Wyedean Forest Rally - (Sat) 15 Feb 14

Bird Takes Second On Tricky Wyedean Opener

Posted: February 25, 2014 4:36 PM

Cumbrian rally driver Paul Bird got his 2014 REIS BTRDA Rally Championship campaign underway with a battling second place in the wet and windy Forest of Dean on today's Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally.

Fresh from last weekend's victory on the Legend Fires North West Stages Rally, the 2005 National Champion was back in action in the woods for the first time in three months and competing for only the second time on the Chepstow based event.

Along with Welsh co driver Aled Davies in the Pirelli-shod, FBP, Fuchs Titan, Rapid Solicitors and Mac Tools-backed Ford Focus WRC07, the pair were on the pace from the off but having to avoid the stranded Stephen Petch cost them vital time on SS1and after the following stage, Bird held third place behind Scottish Ford Focus WRC drivers David Bogie and Euan Thorburn.

Thorburn then encountered problems leaving the battle for the victory between multiple Scottish and former British champion Bogie and Langwathby driver Bird over the final few stages.

Although matching Bogie for the fastest time on the Yorkley stage, the British Superbike and MotoGP team boss couldn't find a way past so sensibly decided to settle for runner-up spot in the tricky conditions, just over a minute down on Bogie, meaning he goes into his home event, the Malcolm Wilson Rally on March 8th brimful of confidence.

Bird has won the Cumbrian event on three occasions (2004, 2006 and 2007) and has come so close to adding a fourth on a number of occasions only to suffer bad luck. One more would put him level with the record fellow Cumbrian Bill Dobie set over 30 years ago so with the added incentive of maximum BTRDA points on offer, it could provide the incentive needed.

Paul Bird:
"I'm well pleased with that result and it's got our championship off to a great start. The conditions were very difficult but given all the problems they have been having down here, the fact that the organisers got the rally on was fantastic. It's been a few months since I drove on gravel but I feel I'm driving well now, and the extra training I'm doing is helping. David is a quality act as his record proves and we had no answer to him today so when we realised we couldn't beat him, we experimented with some settings on the car including with the tyres, which didn't really work out. It's only the second proper time on gravel in the past year so I'm hoping it will be a different story when we arrive in the Lake District next month."

THERE’S NO BEATING BOGIE!...

Posted: February 25, 2014 4:34 PM

David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae have won this year’s Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally in their Ford Focus WRC. After seven special stages in the Forest of Dean, the multiple Scottish Rally Champions, who begin the defence of their current title in Inverness next weekend, arrived back at Chepstow Racecourse just over a minute ahead of the similarly Focus-mounted Paul Bird/Aled Davies.

Fastest time on the opening stage in Mailscot put Bogie/Rae into a lead they would not relinquish - and then backing it up with fastest, or equal fastest, times on each of the other six put them into an unassailable position. To begin with, their nearest challengers were fellow Scottish Championship regulars Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton but their rally was to end prematurely with some very strange noises emanating from under the bonnet of their Focus WRC!

The Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9 of Luke Francis/John Roberts claimed the final podium spot, with the Proton Satria of Ollie Mellors/Alex Lee next. Fifth and sixth places were taken by a brace of Group N Lancers in the hands of Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy and Roland Llewellin/Jamie Edwards.

Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis’ 7th overall saw their Ford Escort MkII finish not only as top two-wheel drive car, but also first in the Historic category. The Subaru Imprezas of Jim McNeil/Tom Hughes, Rob Smith/Ross Weir (of event sponsors Weir Engineering) and Paul Davy/Roger Allan then rounded off the Top Ten.

For the first time since 2008, the winner of the 1400s was not the Vauxhall Nova of Julian Wilkes! The Taunton driver, who had dominated the category in the Forest of Dean for the past five years, is taking a sabbatical in 2014 and, in his place, Mat Smith/Giles Dykes were 11th overall, taking top honours in their Ford Ka. They completed the seven stages fourteen seconds quicker than the Vauxhall Corsa of runners-up Dave Bennett/Alastair McNeil, with past winners Darren Pinchin/Karen Watts (Proton Satria) putting in a late charge to climb from 5th to 3rd over the final two stages.

Despite the vast amount of rain that had fallen in the area in recent days, the tracks in the Forest of Dean were in remarkably good condition. However, this will be of little consolation to the likes of third seeds Stephen Petch/Ian Windress whose rally ended on the first stage when their Focus WRC slid into a ditch and into retirement. The day was not kind to the Morgan family from Cinderford either - father Bob retired when his Skoda Fabia VRS caught fire at the end of the first stage, while son Jason didn’t even get that far. His Lancer EVO6 made contact with a sturdy pile of logs in the stage and that was that!

This year’s Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally was the 39th consecutive event run by Forest of Dean Motor Club Ltd and plans are already beginning to take shape to celebrate the 40th running this time next year....

Results

Posted: February 25, 2014 4:30 PM

1 David Bogie/Kevin Rae - Ford Focus WRC - 42m: 59s
2 Paul Bird/Aled Davies - Ford Focus 07 WRC - 44m:01s
3 Luke Francis/John H Roberts - Mitsubishi EVO 9 - 45m:29s
4 Ollie Mellors/Alex Lee - Proton Satria - 46m:14s
5 Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy - Mitsubishi EVO 9 - 46m:22s
6 Roland Llewellin/Jamie Edwards - Mitsubishi EVO 9 - 47m:23s
7 Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis - Ford Escort MK2 - 47m:40s
8 Jim McNeil/Tom Hughes - Subaru Impreza - 47m:50s
9 Rob Smith/Ross Weir - Subaru Impreza - 47m:50s
10 Paul Davy/Roger Allan - Subaru Impreza - 48m:19s

Wyedean Forest Rally - (Sat) 15 Feb 14 - RESULTS

Results on Line (Wyedean 2014) | Results by: Tynemouth Computer Services Rally Results

Preview REIS BTRDA Rally Series: FOLLOW THAT!...

Posted: February 11, 2014 11:58 AM

The climax of the 2013 REIS BTRDA® Rally Series was one of the most exciting for years - prior to the start of the final round, there were four drivers in contention for the crown and, for the first time in its history, the Gold Star® Championship was actually decided on a tiebreak. As we look forward to the commencement of the 2014 Series, whilst a repeat of such a close finish is unlikely, we can only hope that the level of competition will be somewhere near that of last year!

The Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally (15th February) is the traditional season-opener and, as Chepstow Racecourse gears up to receive competitors eager to sample the stages in the Forest of Dean, thoughts turn to possible contenders for each of the various elements that make up the BTRDA® Rally Series.

In the absence of last year’s Wyedean winners, Connor McCloskey/Francis Regan, 2013 Gold Star® Champions Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton will start with No.1 on the doors of the Ford Focus WRC. Making no secret of the fact that his main aim this year is to concentrate on his ‘home’ Scottish Championship, Thorburn is joined by multiple champions north of the border, David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Ford Focus WRC). Both crews say they are using the Wyedean as a shakedown for the opening round of the Scottish Championship, the Snowman Rally, the following weekend, but it is surprising what a good result can do to alter one’s perspective!...

Two more Focus WRCs in the hands of Stephen Petch/Ian Windress, who finally won their first BTRDA® Series event towards the end of last year, and Paul Bird/Aled Davies should also prove to be potent forces. It’s three years since Bird last contested the Wyedean and, back then, he was rewarded with runner-up spot. The pace certainly hasn’t slowed in the interim and he must, therefore, be on his mettle to maintain momentum. Breaking the Ford monopoly at the sharp end of the Wyedean entry is the Millington-engined Proton Satria of Ollie Mellors. Still under development and not starting until last season was well under way, the car/driver 2013 BTRDA® Production Cup winner Luke Francis and co-driver John Roberts have moved up to Class B13 in their Mitsubishi Lancer, leaving the way for a new name on the trophy this time. First Group N crew away on the Wyedean are Pat Naylor/Ian Lawrence in their EVO9, followed immediately by the similar car of Tom Naughton and his new co-driver Andy Mort. Russ Thompson, Roland Llewellin and Barry Jordan also have EVO9s, while Rory Hall and Toni Carannante have opted for production ‘spec’ Subaru Imprezas.

When it comes to picking potential contenders for REIS BTRDA Silver Star® Championship success, those entered in the Historic section must also be taken into consideration. Jody Bowcott/David Millard (Ford Escort MkII) are joined by, amongst others, former double Silver Star Champion Jon Ballinger who has Mike Wilding for company in his Opel Manta.

Meanwhile, defending champion Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis, Theo Bengry/Les Forsbrook, Rob Dennis/TBA and 2012 Champions Allan McDowall/Gavin Heseltine are all relying on Ford products to carry them to victory. Then there’s the Datsun 260Z of 2010 Wyedean winners Steve Perez/Paul Spooner - if the car can cope with nine days of constant pounding on the Classic East African Safari Rally (on which it finished a fine 4th last December), a few bumps in the Forest of Dean should not prove problematic....

Even at this early stage, the Morris Lubricants BTRDA® 1400 Championship has the makings of a fascinating contest. With 2012/3 Champion Julian Wilkes taking a sabbatical, the list of possible successors is already looking very impressive! As ever, the 1400s will be running at the front of the field and it falls to Dave Bennett/Alistair McNeil (Vauxhall Corsa) to lead the rally away from Chepstow Racecourse at 08.00 on Saturday 15th February, ahead of Mat Smith/Giles Dykes whose rapid 1300cc Ford Ka proved to be a thorn in Wilkes’ side on a number of occasions last year.

Wilkes has won the 1400s on the Wyedean for the past five years, which means that we must go back to 2008 to find another name at the top of the timesheets. That name was Darren Pinchin and, partnered by Karen Jenkins, he brings his Proton Satria back out in 2014 for another tilt at Championship honours. BTRDA® Rally First winner two years running, Ash Slights also returns with the experienced Patrick Walsh to help guide his Toyota Yaris through the stages.

As far as Rally First itself is concerned, the 2013 runner-up James West, partnered by Steve Eggington in his VW Lupo, leads over 20 contenders from the start. Rory Jones/Tom Hughes (MG ZR) and James Watkins/Gareth Short (Nissan Micra) are next, but predicting a winner is nigh-on impossible, especially as there are a lot of ‘unknowns’ setting out on the long road to success. We wish them all ‘good luck’!...

The Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally is also the opening round of the MSA English Rally Championship. The class-based series caters for two-wheel drive cars up to 2-litre - there are five capacity-based classes and, consequently, each class winner on the Wyedean will find themselves in the joint lead of the Championship. The pressure then begins to mount as they must repeat the feat in order to stay in that exalted position - hopefully by themselves! -as the season progresses towards its conclusion in early November!...

There are seven single-usage stages on the Wyedean and, having completed them, the first car is due to arrive back at the Chepstow Racecourse finish at 14.40 on Saturday afternoon.

Seeded Entry List

Posted: February 11, 2014 11:55 AM

Wyedean Forest Rally - (Sat) 15 Feb 14 - SEEDED ENTRY LIST

Entries Received

Posted: February 7, 2014 10:58 AM

Available at:

• Wyedean Forest Rally

Regulations / Details

Posted: January 9, 2014 12:09 PM

• Wyedean Forest Rally