Bulldog International Rally - 23-24 Mar 12

Daniel O Brien Snatches 8th overall on the Bulldog National 2012

Posted: March 31, 2012 10:56 AM

Daniel O Brien and Paul Morris made the long trip North to Welshpool for the Bulldog National rally, and after a competitive days driving in famous stages such as Dyfi, Gartheiniog and the likes of Dyfnant came away with a superb 8th overall in what were fast stages in very dry and dusty conditions.

The opening stage for the St Albans driver was tricky and he and Paul had an overshoot which cost some time, and saw them finish the stage with a time of 09:54.0, and 11th overall and Daniel remarked “Its very dry and dusty in there, and the stages are very fast in places, so it would be very easy to make a mistake. We are here for time in the car, and to learn and so far so good.”

Next up for the crew was the famous Gartheiniog stage where the crew pulled up a couple of places and ended the stage in 9th just 7.9 secs behind Brendan Cumiskey and now running 6th in class.

Daniel and Paul were now locked in a three way battle for position with Cumiskey, and fellow Irish driver Martin Cairns in his Subaru WRC, and Daniel commented on the road section
“Aye Paul and I are enjoying the stages, and we are having a great tussle with the others around us. Its fast in many places and every stage we get past is more experience for us, and I must say I love these stages, really good.”

The P+R Benn run Ford Focus WRC was running well, and apart from some minor adjustments at Service the car needed for very little.

Martin Cairns pulled time back on the next stage to head Daniel and Paul by just 3.0secs on the tricky Llangywer stage with the dry and dusty conditions proving as much of a challenge for the crews as the stages themselves.

Penllyn was up next and on this one Daniel and Paul managed to get back ahead of Martin Cairns in his Subaru WRC and this battle, with Brendan Cumiskey only 2.7secs ahead of Daniel was fast becoming the battle of the day, and one that Daniel and Paul were relishing. Daniel said “It’s a great battle between us, and a really enjoyable one at that. There’s never more than a few seconds between us and the craic is very good. We are here to learn, but also to enjoy ourselves and we are certainly doing that.”

A final charge was looming for the last stage of the day, Dyfnant East, for the crew and this they did taking time out of both Martin and Brendan to move up to 8th overall and 5th in class on a time of 47:16.6.

The pair were very happy with the end result, on the Bulldog National Rally 2012 and Daniel said at the finish
“Paul and I are really happy with 8th overall, really are. We are here to learn, and gain experience in the car, which is exactly what we did. The fact that we ended up in such a great fight with both Martin and Brendan was an added bonus that we both enjoyed. The boys from P+R Benn did a super job as always with the car.”

Video: BRC Highlights

Posted: March 31, 2012 10:47 AM

Cathcart and Kaur Bulldog Outing

Posted: March 31, 2012 10:08 AM

A rather shorter rally than the organisers had planned, now 6 stages instead of 11 the Bulldog International Rally played host to round 2 of the British Rally Championship and once again both P&R Benn Ford Fiesta R2s where present at the event.

After a good result on Rallye Sunseeker the opening round of the BRC, Matthew Cathcart set out on the Welshpool based Bulldog Rally to prove he could challenge for the championship. With James Morgan guiding Matthew in the Ford Fiesta R2, the pair set 10th fastest time on the opening stage, beating more experienced rivals Alastair Fisher, Peter Taylor and Jussi Kumpumaki. Heading to service after SS5, Matthew had moved up to 8th overall. On the next stage Matthew remained 8th overall but on what would be the penultimate stage of the rally, SS7 saw Matthew drop nearly a minute with a rear puncture which put him now 13th overall. Stage 8 would be the last stage of the rally due to the organisers cancelling stages 9, 10 and 11 but Matthew couldn’t make the time back so would finish a strong 13th overall and now proving to be a force to be reckoned with in the championship and the R2 class.

After coming close to winning the inaugural WRC Academy in 2011, Egon Kaur returned to the driving seat for the Bulldog Rally in the P&R Benn LHD Ford Fiesta R2. Since Wales Rally GB, Egon and navigator Erik Lepikson had done limited mileage so 14th overall on the first stage was a good start to build on throughout the day. By service Egon had moved up to 11th overall and with some minor changes made to the car, set out to gain a few more places before the day was out. A string of top ten times in the afternoon rewarded Egon with 9th overall on his first event of 2012 and first event in the BRC.

Follow the team at www.rallyingwithprbenn.co.uk

DS3 DOMINATION ON BULLDOG RALLY! CAVE TAKES VICTORY AND CITROËN’S FILL EIGHT OF THE TOP TWELVE PLACES!

Posted: March 27, 2012 3:08 PM

Round two of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Bulldog Rally, marked the best ever result for Citroën in British rallying history. Young Welsh ace Tom Cave took a splendid overall victory in his DS3 R3, and the 1600 turbo charged rockets filled the following three places. All eight of Citroën DS3’s that started the event finished in the top twelve places! Citroën UK now lead the Manufacturers series after two rounds.

Rallying is a dramatic sport, and the dramas were even happening before the start in Welshpool, particularly for young Welsh man Tom Cave! The Davies Motorsport team had worked hard to finish his new DS3, and Tom was testing the Tuesday before the start when a freak mechanical failure in the steering caused the car to plunge off the road in 5th gear! “We landed on a jump, something broke and we plunged 50 yards through a bog, and landed on our side in 5 foot of water, before the car turned onto it wheels. It was a real mess with water everywhere, and I didn’t even know if we could be starting the rally at all.” With just 25 miles of testing before-hand, they had nevertheless arrived at a new set up. Frantic phone calls were made to hire a replacement DS3 and the French Auto Meca, run by Citroën rally legend Philippe Bugalski came up trumps. “We phoned them on Tuesday night and they had a car here for Friday morning, and Andy and the Davies team did a great job helping to run us on the event, and applying our test settings to the car.” It would prove to be a dream run for Tom and also very good for 2009 and 2010 British Rally Champion, Keith Cronin. After a deal to drive a Honda fell through the DGM Sport team’s second DS3 was readied at the eleventh hour for Keith to take the start. Leader for much of round one, Jarkko Nikara had a rebuilt engine in his DS3, and both Jonny Greer and James Grint were making their DS3 debuts.

With the cancellation of the two Friday night stages, stage three - Big Ray 1 was the first and it was Nikara fastest from his round one rival Mark Donnelly in his Clio. But Donnelly’s challenge ended against a tree just after the finish line of stage 2, and it was set to be a DS3 battle. Keith Cronin was an impressive third, despite his very limited mileage in the car, but it was Tom Cave who set the pace, fastest on the next test to leap into the lead. With a further fastest time on the famous Garheiniog stage he had a three second lead over Jarkko Nikara.
“Our first stage wasn’t great. I still had Tuesday’s incident in the back of my mind” commented Tom. “On stage two however it seemed to click again, and we got into a good rhythm. At least we got a setting on our brief test, and without that we wouldn’t have been on the pace, but the car felt very good, especially on the fast stuff where it was very stable. The harder we went the more planted it seemed to be, and with so much torque it drives almost like a four wheel drive out of the corners.”
There was even more to come from Tom as on the Dyfi Main test he took ten seconds off his nearest rival, who at this stage was Keith Cronin. Keith had his own dramas, stopping to assist Alastair Fisher on stage 5, after the Fiesta caught fire. The resultant nominal stage time he felt cost him a little, but he was to charge in the late afternoon stages, closing the gap to just 3 seconds at the finish, but just unable to catch the flying Cave. However he was lucky to finish at all, arriving late after a fuel pump related failure on the final road section.

Indeed the event wasn’t the smoothest with frequent delays starting the stages, and the last loop being cancelled due to a fire on a road section, meaning a total of just 56 competitive miles. It was maybe just as well for Jarkko Nikara, who limped home in third after breaking a drive-shaft on the final stage. In fourth place was 19 year old Osian Pryce in his Davies Motorsport DS3, a result that leaves him in a fantastic joint second place in the British Rally Championship. However the Welsh youngster feels he’s more improvements to make.
“We still have some work to do, as we have to make up about a second a mile in some places on the leaders. I think I started too cautiously and was braking too early on the opening stages, having to go on the throttle again before some corners. I was happier with the handling of the car, with the improvements that we made, and had no problems all day. Certainly it’s good for the championship, but for the next couple of events we need to aim and see if we can climb onto the podium.”

The first non Citroën was Elfyn Evans who had a great drive in his R2 class Fiesta, with Jonny Greer making his DS3 debut claiming sixth. Jonny was getting used to front wheel drive again, and a new co-driver in Damien Connolly, and aside from a spin and a dash-board read out issue had a trouble free day. Desi Henry in eighth wasn’t quite so lucky with a costly puncture on stage 5, and the Co.Antrim driver who claimed second place on round one couldn’t get into the groove during the day. Eleventh place was an impressive finish for James Grint, on his first event in a DS3, and with his relative lack of rally experience. Just 13 seconds behind him was welcome French visitor Vincent Dubert.

The day however very much belonged to Tom Cave and co-driver Craig Parry, scooping €6000 of Citroën Racing Trophy UK prize money for their first overall finish. “It’s a dream result, and I’ve been waiting on a result like this for a while. Everything seemed to click, and the car ran perfectly. It was a tough fought event. We knew Keith would get quicker in the afternoon, but we had enough to hold on. It’s probably my best ever result, particularly after the steering failure on Tuesday. It’s brilliant!” Keith Cronin’s second place awards him €3500 whilst Jarkko Nikara claims €1500 for third.

With Citroën UK moving into the lead in the manufacturer’s table and the DS3 R3 proving its speed, reliability and durability it’s a fantastic performance for the Citroën brand in this extreme competition. The next round of the MSA British Rally Championship is the Pirelli International Rally on the 27th and 28th April.

BHRC report: Bulldog Historic Rally

Posted: March 27, 2012 3:01 PM

Repeat victories for Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2), Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh (Ford Escort Mk1) marked round two of the 2012 Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship on the Bulldog Historic Rally on Saturday (24 March).

While the Mid Wales winners continued to head their respective categories, it was all change in Category One as Rikki Proffitt and Phill Harrison took advantage of late dramas for Graham Waite and Gill Cotton to take victory.
On a day of implausibly warm weather, dust was an issue and changing levels of grip caught some crews out. But the chance to compete over classic Welsh gravel stages made the Bulldog another popular event with the BHRC contenders.

Category One
It was another excellent event for the 14-strong Category One field, although not so good if you were running a Lotus Cortina. Mid Wales winners Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell were out with front end damage and the Simon Wallis/Graham Wride car broke a halfshaft on the startline of the Penllyn stage.
From the very start it was Waite setting the pace in the flying Volvo and he arrived at main service in Dolgellau with 20s in hand over Proffitt. Meanwhile, going better on gravel than for some time, Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride were in a strong third place.
Waite continued to build his lead through the two stages in the Aberhirnant complex near Bala but disaster struck on the final stage in Dyfnant. First they had to stop to re-attach a plug lead but worse was to come when a broken gear lever led to a trip up a bank and a gentle roll. They got going again, but lost over two minutes in the stage and dropped to third behind the Porsche 911s of Proffitt and Nutt.
Proffitt was delighted with a trouble free day and a strong result, while Nutt was only 18s behind after a good day on gravel. Behind Waite, Terry Brown/John Stanger-Leathes battled home fourth with a Porsche 911 that would not rev. Geoff Taylor and Steve Greenhill had a strong run to sixth and Class B1 victory in their Sunbeam Imp Sport and Callum Barney/Ron Channon took B3 in their Ford Cortina GT after clutch failure sidelined the Ford Anglia of Peter Stimson/Mark Butler.

BHRC CATEGORY ONE RESULTS:
1 Rikki Proffitt/Phill Harrison (Porsche 911) 58m38.3s
2 Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) 58m56.3s
3 Graham Waite/Gill Cotton (Volvo Amazon) 60m21.4s
4 Terry Brown/John Stanger-Leathes (Porsche 911) 61m12.9s
5 Derek Boyd/Peter Scott (Porsche 911) 61m25.5s
6 Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport) 61m55.2s

Category Two
Reynolds took control of Category Two from the opening stage of Big Ray and was never really troubled as he swept to victory by 1m49s. His main concern was avoiding punctures in the bid for maximum points and a nicely measured drive was the result.
In Reynolds’ wake, David Stokes and Guy Weaver were always a strong second and had a clear run through stages that Stokes always enjoys. But Stokes could never relax too much as the battling cars of Ernie/Will Graham and Rupert Lomax/Baz Green chased hard and only around half a minute down going into the final stage. Any plans that Lomax had for an attack were dashed when a pin came out of the clutch pedal and he ran the 8.6-mile stage with no clutch, dropping around 16s as a result.
Instead, the Graham father and son team took an excellent third by just three-tenths of a second as Andrew Siddall and Carl Williamson completed the top five. Dick Slaughter and Tim Sayer again topped Class C3 with an excellent run to keep Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay at bay by around 50s. Class C2 was won by Matt Fowle/Jane Edgington who set the pace as rivals Nick Danks/Martin Corbett and David Kirby/Rob Cook retired.

BHRC CATEGORY TWO RESULTS
: 1 Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh (Ford Escort Mk1) 52m18.6s
2 David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1) 54m08.4s
3 Ernie Graham/Will Graham (Ford Escort Mk1) 55m01.5s
4 Rupert Lomax/Baz Green (Ford Escort Mk1) 55m01.8s
5 Andrew Siddall/Carl Williamson (Ford Escort Mk1) 56m02.7s
6 Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer (Ford Escort Mk1) 56m16.7s

Category Three
Elliott went into the rally looking for a fourth straight Bulldog Historic victory and duly delivered with another classy drive over stages that likes and knows well. He went eight seconds clear in the opening five miles in Big Ray and has extended that margin to 43s by the time the finishers returned to Welshpool.
Behind Elliott there were battles and dramas and a fierce contest raged for second between Will Onions/Dave Williams and Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss. Onions drove a strong rally to get the nod by just two seconds but then elected to miss post-event scrutineering and was later excluded.
Instead, second went to Davies after an excellent performance that fully marked him out as a rising new star in the BHRC.
Despite going off on the opening stage to avoid the rolled car of Alan Walker/Andrew Sankey, Tim Pearcey and Neil Shanks recovered to take third as Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies and Warren Philliskirk/Matt Whattam rounded out the top five registered crews.
Shawn Rayner and Declan Dear were dealt a massive blow in Class D3 with a substantial engine failure on the opening stage and it was Rex Ireland and Adrian Scadding who took maximum D3 points by half a minute over Chris Shooter/Bev LeGood. Meanwhile, James Stait and Marcus Cartwright returned to competition in Stait’s Lotus Sunbeam and claimed Class D4.

BHRC CATEGORY THREE RESULTS:
1 Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2) 52m02.0s
2 Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss (Ford Escort Mk2) 52m45.7s
3 Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks (Ford Escort Mk2) 53m17.7s
4 Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Escort Mk2) 53m42.8s
5 Warren Philliskirk/Matt Whattam (Ford Escort Mk2) 53m57.8s
6 Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson (Ford Escort Mk2) 54m35.2s

Twingo Trophy: USA 1, Scotland 2

Posted: March 27, 2012 2:53 PM

Californian Nick Allen and British co-driver Andy Bull won the inaugural event in the 2012 Twingo Renaultsport R2 Trophy UK this weekend, Scots pairing Garry Pearson and Craig Wallace taking the R1 Trophy honours on their second event in this series.

The event, Bulldog International Rally of North Wales was the second round of the MSA British Rally Championship, this year an all two wheel drive affair which has attracted drivers from around the world.

Having only contested a small number of events in his home country, Allen has been putting in the stage mileage since moving to the UK to fulfil his BRC ambition. He cites himself as a long-time follower of rallying in the UK, so this was a real dream come true for the ever-smiling American. However as with all rallies, it is not always the fastest on a given stage that wins.

It was actually Formula 1000 graduate Chris Ingram who set the early pace in his freshly upgraded Twingo R2 Evolution, although his path to the start of the rally was not an easy one.

Having opted for the 190 horsepower upgrade, courier delays meant that the car was literally completed hours before the start on Saturday, the youngster benefitting from the cancellation of Friday’s two tests. He and co-driver Joe Cruttenden attended the 6pm ceremonial start on foot, leaving the team to bolt on a new engine computer and attend a late safety check arranged by the organisers.

But with the bit between his teeth, he set about the stages, climbing to an impressive 14th place by the eventual penultimate stage. Sadly the fuel filler had not been attached after refuelling and given the low level remaining in the tank, he took the sensible option to limp through to service, handing the lead to the American.

It was at this point that Allan and Bull proved the immense camaraderie in rallying. With Ingram’s car now out of fuel and potentially out of the rally, Allen stopped to see if he could help. This he duly did by pushing the youngster’s Twingo with his own, eventually changing to a tow rope when their engine temperature soared through lack of air-flow.

Meanwhile Garry Pearson and Craig Wallace were on their way to another maximum points haul in the Twingo Renaultsport R1 Trophy UK, Class 10 and Junior categories in the MSA British Rally Championship.

Their rally went according to plan, the sole Scottish crew on the event even finding themselves too quick on a couple of stages. Having made excellent time, they caught the dust of the car ahead, eventually managing to pass it, but losing time in the process.

Like Ingram, they also had a problem in the penultimate stage, clipping a log pile and bending the rear axle. But a degree of skill and commitment got them through the next stage relieved that it could then be repaired at service.

However on the road section back to the Dolgellau service area, a car from one of the preceding events had caught fire, the fire brigade and police closing the road. The subsequent delay forced the cancellation of the final three stages leaving just the ceremonial finish back in Welshpool.

Undeterred, the crews arrived at the finish, Pearson and Allen spraying champagne while Ingram rued a missing fuel filler cap, nevertheless picking up valuable points in the R2 Trophy.

Importantly, as the end of season Twingo Renaultsport R1 Trophy prize drive depends on Junior victory, Pearson leads the MSA British Junior Rally Championship too, beating Fiesta rival Steve Røkland in their first real encounter.

The next event in the BRC calendar, counting towards both Twingo Trophies, is the Pirelli International Rally which is based in Carlisle and uses the infamous Kielder Forest complex. The rally starts on Friday 27th April with stages continuing into Saturday 28th.

Korhonen Bags Important Points On Bulldog Rally

Posted: March 26, 2012 12:45 PM

Following on from the disappointment of a final stage retirement on the opening round of the 2012 British Rally Championship last month, Pirelli TEG Sport driver Jukka Korhonen got his season underway with a solid seventh place on this weekend's Bulldog Rally of North Wales.

Driving the Pirelli-backed Skoda Fabia R2, the 27-year-old Finn, who won last year's Pirelli UK Star Driver award, was competing in the Welsh forests for the first time and made a steady start before upping his pace over the early stages. Korhonen from Siikajarvi, and co driven by his namesake Mikael, battled with local ace Elfyn Evans, who won the event last year for the Pirelli TEG Sport team, and at the finish was just over half a minute down on the Welshman. In addition to his top seven placing overall, Korhonen secured second in the R2 class to add important points going into next month's Pirelli International Rally.

Hoping to emulate his superb 13th place overall and seventh in class on Rallye Sunseeker was Arron Newby in the Pirelli TEG Sport team's Robert Wiseman Dairies-sponsored Skoda Fabia R2 but sadly for the 17-year-old from Carnforth, it wasn't to be.

Following on the ceremonial start on Friday evening in Welshpool town centre whereby Newby's unique cow-livered car commanded a lot of attention amongst the many hundreds of fans who turned out, hopes were high for a good result for Arron and regular Robert Wiseman Dairies competitor Julian Wilkinson.

Sadly for the pair, they slid into a deep ditch on the opening stage and although the car wasn't damaged and they eventually managed to extract themselves, they eventually retired after SS3 after going Outside Total Lateness (OTL) meaning they could not improve on their championship position.

Jukka Korhonen:
"This was my first time driving in the Welsh forests and I have learned a lot. The car is very good but maybe I need to work on my pacenotes to suit the British terrain and I think we can improve our speed more. We were close to Elfyn for much of the rally and scored important points which was the aim. The car only needs a polish now for the Pirelli International Rally and I'm sure we can get a good result for the Pirelli TEG Sport team on their local event."

Arron Newby:
"To say I'm disappointed is a massive understatement as this is not what either myself, the team nor our sponsors wanted. I was hoping to improve on my first round result but we paid a high price for a small mistake and it wasn't to be. I have to understand it's all part of the learning process and to be challenging in the British Rally Championship means we have our downs as well as our ups. On a positive side, the car was fantastic and also a massive hit with the Welsh fans on Friday night so thanks to Robert Wiseman Dairies for their support and I am sorry we didn't get a result this time out. I hope to put that right on the Pirelli International Rally next month."

Stuart Newby:
"Last year we left Welshpool having won the Bulldog Rally of North Wales but this year, all we have is a seventh place to celebrate which, on the face of it, isn't what we planned. But you have to take the positives out of it and this was Jukka's first time in these forests so to match Elfyn Evans for pace for much of the day isn't too shabby. The car is very fast and we are going in the right direction although this result perhaps doesn't reflect that. He also scored very important points in R2 which is good. As for Arron, this was only his third gravel event and although we were hopeful of a good result, he was unlucky. In a way, it's good to see him beating himself up about it and whilst we are all very disappointed, it's all part of the learning curve and I'm sure both he and Jukka will become very strong as the year progresses."

The Pirelli International Rally is based in Carlisle and uses the forests in the Kielder region over the weekend of April 27/28th.

Tom Cave claims maiden BRC victory / Conin takes 2nd

Posted: March 26, 2012 12:43 PM

After a dramatic day’s action, Tom Cave and co-driver Craig Parry emerged winners of the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales and in doing so, recorded their first MSA British Rally Championship victory.

They finished just three seconds ahead of Keith Cronin/Marshall Clarke, who were in-turn 11.7 seconds ahead of Jarkko Nikara/Petri Nikara – all three crews in Citroën DS3s and proving once again that the BRC’s two-wheel-drive formula provides ultra-close competition.

Starting and finishing in Welshpool, the rally initially featured 11 classic Welsh stages in forests to the west of the town, until two days before the event, when its organisers were forced to cancel the two runs through Dyfnant. This left nine stages, which all took place on Saturday.

The first of these saw Nikara/Nikara set the fastest time by a slender 3.2 seconds ahead of Rallye Sunseeker winners Mark Donnelly/Dai Roberts in a Renault Clio R3, the two crews continuing where they left off from round one. But for Donnelly/Roberts the battle was to be short-lived: as they crossed the flying finish at the end of the following stage, the car slid wide, clipped a telegraph pole and spun into a tree, the impact forcing him and co-driver Dai Roberts to retire on the spot.

Also exiting the event following an accident was BRC returnee Molly Taylor/Phil Clarke, who rolled their Ford Fiesta on the opening stage. Thankfully, all crew members involved with these two incidents were unharmed, but the same could not be said for their cars.

Others to retire were Arron Newby/Julian Wilkinson, who got no further than a mile before beaching their Škoda Fabia on a tree stump and, although willing helpers tried to return the car to the road, it was well and truly stuck. Coincidentally, Ruary McCloud/Paul Beaton’s Ford Fiesta also came to a halt at exactly the same spot.

Following a steering problem that had caused them to crash on Tuesday, another Citroën DS3 was hastily prepared for Cave/Parry who had acclimatised themselves to the new car so well on the opening stage, they set the fastest time by over four seconds on the next – a performance that launched them into the lead by 1.7 seconds. They then proceeded to extend their advantage to three seconds ahead of Nikara/Nikara before the first service halt in Welshpool.

For Alastair Fisher/Daniel Barritt, SS5 was to be their last, when a fuel leak in the Ford Fiesta turned into a fire. After pulling up at the side of the road, some of the following competitors stopped to help extinguish the flames, which meant that the crews involved were given notional times. This included double British Rally Champion Keith Cronin who, with co-driver Marshall Clarke, was now up to third and happy with his progress having hardly driven his Citroën DS3 before the event and not competed in a front-wheel-drive car since 2006.

The time sheets showed Elfyn Evans/Andrew Edwards in fourth place at the service halt in their Ford Fiesta R2, an impressive performance amongst the more powerful R3 machinery, whilst another local crew Osian Pryce/Iestyn Williams were fourth in their Citroën DS3. Similarly to Cronin, Jonny Greer returned to the BRC and was getting used to driving a two-wheel-drive car again, he and co-driver Damien Connelly lying sixth in another brand new Citroën DS3.

Behind them was the second of the Finnish crews Jukka Korhonen/Mikael Korhonen, who had a good first stage in the Pirelli Star Driver Škoda Fabia, but had been distracted by the oil temperature warning light on the following two stages, even though there was nothing wrong with the car. Experiencing more significant problems during the morning was yet another Citroën DS3 crew: Desi Henry/Niall Burns, who collected a puncture on SS5 that spoilt their chances of repeating the podium result they achieved in round one.

Jack Rowe/James Aldridge lost second gear in their Ford Fiesta not far from the start and therefore, had spent the rest of the day changing from first to third - and vice-versa. Christian South/Tomas Whittle also had issues that slowed them during the morning’s stages, when they slid wide, clipped a bank and momentarily put their Citroën C2R2 Max on its side during SS5.

The next leg of the rally in the afternoon was a re-run of the first and, whilst Cronin/Clarke were fastest by 2.7 seconds on SS6, Cave/Parry went nearly ten seconds faster than anyone else on the next stage. Nikara/Nikara fought back with a 1.9 second stage win on SS8 and, even though the leading trio has all won a stage in what turned out to be the final loop, it was Cave/Parry that held the lead by just three seconds.

As cars exited the second run through Garthieniog, news came in that a BRC Challenge car had caught fire on the non-competitive section that led from the end of SS8 to the Dolgellau service halt and consequently, the police closed the road. This led to competitors being re-routed and, with the event running around 90-minutes later than anticipated; organisers decided that with darkness falling the last loop of three stages would not be run on safety grounds.

Once in Dolgellau, crews were instructed to return to Welshpool and the times following SS8 would stand as the final results. Therefore a delighted Cave and Parry were declared the winners, with Cronin/Clarke second – even though a last-minute fuel pump problem delayed them getting back to the service area. Nikara/Nikara were third - the Finns having to nurse their car back to the finish due to a broken driveshaft – and Pryce/Williams a frustrated fourth in light of the issues that transpired in the closing stages.

“I’ve been waiting to win an international rally for a while, so to finally do it is fantastic – especially on my home event”, said Cave at the finish. “I really concentrated on making as few mistakes as possible today and it’s paid off. After the problems I had on Tuesday when the steering broke and I went off the road testing my own car, I have to thank everyone who helped get another DS3 organised in time for me to compete this weekend. Needless to say, I am very, very happy with the result.”

Evans/Edwards continued their near-perfect performance to finish a hard-earned fifth and win Class 6, with Greer/Connelly pleased to make it home in sixth after a spin and with their car’s dashboard display becoming invisible towards the end. Korhonen/Korhonen had an excellent run through the final three stages and finished seventh, but were bemused not to have closed on their Welsh Class 6 rivals, whilst Henry/Burns had fought back to eighth after their earlier puncture.

Peter Taylor/Andrew Roughead started the event slower than they would have liked, but got quicker as the day went on and claimed ninth place in their Renault Clio R3. Rounding off the top-ten was James Grint/Craig Drew, who were another crew to be debuting a Citroën DS3 and were very pleased to make it through the day without experiencing any problems at all.

MSA BRITISH MANUFACTURERS RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

The three-way battle of the brands between Citroën Renault and Ford perhaps unsurprisingly - with eight DS3 cars taking part - went the way of Citroën on this occasion. With points being scored by the two leading cars from each manufacturer Tom Cave and Keith Cronin claimed the maximum possible with their first and second places.

Elfyn Evans and fellow Fiesta driver Matthew Cathcart achieved the second highest score for Ford and, for Renault, Peter Taylor was the first home in his Clio in ninth place, with Nick Allen the second scorer in his Twingo R2 in 17th.

MSA BRITISH JUNIOR RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Underpinning the BRC’s commitment to reward its rising stars, a new-look Junior Championship has been introduced for this season. Open to drivers of 23 and under in Class 10 (R1) cars, this initiative sees the winner recognised with the prestigious title of MSA British Junior Champion.

Repeating his round one victory in this category was 20-year old Garry Pearson, who survived clipping a log-pile in the afternoon and a subsequent bent rear beam on his Renault Twingo. Second was Norway’s Steve Røkland in a Fiesta, who spun in the first stage and then proceeded to make up ground on Pearson, right up until the final stage, when the 19-year old collected two punctures and dropped three-minutes nursing his car to the finish.

PIRELLI STAR DRIVER

This year’s Pirelli Star Driver competition again selects a winner from each round. Each of the six winners then go forward to an end-of-season shootout where they can win a Pirelli funded prize designed to boost their progression in the sport.

And, for his outstanding performance this weekend there could only be one winner: Tom Cave, who joins Rallye Sunseeker winner Mark Donnelly on the list for the end of season shootout.

BRC TEAMS CUP

The new-format BRC Teams Cup is aimed at professional motorsport teams running two cars and this year six teams have registered. Drivers are pre-nominated, but can change from event-to-event. All six rounds count towards the final championship classification, with the first of the team’s two cars scoring points.

Highest scorer was Tom Cave for the Davies Motorsport Services Team, who had the foresight to register the eventual winner and Osian Pryce in advance of this weekend. Next to score Teams’ points was Elfyn Evans, who claimed the second-highest tally for M-Sport Ford and, in doing so, puts them first in the standings.

Third classified Teams’ competitor was Jukka Korhonen, who scored for Pirelli TEG Sport in his Škoda Fabia, whilst fellow Finn Niko Nieminen’s fourth enabled Ford Junior Team Finland to move into second place.

The AVS Motorsport pairing of Gethin Jones and Matt Cotton battled for supremacy throughout the event, with Welshman Gethin Jones finally ending the day ahead of his team-mate and claimed fifth-place Teams’ points in the process.

BRC ONE-MAKES SERIES

The MSA British Rally Championship also features three, one-make series: The Fiesta SportTrophy, the Twingo Renaultsport R1 & R2 Trophies UK and the Citroën Racing Trophy UK.

First of the Fiestas this time round was Elfyn Evans, with Nick Allen and Gary Pearson claiming the honours for the Twingo R2 and R1 Trophies respectively and, collecting yet another accolade for his weekend’s efforts was Tom Cave, who was clearly the best of the Citroëns.

Tom Cave celebrates multiple wins in Wales

Posted: March 26, 2012 12:34 PM

After brief testing just days before Round Two of the MSA British Rally Championship, young rally driver, Tom Cave celebrated his first win in the Citroen DS3 R3 rally car. Building on his past success, Tom, partnered with Craig Parry, took the win at his 'home' event, the Bulldog Rally in Wales, finishing three seconds ahead of Keith Cronin/Marshall Clarke. Tom also won the Pirelli 'Star driver' award.

As the first outing for Tom in the DS3 R3, he hopes to build on this success as the BRC progresses as well as continuing to impress in the newly created Citroen Racing Trophy.

The new Citroen DS3 R3 offered a multitude of challenges. The main one came with testing, as the car wasn't ready in time to offer a significant testing period. Converted to gravel spec by DMS, Tom had only a few days to get a feel for the Citroen before driving in a competitive environment. However, he was satisfied that the set-up he developed would perform brilliantly come the event.

The morning of the Bulldog rally went well, though Tom admits the first stage was a little slower than his usual pace as he was getting used to the car. Such worries were soon in the past though, as Tom pushed harder in stages two and three. A tyre change between those timed tests was a wise tactical move, leaving Tom with fresh tyres for the longer, more aggressive third stage.

Commenting, Tom said:
"We knew that stage three was going to be really hard on the tyres. Not only because of the gravel, but also because it was really warm. That's strange for Wales in March! With new tyres on the front we could push harder with a 10-15 second gain a real possibility. We carried the two tyres we'd used in stages one and two as spares though, just in case something did happen."

Tom went back to service after stage three with a five second lead, though the decision was made not change the setup of the car in any way. After the performance in the first three stages, Tom was confident he could push even harder through the next three without taking any unnecessary risks.

What would turn out to be the final three stages of the day saw similar tactics from Tom, with a slightly more aggressive push on stages 4 and 5 along with a considerable increase in pace on stage 6. Much like the morning's stages, tyres were used sparingly leaving plenty of life in them for the longer, more important stage six. Tom explains:

"We only carried one spare for stage six because the front tyres still had loads of life left in them. Again, like the morning's stages, we just wanted to push hard on the longer stage and create the biggest time difference we could. We did have one moment on a long right-hander. It tightened towards the end and there was the danger of colliding with some logs. Luckily the car powered out of the trouble and we were able to carry on. Lucky really, as some other drivers were having much bigger moments."

The last few miles of stage six offered even more challenges, thanks in no small part to the heat and gravely conditions pushing the tyres to their extremes. Even so, Tom easily held onto the lead. More stages were due to take place, but due to safety concerns surrounding lighting issues, the Bulldog Rally came to a close after stage six, securing Tom and Craig's first win the brand new Citroen DS3 R3, along with their first MSA British Rally Championship victory.

Tom's next event will be the Pirelli International leg of the BRC, centred around 100 miles of Welsh and Cumbrian forests during the 27th and 28th of April. Another two-day event, it promises even more challenges, though Tom is confident that with the AutoMeca Racing prepared Citroen DS3 R3 beneath him, he can achieve another podium finish.

Bulldog Rollercoaster for Jon Armstrong/Emmet Sherry

Posted: March 26, 2012 12:26 PM

Jon, Emmet and the Armstrong rally team have only just completed their first competitive rally in style, winning their class and 13th overall on the Fivemiletown Spring rally. High on the buzz resulting from such a great first rally it was time to look onwards and plan for the future, after a few weeks of discussions it was decided that Jon & Emmet would compete in the remainder of the British Rally Championship Challenge (BRC Challenge) and the Fiesta Sport Trophy Challenge (FST).

Jon Commented after the decision:
"This is fantastic news for me and Emmet because we really didn't know what was next after Fivemiletown, and there is very little in Ireland for young drivers in recent years so something across the water was preferred"

The first event of their campaign was the Bulldog Rally yesterday (24th of March 2012) which contained 6 competitive stages! With stiff competition from similar machinery it was sure to be an interesting step in Jon's career over the Welsh stages. Jon Started well, just 7 tenths of the fastest overall BRC Challenge competitor after taking it reasonable steady through the first stage, reacclimatising himself to his LHD ST Fiesta and settling himself into his 2nd ever event on Pacenotes. On stage 2 Jon and Emmet had a good charge through the 8 mile stage and were 12 seconds faster than the nearest Challenge competitor. The time Jon set through the second stage was also good enough for 15th fastest in the international rally, this showing Jon and Emmet's continued pace from last months Fivemiletown Spring rally. Jon had now jumped into the lead of the Challenge by 13s as the crew headed into the awsesome 15 mile Gartheiniog stage which was followed by service and then another 3 stages.

The Crew had been flying through Stage three, the 15 mile Gartheiniog stage when they hit trouble. Jon Picks up the story:
"We had been having a really good run through the stage, at around the 10 mile mark we had started to get caught in the car in front's dust in places as we had been catching him which wasn't good at all. The dust didn't affect us too much but after a big straight down we came into a hairpin just as normal, but the hairpin had become very cut up and there was a large bang. There was nothing alarming afterwards as we headed down through a very fast section which consisted of 4 successive very fast left handers joined some substantial straights. The car was reacting as normal and we didn't notice a right hand front puncture until we came to the end of this fast section into the first right hand corner after the hairpin. The car just would not turn in at all, it was like we lost our steering completely and the result was slipping the car of a drop and rolling 2 times"

The accident ended Jon and Emmet's event as the car was too far off the road and had a fair amount of damage, a disappointing end to a great start! It is a case of what could have been but neither a less you can be sure that Jon and Emmet will be out on the stages again once the car has been repaired! The Fermanagh teenager stated:
"It's very disappointing because we know now that we had the pace and could have won but that's rallying! we weren't going to go to the Pirelli anyway as we have a family wedding so fingers crossed we can have the car repaired for the Jim Clark"

TUTHILL PORSCHE CLAIMS SECOND ON THE BULLDOG

Posted: March 26, 2012 12:23 PM

Dessie Nutt finished second in class at the wheel of a Tuthill-run Porsche 911 on the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales last weekend, the second round of the MSA British Historic Rally Championship.

Tuthill Porsche is the UK’s premier historic Porsche preparation expert and the list of legendary drivers who have competed for the Oxfordshire-based team includes Francois Delecour, Walter Rohrl, Markku Alen and Stig Blomqvist.

Nutt and co-driver Geraldine McBride drove their two-litre Porsche 911 flawlessly over the Bulldog Rally’s six competitive stages set in the heart of the Dyfnant and Dyfi forests in mid-Wales. The experienced pair was hot on the heels of fellow Porsche driver, Rikki Proffitt, but missed out on a class victory by 18 seconds.

“We really enjoyed ourselves,” said Nutt at the closing ceremony in Welshpool. “We’ve won here before so obviously it would have been good to have claimed another victory, but we can’t complain about second place. The stages were great and in excellent condition, we’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve had no problems with the car, everything has run like clockwork,” added the 2009 British Historic Rally Champion.

After two rounds of the championship, Nutt is currently lying in sixth place with 49 points in the drivers’ standings, and six rounds left to go.

Tuthill Porsche managing director Richard Tuthill commented: “Congratulations to Dessie and Geraldine for another solid result on some of the most challenging stages in Britain. Their achievements underline the fact that our Porsches are both reliable and easy to drive even on the most demanding stages, as well as being cost effective to run.”

Nutt will contest the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally on home turf in two weeks time, but will rejoin the British Historic Rally Championship when it resumes with the Pirelli International Rally, which runs from 27 – 28 April through the legendary Kielder stages close to Carlisle.

Results

Posted: March 26, 2012 11:59 AM

Bulldog International Rally - 23-24 Mar 12 - FULL RESULTS (Zip File, all events)
Results on Line
Results by Tynemouth Computer Services Rally Results
News: British Rally Championship
Rally Radio: rallyfm.net

Photo: Jonny Greer testing ahead of the Bulldog Rally

Posted: March 23, 2012 3:48 PM

Jonny Greer testing ahead of the Bulldog Rally
Photo: Roy Dempster

Jonny Greer & Keith Cronin enter Bulldog in DGM Citroen DS3 R3Ts

Posted: March 22, 2012 12:07 PM

DGM have confirmed that the first rally with the newly acquired Citroen DS3 R3Ts, will be the Bulldog Rally this weekend with a two cars team of double British Champion Keith Cronin and Jonny Greer.

BULLDOG RALLY ORGANISERS FORCED TO CANCEL SPECIAL STAGES IN DYFNANT WEST ON FRIDAY 23 MARCH TO REDUCE SUBSTANTIAL FINANCIAL LOSS

Posted: March 22, 2012 11:58 AM

Wolverhampton & South Staffs Car Club - organisers of the Welshpool-based Bulldog International Rally of North Wales - have been forced to cancel the two, 8.97-mile Dyfnant West special stages (SS1 and SS2) on the evening of Friday 23 March.

Rally Manager, Kevin Witton explains;
"Today (Tuesday 20 March) we have 30 fewer paid entries compared with this time last year. That represents a shortfall to the club - run by unpaid volunteers - of £16,500. We cannot, and will not, cut corners to save money which could jeopardise the safe running of the five events which make up 'The Bulldog Rally'; by cancelling these two stages, the club can save on its forestry charges and set-up costs and reduce the potential loss by £10,000".

"By withdrawing the two Friday stages - which only affect 27 teams in the International section of the Rally (Round two of the six-round British Rally Championship) and the two entries of the 'Bulldog Production Rally' - we avoid impacting on Saturday's route and timetable for everyone already entered.

"All Saturday's special stages are scheduled to run - including the ninth and final spectator stage in Dyfnant East - and provide the full quota of stage miles for The National and Historic Rallies, and 80 miles of competitive driving for those in the International Rally. Despite Friday's changes, everyone can look forward to the prospect of driving over some of the finest quality Forestry Commission gravel roads in Wales", concluded Witton.

Friday's cancellation has no effect on the Bulldog Challenge, the Bulldog Historic or the Welsh-National qualifying Rally, which have always been designed and timetabled as compact one-day events.

The Ceremonial Start in Welshpool Town Centre is unaffected and begins at 17.00hrs, with free entertainment followed by an autograph-signing session in Church Street car park in advance of the first cars being flagged away at 18.00hrs.

Rally HQ is based at the impressive Welshpool Livestock Sales Site, Buttington, on the junction with the A483 and the A453.

All individual rallies return to Church Street car park in Welshpool for their Ceremonial Finishes, beginning with the Bulldog Historic at 13.30hrs, the National Rally at 16.45hrs, the Bulldog Challenge at 18.30hrs and The Bulldog International at 19.00hrs.

SEVEN CITROËN DS3 R3’S TAKE ON THE BULLDOG RALLY CHALLENGE

Posted: March 22, 2012 11:49 AM

This weekend’s Bulldog International Rally, round two of the MSA British Rally Championship, will see a record seven Citroën DS3 R3s, starting from Welshpool for this event that uses some of the classic Welsh forestry special stages, synonymous with Rally GB. Finish ace Jarkko Nikara heads the DS3 entry, with Desi Henry and Osian Pryce next up. Vincent Dubert is a welcome French visitor, whilst young Welsh driver Tom Cave is hoping to make his DS3 debut, along with Hereford based James Grint (brother of Harry Potter star, Rupert) and former Fiesta champion Jonny Greer.

It’s all go for the Citroen crews and it’s been all go for Jarkko Nikara’s team-Autosport Technology following their Rallye Sunseeker engine problems. With the engine lifted from Oreca in France last weekend, the work is on to complete the car and carry out a brief test before Saturday’s tough stages. “I am looking forward to the Welsh stages” commented Jarkko. “The surface on the Sunseeker was more unique, whereas I have more experience of this kind of surface.” Naturally having battled for the lead of the first round for most of the event, Jarkko is one of the hot favorites for overall honors once more. Desi Henry was very much the man on the move on the afternoon stages of the Sunseeker, climbing to second overall on the final stage. The John McKillop run car has been ready well in advance and following a brief test, he is relishing the classic stages ahead, some of which are often used on Rally GB.

One man very excited about the event is 19 year old Osian Pryce. Based in Aberangell near Dolgellau this is very much his home rally, and he feels much happier since the Rallye Sunseeker with his DS3. “We competed in an event the weekend after the Sunseeker, but I didn’t learn as much as I would have liked, as I had a bad dose of food poisoning. However we went testing and completed almost 200 kilometres, and I tried a lot of different things with the car. I have to say I’m much happier with the car now, with the set up, and it feels much steadier and faster.” Osian simply cannot wait to get starting the event, despite the organisers announcing the cancellation of the two Friday night stages.” It’s a pity to lose them, because I would have liked to have had a go at them, but the stages on Saturday are some of the best in the country. The first three stages are quite close to my house and I have plenty of great memories watching them as a kid, so I can’t wait to drive them. There are some great driving roads. Gartheiniog for example is a real classic.”

Another young Welsh driver is Tom Cave. The 2011 BTRDA Production Cup Champion, is switching back to front wheel drive, having also driven S2000 cars in the past, and he will be one to watch. On the Rallye Sunseeker he was competitive in his front wheel drive Fiesta, but the DS3 will be another step up again, and Tom is a former class winner on Rally GB which covers a lot of this terrain. Frenchman Vincent Dubert is back in the UK after successfully completing the Trackrod last season. Although not expected to mix it at the front he is aiming for a top ten finish. Aiming for a good finish is Hereford’s James Grint. The 21 year old, originally from Harlow in Essex, is the brother of Harry Potter film star, Rupert, who is also a rally fan. James has been competing in the BTRDA Gold Star series in a Mitsubishi Evo, and before that built himself a MK1 Escort as a project. He also competed in BMX and down-hill mountain biking, but this weekend he has to learn the 210 horse power DS3 on the Welsh forest tracks. He is testing this week at the Higgins Rally-school, run by former British Champions Mark and David Higgins.

Finally seeded near the end of the list but likely to be reseeded is Carryduff’s Jonny Greer in the DGM Sport DS3 R3. Having just taken delivery of the car, a test at Sweet Lamb is planned just before the event. “I haven’t got a chance to drive the car as yet, but it looks well put together by Citroen Racing.” Jonny finished third in the British Championship last season in an S2000 Skoda Fabia, and previously spent a couple of seasons in an Evo 9. “It’s been a while since I’ve driven front wheel drive, so I will have to adapt back to that. I have a new co-driver for the weekend, Damien Connolly too, so we really are out to see where we are, and have no real expectations for the weekend. I am certainly looking forward to it. They are some of the best stages in Britain, and a good place to learn about the car and the set ups.”

Citroën UK are currently in second place in the manufacturer’s table but with this strong entry of DS3’s that could further improve this weekend over the nine gravel stages which also include the Dyfi and Dyfnant tests.

Takeoff time for Twingos

Posted: March 22, 2012 11:27 AM

The Twingo Renaultsport R2 Trophy UK takes off on Bulldog International Rally North Wales this weekend, the counter also the second in the R1 Trophy calendar.

This opening round of the Twingo R2 Trophy was always targeted to start on the second round of the MSA British Rally Championship to allow the newly homologated Evo upgrade to be available to all.

In anticipation of the 190bhp upgrade, Chris Ingram/Joe Cruttenden and Nick Allen/Andy Bull contested the opening round of the MSA British Rally Championship back in February. But even though the Bournemouth based event was not a scoring one for the R2 pocket rockets, they battled for BRC Class 6 points anyway, gaining crucial time in their newly acquired steeds. They join Garry Pearson/Craig Wallace in Wales, who will be hoping for another haul of Twingo R1 Trophy prizes from the event and this time it will be a gloves-off affair.

20 year-old reigning Stars of the Future Champion Pearson will also be fighting for honours in the British Junior Rally Championship against Steve Røkland in his Fiesta, so he cannot think of just going for a finish in the classic Welsh stages. The end of year Twingo Renaultsport R1 Trophy prize of an R2 drive on Rallye du Var is dependent on him taking the coveted MSA British Junior Rally Championship too. This job will be made much tougher by Norwegian Røkland, who with his co-driver Dag Nordstrand won Ford’s own one makes series last year.

The Twingo R2 Trophy prize, also a drive on Rallye du Var in a Clio R3 or Mégane R4, is not dependent on anyone other than the Renault protagonists though, so it will be a straight fight between Britain and America (Ingram and Allen respectively), Allen staying match-fit with a recent outing on the Border Counties Rally, while Ingram awaits the Twingo R2 Evo upgrade, hoping to make the change in time.

This Friday evening’s 6.00pm ceremonial start in the centre of Welshpool gives fans and crews a chance to mingle, see the cars and grab an autograph or two. Plus Sky Sports’ Mike Brewer and Robbie Head will be working hard, interviewing before the flag drops.

TUTHILL PORSCHE AIMS FOR MORE SUCCESS AT THE BULLDOG RALLY

Posted: March 22, 2012 11:13 AM

Tuthill Porsche, the UK’s premier historic Porsche preparation expert, is aiming to continue its successful season when the Oxfordshire-based team contests the Bulldog Historic Rally on Saturday (24 March).

Running alongside the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales, the event will mark the second round of this year’s MSA British Historic Rally Championship and will challenge a healthy field of 51 entries over six competitive stages.

Flying the flag for Tuthill Porsche since 1993 will be former British Historic Rally Champion Dessie Nutt at the wheel of a Porsche 911. Nutt and co-driver Geraldine McBride finished runner-up in the historic category at 2010’s Bulldog Rally, and the pair will be looking to use their past experience to claim a victory next week.

“The Bulldog is one of the finest rallies that we do on gravel. We’re allowed to buy a commercially prepared DVD of the stages – my co-driver and I looked at the video on Sunday, and the roads look to be in fabulous condition,” said Nutt, who has competed close to 200 events with Tuthill Porsche.

“They’re very fast roads and the competition is going to be tough with several drivers having won previous events and championships. We didn’t have the best run on our last rally so we’re hoping to improve on that and build our experience next week. We’ll certain be working very hard for a good result,” added Nutt.

Tuthill Porsche is the UK’s unrivalled preparation company when it comes to historic Porsche rally cars, and the list of drivers who have competed for the family-run firm reads like a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the sport.

Bjorn Waldegard, the inaugural 1979 World Rally Champion, won the Safari Rally for Tuthill Porsche last year and previous Tuthill drivers have included Markku Alen, Stig Blomqvist, Michele Mouton, Walter Rohrl and Patrick Snijers.

Tuthill Porsche director, Richard Tuthill, commented:
“The Bulldog is a fantastic rally and features some of the best stages in the UK. We are delighted to have Dessie joining us again for this season. He is a very experienced driver and although there is some very tough competition at next week’s rally, I have no doubt that Dessie can fight for a victory.”

The Bulldog Rally first started as a road rally in 1958 and has since gone on to become one of the most popular national rallies in the UK thanks to the quality of its stages. Last year, former World Rally Championship star Francois Delecour drove for Tuthill Porsche on the mid-Wales event.

BHRC preview: Bulldog Historic Rally

Posted: March 22, 2012 11:01 AM

The battle for the 2012 Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship continues on classic Welsh gravel stages like Dyfi and Gartheiniog on the Bulldog Historic Rally (Saturday 24 March). A field of 65 cars will line-up in Welshpool for round two of the championship and tremendous battles are set to rage across all three categories and within the classes.

Category One
The contest in Category One is sure to be one of the big stories of the 2012 BHRC season after a mighty battle on the opening round, the Mid Wales Historic Stages, three weeks ago. With at least six potential category winners, it was Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell who came out on top in their Lotus Cortina. However, Rikki Proffitt and Phill Harrison set the early pace in their Porsche 911, only to suffer dramas when a front brake calliper failed. The North Wales crew will be going all out for victory on their home event of the season. Well in contention were Simon Wallis and Graham Wride, once they had fixed a carburettor problem with their Lotus Cortina, while Graham Waite and Gill Cotton were as quick as ever until retiring the spectacular Volvo Amazon in the Myherin stage.

Other contenders include the trio of Porsche 911s in the hands of Terry Brown/John Stanger-Leathes, Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride and Derek Boyd/Peter Scott. Brown had a run of problems last time out, but should be very strong this time around, while the flying Ford Anglia of Peter Stimson/Mark Butler will be chasing the more powerful cars and setting the Class B3 pace against the Ford Cortina GT of Callum Barney/Ron Channon.

A welcome addition to the Category One entry will be two cars in Class B1. Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport) will go up against championship newcomers Nigel and Henry Webster (Singer Chamois) in a battle of the 1-litre cars.

Category Two
The week leading up to the opening rally of the season was pretty stressful for Julian Reynolds with a rush to get his Escort Mk1 ready. But the hard work paid off as Julian and Patrick Walsh won Category Two in style to get their title bid off to a perfect start. Reynolds will be aiming to build on that result on the Bulldog and, if he has a clear run, he will be very tough to beat.

Leading the chase of Reynolds will be current champions David Stokes and Guy Weaver, and Stokes is aiming to up his pace after a measured start on the Mid Wales. Packing out Class C5, and aiming to challenge Stokes, will be Rupert Lomax/David Alcock and father and son crew Ernie and Will Graham, all in rapid Ford Escort Mk1s. Building their pace as they acclimatise to BDA power in their Escort will be Andrew Siddall and Carl Williamson, while Peter Smith and Paul Wakely join the C5 pack after missing the opening round.

Among the Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s, Dick Slaughter and Tim Sayer scored a commanding Class C3 victory last time out. Trying to topple the ever-sideways Slaughter will be more Escorts in the hands of Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay and Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston. Class C3 also offers variety as, along with the Escort of Ian Drummond/Hu Kent, it also includes the Porsche 914 of Richard Morgan/Keith Fellowes and the Saab 96 of Hugh and Debby Myers. In Class C2, the battle will be between the Escort Mk1s of Matt Fowle/Jane Edgington and Nick Danks/Martin Corbett.

Category Three
A stunning field will contest Category Three, with no less than 22 BDG-powered Escort Mk2s in Class D5. Top of the pack is Nick Elliott, winner of the 2011 Bulldog, and co-driver Dave Price and they will surely be the marker on stages they know and like. But a gaggle of rapid crews will ensure that Elliott has to be on the attack from the word go.

Will Onions/Dave Williams, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Alan Walker/Paul Price are running close behind Elliott and will be key rivals, along with the Vauxhall Chevette of Rob Smith/Shaun O’Gorman, which is due a clear run after a troubled time on the Mid Wales.

However, the Mid Wales also showed that several relative newcomers to the BHRC are in the mix for the Category Three glory. Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss showed tremendous pace first time out and, with a more suitable seeding for the Bulldog, should be strong contenders along with Will Rowlands/Rich Jones who are long overdue some good fortune to go with their obvious pace. Another rapid Welsh crew in the hunt for Category Three are Tomas and Eurig Davies. Provided the car is ready in time, the Sunbeam Lotus of James Stait/Marcus Cartwright has Class D4 to itself and provides variety from the Escort ranks.

Class D3, from a championship contenders’ point of view, should be the domain of Shawn Rayner and Declan Dear after a mighty run on the Mid Wales. Sadly a puncture cost them a strong result, but they clearly have the pace. Chasing in Class D3 will be Chris Shooter/Bev LeGood and Rex Ireland/Adrian Scadding in two more Pinto-powered Escort Mk2s.

The Bulldog Historic Rally is organised by Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club and starts at 7am on Saturday 24 March from Welshpool.

BRC maintains the momentum in Wales

Posted: March 22, 2012 10:52 AM

The second round of this year’s MSA British Rally Championship takes place this Friday and Saturday, when competitors make their way to Welshpool for the Bulldog Rally of North Wales. The event also marks the second round of the new-look BRC, with its innovative and forward-thinking format that allows only two-wheel-drive cars to compete for the prestigious British titles.

If there was any question as to whether the new two-wheel-drive formula would provide exciting competition, it was well and truly answered on last month’s opening round, the Bournemouth and Poole based Rallye Sunseeker. Throughout the day-long rally the battle for the overall lead between Mark Donnelly from Omagh in his Renault Clio R3 and Finland’s Jarkko Nikara in his Citroën DS3 R3 was never separated by more than four-seconds.

In fact, after nine of the event’s 12 stages, both drivers were on exactly the same time – to the tenth-of-second! Eventually the dice rolled in Donnelly’s favour, when Nikara’s car coasted to a halt after his car lost power on the penultimate stage. This weekend sees Nikara start as number three seed, with Donnelley ahead of him at two.

Carrying number one on the door after winning The Bulldog Rally of North Wales last year is Elfyn Evans, who’s Ford Fiesta not only brought him home in third place in round one, but also allowed him to scoop honours in a class that was almost as fiercely fought as that of the leaders. Needless to say Evans, who’s from Dinas Mawddwy, will be looking to stay on the podium this weekend in what is regarded as his home event, even though the R2 Fiesta is not as powerful as the R3 machinery around it.

Other Welsh drivers looking to score well on their local soil will be Osian Pryce from Aberangall, who finished an impressive fourth first-time out in his Citroën DS3 and starts at number five this weekend. Debuting his similar car on this event – and running next on the road - will be Aberdovey’s Tom Cave who, although driving a Fiesta R2 in round one whilst his new DS3 was being built, finished a credible seventh and will also be aiming for the accolade of being ‘best Welshman’ this time round.

And, if form on the Rallye Sunseeker is anything to go by, a definite front-runner, who is seeded at four this weekend, will be Northern Ireland’s Desi Henry – another Citroën DS3 pilot – who finished an excellent second in round one.

A driver hoping for greater things for the Bulldog Rally will be Jukka Korhonen who starts as car seven. For a time, the reigning Pirelli Star Driver in his Škoda Fabia R2 led his class in round one, until a throttle sensor forced the talented Finn into a frustrating retirement on the final stage.

This left Jussi Kumpumäki to uphold national honour by being the first Finn home, the Ford Fiesta R2 driver crossing the line in sixth place. He starts at eight. Next to go is WRC Academy contender Alastair Fisher from Trillick, who will be hoping for better fortunes in his Ford Fiesta after suffering terminal gearbox problems in round one.

Rounding off the top-ten and underlining that the British Rally Championship is a truly international affair is Vincent Dubert from France, driving a Citroën DS3. Additional overseas competitors appearing in North Wales include: Niko-Pekka Nieminen from Finland (Ford Fiesta R2), Steve Røkland from Norway (Ford Fiesta R1), Nick Allen from the USA (Renault Twingo R2), Egon Kaur from Estonia (Ford Fiesta R2) and the welcome return of twice British Champion, Keith Cronin from Eire (Renault Twingo R1).

Other notable entries come from James Grint – brother of Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame - who makes his MSA British Rally Championship debut this weekend. And, returning to the BRC to start his 2012 campaign in Wales, is regular front-runner from last season Jonny Greer. Both will be driving brand new Citroën DS3 R3s.

Added to the drivers mentioned here, there’s plenty more who could well feature in the top-ten this weekend, as the BRC’s new two-wheel-drive format creates close competition and encourages talent to rise to the top. And, confirming the fact that the British Rally Championship is a proving ground for up-and-coming champions, statistics reveal that the average age of drivers in this year is just 23!

The Bulldog Rally of North Wales commences with a ceremonial start in the centre of Welshpool on Friday evening and, following the announcement this week that Friday night’s two stages in Dyfnant Forest have had to have been cancelled for economic reasons, all of the action will take place on Saturday.

The 80-miles of competition will see the International field of 30 competitors tackle nine special stages in forests that are regarded as classic rally venues, such as: Gartheiniog, Dyfi, Penllyn (Aberhirnant) and Dyfnant East. The event finishes in Welshpool from 18.57.

MSA BRITISH MANUFACTURERS RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Moments before the start of the Rallye Sunseeker, news broke that Ford was to join Renault and Citroën as a registered manufacturers in this year’s BRC. This means that the coveted MSA British Manufacturers’ title now a three-way battle between the brands.

Scores towards the title are calculated from the two leading cars from each of the manufacturers and, after the first round, Renault top the table with 34-points, Citroën is second with 33 and Ford lie third with a score of 29.

MSA BRITISH JUNIOR RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Underpinning the BRC’s commitment to reward its rising stars, a new-look Junior Championship has been introduced for this season. Open to drivers of 23 and under in Class 10 (R1) cars, this initiative sees the winner recognised with the prestigious title of MSA British Junior Champion.

Targeting glory – and winner on the Rallye Sunseeker - is 20-year old Garry Pearson from the Borders, who steps up to a full BRC campaign this season as 2011 BRC Challenge Star of the Future in an R1 Renault Twingo. He will be challenged this weekend by Norway’s Steve Røkland in a Fiesta, who wasn’t able to score in round one and will therefore be trying hard to make up for lost ground.

PIRELLI STAR DRIVER

This year’s Pirelli Star Driver competition again selects a winner from each round. Each of the six winners then go forward to an end-of-season shootout where they can win a Pirelli funded prize designed to boost their progression in the sport.

After the podium presentations had taken place in Bournemouth last month, it was announced that rally victor Mark Donnelly had also won the coveted Pirelli yellow jersey and a nomination towards the end-of-season final shoot-out. And, at the finish of the Bulldog Rally on Saturday evening, the second yellow jersey winner will be announced.

BRC TEAMS CUP

The new-format BRC Teams Cup is aimed at professional motorsport teams running two cars and this year five have registered. Drivers are pre-nominated, but can change from event-to-event. All six rounds count towards the final championship classification.

Unfortunately for the Millers Oils 586 Team, with Callum Black failing to finish due to an accident on stage eight, they came away from the first event without any points. It also means that the team does not appear with their Suzuki Swift this weekend.

Adding its name to the list of teams on this event is Davies Motorsport Services, who will be running the Citroën DS3s of Osian Pryce and Tom Cave. Based in Welshpool – less than a mile from the rally’s headquarters - the team is hoping that local knowledge may provide them with a distinct advantage.

Topping the Teams’ table after round one is M-Sport Ford with 20 points, after Elfyn Evans’ impressive third place - and even taking into account their team mate Alistair Fisher’s retirement. The Ford Finnish Junior Team comprise Jussi Kumpumäki and Niko Nieminen and, although only one of them finished the Rallye Sunseeker, the team currently hold second in the standings with 20 points.

The accrued scores from Gethin Jones’ tenth place, added to the 12th of Matt Cotton – both in Fiestas - sees the AVS Motorsport team in fourth on 16 points. And, as the oldest driver in the BRC this year, at 41 Jones proved a point with Class 8 victory after several years away from the sport.

Arron Newby‘s excellent 13th place on his BRC debut in his Škoda Fabia, means that the Pirelli TEG Sport team hold fifth with 15 points – although it could have been more if it wasn’t for team mate Jukka Korhonen’s 11th hour departure.

BRC ONE-MAKES SERIES

The MSA British Rally Championship also features three, one-make series: The Fiesta SportTrophy, the Twingo Renaultsport R1 & R2 Trophies UK and the Citroën Racing Trophy UK. Current leaders following the Rallye Sunseeker are: Elfyn Evans, Garry Pearson and Desi Henry respectively.

Seeded Entry Lists

Posted: March 18, 2012 12:46 PM

No Driver/Co-Driver (Make) [Class]

The Bulldog International Rally of North Wales 2012
1 Elfyn Evans/Andrew Edwards (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
2 Mark Donnelly/Dai Roberts (Renault Clio R3) [5]
3 Jarkko Nikara/Petri Nikara (Citroen DS3) [5]
4 Desi Henry/Niall Burns (Citroen DS3 R3) [5]
5 Osian Pryce/Iestyn Williams (Citroen DS3) [5]
6 Tom Cave/Craig Parry (Citroen DS3) [5]
7 Jukka Korhonen/Mikael Korhonen (Skoda Fabia R2) [6]
8 Jussi Kumpumaki/Marko Salminen (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
9 Alastair Fisher/Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
10 Vincent Dubert/Stephane Rey (Citroen DS3) [5]
11 Peter Taylor/Andrew Roughead (Renault Clio R3) [10]
12 Matthew Cathcart/James Morgan (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
14 Jack Rowe/James Aldridge (Ford Fiesta R2) [10]
15 Niko-Pekka Nieminen/Pasi Haataja (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
16 Molly Taylor/Seb Marshall (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
17 Ruary MacLeod/Paul Beaton (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
18 James Grint/Craig Drew (Citroen DS3) [5]
19 Chris Ingram/Joe Cruttenden (Renault Twingo R2) [6]
20 Steve Rokland/Dag Nordstrand (Ford Fiesta) [10]
21 Alex Parpottas/Chris Davies (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
22 Gethin Jones/Kevin Devine (Ford Fiesta ST) [8]
23 Nick Allen/Andy Bull (Renault Twingo) [6]
24 Matt Cotton/Glyn Thomas (Ford Fiesta ST) [8]
25 Christian South/Tomas Whittle (Citroen C2 Max) [6]
26 Arron Newby/Julian Wilkinson (Skoda Fabia R2) [6]
27 Garry Pearson/Craig Wallace (Renault Twingo R1) [10]
28 Jonathan Greer / (Citroen DS3) [5]
29 Egon Kaur/Erik Lepikson (Ford Fiesta R2) [6]
30 Keith Cronin/Marshall Clarke (Honda Civic) [5]

The Bulldog Challenge Rally 2012
61 James Ford/Neil Colman (Citroen C2R2 Max) [RC5]
62 Richard Sykes/Simon Taylor (Citroen C2R2 Max) [RC5]
63 Simon Moore/Emma Morrison (Renault Clio) [RC4]
64 Richard Archer/John Connor (Opel Corsa) [RC5]
65 Luke Pinder/ (Ford Fiesta ST) [RC4]
66 Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy (Renault Clio) [RC4]
67 Gareth White/Mike Dickson (Citroen C2 R2 Max) [RC5]
68 Damien Smith/Paula Swinscoe (Ford Fiesta ST) [RC4]
69 Mark McCulloch/Elliott Edmondson (Proton Satria) [RC3]
70 Tony Simpson/Stefan Arndt (Ford Fiesta) [RC4]
71 Steven Smith/Daniel Johnstone (Peugeot 206 RC) [RC4]
72 Kevin Vondy/Nicholas Kaighin (Vauxhall Corsa) [RC2]
73 James Watts/Steve Hartley (Volkswagen Polo) [RC2]
74 Adam Taylor/Loic Ditchburn (Ford Fiesta ST) [RC4]
75 Jon Armstrong/Emmet Sherry (Ford Fiesta ST) [RC4]

The Bulldog Production BRC Rally 2012
104 Bob Ceen / (Subaru Impreza S9 WRC ) [B13]
112 Richard Ceen/Sarah Ceen (Ford Focus WRC) [B13]

The Bulldog National Rally 2012
101 Alex Allingham/Mark Glennerster (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
102 David Howells/Robin Hernaman (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
103 Tristan Bailey/James How (Mitsubishi WRC 04) [B13]
105 Ian Joel/Graeme Wood (Ford Escort Cosworth) [B13]
106 Dan O'Brien/Paul Morris (Ford Focus) [B13]
107 Tom Naughton/Horace Saville (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [N4]
108 Paul Davy/Roger Allan (Subaru Impreza) [N4]
109 Brendan Cumiskey/Conor Foley (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [B13]
111 Paul Walker/Huw Lewis (Subaru Impreza WRC) [B13]
113 Tony MacWhirter/Steve Green (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [B13]
114 Peter Baylis/Anthony Blyth (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
115 Karl Simons/Guy Simmons (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
116 Roger Platt/Peter Gilbert (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
117 Spencer Wilkinson/Jamie Edwards (Subaru Impreza N15) [N4]
118 Phil Edwards/Jon Edwards (Subaru Impreza RA) [B13]
119 Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (MG Metro 6R4) [B13]
120 Jason Morgan/Adie Williams (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
121 Cyril Crook/Chris Ware (Vauxhall Astra RWD) [B12]
122 Paul Butler/Kevin Watkins (Subaru Impreza) [B13]
123 Alun Roberts/Aled Edwards (Peugeot 206) [B9]
124 Brad Axon/Jonathan Shearing (Toyota Corolla) [B10]
125 Paul Pritchard/Vernon Brown (Ford Escort Mk I) [B10]
126 David Edwards/Adrian McNally (Ford RS2000 Mk II) [H3]
127 Gareth Edwards/ (Ford Escort) [B8]
128 James Watkins/Richard Suter (Nissan Micra) [B9]
129 John Jones/Laura Unett (Peugeot 205) [B8]
130 Arwyn Lloyd Davies/Emyr Hall (Proton Satria) [B10]
131 Matt Edwards/Will Rogers (Mitsubishi Evo 9) [B13]
132 Martin Cairns/Andrew Purcell (Subaru WRC) [B13]
133 Des Fletcher/Phil Spilsted (Mazda ) [B8]
134 Kevin Nunns/Gary Moult (BMW 318 is) [B11]
135 Nigel Jenkins/Jack Walby (Vauxhall Nova) [B9]

The Bulldog Historic Rally 2012
201 Graham Waite/Gill Cotton (Volvo Amazon) [B4]
202 Rikki Proffitt/Phill Harrison (Porsche 911) [B5]
203 Paul Mankin/Desmond Bell (Ford Lotus Cortina) [B4]
204 Simon Wallis/Graham Wride (Ford Lotus Cortina) [B4]
205 Terry Brown/John Stanger-Leathes (Porsche 911) [B5]
206 Ian Beveridge/TBA (Volvo PV544) [B4]
207 Pete Stimson/Mark Butler (Ford Anglia) [B3]
208 Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) [B5]
209 Derek Boyd/Peter Scott (Porsche 911) [B5]
210 Gwilym Roberts/Don James (Ford Lotus Cortina ) [B4]
211 Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport) [B1]
212 Callum Barney/Ron Channon (Ford Cortina GT) [B3]
213 Nigel Webster/Henry Webster (Singer Chamois Sport) [B1]
221 Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
222 Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh (Ford Escort RS1600) [C5]
223 Will Onions/Dave Williams (Ford Escort RS) [D5]
224 Rob Smith/Shaun O'Gorman (Vauxhall Chevette) [K4]
225 Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
226 Paul Griffiths/Mark Lewis (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
227 Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss (Ford Escort) [D5]
228 Will Rowlands/Rich Jones (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
229 Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies (Ford Escort) [D5]
230 David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort RS1600) [C5]
231 Rupert Lomax/Barry Green (Ford Escort Mk I) [C5]
232 Simon Webster/Pete Cotton (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
233 Tim Freeman/Paul Barden ( ) [D5]
234 Warren Philliskirk/Matt Whattam (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
235 Jonathan Brace/Tim Samuel (Ford Escort RS) [D5]
236 David Pritchard/Andy Marchbank (Ford Escort) [D5]
237 Nick Woodman/Gareth Lloyd (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
238 Peter Smith/Paul Wakely (Ford Escort Mk I) [C5]
239 Guy Woodcock/Graham Dance (Ford Escort RS2000) [D3]
240 Shawn Rayner/Declan Dear (Ford Escort Mk II) [D3]
241 James Slaughter/Phil Peak (Ford Escort) [D5]
242 Phil Squires/Mick Squires (Ford Escort RS1800) [D5]
243 Simon Crook/Alister Crook (Ford Escort) [D5]
244 Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
245 Ernie Graham/Will Graham (Ford Escort RS1600) [C5]
246 Stuart Clarke/Andy Ballantyne (Ford RS2000) [D3]
247 Ian Rix/Lee Carter (Ford Escort RS1600) [C5]
248 Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer (Ford Escort RS2000 Mk I) [C3]
249 Andrew Siddall/Carl Williamson (Ford Escort ) [C5]
250 James Potter/Bob Duck (Ford Escort) [D5]
251 Richard Lane/Frank Richer (Ford Escort) [D3]
252 Rob Dennis/Bob Stokoe (Ford Escort) [D5]
253 James Stait/Marcus Cartwright (Sunbeam Lotus) [D4]
254 Chris Shooter/Bev LeGood (Ford Escort) [D3]
255 Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay (Ford Escort) [C3]
256 Mark Bentley/Ed Bentley (Ford Escort MkII) [D5]
257 Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston (Ford Escort RS2000) [C3]
258 Peter Egerton/Alun Cook (Ford Escort) [D5]
259 Rex Ireland/Adrian Scadding (Ford Escort) [D3]
260 Arwel Lloyd Jones/JA 'Harold' Jones (Ford Escort Mk II) [D5]
261 Jeremy Wells/Ryland James (Ford Escort Mk I) [C5]
262 Matthew Fowle/Jane Edgington (Ford Escort Mexico) [C2]
263 Ian McAuley/Simon Buckles (Ford Escort) [D3]
264 Nick Danks/Martin Corbett (Ford Escort Mexico Mk I) [C2]
265 Ian Drummond/Hu Kent (Ford Escort RS2000) [C3]
266 Richard Morgan/Keith Fellowes (Porsche 914) [C3]
267 Hugh Myers/Debby Myers (Saab 96 V4) [C3]
268 Lynden John Jones/John H Roberts (Talbot Sunbeam Ti) [D2]
269 David Kirby/Rob Cook (Ford Escort Mk I Mexico) [C2]

Tom Cave steps up a gear on the Bulldog Rally

Posted: March 16, 2012 10:16 AM

Young rally driver Tom Cave will step his 2012 rally campaign up a gear next weekend, when he tackles the Bulldog Rally, his 'home' round of the British Rally Championship in his brand new Citroen DS3 R3 rally car. Not only will the youngster, partnered by Craig Parry, be looking for a solid points haul for the BRC, he will also be looking for success in the newly-announced Citroen Racing Trophy, the one-make series offering significant prizes.

Tom drove a rented Ford Fiesta R2 on the BRC season-opener, the Sunseeker Rallye in February as his Citroen hadn't even landed in the UK by the time the event began. However, the car is now here, has been converted from tarmac to gravel specification by DMS, had its livery applied and is ready for the pre-event test that Tom will be carrying out on the Tuesday of rally week.

While Tom has yet to drive the DS3, he is deliberately leaving the test to just before the event, so that he arrives in the car fresh and can immediately take everything he learns forward to the event.

The Citroen Racing Trophy takes place over all six rounds of the BRC and offers drivers not only the chance of a genuine championship but also, significant prize money. First place overall for a driver of a Citroen DS3 R3 on each event wins €6000, second is worth €3500 and third, €1500. At the end of the season, the winning Trophy driver under 23 gets €10,000 towards an entry into the Rallye du Var while the winner over 23 claims an additional €5000.

Commenting, Toms said;
"I'm really looking forward to getting out in the Citroen. Is a very serious rally car and I'm very excited to be driving it in not only the BRC but also, the Citroen Racing Trophy. The prize money is, of course, a fantastic incentive and will definitely help our campaign if we can get some good results.

"Driving the Citroen will be a fresh challenge for me as it's very different to what I'm used to but I'm really looking forward to it. We'll have a pre-event test just before the start of the rally so that it all remains as fresh as possible for when we start the first stage but I'm very excited."

The Bulldog Rally is effectively Tom's home round of the BRC, since it's based in Welshpool and uses stages close to Aberdovey, home to him and sponsor, the Trefeddian Hotel. Despite this though, he doesn't have a vast amount of experience of the stages and will be starting the pre-event recce from scratch, with no existing pace notes.

However, he does know that the stages will be tricky, as his 2011 event came to an abrupt halt when he went off the road on the first timed test. "That stage, the first last year, runs as the last one this year, so by the time we get to it, hopefully I will have felt my way into the car and won't have any problems. I think we'll settle in on the Friday night stage and then up the game a little on Saturday.

"The plan is to target a podium finish. I think that we will look at where we are on Saturday and if we're in touch with the leaders, then we'll push for that result. We need to grab as many points as we can for the BRC standings and of course, do as well in the Trophy as we can."

The event begins with the traditional ceremonial start in Welshpool centre on the evening of Friday 23 March, before two runs through the Dyfant stage in falling light. Following an overnight halt, the crews then face nine further stages on Saturday 24 March, including two runs through the gruelling 15-mile Gartheiniog test. The first crews are expected to reach the finish podium at 19.00hrs on Saturday.

Entries Received

Posted: March 6, 2012 2:16 PM

Available at:

• Rally North Wales

Incentives for entrants in the Bulldog and Pirelli 'Production' rallies

Posted: February 22, 2012 11:04 AM

Providing a minimum of 12 drivers participate in both the Bulldog and Pirelli 'Production' rallies, the winner of the National B Bulldog 'Production' Rally will be offered a free entry in the Pirelli 'Production' Rally and the winner of the Pirelli Event will have their Bulldog entry fee refunded.

This incentive is a joint collaboration between Wolverhampton & South Staffordshire Car Club and Cumberland Sporting Car Club, the organising clubs behind rounds two and three of the MSA British Rally Championship.

12 entries will be accepted for the Bulldog 'Production' Rally, potentially more depending on the number of entries received for the International Rally of North Wales.

The Bulldog 'Production' Rally - for R4 and Group N homologated and non-homologated Class B13 cars - offers 63 competitive miles and seven classic forest stages for an entry fee of £715.

Regulations / On Line Entry

Posted: February 17, 2012 11:22 AM

Available via the Rally Website:

• Rally North Wales

Rally Guide 1 Available

Posted: January 31, 2012 4:51 PM

• Rally North Wales

'Bulldog Briefing' Number 1

Posted: January 12, 2012 11:53 AM

The date for 2012 Bulldog International Rally of North Wales is confirmed as Friday 23 and Saturday 24 March. The date change was made at the request of the Forestry Commission, who are providing the all-gravel special stages.

The event features four individual rallies:

International - round two of the six-round MSA British Rally Championship (www.rallybrc.co.uk).
National A - round two of the eight-round Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship (www.hrcr.co.uk).
National B - qualifying for the Hankook MSA Welsh National Rally Championship (www.wnrc.co.uk), the Production BRC (www.rallybrcproduction.co.uk). and the Association of North Western Car Clubs Championship (www.anwcc.org).
National B - round two of the BRC Challenge (www.brcchallenge.co.uk).

Welshpool welcomes the event's return; to assist with arranging accommodation, the Tourist Information Centre has a booking service on email: ticwelshpool@btconnect.com or call 01938 552043. Please mention "Bulldog Rally" when using this service.

Documentation, Media Office, Scrutineering, Service Area and Rally Control for the International Rally, the BRC Challenge and the National event are all based at the Welshpool Livestock Sales site at Buttington (on the outskirts of Welshpool, on the A483).

The Start and Finish of these three rallies will be in Welshpool.

Details for the Bulldog Historic Rally will be announced as soon as possible.

The partnership with Shropshire-based Bulldog Security Products (www.bulldogsecure.com) began in 1995 and is one of the longest-running sponsorships in the BRC.

Event Website

Posted: January 12, 2012 11:52 AM

• Rally North Wales
• Wolverhampton & South Staffs Car Club (Bulldog Rally)