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Posted: June 23, 2011 11:39 AM

MSA ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 - MAUGER’S MINOR PROBLEM!..

Posted: June 23, 2011 11:35 AM

As Simon Mauger approached the start of one of the stages during the first leg of Rally of the Midlands on Friday evening, a marshal pointed out to him that his Ford Escort MkII had a rear-wheel puncture. Simon and co-driver Brian Cammack were able to change the offending wheel – hindered by a malfunctioning jack – without losing any time and went on to win the event outright!

The entry list for the fourth round of REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship boasted 39 registered crews in an entry totalling 85 and the first car away from the start in Hinckley was the Ford Focus WRC of last year’s winner Damian Cole and co-driver James Morgan. Twenty-four stages, over the two legs, lay in wait on what is always a very demanding event, graphically illustrated by the ‘Retirements’ which accounted for 43 of the original starters by the end! Gary Le Coadou/Paul Hollingham set FTD through the opening stage in Hinckley town centre in their Toyota Corolla WRC but, by the end of the next, Steve Simpson/Patrick Walsh had moved to the top of the timesheets in their Subaru Impreza WRC. They, in turn were overhauled by David Hardie/John McCulloch (Impreza) who completed the Friday night stages as leaders, but their time at the top was short-lived as an incurable misfire became progressively worse, leading to their withdrawal on Saturday lunchtime.

Simpson/Walsh were also on their way home by now – the Impreza had shed its alternator belt and lost its power steering, rendering the car virtually undriveable. The previous stage had seen erstwhile Championship leader John Stone’s rally come to an end when his Skoda Fabia WRC’s engine put ‘a leg out of bed’ and leaking oil found its way on to the turbo, causing it to catch fire. John Indri’s 100% finishing record also bit the dust after his Darrian T90 GTR’s radiator was damaged following an ‘off.

So, where were we? Mauger/Cammack managed to steer clear of the mayhem that was occurring to several of their Championship rivals and, with four stages remaining, were 41 seconds in front of Cole/Morgan but, by the time the cars drew up to the finish in Bedworth, the gap had narrowed to seven. Phew! The weather had been mixed, leaving the stages quite slippery – a definite disadvantage for a two-wheel drive car but Mauger held it together to take his second event victory in twelve months and collect the top Millington Escort Challenge award for his efforts.

For his part, Cole struggled throughout the event – running first car on the road had proved problematical but, following the retirement on the Manx, his desire to put his MSA Asphalt Championship title defence back on track had borne fruit as he now leads the series once again.

Newcomers Phil Sprason/Andy Boswell brought their Millington-engined Escort MkI home in a fine 5th place, while the smaller capacity winners were Christopher Lloyd/Gerwyn Barry and Tommi Graham/Mike Bailey in their respective MkIIs.

Geordies Kev Monaghan/Chris Purvis were another crew not to have contested Rally of the Midlands before – yes, they’d been to MIRA but the rest was new to them. Notwithstanding, 16th overall and another class win in their Vauxhall Corsa S1600 was more than enough for Kev to head home with the John Horton Motorsport Management ‘Star Performer’ award from the event.

Ken Sturdy (Vauxhall Nova) and Chris Daykin/Dan Megannity (Subaru Impreza) came away with class wins, while Phil Bruce (Peugeot 206), Paul Culverwell/Jo Saddington (Peugeot 205 RWD) and George Cooke/David Millard (Citroen Saxo) had to be content with second places.

Michael & Josh Davison brought their Proton Satria through to the finish, as did Kevin Harbour/Dave Tortoishell (Peugeot 205), Stuart Spyer (Vauxhall Corsa) and Stephen Ritchie (BMW M3 Compact). Paul Daniels/Samantha Bartlett took maximum points in the Championship RF1.4 class by posting a finish in their Peugeot 205.

In addition to those non-finishers already mentioned, Gary Le Coadou/Paul Hollingham completed all the stages in their Toyota, only to go OTL at the finish, adding their names to the following :

A trip across the Irish Sea now beckons as the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship heads for Dublin and the ALMC Stages Rally on 17th July. Five rounds to go and 22 points between the top five drivers in the table – the title is anyone’s!

Results

Posted: June 23, 2011 11:35 AM

Rally of the Midlands - 17-18 Jun 11 - FULL RESULTS AND TIMES

Tynemouth Computer Services Rally Results

Seeded Entry List

Posted: June 13, 2011 9:41 AM

Rally of the Midlands - 17-18 Jun 11 - SEEDED ENTRY LIST

Rally of the Midlands

MSA ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP - COLE FACES STIFF CHALLENGE!...

Posted: June 10, 2011 12:23 PM

Fresh from their win on the recent Jim Clark National Rally, defending REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Champion Damian Cole and co-driver James Morgan will start the Trinity Hyundai Rally of the Midlands, the fourth round of the series, with No.1 on the doors of their Ford Focus WRC in deference to the driver’s victory on the 2010 event.

After registering a DNF on the Isle of Man, Cole needed a good result on the Jim Clark in order to put his Asphalt Championship campaign back on track and, having achieved that goal, now needs to do it again on the Rally of the Midlands.

After the first three rounds, John Stone heads the points table in his Skoda Fabia WRC. Runner-up on the RotM last year, the Blackburn driver arrives in Hinckley as REIS Championship leader and could quite easily go one better this time.

The final podium place on the 2010 event went to Simon Mauger in a Ford Escort MkII. Later in the season he won a Championship round – the Tyneside Stages – outright in his giant-killing two-wheel drive machine and his efforts helped convince others that, although the original design is somewhat long in the tooth now, there is still plenty of life left in such cars. Simon and co-driver Brian Cammack head the Millington Escort Challenge at this stage, but Chris Lloyd/Gerwyn Barry, Tommi Graham/Mike Bailey, Pete Rayner/Richard Bonner and stunt driver Paul Swift will all be present in their own particular versions with a view to altering the look of the leaderboard.

2007 MSA Asphalt Champion Steve Simpson is back for another tilt at the title and, having won the opening round on Epynt, he was also on his way home from the Manx earlier than expected after his Subaru Impreza WRC let him down at the start of the opening stage. Undaunted, he bounced back to keep Cole under pressure on the Jim Clark and, although this will be his first visit to the Rally of the Midlands, co-driver Patrick Walsh guided Mike O’Brien to 6th overall last year.

David Hardie/John McCulloch (Subaru Impreza) and John Indri/Dave Engwell (Darrian T90 GTR) are 2nd & 3rd respectively in the overall points but the margins are such that any continuation of their 100% finishing records could reap considerable dividends as the Championship heads towards the halfway mark.

Adding to the mix of potential victors, 2009 Rally of the Midlands winner Mark Welch (Ford Escort Cosworth) and Gary Le Coadou/Paul Hollingham (Toyota Corolla WRC), who were leading the same event until sidelined with propshaft failure, are back and, obviously, past history tells us that they cannot be discounted.

In the Asphalt Championship classes, Midlanders George Cooke/David Millard (Citroen Saxo) will be looking to extend their lead in N2 while work commitments have kept Chris Daykin/Dan Megannity (Subaru Impreza) away from the past couple of events. In the absence of some of their rivals, they now have the opportunity to move their bid for N4 honours forward, while Andrew Egger (Vauxhall Nova) and Stuart Spyer (Vauxhall Corsa) can squabble over B9!

Eight drivers have, so far, scored points in B10 and most of them will be in the Midlands on 17/18th June. Paul Culverwell/Jo Saddington (Peugeot 205 RWD) currently hold the upper hand, but Craig Jose/Nigel Hewett (Peugeot 205) and the Jim Clark class-winning Vauxhall Corsa of Kev Monaghan/Chris Purvis each have eyes on top spot! Tim Daltry/Paul Ohren-Bird (Peugeot 205 GTI) are keeping Ian Copping/Dave Rowley (Ford Fiesta RWD) at arm’s length, but they need to be wary of a couple of Millington Challenge Escorts that are breathing down their necks!

At the time of writing, the entry was unseeded but, from the first 90 received by the organisers, 33 are REIS Championship-registered. In addition to those mentioned above and in order of receipt, they include :

The Rally of the Midlands features 80 stage miles and the first car leaves the start in Hinckley Town Centre at 6.00pm on Friday 17th June. Then, following an overnight halt, competition resumes bright and early on Saturday morning. Cars then begin arriving at the finish at Bedworth Civic Hall from 4.45pm that afternoon.

Entries Received

Posted: May 9, 2011 7:51 PM

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Rally of the Midlands

Regulations / Details

Posted: January 2, 1990 3:02 PM

Rally of the Midlands

Rally of the Midlands - 17-18 Jun 11