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LinksCarlisle Stages - (Sat) 22 Jun 13
Posted: February 12, 2014 12:58 PM - 5655 Hits
Round 5 - 2013 RAC Rally Championship
- VIDEO: Full TV Program
- In Car
- Video Clips
- Former British Junior Rally Champion Martin McCormack scores an emphatic victory on the Carlisle stages.
- Results
- Seeded Entry List
- Tapio Laukkanen to contest the DMACK Carlisle Stages
- Free access for spectators on the DMACK Carlisle Stages
- Bonus for 1600cc cars on the DMACK Carlisle Stages
- Great value entry fee for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
- Regulations / Entry
- Format unveiled for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
- DMACK to back Carlisle Stages
- Brand new event for the RAC Rally Championship
In Car
Posted: February 12, 2014 12:33 PM
Marty McCormack & Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk 2) SS2
Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk 2) SS4
Former British Junior Rally Champion Martin McCormack scores an emphatic victory on the Carlisle stages.
Posted: February 12, 2014 12:16 PM
This was the third round in the new RAC Historic Rally Championship and was based over some classic stages in and around the Scottish borders. Featuring a bumper field of historic classification cars dominated by the venerable MK2 Escort, this rally also featured more modern 4wd machines to spice up the overall leader board.
Coming back to the championship in his BDA Escort Marty was keen to reignite some of the close battling which has characterised the championship so far. Coming from a fantastic victory on the previous round in Hamsterly, Marty and co-driver Phil Clarke were not expecting it all to go their way. The field in the historic section alone featured several former British champions all in equal specification cars.
Marty set out his intentions early on the first stage, taking a 3 second lead from first round winner Nick Elliott in damp and slippery conditions.
Marty began to get into his stride with him and Clarke finding a good rhythm over the slippery
Scottish roads to work up to a 22 second lead by stage 4 of the 6 stage event. It really was a fine display from the former Citroen driver who chose this historic series this year to maintain his match fitness in anticipation of a return to competition in a more modern machine.
The pace remained fast over the last 2 stages but McCormack showed a cool head to deliver 2 more fastest times in the historic rally to put up a clean sweep of stage wins and to take the RAC historic win by 36 seconds from Nick Elliott. More notably however Marty managed to hold on to 2nd overall on the main rally in his 2wd car – an astonishing performance against the more modern WRC and GrpN machines.
This result sees Marty and Phil extend their lead of the RAC Historic Championship and has provided a tantalising glimpse of the speed of this crew. Marty was keen to thank the support of co-driver Phil Clarke and his support team for this brilliant result.
Tapio Laukkanen to contest the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: June 16, 2013 8:57 AM
Former British Rally champion Tapio Laukkanen will contest the DMACK Carlisle Stages, round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship on Saturday 22 June.
Finnish ace Laukkanen, BRC champion in a VW Golf in 1999, will compete in a full-spec historic Ford Escort Mk2 from Rally Xtreme. It will be a fully DMACK-branded car and the entry will be used to support the championship and to test the new specification of 13" gravel tyres from DMACK.
Dick Cormack, DMACK managing director said:
"We've invited Tapio to the event to help support this exciting championship, to add more value as sponsors of the DMACK Stages and create a buzz around our local event. It's also a great opportunity for us to test our latest specification of DMG1 historic rally tyres on stages similar to those used on the Roger Albert Clark Rally later this year."
Laukkanen spent nearly eight seasons rallying in Britain and says that he is keen to get back into the British forests.
“It has been 20 years since I drove an Escort,” said Laukkanen. “A Mk2 Escort was my second rally car in Finland. It will be a lot of fun and, for sure, it will be a good laugh. I will just try and keep good times and keep it safe. We’ll try and do as much as possible regarding the tyres.”
The DMACK Carlisle Stages is running for the first time this month and the event organisers from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club are keen to establish the rally as a permanent fixture on the calendar.
Free access for spectators on the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: June 16, 2013 8:56 AM
Spectators are being welcomed to the DMACK Carlisle Stages, round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship on Saturday 21 June, with free access to the special stages and a free spectator guide for download from the event website.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages is running for the first time later this month and the event organisers from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club are keen to establish the rally as a permanent fixture on the calendar. As well as delivering excellent value and a very friendly event for the competitors, the rally is also set to offer spectators a first-class and free day out.
Access will be in the Kershope and Newcastleton stages to the north-west of Carlisle, which are both run twice and spectators will have the choice of three locations in Kershope. The first car will be in Newcastleton at 10.57am and again at 13.43, while the Kershope stages start at 11.17 and 14.03. There will be a gap of around an hour and a quarter between each run though a stage.
In addition, the organisers have produced a free and comprehensive spectator guide, which can be downloaded from the event website at racrallychamp.org The guide includes a full time schedule as well as maps showing the stages and parking areas. There have already been over 500 copies of the guide downloaded.
“We’re trying to take a fresh approach to spectators on this event,” said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “We are giving them comprehensive information and free access to the rally. All we ask in return is that spectators listen to the marshals, park sensibly, take their litter home and respect local residents.”
With an entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles, the compact event represents very good value for money and entries are still available. The route contains just 65 road miles, using a superb new start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
Bonus for 1600cc cars on the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: May 9, 2013 12:37 PM
Crews in historic 1600cc cars will get a real bonus on the new DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 22 June) when they will run at the very head of the field. The event is round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
In a trial move, cars from classes C2 and D2 will join the Category 1 cars and 1400cc cars in the group that runs ahead of the rest of the entry. This group will be followed by the main R.A.C. field and then the modern runners.
“We are running this on a trial format,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “Competitors have asked if we could consider this and we want to encourage the 1600cc cars out. So, on the Carlisle Stages we will run all the lower power cars first on the road and see how it works. It’s an ideal opportunity to try it out on our own event.”
With an entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles, the compact event represents very good value for money. The route contains just 65 road miles, using a superb new start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
“The stages are in very good condition,” said Heppenstall. “Kershope and Newcastleton are currently being regraded and only four miles of our stage route was used on the recent Pirelli Rally.”
Great value entry fee for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: May 9, 2013 12:36 PM
An entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles on the new DMACK Carlisle Stages will place round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship (Saturday 22 June) among the best value gravel rallies of the 2013 season.
Regulations are now available
As well as contenders in the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship, the DMACK Carlisle Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation for anyone planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the route will start with a four-mile stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat and seven-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at Longtown, the four stages will be repeated.
The route contains 45 stage miles and just 65 road miles, using a superb new start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
The event running order will be the same as for the recent Tour of Hamsterley, with a first group made up of Category 1 historic cars and 1400cc cars. Next up will be the main R.A.C. field, followed by the modern runners.
Format unveiled for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Posted: April 11, 2013 1:08 PM
The format of the new DMACK Carlisle Stages, round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, on Saturday 22 June has been unveiled.
Details of the event are now confirmed, with a route containing 45 stage miles and just 65 road miles. The rally will have a superb start venue, rally HQ and service area at Longtown, just north of Carlisle, and will be one of the most compact gravel rallies of the season.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the route will take in eight stages in some of the region’s best-loved forests. The action starts with a four-mile stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat and seven-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at Longtown, the four stages will be repeated. Chamot Hill and Arthur’s Seat have not been used for around five years.
The event running order will be the same as for the Tour of Hamsterley, with a first group made up of Category 1 historic cars and 1400cc cars. Next up will be the main R.A.C. field, which will be followed by the modern runners.
The rally will be based at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6. The venue will host documentation, scrutineering, service area and overnight secure parking within a warehouse. Scrutineering will be held from afternoon to early evening on Friday, and then the cars will go into the secure overnight park.
As well as catering for contenders in the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship, the DMACK Carlisle Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation for anyone planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally, which runs across similar forest stages.
“We’re delighted with the way the DMACK Carlisle Stages is coming together,” said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “The start venue is perfect and we are very grateful to the team at R J Murray & Sons for their enthusiastic support for the rally. We have a very compact route, which will start at 10am and have the first cars back at the finish at around 3pm.”
Regulations for the event should be available before the Tour of Hamsterley (28 April), which is now round two of the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship.
DMACK to back Carlisle Stages
Posted: January 17, 2013 8:26 PM
Tyre company DMACK will be the title sponsor for the new Carlisle Stages, round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, on Saturday 22 June.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the new gravel event will start and finish in Carlisle and take in 45 stage miles across eight stages in some of the region’s best-loved forests.
“We are delighted to welcome DMACK as title sponsor for our new event,” said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “It is great to have a prominent local company backing this new rally, which runs on classic stages in Cumbria and the Scottish Borders.”
Alongside supplying tyres for the FIA World Rally Championship, the team at DMACK is keen to support local motor sport and so the inaugural Carlisle Stages is an ideal platform for the Carlisle-based company. One of the company’s founding principles is to deliver affordable motorsport through a range of cost-effective tyres.
The provisional route for the DMACK Carlisle Stages starts with a four-mile stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat and eight-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at Carlisle, the four stages will be repeated and the route will include a total of 90 road miles.
As well as catering for contenders in the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship, the DMACK Carlisle Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation for anyone planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally, which runs across similar forest stages.
Regulations for the event should be available at Rally North Wales (6 April), which is round three of the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship.
Brand new event for the RAC Rally Championship
Posted: December 18, 2012 4:18 PM
A brand new event, called the Carlisle Stages, will be part of the 2013 RAC Rally Championship and will run on Saturday 22 June covering 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton forest complexes.
From a base in Carlisle, this exciting new one-day rally will give crews a rare chance to tackle some of the most famous gravel stages in the UK during the summer months. The Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club and will form round five of the new championship.
The development of this all-new rally will take over the slot in the championship calendar originally pencilled in for the Scottish Rally. When the organisers of the Scottish were unable to accommodate the size of the entry expected for the new championship, Colin Heppenstall brought forward existing plans to run a one-day rally in the tremendous Scottish border forests.
In year one, the event will be a round of the RAC Rally Championship, but Heppenstall hopes to include rounds of regional championships for 2014 and beyond. The rally will start on Saturday morning following scrutineering and documentation on Friday afternoon and evening.
“This is a great opportunity to get into these forests in the summer months,” said Heppenstall, championship manager. “The Carlisle Stages will also give crews a chance to gain experience in these forests ahead of the Roger Albert Clark Rally in November.” As was the case for the 2012 event, the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes will feature heavily in the Sunday leg of the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally.
“I’m particularly grateful to both the Forestry Commission and the MSA for their prompt and professional assistance in putting this new rally together,” said Heppenstall. “I’m also very pleased that we have been able to maintain a good geographical spread of events for the championship, with three of the seven rallies in the northern half of England.”
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