Shanks will debut their “pocket rocket” Citroën C2 Super 1600 on gravel this weekend on International Rally Yorkshire.

The penultimate round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship is a one day affair based around Pickering in North Yorkshire. The pair has proved that the car is more than a match for asphalt, taking class wins and setting some stunning times on the three sealed surface rallies this season.

The swap to gravel has meant a complete change of suspension for the little French car, Darren taking the opportunity to have the engine upgraded too. “We felt that the engine was due a check over after three tough tarmac events,” said Daren, “So it seemed a good time to upgrade it to the latest specification. The body shell is still not the latest spec,” he added, “which means we will always be giving away some performance if we’re up against this year’s cars. But the goal this season is to take the Junior and Rally 3 titles in the BRC, so having a reliable car is most important.”

The team will not have chance to test the car before the event, the Crozier Motorsport mechanics even left with the possibility of having to fit the engine in Yorkshire. “The engine is being built in France,” explained Darren, “and even with the suspension fitted, until it arrives we obviously can’t test. It’s a bit frustrating but I’m sure the lads will do a good job. I might have to let one of them run it in for me while I do the recce.”

A good result is essential on the ultra fast forest stages and even though fellow C2 driver Conrad Rautenbach cannot make the event, Stefan Davis’s Ford will keep the duo on their toes.

The rally starts and finishes at the Pickering Showground with service after four of the eleven stages. The sting comes with a run of seven stages without a chance for the mechanics to even change tyres, giving this rally a sprint start and endurance finish.

Darren would like to thank Quarryfix Ltd, Cheevers Chemists, Dalzells of Markethill, Haffey Plant Hire, Killycarn Sand & Gravel , EMC Autopax, AC Vehicle Components, Sligo Pallets, Castrol, ID Graphics (NI) and Crozier Motorsport Engineering for their support in 2007. You can check on the team’s progress at www.darrengass.com

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27/09/07
BRC PREVIEW
The headlines on the first round of last year’s Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship read “Champion Champions Champions” Local Yorkshire driver Ryan Champion did indeed beat seven former BRC champions and proved it was no fluke by winning all the year’s gravel rounds. He returned in 2007 but has missed all the asphalt events, posting third on the Pirelli in April and now seeded at car one on his home event.

This time he will compete against four former champions and many more top class drivers in Britain’s premier rally championship. Immediately behind him are the two main protagonists, both taking two wins apiece so far this year. Guy Wilks’ Mitsubishi Motors UK Evo 9 will push Champion to the max, while triple BRC champion and current leader Mark Higgins is keen for a fourth title and hat-trick in his Teams’ Championship-leading Stobart TEG Sport Impreza.

Gwyndaf Evans, David Higgins and Jonny Milner are all former British Rally Champions and all have every right to a podium spot too, but as 2002 event winner Milner is not registered, the rest will fight over the points. Leading the series after round three was Mark Higgins’ rookie team-mate Wyn Humphreys who will also mix it with 3rd place Rob Swann and Pirelli Star Driver finalist Philip Morrow for the champagne.

International Rally Yorkshire starts on Saturday 6th October at 9am from Pickering Showground, returning for service at 12.30 and to the finish just after 6pm. The ultra compact route means drivers will need to be on the pace from the off, as Champions wait for nobody.

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David Higgins - NEW CAR, NEW IMAGE, SAME GOAL
They might look slightly different this time round, but the TQ-sponsored team are back for the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire next month gunning for points. Since parting company from RED's Toyota S2000R after the Ulster International Rally at the start of September, David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have been inundated with offers of cars to compete in on the Trackrod - and they have finally made their decision on which one to use.

"We have entered the rally in a Subaru Impreza," says David. "It's the one Nasser Al-Attiyah used in the Production World Rally Championship round in Greece this year. "The Autotek Motorsport team are keen to run the car on a British event, and we are keen to continue the year with a good car and a professional team set up. I've already had a seat fitting for the car, and we will test both my Subaru and my team mate Hugh's Mitsubishi again ahead of the rally."David is unsure if this will be a one off drive in the Autotek Motorsport car or if he will use it again on Wales Rally GB, which forms the final two rounds of the British Rally Championship, in December. "Either way we hope to finish the year in a Subaru Impreza," says David.

The team, consisting of David and Ieuan, and TQ Education and Training boss Hugh Evans and Iestyn Williams in their Mitsubishi Lancer E9, will run under the team name TQ.com for the rest of the season. They carry forward the points they gained earlier this year as the TQ RED team and currently lie third in the BRC teams championship.

Trackrod Rally Yorkshire takes place on 6th October, based at the Pickering Showground.

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Full Entry Lists on the event website below:

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12/09/07
List of Entries to date & Regulations on:

Trackrod Rally (Yorkshire)

• 2007 British Rally Championship
• 2007 Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge
• 2007 Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship