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Posted: June 1, 2011 10:26 AM

MSA ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 - SIMPSON BACK TO THE FRONT!…

Posted: May 31, 2011 12:58 PM

Having been unable to contest a full season of events due to business commitments for the past couple of years, 2007 MSA Asphalt Rally Champion Steve Simpson is back and has started his campaign in the best possible fashion – by winning the opening round, the Tour of Epynt, in his Subaru Impreza WRC. Fastest time on the opening stage of the Brecon-based event put the Manchester driver, and co-driver Aled Davies, into a lead they maintained through to the finish.

The Tour of Epynt was the one event that defending MSA Asphalt Champion Damian Cole failed to finish last year, and this year’s was not without its problems! Trailing Simpson by as little as one-tenth of a second after the second stage, Cole maintained his runner-up spot throughout the event but, on the final test, his Ford Focus WRC suffered a broken rear driveshaft. The gap between Simpson and himself rose to 75 seconds but then the offending shaft needed to be replaced in order to cover the road section back to the finish. The job was completed, leaving Cole just time to reach the final control before going OTL – phew!

One of the ‘Drives of the Rally’ came from Dave Pattison/Paul Whittaker in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO6. Dave, son of original EARS/Motoring News Tarmac Championship sponsor Mike, has recently returned to the sport and, whilst his ability is not in doubt, his lack of ‘match practice’ could have worked against him. Not a bit of it! Fifth after the first stage, the Stockport driver just kept banging in the times to the point that, following the retirement of last year’s Epynt winner Peter Lloyd (Subaru Impreza WRC), he moved into 3rd and stayed there! Dave was awarded the John Horton Motorsport Management ‘Star Performer’ award and he is definitely one to watch as the season progresses.

Of the 87 crews that started on the Epynt Ranges, 46 were REIS Championship contenders and, by the end of the day, nine of the Top Ten finishers had opened their accounts in the points tables. Fourth were Simon Mauger/Brian Cammack in their amazing Ford Escort MkII which not only gave them a class win by two-and-a-half minutes, but also saw them claim the inaugural Millington Escort Challenge awards. Jay Stanley’s similar car was second and Roy Millington, of Millington Racing Engines, was on hand to witness the prize-giving at Brecon Leisure Centre.

5th place was more than enough to see Seb Ling/Aled Rees take the Group N category in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9, finishing just three seconds ahead of the Skoda Fabia WRC of John Stone/Patrick Walsh after 84 miles of special stages. One of the Fabia’s front wings bore witness to a close encounter during the morning but it continued at unabated speed to return northwards with a healthy bag of points.

The Top Ten was completed by several crews who are back in the Championship after absences of several years - Graham Coffey/David Gamblin were 7th in their Subaru Impreza S12B, the Darrian T90 GTR of John Indri/Dave Engwell was 9th and Bob Fowden/Jason Sugden 10th in another Impreza.

From the very impressive line-up of MSA Asphalt Championship crews in Wales, other finishers included :

Meanwhile, in addition to Peter Lloyd, others who appeared on the retirement list included :

Each of the nine rounds of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship is being filmed for television and the Tour of Epynt is scheduled for broadcast on Motors TV on 9th April – see TV listings for further details.

The Championship now moves to the Isle of Man for the second round, the Manx Telecom Rally (6/7th May) and, with five events to count from the total, every competitor has a great deal to play for.

Photos

Posted: May 31, 2011 12:56 PM

cmwi.net

Full Results

Posted: May 31, 2011 12:53 PM

Tour of Epynt - 13 Mar 11 - RESULTS

North East Rally Services

Seeded Entry List

Posted: March 8, 2011 4:59 PM

1 Peter Lloyd/Martin Henry (Subaru Impreza WRC) [B14]
2 Damian Cole/Craig Drew (Ford Focus WRC) [B14]
3 Simon Mauger/Brian Cammack (Ford Escort Mk11) [B12]
4 John Stone/Patrick Walsh (Skoda Fabia WRC) [B14]
5 Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [N4]
6 Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt (Hyundai Accent WRC) [B14]
7 John Indri/Dave Engwell (Darrian T90 GTR) [B12]
8 Bob Fowden/Jason Sugden (Subaru Impreza) [B14]
9 Graham Coffey/David Gamblin (Subaru Impreza S12B) [B14]
10 David Mann/Alun Cook (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
11 Dave Pattison/Paul Whittaker (Mitsubishi EVO 6) [B13]
12 Mark Worley/Hamish Campbell (Subaru WRC S9) [B14]
14 Nigel Gibbard/David Jones (Darrian T90) [B11]
15 Jay Stanley/Paul Williams (FORD MK11) [B12]
16 Ray Horton/Paul Wakely (Darrian GTR) [B12]
17 Tim Wilson/Elgan Davies (Ford Escort RS) [B12]
18 Stevie Leonard/Sion Humphreys (Ford Escort Mk 2) [B12]
19 Graham Hollis/Alan Jones (Ford Escort Mk2) [B11]
20 Andy Davison/Mike Curry (BMW M3) [B12]
21 Chris Marshall/Simon Hunter (Mitsubishi Evo 5) [B13]
22 Geoff Kitney/Ken Gibbard (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [B13]
23 Nigel Jones/Tracy Giddings (SUBARU IMPREZA STI) [N4]
24 Gary Le Coadou/Paul Hollingham (Toyota Corolla WRC) [B14]
25 Michael Glendinning/Andrew Roughead (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
26 Gary Nuttall/Mark Perryman (Hyundai Accent WRC) [B14]
27 Richard Merriman/Kath Curzon (Darrian T90) [B11]
28 Mark Ellis/Janice Moore (Prodrive Subaru Impreza grp A) [B13]
29 Adrian Spencer/Mark Hewitt (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
30 Roger Hicks/Ian Taylor (Ford Escort MK2) [B12]
31 Richard Clews/Barry James (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
32 Gwyndaf Jenkins/Rob Hemmings (DARRIAN T90) [B11]
33 Myf Owen/Baz Green (MITSUBISHI EVO 7 GPN) [N4]
34 Richard Felgate/Mark Mason (BMW 325) [B12]
35 Gareth Richards/Alan Lloyd (Darian T9) [B12]
36 Philip Turner/Simon Anthony (subaru impreza) [B13]
37 David Hardie/John McCulloch (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
38 Peter Rayner/Den Golding (Ford Escort MK2) [B11]
39 Sean Crowley/Marc Mayes (Vauxhall Nova) [B10]
40 Darren Underwood/Sue Underwood (Vauxhall Nova) [B10]
41 Nigel Killerby/Colin Watson (Mitsubishi Evo 5) [B13]
42 Chris Rice/Lee Carter (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
43 Ian Kenvin/Ian Meakin (Ford Escort) []
44 Les Skeet/Terry Martin (Ford Fiesta RWD) [B11]
45 Geoff Glover/Bob Brown (Vauxhall Astra RWD) [B11]
46 Eliot Dunmore/Susanna Kenniston (Subaru Impreza Sti) [B13]
47 Ian Copping/Dave Rowley (Ford Fiesta RWD) [B11]
48 Kenny Brown/Alan Brown (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
49 Roger Moran/Joy Hoyle (Ford Escort Mk2) [B12]
50 Lee Perry/Mike Jones (Ford Escort Cosworth) [B13]
51 David Green/Mark Powell (Ford Escort mk4 rwd) [B11]
53 Steve Wood/Aled Richards (Citroen C2 R2 MAX) [A6]
54 Brian Davies/Neil James (Toyota Corolla) [B10]
55 Gareth (shonky) Jones/Phil (scooby) Williams (Ford Escort G3) [B12]
56 Stuart Spyer/Pete Williams (Vauxhall Corsa) [B9]
57 Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston (Ford Escort Mexico MK1) [B10]
58 Jim Sharp/Amy Mackinnon (subaru impreza) [B13]
59 Richard Lewis/Steve Pugh (Ford Escort RS) [B11]
60 Dave Allmark/Leigh Woodington (Ford Escort) [B12]
61 Christopher Daykin/Daniel Megannity (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
62 Tommi Graham/Mike Bailey (Ford Escort Mk11) [B11]
63 LYR JONES/ANDREW RICHARDSON (FORD ESCORT RS) [B11]
64 Mike English/Dave Roberts (Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000) [B11]
65 Wynne Watkins/Sherryn Roberts (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
66 Stephen Hall/Aggie Foster (Triumph TR7 V8) [B12]
67 Thomas Preston/Yan Griffiths (BMW M3 COUPE) [B12]
68 Wayne Lloyd/Martyn Williams (Ford Escort Mk2) [B12]
69 S J Davis/Tomos Whittle (Ford Escort) [N3]
70 Roger Donnan/Kim Baker (Ford Puma) [A6]
71 Andrew Egger/Val Thompson (Vauxhall Nova) [B9]
72 Llyr Williams/Gethin Sollis (Peugeot 206) [15]
73 Anton Shaw/John Dowd (Ford Escort) [B11]
74 Phill Sanders/Russell Joseph (Peugoet 205 GTi) [B11]
75 Michael Davison/Josh Davison (Proton Satria Compact) [B10]
76 Tim Daltry/Paul Ohren-Bird (Peugeot 205GTi) [B11]
77 Gareth Reed/David Bradley (Ford Escort MK1) [B11]
78 William John/Iwan Griffiths (Vauxhall Nova) [B9]
79 John Read/Tim James (Peugeot 205 GTi) [B11]
80 Geraint Mathias/Daniel Thomas (Ford Escort) [B11]
81 Leon Morgan/Richard Suter (Vauxhall Corsa) [B10]
82 Anthony Finn/Arwel Jenkins (Peugeot 205 GTi) [B10]
83 Craig Jose/Nigel Hewett (Peugeot 205) [B10]
84 George Cooke/David Millard (Citroen Saxo VTS) [N2]
85 Dale Clatworthy/Marc Clatworthy (Toyota Corolla) [B10]
86 Andrew Hicks/Richard Bliss (Honda Civic) [B10]
87 Christopher David Pedley/Christopher Pedley Snr (Peugeot 106) [B10]
88 Stuart Bliss/Richard Marsh (Honda Civic) [B10]
89 Graham Muter/Steve Hallmark (Ford Escort) [B9]
90 Jamie Nicholas/Jenny Evans (Vauxhall Corsa) [B9]

PORT TALBOT MOTOR CLUB

PROVISIONAL TOP 10

Posted: March 4, 2011 11:48 AM

MSA ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP - COLE FACES STIFF CHALLENGE!

Posted: March 4, 2011 11:46 AM

Defending REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Champion Damian Cole is returning to the series this year with a view to taking back-to-back titles. With Craig Drew reading the notes in the Get Connected! Ford Focus WRC, Cole’s season begins with the one event he failed to finish in 2010!...

For the first time Port Talbot Motor Club’s Tour of Epynt takes Brecon as its base with the meat of the rally taking place on the Epynt Military Ranges. Seven stages, totalling 80 miles, constitute the meat of the event and the first car is due to start on the Ranges at 8.55am on Sunday 13th March. That first car will be the Subaru Impreza WRC of 2010 event winners, Peter Lloyd/Graham Handley, while Cole/Drew are next.

Simon Mauger was 3rd overall in his Ford Escort MkII on last year’s Tour of Epynt which set the Bicester driver on his way to taking the runner-up spot in the MSA Asphalt Championship and winning the BTRDA Asphalt Rally Challenge outright at the wheel of his two-wheel drive machine. His performances have set the scene for the Millington Escort Challenge which is running on all nine events of the Asphalt Championship this year, catering for up to 2.5 litre front-engined (not necessarily Millingtons!), rear-wheel drive MkI-Mk5 Escorts. Obviously, Mauger must be regarded as a serious contender for this but, with the likes of Jersey’s Steve Leonard, Dave Allmark, Jay Stanley, Pete Rayner, Tommi Graham and Graham Muter in his amazingly quick 1300 BDA version on the blocks, there is already considerable interest in the new category.

John Stone/Patrick Walsh will be hoping to start the new season as they finished the last – with a win! Stone’s Legend Fires Skoda Fabia WRC emerged victorious at the end of the Cheviot Keith Knox Stages Rally last October, confirming his 3rd overall in the 2010 MSA Asphalt Championship. Meanwhile, having recently won the Oak Leaf Stages in their Hyundai Accent WRC, Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt have been putting in some pre-season practice as they attempt to improve on last year’s 7th place on Epynt.

Jasper contested the event in his MG Metro 6R4 and he will be followed away from the start by another former Metro pilot. After an absence of several years, John Indri and co-driver Dave Engwell are set for a full season in their Darrian T90 GTR – a car which is a proven winner on Epynt, especially if the weather stays dry.

Graham Coffey/David Gamblin (Subaru Impreza WRC) and David Mann/Alun Cook (Subaru impreza GpN) are rejoining the Championship this year and each has the talent and machinery to dominate their respective categories.

With an entry of more than 90 cars, more than half of which are registered for the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, the Tour of Epynt marks the beginning of the long road to the coveted title which, through the good offices of headline sponsor REIS, in conjunction with a number of individuals and organisations, will be filmed for subsequent transmission on Motors TV. This is a major step forward for the premier asphalt series in the UK and the organisers are very grateful to all those involved in putting the programmes in place.

Each competitor’s best five scores, from the nine events, will count towards their final score and, in this way, all budgets will be catered for. In a calendar which includes such a diverse selection of events, it goes without saying that some will be more expensive to contest than others and, with such a scoring system in place, competitors may choose which ones to enter.

Regulations / Details

Posted: January 2, 1990 3:00 PM

PORT TALBOT MOTOR CLUB

Tour of Epynt - 13 Mar 11