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Robin Hood Stages - 10-11 Mar 07

Posted: March 15, 2007 2:24 PM - 5847 Hits

Round 1 - 2007 Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship

  • BHRC news round-up
  • Dunlop/Gambia BHRC round one report

Posted: March 15, 2007 2:24 PM

BHRC news round-up
Welcome to the first issue for 2007 of the post-event news and gossip update for the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship.

The Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend of 10/11 March was a brilliant start for the championship with 100 entries, 99 starters and the biggest crowds that anyone could remember for the Clipstone region.  

News
Don Simmons and Brian Thomas had a troubled rally, but finally got their Escort Mk1 to the finish of Sunday's Trophy Rally. "In the very short section between the finish of stage one and the start of the next stage the temperature crept up as we stopped and started in the queue. We got to the line and she wouldn't pull away, it stalled and she refused to start. Event over." After time to cool down, all was well and the car behaved until the same situation developed on the second run through Clipstone. It took a minute to do 200 yards, but they did finish.  

16-year old Alex Lucking was due to co-drive for Nick Pinkett but they were denied a start when the Saab 96 holed a piston on the way to the first control. Alex is the grandson of Julian, who co-drove for Nick last year, and they plan to do a full season together despite the disappointing start. "It really is a case of piston broke," said Nick.  

Nick Whale and Sally Wood completed the event in their Porsche 911 thanks to some rapid work at the Saturday night service by the Tuthill crew. The 911RS was suffering a diff problem, but with a spare unit in the truck the team set to and changed the diff in 18 minutes to keep the Porsche dealer and his fiancée in the rally.  

Terry Brown and Paul Willetts have asked to have their gratitude to two other crews recorded, as without the help of Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes and Adrian Young/Dylan Jenkins, they would not have finished the event. Major problems, later traced to a fuel regulator problem, left Brown's Escort struggling to run. But the help of the rival crews ensured push starts and other assistance were available all through Sunday. "Without them, and the marshals, we wouldn't have finished," said Willets.  

Phil and Barbara Smith gave their Tuthill-built Porsche 911 a debut run and were pleased to get to the finish without too many dramas. "It was a big learning curve," said the former Mini driver of his step up to class B5 with the immaculate Porsche.  

With Roy Brown reluctantly taking a finance-induced break from competing, Paul Drinkall had Chris Sykes co-driving the Porsche 911, eleven years after they last competed together on hill rallies. Everything was new to Chris, including pace notes. "Definitely a baptism of fire," said Paul.  

Peter Stimpson and Mark Butler made the trip up from Devon to run their Anglia in B3, having shown cracking pace in Somerset last October. Unfortunately, overheating put them out of the main event although they did tackle the Trophy Rally and will hopefully return for some more BHRC rounds in Wales.  

Jeremy Easson and Alun Cook had a scare when their intercom packed up at the start of stage one. With some quick thinking, they swapped helmets and Jeremy could then hear the notes. However, they now know for sure that they've got different sized heads.  

  Quotes of the weekend
"I reckon 20 guys could win this rally." Steve Magson underlines the quality of the BHRC entry.  

"I just won't use the brakes." Vince Bristow's plan for having to use a standard engine after his regular until blew up on the Sunseeker.  

"It's hard work this co-driving; I think it's time I retired." Arlene Cookson; and that was only at signing-on.  

"Aren't there just some wonderful cars here." Dick Slaughter was impressed with the category three field.  

"Apparently the landlady is very nice." David Stokes rates his hotel facilities.  

"I'm going to get some points and get to Wales." Richard Tuthill wasn't that confident before the Robin Hood…  

"We broke it testing last week, so hopefully all the trouble is out of the way." Steve Perez speaking before the Stratos blew up on the final stage. He says he'll be back for the Astra. "What an entry; I'd be happy to get in the top 10 of this lot."  

"It's been about 12 years since I was on my lid." Mark Solloway after his first stage roll.  

"Can I have a go in your car?" Arwel Evans was impressed at how well Dick Slaughter's BDG Escort went off the startline of the stages.  

"I was told that if I carried on driving like that, we were going home." Chris Browne got some encouragement from co-driver and partner Ali Cornwell after the opening stage. He did as he was told and went faster.  

"We had a small moment in there. Not listening to the co-driver as usual." Craig Salter survived his brief lack of attention to Preston Ayres.  

"Wouldn't it be great if we could now carry on through the night." Bob Gibbons didn't want to stop when he finished the first leg.  

"That was a heart stopper." John Parker lost all his lights on a fast section of Birklands on Saturday night in the Saab 96.  

"I performed like a Mary." Peter Slights had a bad stage in Birklands on Sunday.  

"You can't stop when you're up in the air." David Stokes had a bit of a scare in the final Clipstone.  

"There's a yump in there that's not flat. We tried it, and landed on the grass." Charlie Taylor was another to have a big moment on the final stage.  

"He's going to be a real nuisance." Gareth Lloyd had predicted before the rally that young Martin McCormack was going to fly – and he did.  

Dunlop/Gambia BHRC round one report
The Porsche 911 of Richard Tuthill and John Bennie claimed the opening victory of the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend of 10/11 March. After a fine battle with the Porsche 911RS of Dom Buckley/Paul Spooner, Tuthill/Bennie emerged at the end of the final Clipstone stage as winners of one of the most competitive BHRC events to date. Other category wins went to Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) and Jimmy McRae/Andy Richardson (Ford Escort Mk2) as record numbers of spectators packed into the Nottinghamshire stages to witness some tremendous rallying. The Robin Hood was organised by Lindholme Motor Sports Club Ltd.  

Category 1
The Sunbeam Tiger of Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies was expected to set the category one pace, but major electrical problems forced them to stop twice on the opening stage in the darkness of Saturday evening. Instead, Nutt/McBride took the lead and were able to edge clear of the battling Lotus Cortinas of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson and Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson. "It's been a good event and being on notes made it even better," said Nutt after an excellent win. Just short of his 69th birthday, Bean drove a blinder of a rally to beat Calvert, but it was always very close and the lead changed back to Bean on the final stage. When Clive King/Bob Ward had to stop and change a puncture on their Mini Cooper, series newcomers Terry Cree/Richard Shores moved their Mini ahead in class B2 on the driver's first rally for 10 years. Despite finishing with a failing head gasket, Keith Reed and Kieron Patterson won class B3 in their Cortina GT, while John Parker and Robert Harrison fought back from a catalogue of dramas on Saturday night to win B1 in their Saab 96.  

Category 2
With so many quick crews on the start list, the pace in category two was always going to be fierce. The first stage proved incident packed, as Mark Solloway/Den Golding and Dominic Frattaroli/Cliff Simmons (Datsun 240Z) both rolled and Steven Smith/John Nichols went out with suspension damage on their Porsche 911. Through it all, Tuthill/Bennie set the pace to finish the first leg ahead of Jeremy Easson/Alun Cook (Escort Mk1) and Buckley/Spooner. On a one-off run in Brian Bell's Porsche, Buckley attacked on Sunday morning and edged briefly ahead of Tuthill. However, Tuthill retaliated and when Buckley hit gearbox problems on the last two stages, the battle was over. "It's a very good feeling and just fantastic to be back out rallying again," said Tuthill. Buckley held on to second place, but last stage clutch and gearbox problems cost Easson third. Instead, Sean Lockyear/Chris Wood made it a Porsche clean sweep of the top three places, having won a rally-long battle with C5 winners David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1). A tremendous performance from Russell Morgan/Martin Kenyon took their Escort to C3 victory and a highly impressive eighth overall in category two, while John Worthing/Bill Robertson (Escort Mexico) were mighty in winning C2 after setting a scorching pace on Saturday night. Steve and Tony Graham took their lovely Lancia Fulvia to C1 victory.  

Category 3
The best ever category three entry was led home by McRae/Richardson, but for much of the rally they had to push hard to stay clear of Irish rising star Martin McCormack.
Partnered by Liam Moynihan, 21-year old McCormack was sensationally quick in his Escort Mk2 on his BHRC debut and was within 10s of McRae until damaging the suspension on the penultimate stage and retiring. Another star of the early stages was Grant Shand, who flew in the dark in his Escort Mk2 with David Young on the notes. Shand slipped back a little on Sunday as Peter Slights/Joyce Champion got into the groove and moved through to second place. Like Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James, Slights had not got off to a particularly quick start, but upped his pace on Sunday while Lloyd finished fourth behind Shand. "I really got my head right for the last two stages," said Lloyd. Class D3 was won in style by the new pairing of Arwel Evans/Ian Oakey (Escort RS2000), although Richard Lane/Frank Richer were less than half a minute down at the finish. "Ian was brilliant on the notes," said Evans after they finished seventh overall in category three.  

Note: the BHRC championship positions after this event remain provisional pending further technical checks.
Pre EVENT NEWS
  • British Historic Rally Championship Preview
  • List of Entries to Date
  • Big response for BHRC opener
  • Regulations available
01/03/07
British Historic Rally Championship Preview
The opening round of the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship will break all previous records for historic stage rallying in Britain.
For the first time, 100 cars will line up for a round of the BHRC when the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages runs over the weekend of 10/11 March.
The superb entry, which is packed with quality, will tackle three stages in the dark of Saturday evening and a further seven stages on Sunday.

Category 1
As usual, the oldest cars in the category one (pre '68) will run first on the road and an encouraging entry of 22 cars will be led away by the thundering Sunbeam Tiger of Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies, out to defend their 2006 BHRC title. However, this is a fresh Tiger and if it proves reliable on its first rally, it is hard to see anyone matching the pace of the former touring car racer.
Chasing Watts/Davies will be the Porsche 911 of 2004 champions Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride, while three more Porsches pack out the top 10 starters.
The Porsches will be hard pressed to fend off the leading Lotus Cortinas, however, and it will be the cars of Philip Atkinson/Simon Coates and Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson going all out in the battle for class B4 honours. Meanwhile, the Cortina GTs will contest B3 and the cars of Keith Reed/Kieron Patterson and Tim Beall/Pete Dalton will be leading, although a darkhorse could be the Ford Anglia of Peter Stimson/Mark Butler, up from the south west for a rare foray into the Nottinghamshire forests.
Half a dozen Mini Coopers will take on the MG Midget of Adam and Ian Tomlinson in B2, with Clive King/Bob Ward and Mike Barratt/Joanne Watson set to humble many of the bigger cars.
Finally, a pair of two-stroke Saab 96s runs in class B1 with John Parker/Robert Harrison leading friends and rivals Nick Pinkett/Alex Lucking.

Category 2
It is difficult to know where to start in category two, which is packed with very quick crews. First on the road, as winners of the 2006 event, will be Mark Solloway/Den Golding in their Escort Mk1 and Solloway will be 100% committed as ever. But a gaggle of Porsches and more Escorts will be chasing hard.
The major opposition in C5 will come from the Escorts of David Stokes/Guy Weaver, Jeremy Easson/Alan Cook and Ernie Graham/Alec Cooper, but the Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez/Claire Mole also runs in C5 and is getting quicker and quicker. These stages are home ground for Perez and will suit the Stratos, so this could be the car's best result so far.
The Porsche 911 pack is stronger than ever in category two, headed by Steven Smith/John Nichols, the 2006 category champions. However, Smith has massive opposition, led by BHRC returnee Richard Tuthill/John Bennie and Nick Whale/Sally Wood in their 911RS. Add in the 911 of Sean Lockyear/Chris Wood and the very effective Datsun 240Z of Dominic Frattaroli/Cliff Simmons and spectators are set for a real treat.
Bob Gibbons/Stuart Cardell head class C3 in their Escort RS2000, but the ex-Jim Clark Mk1 of Dave Watkins/Neil Duncan will be charging along in style. Also in C3 will be the glorious Alpine Renault A110 of Nigel Hollier/Peter Smith.
Meanwhile, class C2 for the 1600cc cars promises another instalment in a series of mighty contests. The Escort Mk1s of Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes, John Worthing/Bill Robertson and Vincent Bristow/Dean Mitchell are the big three contenders.
Running alone in C1, but well worth seeing, is the immaculate Lancia Fulvia of Steve and Tony Graham, competing on a rally for only the second time.

Category 3
For the first time in 2007, the category three cars will be a full part of the BHRC and the response is a record entry of 34 cars, full of rapid crews.
Leading the field will be 2006 Robin Hood category three winners Peter Slights/Joyce Champion in their Escort Mk2, hotly pursued by the similar cars of 2006 champions Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James and Jimmy McRae/Andy Richardson. Anyone of them could be victorious by the end of Sunday afternoon, and the level of competition will be awesome.
However, the quality doesn't stop there. Next up will be brothers Phil and Mike Squires as they make the move into the BHRC with their Escort Mk2. Then come the Escorts of James Potter/Bob Stokoe, Jason Lepley/Howard Pridmore and Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby. Taking on the Escorts in D5 is the stunning Opel Ascona of Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson and a brace of Vauxhall Chevettes.
The rest of the category three field runs in class D3, and it is the RS2000 of Arwel Evans/Ian Oakey that will surely set the pace. Leading the chase of the young Welshman will be more Escorts for Chris White/Chris Dewsnap, Richard Lane/Frank Richer, Rob Archer/Pete Field and Chris Shooter/Bev Le Good.

So, the stage is set for a fabulous start to the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship. Historic rallying in Britain is going from strength to strength and the Robin Hood should deliver some mighty competition.

28/02/07
List of Entries on the event website:
29/01/07
Big response for BHRC opener
The stage is set for a bumper season for the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, as competitor take-up runs at very high levels with more than a month to go to the opening event.

Already, nearly 60 historic cars have entered the Robin Hood Forest Stages on 10/11 March and the championship organisers from the Historic Rally Car Register are hoping that the event could set a new record entry for a round of the BHRC. The current record stands at 91 cars for the 2006 Robin Hood, but with interest in the BHRC booming, there is a chance that a new standard could be set when the leading cars head into Clipstone forest on 10 March.

Of particular significance is the strong growth in category three (1975-1981), which becomes a full part of the MSA championship for the first time this season. Importantly, support for the older cars in category one (pre 1968) also remains strong. Of the first 60 entries, the field was split well across the three categories.

"The early response to the Robin Hood is highly encouraging," said a BHRC spokesperson. "Most of our regular competitors are back for another season and we're also attracting a growing number of drivers from other branches of rallying. The classic category is really catching the attention of crews that have been competing elsewhere in recent times."

With single and first forest usage being a cornerstone of the BHRC format, and a nine-event schedule taking in some of the best gravel and asphalt events in Britain, more and more crews are looking to the BHRC for their rallying.

Topics: Robin Hood Stages 

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