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LinksMalcolm Wilson Rally - (Sat) 8 Mar 14
Posted: March 10, 2014 9:52 PM - 5113 Hits
Round 2 - 2014 BTRDA Rally Series
Round 2 - 2014 English Rally Championship
Photo: Marcus Andrews
- In Car
- Video Clips
- Fourth Win Sees Bird Equal Malcolm Wilson Rally Record
- Results
- FOCUS ON THE LAKES!...
- Seeded Entry List
- Regulations / Details
Fourth Win Sees Bird Equal Malcolm Wilson Rally Record
Posted: March 10, 2014 11:30 AM
Penrith rally driver Paul Bird took a sensational victory on today's Malcolm Wilson Rally to not only take the lead in the 2014 REIS BTRDA Rally Championship, but in doing so he equalled fellow Cumbrian Bill Dobie's record of four outright victories on his local 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 British Superbike and MotoGP team boss also had his lucky mascot in the car - daughter Lexi's toy crocodile which, following his victory on the Legend Fires North West Stages Rally last month, once again seemed to do the trick!
However, the 2005 National Champion was made to work hard for his win despite setting fastest times on the opening four stages to hold a handy 19 second advantage at the first service halt. But it nearly all went wrong when Bird, from Langwathby, headed into the notorious Grizedale stages, which has been his bogey forest in recent years.
With defending champion Euan Thorburn taking over the challenge from fellow Scot David Bogie; Bird knew he'd have to be on his game despite increasing his advantage to 31 seconds at the end of SS5 before dropping five seconds in the second run through Grizedale North.
Into the 7.8 mile Grizedale South test which comprised the penultimate stage of the annual Lake District extravaganza and that's where it nearly went wrong for Bird. Pushing as hard as he could, he slid wide on a corner at high speed and ended up in the undergrowth, luckily without hitting anything, before emerging unscathed although with a loss of ten seconds.
Thankful that for once Lady Luck had smiled on him in Grizedale, which has seen his demise on numerous events, the final stage in Greystoke posed no such problems and he arrived at the Rheged finish 13 seconds to the good to add to his victories of 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Paul Bird:
"This means so much to me, not only taking maximum points to take the lead in the toughest gravel rally series in the UK, but to achieve my fourth win on my local event was fantastic. I want to dedicate this victory to my daughter Lexi whose toy crocodile we had in the car again and I'm sure it helped! That's two wins and a second place so far this season so it really is a lucky charm! I had to drive as hard as I ever have done today but I was determined to win having come so close or suffered bad luck in recent years. There was no way I was letting anyone beat me this year so off we go to the Somerset Stages, complete with the croc, where hopefully we can continue our winning ways."
Results
Posted: March 10, 2014 11:19 AM
1 Paul Bird/Aled Davies - Ford Focus 07 WRC - 45:59
2 Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton - Ford Focus WRC - 46:12
3 Stephen Petch/Ian Windress - Ford Focus WRC - 47:00
4 David Bogie/Kevin Rae - Ford Focus WRC - 48:05
5 Jim McNeil/Thomas Hughes - Subaru Impreza - 48:06
6 Tom Naughton/Andi Mort - Mitsubishi Evo 9 - 48:12
7 Alex Allingham/Chris Williams - Subaru Impreza - 48:22
8 Ollie Mellors/Craig Parry - Proton Satria Neo - 49:03
9 Wayne Sisson/Neil Shanks - Mitsubishi Evo 9 - 49:19
10 Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy - Mitsubishi Evo 9 - 49:47
FOCUS ON THE LAKES!...
Posted: March 5, 2014 11:50 AM
As the REIS BTRDA Rally Series moves to the Lake District for Round 2, the Malcolm Wilson Rally (8th March), the current Gold Star® Champions, Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton, return to the scene of their first success of their 2013 campaign. Having retired from the recent Wyedean Forest Rally, they will also be looking to open their account in this year’s Series.
Both Thorburn/Beaton and Wyedean winners David Bogie/Kevin Rae are currently dividing their time between the BTRDA and Scottish Championships and, although Thorburn leads his rival in the latter following victory on the recent Snowman Rally, he now really needs a result on the Malcolm Wilson if he is to mount a serious defence of his crown.
Be that as it may, it will certainly be a big ‘ask’! Bogie, himself, was victorious on the event in 2008 and then Paul Bird, who won it in 2004/6/7, is back with Aled Davies in the ‘hot-seat’!... All three of the aforementioned drivers are at the wheel of Ford Focus WRCs, a fact which will doubtless not have escaped the attention of the event sponsor, and they are joined those of Stephen Petch/Ian Windress and David Wright/Michael Wilkinson. Petch’s Wyedean ended in a ditch on the opening stage, while Wright’s 2014 BTRDA Series starts here.
Luke Francis/John Roberts took a podium finish in the Forest of Dean - their former Group N Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9 is now uprated to Class B13 and, as they arrive in Cumbria, the pair are 2nd in the Gold Star table. Ollie Mellors’ Proton Satria wasn’t far behind them and a good run in Cumbria will do wonders for his current 6th= in the points.
In the Group N ‘Production Cup’ battle, the EVO9 of Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy holds the upper hand over the similar car of Roland Llewellin/Jamie Edwards. Both crews will be present to continue their friendly rivalry and they will be joined by the Impreza of Toni Carannante/Martin Auskerin. Meanwhile, having registered a DNF on the Wyedean, Tom Naughton/Andi Mort (Lancer EVO9) are looking to the Malcolm Wilson as an opportunity to put their season back on track.
With several of the leading REIS Silver Star® Championship runners following the Wyedean absent on this occasion, the table is likely to look significantly different after the second round. However, it should perhaps be remembered that defending Silver Star Champion, and current leader, Matthew Robinson didn’t score a point until the Somerset Stages last April. Even that was not one of his better days, but there is still plenty of time for any one of a number of drivers to move to the fore.
The Morris Lubricants BTRDA® 1400 Championship has the makings of an even-more- competitive-than-usual series this year! Mat Smith/Giles Dykes wrung their little Ford Ka’s neck on the Wyedean to finish 11th overall and take maximum points, but the Vauxhall Corsa of Dave Bennett/Alistair McNeil was only one place and fourteen seconds adrift at the end of the day. Given a clear run, Justin Lawson/Paul Hargreaves (Nova), Dan Gray/Matt Rogers (Peugeot 106) and Dave Brick/Rob Woodhouse (Nova) will all be there, or thereabouts, giving no-one any margin for error whatsoever!
The BTRDA® Rally First Championship is currently the preserve of Neil Andrew/Dom Adams, courtesy of a superb run in their VW Lupo on the Wyedean. They won the category by more than a minute and now head for north-west England with the express intention of capitalising on their advantage. Second-placed Rory Jones/Tom Hughes (MG ZR) will also be on hand, obviously to do everything in their power to ensure this doesn’t happen!
Being class-based, after the first round of the MSA English Rally Championship there will always be a number of ‘joint’ leaders and it’s only following the next one - in this case the Malcolm Wilson Rally - that there is the possibility of a lone leader emerging. Well, that will be up to Mat Smith, Neil Andrew and Mike Harris (1600cc Ford Puma) to sort out amongst themselves. However, if they each win their respective classes again, then the battle moves on to Round 3 etc!...
Some local issues have forced the organisers of the Malcolm Wilson Rally to instigate a number of changes to this year’s event, not least of which will see the first car leaving the start at M-Sport’s Dovenby premises at 7.00am on Saturday 8th March. Eight classic Lake District stages later, the first car will arrive back at the Rheged Centre for the finish at 2.30pm that afternoon.
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