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Evans Eases to Epynt Glory as Barrett Consolidates Title Lead

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Melvyn Evans and Patrick Walsh recorded a dominant Harry Flatters Historic Rally victory whilst 4th overall was enough for Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts to consolidate their position at the head of the BHRC title race.

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The Harry Flatters Rally represented the first taste of Asphalt for the BHRC regulars with the 44 car historic entry facing over 73 stage miles across the very technical military roads of Epynt.  And whilst the likes of Nick Elliott and Matthew Robinson had elected to miss the Welsh tarmac round, entries at the sharp end from Epynt regulars, Melvyn Evans and Guy Woodcock, added some additional spice to an already impressive list.

The 2015 event had seen a fabulous battle for victory between Jason Pritchard and Melvyn Evans, with the 2015 BHRC champion mastering the wet conditions to get the better of his rival on that occasion.  And after stage 1 it appeared that the rapid Welsh duo would again feature heavily at the top of the time sheets in 2016 with Evans this time the right side of a six second margin.

But just as anticipation of another epic duel began to build, Pritchard and co-driver Clarke soon found themselves condemned to their third BHRC non finish in a row courtesy of a stage 2 engine failure.  There is now no room for another retirement if the unlucky North Road Garage sponsored Escort crew are to maintain their championship crown.

Evans, with Patrick Walsh alongside, meanwhile had built a 28 second lead by the end of stage 2 and from then on in was never really challenged as he and Walsh eased away from their opposition over the remaining three stages to claim a comfortable 1 minute and 9 second victory over leading BHRC crew Neil Williams and Peter James.

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Second was an excellent result for Williams and James who grabbed the position from the unfortunate Pritchard on stage 2 whilst holding off an early challenge from Rob Smith and Alun Cook.  In fact the un-fancied F2 Spec MK2 Escort crew were never outside the top three stages times as they went on to claim a well deserved but rather lonely runner up spot and maximum BHRC points.

Lying third after stage 2, Smith’s strong early showing ended on the very next stage; a rather large off on the approach to the German village allowing  Guy Woodcock and Richard Crozier to slip into the final podium position with Simon Tysoe, Paul Barrett, Terry Brown and Barry Jones covered by just 6 seconds in the battle for fourth.

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Much like Williams, Woodcock was now all on his own in third, 34 seconds behind second overall but 29 seconds in front of Tysoe in 4th.  And 4th and 5th fastest times through the final two stages was enough for he and Richard Crozier to not only claim the final podium position but also wrap up maximum RAC Asphalt points on what was the third round of the new for 2016 championship.

In the close battle for 4th, Second quickest time overall on stage 4 would promote Barrett and Dai Roberts, in the leading Pinto engined machine, firmly into the hotly contested position.  The Northern Irish / Welsh duo ending the day as second BHRC registered crew home after managing to hold on through the final stage, leaving Barrett to sit comfortably at the top of the BHRC title race.  2016 champions?  It is now a serious possibility.

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Barry Jones and Iwan Griffiths meanwhile were six seconds quicker than Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris on stage 4, tying the MK1 Escort crew on total time as they headed into the final stage.  Unbelievably the duo would set the exact same time on stage 5 with Jones missing out on fifth courtesy of the stage 1 tie breaker.  Thus leaving Tysoe and Morris to round off another strong drive with a top 5 finish to nicely compliment another maximum category 2 points haul.

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Elsewhere in category 2, an electrical problem had ended the challenge early for regular front runners Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver.  This left the way clear for Wayne Bonser and Rich Aston to take class C3 honours from the similar MK1 machines of Ian Drummond and Jon Ford.  Class C2 meanwhile was claimed by the Hillman Avenger of Steven Powell and Jamie Hawkins.

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14th overall was another top result for class D2 winners Chris Skill and Tom Jordan.  The East Midlands crew finishing within 5 minutes of the eventual winners which given Evan’s calibre, as one of the quickest men on Welsh tarmac, is no mean feat!

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Further back, Ford Cortina GT crew, Bob and Dale Gibbons, were again the pick of the category 1 field, bringing their class B3 machine home in 19th position overall to claim category honours by over 6 minutes from the class winning B1 Morris Mini of Ken Pryce and Don James.

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Elsewhere, Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell finished 23rd overall and first in class B5 whilst Bob Seager and Simon Hannam claimed class B2 top spot in their MG Midget.

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Whilst a little short on historic entries, it had been a good day on the Epynt ranges.  It is a shame that Pritchard was forced into early retirement as a close fight to the end between two of the quickest tarmac shod Escort pilots in the country would have been just what the doctor ordered.  However, the ever improving weather made for a pleasurable afternoon in one of the most scenic areas of Wales.  More of the same please for both the Red Dragon in a few weeks time and most importantly for my first ever trip to the Manx in mid September.  I genuinely cannot wait!

RESULTS
  1. Melvyn Evans / Patrick Walsh | Ford Escort (D5) | 1.04:57
  2. Neil Williams / Peter James | Ford Escort (F2)* | +1:09
  3. Guy Woodcock / Richard Crozier | Ford Escort** (D5) | +01:49
  4. Paul Barrett / Dai Roberts | Ford Escort (D3)* | +02:13
  5. Simon Tysoe / Paul Morris | Ford Escort (C5)* | +02:27
  6. Barry Jones / Iwan Griffiths | Ford Escort (D5) | +02:27
  7. Daniel Jones / Gerwyn Barry | Ford Escort (D5)* | +02:55
  8. Roger Moran / Ashley Trimble | Ford Escort (D5)** | +02:57
  9. Rudi Lancaster / Kenny Owen | Ford Escort (D5)* | +02:58
  10. Roger Matthews / Tom Marrott | Ford Escort (C5)** | +03:30

* Denotes BHRC registered crew
** Denotes RAC Asphalt crews

FULL RESULTS

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

Enquiries: paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk

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Brave Barrett Defeats BD-Brigade

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Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts grabbed a sensational last gasp victory on the Builth Wells based Severn Valley Stages Rally; the pinto powered Escort crew defeating several BDG engined rivals to consolidate their lead at the top of the BHRC points table.

Barrett

Round 4 of the British Historic Rally Championship would see the crews head to the forests of Crychan, Cefn and Radnor for the Midland Manor Motor Club organised Severn Valley Stages Rally.  A tough event in prospect as glorious weather running up to the rally would leave the 120 strong field facing 7 very dry and dusty Mid Wales stages.

Round 3 winners, Joe Price and Chris Brooks were in a rich vein of form and it was they who had best acclimatised to the conditions over the first couple of stages; the Ludlow pairing topping the time sheets after stage 2 and holding a comfortable 26 second lead by the time the crews had arrived back in Builth Wells for the second and final service of the event.

Price

The morning had not gone quite so well for other leading crews however.  Sadly the Fiat 131 of Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis would leave the road in Crychan whilst 2015 champions, Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke would fail to reach the end of Radnor.  After such a strong start to the season, the winners of rounds 1 and 2 will be keen for a return to winning ways on the Epynt tarmac in late July.

Pritchard

Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts meanwhile were going well; consistent top four stage times leaving the championship leaders in a strong third place, just 1 second behind the D5 class MK2 of Nick Elliott and Dave Price and holding a 16 second margin over the similar machine of Rudi Lancaster and George Gwynn.

Whilst Price and Brooks held a comfortable lead the rally was by no means over as 17 very tricky afternoon stage miles lay between the remaining crews and the finish ramp.  However, after another stage win in Gwibedog, the leading Escort crew would increase their advantage to a commanding 35 seconds.

But, just as the Ford pairing were contemplating a second consectutive BHRC victory, disaster struck; a clutch problem in Crychan costing the unlucky duo more than 3 minutes and any chance of glory.

Instead it was Nick Elliott and Dave Price who would head into the Cefn finale with what seemed like a comfortable 6 second advantage over the pinto powered Barrett.  However, having been quickest of all historic crews through the earlier running of the stage the Northern Irishman could not be ruled out.

But for a puncture Elliott may well have had enough in hand.  Instead Barrett and Roberts emerged from the final test having registered a blinder of a stage time; 11 seconds quicker than Elliott and enough to secure a fantastic 5 second victory!  Top driving!

In hindsight it would have been so easy for Barrett and Roberts to have opted for a steady run through the final stage and claim an excellent second.  The championship leaders must therefore take all of the plaudits for seizing a rare shot at an overall series victory.  A quite incredible achievement.  Fortune most definitely does favour the brave.

Behind, Rudi Lancaster and George Gwynn recorded an excellent third, just 23 seconds behind the overall winner.  Whilst Steve Bennett and Iain Tullie continued the MK2 Escort theme by coming home 4th in another D5 specification machine.

Category 3

Whilst missing out on the overall victory, Class D5 honours were a welcome consolation for Nick Elliott and Dave Price after a tough start to the season.  And with Pritchard and Clarke failing to score, the Cheltenham pairing are still well in the championship fight.

Elliott

Elsewhere, Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith, having swapped their Hillman Avenger for a Talbot Sunbeam on the Severn Valley, were rewarded with class D4 honours after an excellent debut drive.  Gary Cooper, in a similar car, had lead the early running but Jordan’s victory was never in doubt once the former had retired with a bent steering arm in stage 3.

Jordan

Meanwhile, continuing the David vs Goliath theme, Chris Skill and Tom Jordan took their 1600 MK2 Escort to another combined class D1/D2 victory with a fantastic 16th overall.  One of a number of lower powered crews to perform strongly in the very dusty conditions.

Skill

Further back, Tom Coughtrie and Michael Gilbey took maximum advantage of both Robinson and Pritchard’s retirements to claim class F2 honours with 26th position overall.  Having trailed the similar MK2 Escort of Dick Slaughter and Tim Sayer for most of the event, a late charge, culminating in a six second quicker time through stage 7, saw the number 94 seeds record a remarkable 4 second class victory.

Coughtrie

Category 2

Young Adam Milner, with Roy Jarvis alongside, had thrown a cat amongst the pigeons on stage 1 by registering the fastest historic time overall in his 1600 cross-flow engined MK1 Escort.  Having maintained the category lead throughout the day it would all go horribly wrong for the Yorkshireman on the final stage however; high levels of dust contributing to the Class C2 crew ending the day against a Cefn tree and unfortunately retiring from a fantastic 5th position overall.

Milner

Instead it was Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris who would take the category honours in their class C5 MK1 Escort; holding off a strong final stage charge from the similar machine of Ernie Graham and Robin Kellard to register a slim three second victory after more than 40 miles of competition.

Tysoe

After a difficult event, which included 3 punctures, Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver fought back to third in category by the end of the day.  A strong run over the afternoon stages saw the MK1 pinto crew reduce a 1 minute margin after stage 4 to just 35 seconds by the end of stage 7, a suggestion of what might have been had luck been on their side.  Orr and Weaver would however take away class C3 honours to compliment a well earned 10th position overall.

Orr

Benefiting from the final stage retirement of Milner and Jarvis, Andrew Stokes and Paul Price would claim the combined C1/C2 class victory in their Hillman Avenger.  The Dursley man closing down and passing the MK1 Escort of Stuart and Linda Cariss over the repeated stages to ensure he and Price were best placed to take the class honours.

Stokes

Category 1

Bob Bean, with Captain Thompson alongside, would claim the pre-68 category honours in his MK1 Lotus Cortina; the evergreen Yorkshireman ending the event in 35th position after pulling away from the class B2 winning Mini of Terry Cree and Richard Shores as the day wore on.

Bean

Cree and Shores usually enter a glorious BMW 2002Ti but after opting for the Mini on this event claimed the class B2 honours by almost 6 minutes from regular class competitors, Phillip Harris and Alun Cook; themselves claiming third in category to maintain their strong run of results.

Cree

Father and son duo, Bob and Dale Gibbons, had been right in the mix for category honours but lost almost 7 minutes in Radnor after a tyre came away from the rim.  All was not lost for the Cortina GT crew as class B3 honours was just reward for making it to the finish of a very abrasive rally.

Gibbons

Final Thoughts

Dust had played a major part in the event and almost certainly aided Barrett in taking a monumental BHRC overall victory against very strong opposition.  However this may not even have been the story of the day had the said same dust not contributed to Adam Milner’s demise!

Great stages and warm weather had made for yet another excellent Severn Valley, well worth the 3.5 hour drive to watch.  And with the championship now blown wide open it is with genuine excitement that we anticipate round 5 on the tarmac roads of Epynt.  Will Pritchard be able to re-ignite his title defense on what is arguably his stronger surface?  Stayed tuned to Paul Commons Motorsport for coverage …

RESULTS

1. Paul Barrett / Dai Roberts (D3) – Ford Escort MK2 – 46:07
2. Nick Elliott / Dave Price (D5) – Ford Escort MK2 +00:05
3. Rudi Lancaster / George Gwynn (D5) – Ford Escort +00:23
4. Steve Bennett / Iain Tullie (D5) – Ford Escort MK2 +01:29
5. Simon Tysoe / Paul Morris (C5) – Ford Escort MK1 +01:48
6. Ernie Graham / Robin Kellard (C5) – Ford Escort MK1 +01:51
7. Ben Friend / Cliffy Simmonds (D3) – Ford Escort MK2 +01:53
8. James Potter / Bob Duck (D5) – Ford Escort MK2 +02:18
9. Shawn Rayner / Declan Dear (D3) – Ford Escort MK2 +02:20
10. Stanley Orr / Guy Weaver (C3) – Ford Escort MK1 +02:23

16. Chris Skill / Tom Jordan (D2) – Ford Escort MK2 +03:22
18. Barry Jordan / James Gratton-Smith (D4) – Sunbeam +03:47
26. Tom Coughtrie / Michael Gilbey (F2) – Escort MK2 +05:32
35. Bob Bean / Captain Thompson (B4) – Ford Cortina +06:52
38. Terry Cree / Richard Shores (B2) – Morris Mini +08:04
41. Bob Gibbons / Dale Gibbons (B3) – Ford Cortina GT +14:10

FULL RESULTS

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

Enquiries: paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk

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Stretton Stars at Brands Masters Festival

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Martin Stretton’s sensational charge to FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Glory with Mark Piercy was one of many highlights from an action packed Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch.

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Spring bank holiday weekend in the UK saw Brands Hatch attract an impressive entry list for the now annual Masters Historic Festival; this year incorporating displays and demonstration runs to celebrate the 40th anniversary of James Hunt’s infamous F1 World Championship title.

Unsurprisingly we were not the only ones drawn to a warm but cloudy race-day in Kent as a more than reasonable crowd had gathered at Brands Hatch to witness the action;  Amongst others, races for the FIA Masters Historic Sports Cars, Pre-66 Touring Cars and the CanAm/Interserie machines nicely complemented the fan pleasing DFV powered late 70s and early eighties F1 grid.

And on a weekend where Formula One took centre stage, Nick Padmore, having his first outing in Max Smith-Hilliard’s Williams FW07C, dominated the FIA Masters Historic Formula One proceedings.  Padmore, the 2015 Pre-78 Champion, appeared right at home in the glorious 1981 machine, adding pole position and a pair of fastest laps to his double victory.

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Meanwhile Pre-78 victories went the way of Michael Lyons and Philip Hall.  The former taking second overall in race one after starting from the very back of the grid.   A storming drive by the Essex man who had reverted to his formidable Hesketh 308E after the glorious ex James Hunt McLaren M26 encountered mechanical problems in qualifying.

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The F1 cars may draw the crowds but the close racing in the FIA Historic Sports Car series is often the highlight.  However a safety car induced collision between the 2 Cooper Monacos after a rip-roaring early lead battle between the Mark Piercy and Philip Hall piloted Lolas appeared to have ruined the spectacle;  Havoc in pit-lane as the window opened under the caution period allowing the Hall Lola T212 to gain more than 20 seconds on the field as the track returned to green.

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Piercy had been one of only a couple of cars to delay his stop, which appeared to be a mistake as Martin Stretton emerged in 14th after Piercy had brought the car in from the race lead.  However, this was not just anyone taking over the little T210 as Stretton’s pole time around the famous Kent circuit was almost 1 second quicker than anybody else.  It should not have been a surprise then that the Worcestershire man would soon find himself back up to second on the timing screens, impressive in itself given he had made his way past historic racing stars such Gary Pearson, Simon Hadfield, Stefano Rosina and Scott Mansell!

But with 13 minutes remaining the gap to Philip Hall remained at 20 seconds and was surely too much to close?  Not for Stretton, as by  the penultimate lap of the race, the little white Lola was back in front; Stretton setting his 3 quickest laps of the race, all in the 1.30.6 bracket, in the final stages of his charge to victory.  A simply breathtaking drive to ensure he and Mark Piercy would take the most unlikely of victories.

The Lola T70s were no match for the nimble 2 litre machines around Brands Hatch, however Simon Hadfield put the finishing touches to a strong Chris Beighton recovery drive to claim 3rd position overall and top spot in the Rodriguez class, whilst Gary Pearson and Carlos Monteverde finished just 1 position further back in their similar machine.

Elsewhere, Martin O’Connell was up to his usual giant killing tricks to claim the Bonnier class victory with 8th overall in the Sandy Watson Chevron B8 whilst Keith Ahlers and Billy Bellinger recovered from the clearways gravel trap to claim the Hulme class honours.  Meanwhile Mark Bates in his Porsche 911 and Jamie Boot in the Chevron B16 would claim the respective top spots in the Pescarolo and Siffert classes.

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Earlier in the day, the Pre-66 touring car event was equally entertaining.  Andy Wolfe and Mark Sumpter had positioned their Lotus Cortina’s on the front row of the grid in a rain interrupted qualifying session but were not able to hold the Craig Davies piloted Mustang at bay for long, with the similar machine of Warren Briggs and the Mercury Comet Cyclone of Masters 3 hour victor, Roger Wills, also keen to get by.

With 20 minutes remaining however the lead battle was down to three after the Cortina of Sumpter was retired with a broken half shaft and the Warren Briggs Mustang had dropped back.  This left an ever more sideways Andy Wolfe to take the battle to the two V8 machines of Davies and Wills.

By this time the tires were starting to fade on the huge Ford engined beasts of Wills and Davies, allowing Wolfe to close on the leading Mustang whilst pull away from the New Zealander’s Comet.  In fact, after consistently lapping in the 1.48 and 1.49 bracket, Wolfe was able to reduce an 8 second margin on lap 17 to just 0.7 seconds by lap 25.

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A sensational defensive display by Craig Davies over the remaining 5 laps however ensured that his Mustang was first to the flag; V8 power more than enough to keep the more nimble Cortina at bay on this occasion.  Wolfe’s efforts were however rewarded with victory in the under 2 litre class with the similar machines of Andrea Strortoni and Mark Martin/Andrew Haddon completing the under 2 litre top three.  Roger Wills would claim third overall in the Comet Cyclone whilst Warren Briggs, after a spirited comeback from a slow pit-stop, rounded out the over 2 litre podium.

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Raw power was the name of the game as the CanAm 50 Interserie challenge made it’s debut at Brands Hatch.  Sunday’s event saw a close battle between the glorious McLaren M8F of Andrew Newall and quite possibly the widest car ever, the March 717 of Frank Bradley.  An excursion at Stirlings put pay to Bradley’s charge however leaving Newall to claim his second victory of the weekend.  Mark Devis meanwhile in his fabulous TOJ SC003 claimed the Interserie victory in second whilst Richard Piper in the March 75s snatched third on the very last lap from the Lola T296 of Michele Liguori.

The combined Masters 70s Celebration and Allcomers event proved to be an absolute corker.  Early on Mike Wilds, from the second on the grid, claimed the lead of the race in his BMW CSL, only to retire on lap 3.  This left the Ferrari 308 in the hands of Dave Coyne to build a healthy lead over the Mustang of Craig Davies and the Ford Capri of Steve Dance.

However, with pit stops completed, the Ferrari now in the hands of Chris Compton-Goddard, had lost all of it’s advantage and was quickly swallowed up by the pole sitting Datsun 240Z of Roberto Giordanelli, the Steve Dance Capri and the Chris Beighton piloted Sunbeam Tiger.  With the 308 unable to keep pace, the remaining crowd were treated to an almighty three way tussle for victory; Beighton finding a way passed Giordanelli with ten minutes remaining and Dance taking advantage of the situation to grab second.

By this time, the brakes on the very powerful Tiger had started to fade and Beighton had a battle on his hands just to keep the Sunbeam on track.  And sure enough with only 5 minutes remaining, a trip across the Sheen gravel would allow both Dance and Giordanelli back through; Giordanelli having to settle for second after an attempt for the lead on the very next lap resulting in a spin for the Datsun pilot.  Fantastic racing!

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All three podium finishers would claim their respective class awards however.  Giordanelli and Simon Watts taking TCA victory in the Datsun with Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore first home in the SPA class.  Whilst further back John Spiers claimed Allcomers glory in his TVR Griffith with 5th position overall.

Sunday’s schedule also included 2 25 minute HGPCA races for front engined Pre-61 Grand Prix cars where Philip Walker would claim the spoils on both occasions in his Lotus 16.  The fabulous Ferrari Dino of Tony Smith was twice runner up whilst Eddie Maguire and Paul Grant shared the 2 litre class 5 honours.

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And rounding off the Grand Prix Circuit proceedings was an excellent Classic Formula Ford race which saw Ben Mitchell twice hit the front only for eventual victor, Richard Tarling, to snatch the lead back straight away on both occasions; Mitchell’s hard fought second place rewarded with class B victory however.

Yet another fantastic day of Masters Historic racing.  Not even queuing at the now toll-less Dartford crossing could wipe the smile from my face.  I personally cannot wait for more of this kind of action on the Donington GP circuit in Early July …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

 

 

 

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Donington Delivers one Helluva Historic Festival

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In what has become tradition, May Day bank holiday weekend saw the historic racing community welcomed by Donington Park for the 6th running of the utterly brilliant Donington Historic Festival; this year able to benefit from substantial investment which has brought the famous Leicestershire circuit back to it’s very best.

As is also tradition, the early May bank holiday weekend weather was, shall we say, mixed!  Whilst Saturday was blessed with a sunny start and end to the day, hail and rain showers were a feature of the early afternoon; conditions made more tricky by just how cold it was.  It is not normal to see one’s breath in late April, even in England!

The first race of the weekend, the opening round of the HSCC Historic F2 championship, slotted nicely between showers however.  Where, on a drying track, Andrew Smith in his Formula Atlantic specification March 79B was one of a minority to gamble on slicks; a decision which paid dividends as he recorded a dominant 53 second victory over series newcomer Dean Forward.

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And it was the Warwickshire man who was again first to the chequered flag in Sunday’s second encounter.  After quickly passing the fast starting Forward, Smith was able to build a winning margin of 35 seconds over the ‘3rd gear-less’ March 782, making it a weekend to remember for the Team Gunston March pilot.

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The Pre 91 Touring car field were not quite so lucky with the weather.  Whilst a dry start allowed the BMW of Mark Smith to take the lead from pole, rain began to fall during the mandatory pit stop window.  And it was during the driver changes that Chris Ward, taking over the Broadspeed Capri from BTCC hero Steve Soper, was able to get the jump on the Mark Smith/David Cuff E30.  And the heavier the rain fell the more comfortable the lead became; Ward putting in a sublime drive in testing conditions to claim the Tony Dron Trophy by over 1 minute.

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In fact Ward would carry his strong form into the 2.75 hour, somewhat disappointingly supported, ‘1000km’ Sportscar race.  Again paired with Paul Gibson, the 2015 winners faced a very different challenge if they were to repeat their success.  The cold and damp conditions would not favour their powerful Lola T70 where instead it was the nimble Chevron B8 of Martin O’Connell who was able to take an early lead.

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Ward, installed on lap 32, would find himself 3 laps down to the little 2 litre prototype but a succession of fastest lap times on an ever drying track brought the #9 Lola back into contention.  Meanwhile James Littlejohn had been in the sister Gibson car since lap 20 and on lap 77 it was he who finally hunted down and passed the O’Connell piloted B8.

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Oliver Bryant had looked best placed to tackle the rogue Chevron having kept his T70 in touching distance throughout the first half of the race.  A very slow pitstop on lap 60 however dropped the #14 machine 5 laps and it would be an uphill struggle from then on in.

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And so with the Chevron now struggling to keep pace in the early evening sunshine, the fight for top spot would turn out to be an all family affair with Paul Gibson emerging from the car’s final pit-stop just in front of son Daniel in the #10.  However it was Gibson Senior who managed to maintain the lead over the last 20 or so laps, claiming race victory for a second successive year.  But for a mis-read pit board Gibson Jnr may well have put up a stronger fight.

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Bryant meanwhile would fight back to claim a strong third position, ending the race just over 1 minute behind the winners; a story of what might have been given the #14 T70 spent 1.5 minutes longer in pit lane!  P3 honours and fourth overall was just reward for a great drive by Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy in the Chevron B8.  Had the rain continued who knows what the outcome would have been!

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Sunday’s schedule would feature a further 7 races, in many respects headlined by the 90 minute GT & Sports Car Cup for Pre-66 GT and Pre-63 Sportscars.  Traditionally a battle between Cobra and E-Type it was the Oliver Bryant piloted Cobra who was able to take an early lead from the Julian Thomas and Gary Pearson Jags and the pole sitting similar machine of Leo Voyazides.

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Both E-types had soon fallen by the wayside however leaving an all Shelby battle up front; Hadfield, installed in the #75 Cobra during an oil enforced safety car period, now finding himself at the head of the field following a quicker turn around during the stops.  However, opting for a short Grahame Bryant stint proved to be key strategically as Bryant junior had almost 30 laps to hunt down the leader.

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And sure enough with Voyazides back in the driving seat on lap 45 the deficit was reduced to just 5 seconds with Bryant, clearly on a mission, able to haul his mis-firing Cobra into the lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining.  The retirement of Voyazides shortly after allowing for a comfortable drive to the flag with the now second and third placed Clark/Smith E-Type and Friedrichs/Mallock Aston Martin DP214 over 1 lap in arrears.

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New to the schedule for 2016, the pre-50 Grand Prix cars battling for the Nuvolari Trophy put on a great Display.  Sunday’s dry second race saw Callum Lockie in his Maserati 6CM able to get the better of race 1 winner, Michael Gans, after an almighty scrap between the two.  Gans, in ERA R1B, had fallen to third at the start but was able to take the lead on lap 11 before the vastly experienced Lockie made the decisive overtake just 1 lap later.

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The very sideways Pre-66 under 2 litre touring cars never fail to entertain with onlookers eagerly awaiting a good battle between the leading Ford, BMW and Alfa crews.  But whilst BMW were able to take the fight to the Lotus Cortinas in qualifying, all 3 leading 1800s were in trouble with electrical problems before the race had really begun.  This left the the Andrew/Max Banks Alfa to successfully chase down the Fords of Andy Wolfe and Dion Kremer and build a healthy lead over the opening stint of the race.

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Whilst Wolfe would soon retire, another MK1 Cortina in the hands of Neil Brown had starting making progress.  And once taking over the reigns, Fortec boss, Richard Dutton, carried on Brown’s hard work to close in on Max Banks during the second half of the race; a gutsy charge that left the Ford man just 10 seconds shy of the untouchable Giulia Sprint GTA at the flag.  Meanwhile David Tomlin made it two Fords on the podium, passing Kremer in the pit-stops and managing to hold off the Swiss pilot during the closing stages of the race.

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The RAC Woodcote Trophy for pre-56 Sportscars was yet another highlight of the weekend, proof if ever it were needed that historic racing is much more than just a demonstration.  Throughout the entire 1 hour duration of the race, Fred Wakeman and later Patrick Blakeney-Edwards tried all they could to get past the D-Type Jaguar of Gary Pearson.  The Cooper Jaguar Type 38 was more than a match for the D-Type but Pearson was immaculate through the traffic and, as Blakeney-Edwards put it, there is no getting past the Northamptonshire man when in that kind of form!

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Colin Turkington made a one off appearance in the HSCC Super Touring Car Trophy race, and the Northern Irishman showed his class by taking third place in the Mark Smith BMW E30.  The older BMW was no match for the Gordon Noble Jnr Vauxhall Vectra or the Stewart Whyte Honda Accord however; with the former able to get the better of regular front runner Whyte on this occasion.

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Following an article in Motor Sport magazine I was very much looking forward to the final event of the day, the Pre 80 endurance race for Sports racing GT and Touring Cars.  You just cannot beat the sound of a 3 litre DFV formula 1 engine and on this occasion we were blessed with not only the magazine featured Lola T282 of Leo Voyazides and Simon Hadfield but also the T292 of Michele Liguori.

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Hadfield had earlier put the Gitanes sponsored T282 on pole with a fantastic 1.05.872 but it was Liguori who beat Voyazides into Redgate, immediately gapping the Greek pilot and leaving him to fight with the Chevron B19 of Martin O’Connell.  Unfortunately, the expected DFV battle never materialised as a coming together between O’Connell and Voyazides at Goddards put the Chevron out of the race and left Voyazides with a broken wheel; the former calling it a racing incident whilst the latter was less diplomatic!

Pre80EndWinners_DHF16

Whilst Liguori was now able to cruise to victory, Voyazides with broken wheel replaced, and later Simon Hadfield were able to drag themselves back up through the field to a phenomenal second place; missing out on victory by just 26 seconds after at one stage being 2 laps down!  The sight and sound of Hadfield taking on the Craner Curves in this glorious machine is one of those memories that will stick around for years to come!  Ever wondered what is missing from modern day racing?  This car sums it up completely!

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My time at the festival may have been over but the racing continued throughout Monday, where …

David Tomlin piloted his Lotus Cortina to victory in the HRDC ‘Coys Trophy’ whilst Stewart Whyte charged to glory in the second Super Touring Car race.  Callum Lockie, sharing an E-Type with Julian Thomas, continued his excellent weekend by taking the Jaguar Classic Challenge honours.  Chris Ward made it a hat-trick of weekend race victories by taking the Stirling Moss Trophy for Pre-61 Sport Cars.  Fred Wakeman and Patrick Blakeney-Edwards claimed the Mad Jack for Pre-War Sports Cars victory and last but not least, Andrew and Mike Jordan raced their Austin A40 to top spot in the HRDC Pre-60 Touring Car race.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

This had been another fabulous Donington Historic Festival.  The festival and circuit organising team just seem to get it, be it the friendly and welcoming circuit staff, the excellent commentary team, the ability to get touch close to millions of pounds worth of famous racing cars, a fantastic selection of races across the weekend and now the freedom to roam over the entire infield.  And having fond memories of the venue as a child in the late eighties and early nineties it is great to see the circuit in such good shape!  If only the Dunlop Bridge and Spitfire were to make a return …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Porsche and G-Drive Shine in Silverstone Sun

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Audi exclusion lands Porsche the RAC Tourist Trophy whilst a faultless drive saw Simon Dolan, assisted by Harry Tincknell and Giedo Van Der Garde, finally claim a second Silverstone ELMS victory after narrowly missing out in both 2014 and 2015.

PorkerWin

As opposed to re-mortgaging your house to visit the British Grand Prix, just £40 buys an adult weekend pass for the opening rounds of the European Le Mans Series and the WEC.   Even better value for money when you consider that, unlike the F1, there is no charge for parking at the circuit!

Both series have seen changes for 2016, the most obvious being the removal of GTC and the separation of qualifying for all three classes in the European Le Mans Series whilst the WEC welcomed new GT regs that would feature aggressive rear diffusers for the GT PRO machines.  None of which appeared to have done any harm as the ELMS boasted a whopping 44 car entry whilst the WEC managed a quality filled 33.  No better way to commence my circuit racing season.

ELMS

The 4 Hours of Silverstone would fill it’s now traditional Saturday afternoon slot and with great anticipation we made the little over an hour journey down to the home of British Motorsport in far from ideal conditions.  You don’t expect the ‘Warning Ice Possible’ sign to appear on your dashboard in mid April, and even more bizarrely we didn’t anticipate the WEC free practice session to be red flagged as a result of Snow!

SnowySilverstone

Pleasingly however, whilst remaining cold, sunshine finally broke through the clouds as the 44 strong ELMS entry began their formation laps;  the Thiriet by TDS Oreca 05 on pole courtesy of a stonking lap from long time Rebellion racer, Mathias Beche.

ELMSPOLE

The day would not end as well as it started for the pole sitting machine however, initially running wide at the start before a stuck throttle would send Pierre Thiriet into the Luffield Barriers.  Which, alongside the mechanical failure of Tristan Gommendy’s Eurasia Oreca 05 at Woodcote on the very same lap, would bring out the first full course caution period of the afternoon.

In the meantime, works Ford man, Harry Tincknell had built a healthy lead in the G-Drive Gibson with only Paul Loup Chatin in the Panis-Barthez Ligier able to stay in touch.  A lead that was relatively commanding before Chatin was able to take advantage of a second full course yellow to allow legendary French Goalkeeper Fabian Barthez to jump aboard; Barthez emerging in the lead of the race courtesy of the earlier G-Drive stop occurring under green flag conditions.

But whilst Barthez was not able to keep Dolan behind for long, driver rankings dictated that the former was required to spend much less time behind the wheel; a tactic which looked favourable given Timothe Buret’s pace.  Unfortunately however, just as the lead battle looked to be getting interesting, the Ligier hit mechanical problems and dropped way out of contention; thus leaving the way clear for ex Caterham F1 pilot, Giedo Van Der Garde, to cruise to victory.  Although crossing the line with just 3 seconds remaining and then setting the car’s fastest lap of the race on the very last tour must have eroded the team manager’s finger nails somewhat!

Behind, the SMP racing BR01 of Stefano Coletti, Julian Leal Covelli and Andreas Wirth came home second whilst a stunning late stint by Olivier Lombard lifted he, Vincent Capillaire and Jonathan Coleman onto the final step of the podium.  Meanwhile Alex Brundle, Mike Guasch and Christian England claimed top spot for United Autosports in the Ligier dominated LMP3 category.

JMW

In GT, disqualification for the JMW squad robbed them of a home victory, where instead the Aston Martin of Andrew Howard, Darren Turner and Alex MacDowall claimed top spot.  A late push from GT pole man Richie Stanaway almost made it an Aston 1-2 but for a debatable last lap move on the AT Racing Ferrari; the New Zealander crossing the line first but subsequently relegated 1 position at the discretion of the stewards.

WEC

WhatADifferenceadaymakes

Fans had packed into Silverstone on Sunday, basking in conditions that could not have been more different to that of the previous morning.  And several coffees, a quick walk around the underwhelming paddock and a lap of the circuit later we were finally back at Luffield, eagerly anticipating the start; a build up to the race disappointingly ruined by an amateurish warm up act on the PA in preference to Radio Le Mans.  The mind boggles!

In tricky conditions, Audi had stunned onlookers by beating  Porsche to pole position and it was the #7 R18 in the hands of Andre Lotterer who lead the opening laps of the race.  However its was a lead that would last just 25 minutes as Mark Webber in the #1 Porsche was a man on a mission, going on to build a commanding lead before handing over the reigns to Brendon Hartley.

WorldChamps

But, just as Porsche looked like they were going to walk away with it, the young New Zealander made an error of judgement passing the Gulf GTE AM 911 of Michael Wainwright.  And just like that their race was over, thankfully both drivers escaping injury after what was a pretty scary collision; the LMP1 regulations appearing to do their job as the #1 Porsche refused to flip.

YOUTUBE CLIP

Meanwhile the #8 Audi had also hit trouble after the first round of pit-stops.  Oliver Jarvis had put in a great first stint, managing to pass the sister car during the stops but dropping back with hybrid issues at around a quarter distance; the same issue that would cause a recently installed Lucas Di Grassi to park the troublesome machine out on track.  A full course caution was required to remove both of the stricken German machines.

This left the #7 Audi and the #2 Porsche to battle it out for victory with Benoit Treluyer in the R18 managing to sneak past Marc Lieb as the track returned to green after the aforementioned incidents.  Both cars would later endure spins, whilst a safety car period for debris would bring the #6 Toyota in the reckoning;  the 2014 champions however, whilst showing glimpses of pace, were not able to string consistently quick laps together and would never seriously challenge the top step of the podium.

With just a quarter of the race to go there was still little to choose between the front running cars.  Whilst the Audi held a slim lead , attention turned to fuel consumption and whether Porsche could make it to the flag with 1 less stop.  As it happened both the Porsche and Audi required a ‘Splash and Dash’ and whilst Jani was expected to close in on Fassler during the final stint, the Audi was never really troubled.  It had been a great drive by the #7 Audi which reminded me very much of their mighty performances against the super fast Peugeot not so long ago.  Such a shame therefore that they were excluded for an over-worn skid block.  Rules are rules however.

Winners_Stowe

Elsewhere Bruno Senna, Ricardo Gonzalez and Filipe Albuquerque put in a great performance in the RGR Ligier to defeat the similar Sebring and Daytona winning ESM machine and claim LMP2 honours with 5th position overall.

Meanwhile AF Corse Ferraris dominated the GT ranks where the PRO machines will be lucky to escape a balance of performance adjustment for Spa; the #71 of Sam Bird and Davide Rigon leading from start to finish whilst the #51 of Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado ovecame starting from the very back of the grid and a 3 minute stop and go penalty to claim 2nd!  Further back the 458 of Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas topped the AM machines.

GTWinners

GALLERY
WEEKEND THOUGHTS

It would be fair to say that whilst I thoroughly enjoyed both days of competition, I much preferred the ELMS action at last year’s event.  Whilst I appreciate it would be difficult to beat the epic finale to the 2015 opening round, I definitely had a feeling that the Prototype, GT balance has stepped too far in the direction of the former.  In my view GT cars are a vital part of any endurance race and 9 from 44 is too low a ratio for me.

The WEC on the other hand felt like a massive step forward.  Aside from 3 relatively closely matched LMP1 manufacturer teams, we also saw a revitalised Rebellion on the podium and what must be the best quality LMP2 line-up I have ever witnessed.  Throw in the Ford to the GTE PRO ranks and we have a phenomenal formula for success.  The only thing missing is a works Corvette.

Other notable points from the weekend ….

POSITIVES
  • £40 for a weekend pass is incredible value for World level Motorsport.  It costs near £100 to watch Wales Rally GB with zero facilities!
  • Showsec security are a breath of fresh air in comparison to the G4S of old.
  • The array of talent in all 4 classes of the WEC in unbelievable.  When you consider the likes of Bruno Senna, Roberto Mehri, Will Stevens and Nic Lappierre feature the second class of competition you know that the FIA and ACO are doing something right.
  • The straight line pace of Toyota bodes well for a 3 way fight at Le Mans, lets face it, the one event that matters in the endurance racing season.
  • Audi managing to hold their own against their World Champion counterparts.
  • The ability to walk the entire Silverstone circuit, inside and out.
NEGATIVES
  • £4 for a can of Guiness?  Are you having a laugh?  I can get 4 cans from Tesco for the same price!
  • The disappointing engine note of the new turbo engined Ferrari 488!
  • Disqualification of the winning car several hours after the podium.
  • The awful warm up act on the PA system and the lack of Radio Le Mans pre race.
  • The removal of the GTC class from the ELMS ranks.
  • The lack of varierty in LMP3.
  • The stone-age Silverstone ticket ordering system which still doesn’t allow race tickets to be sent to a different address to where the card is registered!
  • A lot of hanging around on Sunday morning.  Is there really no room for more support races?

However, the positives far outweigh the negatives.  Bring on the big one in June.  It could be a genuine three way battle at the front …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Back to Back Victories for In Form Pritchard

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Reigning champions, Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke, set a scintillating pace in very wet conditions to claim a hard fought Rally North Wales victory; maintaining their 100% start to the 2016 BHRC season.

Pritchard_RNW16

After a year away from the calendar, the BHRC returned to Dolgellau for the Wolverhampton and South Staffs CC organised Rally North Wales where 6 stages totalling 49 competitive miles in classic Wales Rally GB territory would await the 116 competitors.  In a fitting gesture there would be no number 1 on the entry list in honour of the late David Stokes and so it was the National B entered Evo 9 of Luke Francis and John H Roberts who would be first to enter the infamous rain soaked Dyfi forest complex.

BHRC CAT 3

Ford Escort men, Jason Pritchard, Nick Elliott and Joe Price were closely matched on the Red Kite and it was the same three protagonists who would feature heavily at the head of the Rally North Wales leader-board.

Elliott, with Dave Price alongside, is not used to finishing second on Welsh gravel, and would have been keen to get back to winning ways on Rally North Wales.  Hitting a bale at a chicane in Stage 1 however was definitely not in the script, and whilst there was no noticeable damage the Cheltenham crew would yet again find themselves on the back foot, registering a time 16 seconds slower than stage winners Pritchard and Clarke; a lead reduced however to 14 seconds by the mid event service.

Renowned for his pace on tarmac, Pritchard is fast becoming the man to beat on the loose as well.  After stunning many with his pace on the Red Kite, the Builth Wells man was quickly out of the blocks on Rally North Wales, setting a time 6 seconds quicker than class D5 front runners Joe Price and Chris Brooks over the 9 miles of Dyfi Main.

Price meanwhile continued his strong start to the event by matching the BHRC champ in stage 2 but was not able to live with the pace of either Elliott or Pritchard in Gartheiniog, leaving he and co-driver Brooks 24 seconds back in third after the morning loop of stages.

Elliott had it all to do over the remaining three stages if he was to stop Pritchard claiming his second win of the season and victories on stages 4 and 5 were just what the doctor ordered, leaving the RSD prepared Escort just 8 seconds in arrears heading into the Gartheiniog finale.  But, it seems, pressure just does not get to Pritchard and Clarke; the super smooth and super consistent MK2 crew setting their third fastest time of the event to confirm a 21 second victory over D5 class winners Nick Elliott and Dave Price.

Elliott

Behind, after what had been a very promising drive, the Ludlow based pairing of Price and Brooks were cruelly robbed of a podium position after becoming beached at a hairpin in the very last stage; the more than 3 minute time loss relegating the bright orange Escort crew to 6th in category and leaving Matt Edwards and Will Rogers, in Peter Smith’s glorious Opel Kadett, to round out the BHRC Category 3 podium positions.

Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts would again find themselves on top of the class D3 pile, taking class victory by 1 minute 17 seconds.  The final result however masks the tale as a puncture in stage 1 saw the Northern Irishman fall 1:32 behind his class opposition.  This appeared to be  a minor blip however as the very rapid pinto powered MK2 Escort was back at the top of class D3 by the end of stage 4 after setting 4th fastest historic time on stages 2, 3 and 4; rounding off an excellent recovery drive with 4th and 3rd quickest historic times over the final two stages of the event.

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Meanwhile David Hopkins and Tony Vart claimed class D2 victory in their Talbot Sunbeam with 37th position overall; their main opposition, Chris Skill and Tom Jordan unfortunately retiring in stage 1 with a blown engine.

BHRC CAT 2

1600 MK1 Escort crew, Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis, leapt into the category 2 lead with a phenomenal joint 2nd quickest time overall in stage 1, even beating the time recorded by Fiesta R5 man Brendan Cumiskey!  Driving at that pace there is always the chance that mistakes will happen and the young Yorkshireman’s storming drive sadly came to an end just 2 stages later; rolling out of the category lead in the tricky Gartheiniog test.

This left the door open for round 1 winners Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver to take up the category lead; the duo holding a 15 second margin over C5 class leaders Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris.  But whilst both crews were comfortably in the lead of their respective classes the category honours were still up for grabs; Tysoe in the end having to settle for second, 2 late stage wins leaving the MK1 pilot just 6 seconds shy of category glory.

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And so it was Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver who would take their second category 2 and class C3 victories in as many events; the new for 2016 pairing looking like a very strong combination in their pinto powered MK1.

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Milner’s retirement allowed Elliot Retalick and Tim Tugwell into the class C2 lead in their Hilman Avenger.  And once in the lead they never looked back, going on to finish 27th overall in the National A event, 2:09 up on the MK1 Escort of Stuart and Linda Cariss.

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BHRC CAT 1

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The B3 specification MK2 Cortina of Bob and Dale Gibbons was the class of the BHRC category 1 field, setting fastest category time on all 6 stages to register a 2 minute 35 second victory over the MK1 Cortina of Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson; the latter pairing claiming class B4 honours with 38th position overall in the National A event.

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Phil Harris and Graham Wild had a strong Rally North Wales; the smooth Dyfi forest tracks seemingly suiting their Morris Mini Cooper and allowing them to challenge more powerful machinery for most of the day.  A stage maximum on the very last stage would however drop them to the foot of the field but another maximum class score keeps them firmly at the top of the B1 championship table.

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NATIONAL A FULL RESULTS
NATIONAL B

Luke Francis and John H Roberts maintained their strong start to 2016 by recording their second Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship maximum score of the season with victory on the Rally North Wales National B event.  The North Wales based pairing were quickest on all 5 stages to claim a 1 minute 15 seconds victory over the equally rapid Volvo engined MK2 Escort of Ieuan Rowlands and Emyr Hall.

Francis

NATIONAL B FULL RESULTS
FINAL THOUGHTS

It had been a very long time since we had ventured into the eastern side of Dyfi Forest and whilst the tree line has changed somewhat over the last 20 years it still brought back great memories; one being my school boy TV appearance as Tapio Laukkanen’s stricken Golf was recovered from the Welsh scenery.

Jason Pritchard is fast becoming the man to beat on all surfaces and after only 2 rounds of the BHRC season it already looks difficult for anyone stop he and Clarke from claiming back to back titles.  Barring mechanical issue or error, the pairing will be near untouchable on the three tarmac rounds and if Pritchard is able to claim at least 5 maximum scores then Elliott and Price desperately need to regain their authority on the loose, starting with the Pirelli at the end of April.  After a tough stage 1 on both opening rounds of the season, a strong start will be exactly what is required!

The pace at the head of the BHRC is simply breathtaking at the moment and throughout the day only the very rapid Luke Francis was able to go quicker than Pritchard and Elliott.  Impressive stuff!  It would however be nice to see a bit more variety of machinery at the sharp end and so we can only hope Edwards makes a few more appearances in the Kadett and Robinson continues to make progress with the awesome 131.

With the Pirelli BHRC timetable not exactly spectator friendly we may elect to miss the next round but will definitely be back for the Severn Valley in June where hopefully sunshine will greet our return to the mid wales stages …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk for any enquiries

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S’No’w Stopping Evans on BRC Opener

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An impressive late charge after an unfavourable early road position saw Welsh duo, Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry, overhaul the similar Fiesta of Fredrik Ahlin and Morton Erik Abrahamsen to claim a hard fought Mid Wales Stages victory; the opening round of a rejuvenated British Rally Championship.

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After years in the doldrums culminating in a 1 year break, the British Rally Championship was back with a bang in 2016.  The Newtown based Mid Wales Stages was a completely new event to the BRC calender but appeared to have captured the imagination of the nations best drivers.  An impressive entry list topped by current M-Sport WRC2 crew Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry but also including a whole host of leading British crews proof, if ever it were needed, that the R5 headlined BRC was most definitely back on track.

68 stage miles lay ahead of the crews, with 2 classic tests in Hafren and Myherin on the Saturday evening to kick off proceedings; talk about jumping in at the deep end!  This, combined with the sprinkling of snow on higher ground, is precisely the kind of challenge that should exist in a top level national series.

BRC1

Whilst still on M-Sport’s books, Evans was unlucky to lose his full time WRC drive at the end of 2015 and would head into the opening round as a huge favourite for the event win.  And true to form the DMACK Fiesta R5 man was electric out of the blocks to set a time that was 18 seconds quicker than anyone else through the slippery 16 miles of Hafren Sweet Lamb.

Anyone who thought the Welshman would have it all his own way was however silenced on stage 2 when Swede and fellow Ford man, Fredrik Ahlin, topped the time sheets, cutting the overall deficit to 17 seconds at the overnight halt.  With the mountainous Myherin/Pikes Peak stage seeing more of the snow fall, could it be that the Swedish native had a better set up for the white stuff? …

Ahlin_MW16

It certainly seemed that way on the morning of day 2 as the impressive Scandinavian, whilst benefiting from a good road position, was able to set fastest time on both stages 3 and 4 to claw back all of the time lost to Evans and jump into a 3.5 second lead by the mid-day service halt.  But whilst thoughts of an upset may have crossed onlooker’s minds, Evans would no longer be sweeping the roads.  With snow and Ice now few and far between on stages already passed once, the rapid Welshman was able to fully attack the event’s final 23 stage miles.

As was the case on stage 1, no one could live with Evans’ pace through Hafren Sweet Lamb; Ahlin losing 16.4 seconds and ultimately the rally victory as Evans showed what the Ford WRC team were missing.  Their loss however is most definitely the British Rally fans gain as the number 1 seeds rounded off a fantastic fight back with their third stage win of the rally to wrap up victory by just 17 seconds; a much closer battle than many would have imagined pre event.

Behind, despite both David Bogie and Tom Cave enduring difficult starts to the event, it was they who would find themselves challenging for the final podium position.  A puncture had dropped Cave and co-driver, James Morgan, behind the Fabia of Bogie and Kevin Rae overnight, but a quick time on the very tricky opening Saturday morning stage, coinciding with an off for Bogie, would promote the young Welshman back up to third.

Cave_MW16

However, Bogie definitely had the pace, and after stringing together 2 impressive times in Myherin and Hafren found himself within touching distance of Cave’s Fiesta as they entered the final 8 miler.  But whilst Cave was able to set 3rd quickest time on stage, a differential problem would end Bogie’s charge, causing the recent Red Kite Stages victor to settle for a hard fought 4th.

DMACK JUNIOR BRC

Having not paid much attention to the junior ranks prior to the event, the front running crews turned out to be some of the stars of the Mid Wales Stages.  Who said FWD’s don’t go sideways?!  In what turned out to be a Ford/Vauxhall/Renault battle, it was the little Twingo of Norwegians’ Sindre Furuseth and Goril Undebakke who held an 8 second overnight lead after a blistering 11th quickest time overall on a tricky stage 2!

Furuseth_MW16

However, lying second at the start of day 2, Gus Greensmith and Alessandro Gelsomino increased their pace on the Saturday morning stages and stole the class lead on Pikes Peak before another quick time on stage 4 would see them hold a 3 and 11 second advantage respectively over Furuseth and the Vauxhall Adam of Robert Duggan and Gerard Conway at the mid-day service.

And despite fastest class times going the way of Furuseth and another Vauxhall junior driver in the form of Matthias Adielsson over the final 2 stages of the rally, it was Greensmith’s consistency which earned him and Gelsomino the well earned maximum class points.  I for one cannot wait to see this battle continue as the season progresses!

Greensmith_MW16

NATIONAL A CLASS RESULTS

Matt Edwards and Will Rogers were in a class of their own in the Swift Caravans backed Mitsubishi Evo 9.  The pair were never outside the top ten stage times to claim BRC2 victory by more than 5 minutes with a fantastic 7th position overall.  Along the way setting 4th quickest time on the very tricky stage 2; one of the highlights from a quite brilliant drive.

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Gee Atherton and Keaton Williams would end the day on top of the class BRC4 pile after a consistent drive saw them claim class victory by almost 2 minutes with 23rd position overall.

Atherton

Recent Top Gear addition, Chris Harris, co-driven by Brynmor Pierce suffered many a problem on the Mid Wales Stages but still managed to claim BRC3 victory in their glorious Toyota GT86 with 30th position overall.

Harris

NATIONAL CUP

Due to a lack of homologation, the trio of Mitsubishi Mirage R5’s were disappointingly forced to take part in the 68 mile National Cup instead of the full on National A event.  Whilst covering the same tracks as the BRC, the National Cup competitors would not be party to the Friday Recce of the stages.  And with this in Mind, Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss’ time of 16:46.8, good enough for fourth overall on combined times, on the opening Friday night stage was even more impressive.

Pryce_MW16

In fact by the end of the event the rapid Welshman was only beaten by Evans, Ahlin, Cave and Bogie on combined times as he and Furniss absolutely dominated the National Cup to take victory by a mammoth 8 minutes!  Such a shame that the Mirage is not eligible for the main BRC as a full recce may well have seen Pryce in a theoretical podium position!  A sublime performance.

CLUBMANS STAGES

Dylan Davies and Llion Williams were the class of the Clubmans field, setting fastest time on all but 1 of the 4 stages to claim victory by 55 seconds from another Subaru in the hands of Andy Davies; claiming maximum Welsh Rally Championship points in the process.

Davies_MW16

Elsewhere, 6th overall was enough for Stanley Orr and Guy Weaver to claim maximum HRCR Old Stager championship points.  The MK1 Pinto pairing getting the better of the similar powered MK2 Escort of Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmonds to take top spot by 20 seconds.

Orr_MW16

NATIONAL A RESULTS
NATIONAL B RESULTS
CLUBMANS RESULTS
THOUGHTS

Night stages, sleeping in the car, good access for spectators and the addition of a little snow made for a fantastic weekend.  There was a definite feeling that the BRC was back to its best!

We can only hope that the remaining rounds of the season can attract such strong entries as the Mid Wales and that Evans’ joker inflated maximum points haul does not deter leading crews from entering rounds later in the season.  Surely the BTRDA best 6 scores from 8 rounds concept would be a better way of maintaining interest for longer?  As it stands, Evans, clearly the favourite for the crown anyway has a monumental lead that is now unlikely to be challenged.

That aside, from a standalone event perspective you cannot fault what has been put together in 2016.  I never imagined for one moment that some of the best action would come from the junior ranks.  Furuseth, a much deserved Spirit of the Rally winner, and all 3 Vauxhall Junior drivers were an absolute delight to watch; I had forgotten just how quick these machines can be in the hands of top driving talent.  And up front the quality was just as good, If some time ago you would have told me that the Mid Wales entry would include previous BRC and SRC champions as well as two current WRC2 competitors I would never have believed you.  Roll on the Pirelli in April, my anticipated next slice of the BRC action …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk for any enquiries

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A Perfect Start to Pritchard’s Title Defense

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Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke began their British Historic Rally Championship title defense in near perfect fashion on the Red Kite Stages; a mature drive landing them victory for the second year in succession despite very testing conditions.

Pritchard

The Red Kite Stages has consistently been a top class event and pleasingly 2016 saw Amman and District Motor Club rewarded with a near maximum capacity entry, not only featuring a bucket load of pristine historic championship entries, but also including the likes of BRC championship hopefuls David Bogie and Tom Cave in brand new R5 machinery.

Whilst maintaining the traditional compact nature of the event, the itinerary for 2016 would see the crews tackle the very fast open gravel roads of route 60 within the schedule of 6 stages which also included more familiar tests in Crychan and Caeo.  With high winds and rain forecast the weather was always likely to have a say in proceedings.  However the thick fog which greeted our entry onto the Epynt military ranges was most definitely not on the menu; a somewhat different challenge to the snow and ice faced by the crews on last year’s event!

Pre-event, the smart money would have been on 2014 RAC champs, Nick Elliott and Dave Price, to lead the way; widely regarded as one of the quickest MK2 pairings on Welsh gravel.  However, a cold ridden Elliott endured a difficult start to the event; a stall in the opening Crychan stage losing the Cheltenham man an estimated 22 seconds!  But such was his pace, the traditionally fast starting MK2 pilot would only drop 4 seconds to Jason Pritchard, the eventual stage victor.

Whilst Pritchard had taken an early lead it was the flamboyant Joe Price, with Chris Brooks alongside, who would top the time sheets on Route 60 before Elliott would make it three different victors in as many stages with a good time through Caeo, leaving the 3 crews separated by just 15 seconds at the mid-day service halt.  The scene was set for an almighty battle over the afternoon loop of stages; precisely the reason why I was up at 4am on a Sunday morning!

I am not sure what Pritchard had eaten for lunch but it most certainly did the trick.  His blistering time through Crychan 2, whilst coinciding with another stall and time loss for Elliott would ultimately be the defining stage of the rally; A likely victory cemented by fastest time over the second running of route 60.  Pritchard and Clarke amazingly equalling their morning stage time, in what was now significantly worse conditions, to take a 26 second buffer over Price into the Caeo finale with Elliott a further 2 seconds back in third.

Elliott is not a man to give up without a fight however; his electric final stage charge to regain second position overall and the class D5 victory proof if ever it were needed.  And on a day when things didn’t exactly go to plan for Elliott, the points for second overall are a nice consolation prize to take into Rally North Wales in just over 1 month’s time.

Elliott

Meanwhile Pritchard had already done the hard work in stages 4 and 5 and knew that a sensible pace through the 9 miles of Caeo would be enough to wrap up the opening round victory; a 28 second gap was too much even for Elliott to close.  This had been some drive by the 2015 champion!

After missing the event in 2015 through illness, 3rd position overall represented a great result for Price and Brooks in their infamous bright Orange MK2.  What’s more, sitting just 31 seconds down on the event winners by the close of play, setting 1 fastest time and never outside the top four on the other five tests, shows the pace is there to mix it at the front; encouraging signs for the remainder of the season.

CATEGORY 3

In fourth, Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts put in yet another giant killing performance to take class D3 honours by a whopping 4 minutes and 17 seconds.  Like Price, Barrett and Roberts were never outside the top 4 stage times all day; their 4:25, second quickest blast through stage 5, taking this huge cut along the way, surely the highlight.  Incredibly they would end the day just 46 seconds down on the rally winners.  At times you really do have to remind yourself that it is a Pinto engine in the Northern Irishman’s Ford!

Barrett

Guy Anderson and Steven Davey were the star performers in class D4.  Nearest rival, The Triumph TR8 of David Kynaston and Paul Wakely, was no match for the nimble Sunbeam in the truly awful conditions, leaving Anderson and Davey to take class victory by over 6 minutes with 22nd position overall.

Anderson

Meanwhile Chris Skill and Tom Jordan put in a strong performance to claim class D2 honours in their 1600 Escort MK2.  Their opposition may have fallen by the wayside however they did get the better of several more powerful machines to finish the event in 24th position overall.

Skill

CATEGORY 2

Following the sad news of David Stokes’ passing just a week and a half before the event, it is fitting that we had a category battle to remember.  Long time co-driver to the legendary David Stokes, Guy Weaver, was partnered with Stanley Orr for this event in a C3 specification MK1 Escort and boy did they put in a performance that the big man would have been proud of!

2015 category champions, John Perrot and Keaton Williams were quickest out of the starting blocks however, opening up an 8 second lead over class C5 rivals Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris on the opening Crychan test.  They would then go on to set fastest category time on each of the following 3 stages to increase their lead to a comfortable 23 seconds.

Orr and Weaver may have elected for a steady start but they clearly had the pace to challenge, passing Tysoe for second in category after Crychan 2, before a stunning run through a very foggy Route 60 would see them sit just 11 seconds behind Perrot with only the 9 miles of Caeo remaining.  Could they really snatch victory on the last stage of the event?

But for gearbox problems, Perrot and Williams may well have had enough time in hand to take the category victory; instead the Hereford man was unfortunately relegated to 4th after losing 2 minutes at a Caeo hairpin.  A real sting in the tail for the long time leaders.

You can’t take anything away from Orr and Weaver however.  To be anywhere near the front running pace in a class C3 MK1 Escort is borderline heroic.  8th fastest through Caeo to finish 9th overall is a fantastic achievement; class and category honours the icing on the cake!

Orr

Second in category and 12th overall was enough for Simon Tysoe and Paul Morris to claim top spot in class C5.  After sitting the right side of a 1 second margin to third at the half way point, the long time MK1 pilot was a victim of Orr’s afternoon charge; eventually dropping 32 seconds behind the Northern Irishman by the end of the day.

Tysoe

Having witnessed Adam Milner’s impressive drive on last year’s Malton forest Rally, big things can be expected from this Yorkshireman in 2016.  Unfortunately Milner, with Roy Jarvis alongside, had been blighted by a misfire all morning, but having cleared during the afternoon, the Malton MC man was able to show what is possible at the wheel of a 1600 MK1; rising from 5th to 3rd in category by the end of the day and claiming class C2 honours with 13th overall; unbelievably setting 8th and 7th fastest times in stages 5 and 6 respectively!

Milner

CATEGORY 1

It was an all Ford Cortina affair at the sharp end of category 1 with the MK2 GT of Bob and Dale Gibbons holding a 7 second lead over the MK1 of Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson at the half way service point.  A battle which would rage on well into the afternoon before being ultimately decided on the very last stage when the evergreen Bean was forced OTL by an electrical failure.  Bob and Dale Gibbons therefore going on to claim category and class B3 top spot with a strong 34th position overall.

Gibbons

Meanwhile Bill Douglas and Dave Tearl brought their immaculate BMW 1800 home in 42nd position overall to claim class B4 honours while Phil Harris and Graham Wild took class B2 top spot with 43rd in their Mini Cooper.

Harris

NATIONAL B

The rejuvenated British Rally Championship has attracted some of the top names in British rallying, and two of which, namely David Bogie and Tom Cave had chosen the Red Kite to debut their new machinery.  The 2 crews couldn’t have had more contrasting days however with Cave and co-driver James Morgan fortunate to escape injury after a big off in the first stage, whilst Bogie and Kevin rae went on to take National B victory in their Fabia R5.  Getting the better of a Julian Reynolds piloted Focus WRC is no mean feat and suggests that Elfyn may not have things entirely his own way in 2016!

Bogie

FULL NATIONAL A RESULTS

FULL NATIONAL B RESULTS

Looking back I am not sure I have experienced such foul weather whilst out on a rally.  The combination of rain, fog and wind was not pleasant.  Never before have I expended so much energy in an effort to remain standing, but at least it wasn’t cold!  Photography was even tougher; After running out of clean filter options I even reverted to my 7D and 70-200 f4!  And without a Monopod even fewer photos would have been in focus!

Next up for me is the Mid Wales Stages in early March before another instalment of the British Historic Rally Championship with the Rally North Wales in April.  Hopefully Robinson and Collis will be up to speed by then in their stunning RSD prepared 131 to take the fight to the all conquering blue oval!

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Outrageous Orme Charge Lands Francis Cambrian Victory

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Luke Francis & John H Roberts claimed a sensational Cambrian Rally victory, defying the odds to convert a 10 second deficit into a 1 second winning margin with a phenomenal run over the Great Orme finale.

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With the Wyedean Rally no longer part of the BTRDA rally series, the Cambrian Rally, based in Llandudno, would take it’s place as the opening round of the season, just 4 months after concluding the 2015 championship.

An intriguing 127 car entry list had been compiled by North Wales Car Club which included the stage rally debuts of Euan Thorburn’s 208 R5 and Connor McCloskey’s WRC Mini.  The moderately sized field set to face 7 stages within the Snowdonia forests, rounded off by a quick blast over the infamous Great Orme toll road.

GOLD STAR

Amongst the leading crews were ex Gold Star champs Steve Perez, Hugh Hunter and Shaun Gardener but the main story of the 2016 Cambrian rally featured the contrasting fortunes of 3 crews in particular; 2015 King of Yorkshire, Charlie Payne in the Focus WRC engined Fiesta, local crew Luke Francis and John H Roberts in their familiar B13 Evo and 2013 Gold Star champ, Euan Thorburn, in his glorious new Peugeot 208 R5.

Few crews would have passed through Gwydyr before the event and with this in mind Charlie Payne’s 5m23s benchmark was mighty impressive.  Only Euan Thorburn, with Paul Beaton on the notes, was able to get within 10 seconds of the Ford man, the Peugeot possibly suffering a horsepower disadvantage on the steep climbs.

Payne, co driven by Carl Williamson, would continue his strong start with top 3 times on both the following Elsi and Penmachno tests.  In fact the Yorkshire-man was never outside the top 5 all day and it was this consistency which left the Fiesta crew heading into the Great Orme finale with what appeared to be a comfortable 10 second rally lead.

Payne

Thorburn meanwhile also went well in stages 2 and 3; the Scotsman setting second fastest time in Elsi before topping the time sheets in Penmachno to sit just 3 seconds behind Payne.  It would all go horribly wrong in Clocaenog East however as a trip into a ditch would cost the Peugeot man over 40 seconds and with it any chance of a debut victory.  The 2014 Scottish Rally Champions most definitely seemed at home in their new ride though and would be back in the podium positions before the day was out.

On paper Francis was up against it, his older Mitsubishi no match for many of the newer B14 machinery.   However, the local man’s secret weapon is his knowledge of the stages and whilst he and John H Roberts had not topped the time sheets on any of the forest stages,  consistent top 7 times had left them sitting 10 seconds behind Payne in second with just 2.95 miles of tarmac remaining.

A ten second gap over such a short stage may have seemed unbridgeable, but Francis has form on the Great Orme.  Just 4 months ago, the Rhuddlan man set fastest time by 8 seconds with a 2m38s stage time to claim an incredible second place overall.  Could he go one better in 2016?  With Payne registering a 2m51s stage time, the win was definitely on the cards.  And whilst Francis was not able to match his 2015 time, 2m40s was enough to claim the rally victory by a solitary second.  With that opposition a B13 car should not be taking BTRDA rally victories.  A simply stunning drive!

B14 top spot is unlikely to have been much consolation for Payne and Williamson in the circumstances, however they have got to be happy with their pace over the event.  After all, finishing ahead of Thorburn is no mean feat!

Elsewhere, fourth position overall represented a strong debut for Connor McCloskey and  Damien Duffin in the WRC Mini; ending the day just 32 seconds down and setting a fastest time along the way.  BTRDA Rally wins may well be on the cards in 2016 for the Northern Irishman.  Meanwhile 5th and 6th, on equal times and just 38 seconds down were the Fiesta R5’s of Hugh Hunter and Rhys Yates; both showing promising pace ahead of expected full season campaigns in the rejuvenated British Rally Championship.

PRODUCTION CUP

Perhaps lacking the strength in depth of 2015, the production cup battle quickly turned into a rally of attrition.  In fact, by the end of stage 3, we were down to just 4 remaining NR4 competitors with Aaron McClure rolling in Penmachno and Andy Davies retiring with gearbox problems.  Whilst Davies had been quickest in stage 1, it was 2015 front runners, Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy who lead for most of the day; building a 54 second lead over the Subaru of Paul Davy and Roger Allan by the end of stage 6.

Clitheroe man, Thompson, would however be cruelly robbed of a victorious start to 2016 following a mechanical failure on the stage 7 start line leaving Davy and Allan in pole position to take the Production Cup honours.  And that they did, building a 54 second winning margin over the Mitsubishi Evo 10 of Roland Llewellin and Ian Lawrence by the end of the day to claim an impressive 13th position overall.  With Davy not BTRDA registered however it was Llewellin and Lawrence who picked up maximum championship points.

Davy

Elsewhere, Owain Rowlands, with Tom Jordan this time alongside, repeated his 2015 success to claim class N3 victory with a strong 34th position overall.

SILVER STAR

Traditionally, Ffestiniog brothers, Ieuan and John Rowlands have featured at the sharp end of this event.  But whilst John was able to follow up his 2015 class B11 and Silver Star success with an impressive 15th position overall, early category leader, Ieuan, in the 2.8 litre Volvo engined MK2 was forced to retire with gearbox problems after just the third test of the day.

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John Rowlands, with Glenn Latham on the notes, was not as dominant as you may have imagined however.  In fact, number 53 seeds, Gavin Edwards and Caron Tomlinson kept the Welsh crew on their toes throughout the day.  And by the Llandudno finish were just 35 seconds in arrears in 16th position overall.

Meanwhile, 2015 RAC Championship winners, Phil Burton and Mal Capstick, had turned their attentions to the BTRDA series for 2016 and, whilst not able to match the pace of the aforementioned B11 Fords, were able to capitalise on the unfortunate retirement of Ieuan Rowlands; The Morecombe man going on to claim top spot in class B12 and 3rd place in the Silver star category with 18th position overall.

Burton

Elsewhere, BRC hopefuls, Josh Cornwell and Dai Roberts claimed class B10 honours with 30th position overall in their Fiesta R2, whilst the top scoring BTRDA registered crew were Bob Vardy and Sarah Ceen in 42nd position.  The latter pairing getting the better of Vauxhall Nova crew, James Hutchings and James Hood by a mere 8 seconds!

Cornwell

THOMAS PANELS BTRDA 1400

Whilst the entry list may have lacked 2015 champion David Bennett and fellow front runner Ash Slights, the expected FWD/RWD battle between Dave Brick and Josh Powell was tough to call; the latter having claimed a brilliant second in class back in October.  Disappointingly however the battle was over before it had really begun; the Sunbeam of Powell and Jim Lewis ending the day on it’s roof less than 1 mile into stage 1.

Despite his main opposition out, Brick, with 2015 BHRC champion Phil Clarke alongside, was never going take it easy; the Ludlow man going on to set fastest time on every stage bar the last to claim a commanding 1400 class victory with 22nd position overall.  A final position which may have been stronger were it not for a slow time over the Great Orme finale.

Behind, Jordan Hone finished second in class with 27th position overall; a strong result for the Proton Satria convert, whilst Matt Jackson and Claire Williams rounded out the podium positions in their Nissan Micra.  Rory Jones and Tom Hughes would claim 1400C top spot with 51st position overall in their MG ZR.

BTRDA HISTORIC CUP

Whilst Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis made all the headlines pre event by swapping their formidable MK2 Escort for an RSD prepared Fiat 131, it was Jerry Bailey and Graham Lacey who emerged from the Gwydyr opening stage with the category lead.  A lead which the Ford Escort pairing were able to build to as much 15 seconds by the end of stage 3.

From then on in though it was all about Theo Bengry and Les Forsbrook.  The vastly experienced Leominster man leaping into the class lead on the super-fast Alwen test before going on to record a 37 second Historic and class H3 victory.

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Bengry_Alwen

In class H2, it was David Dobson and Steve Pugh who were leading the way before taking a wheel off in Clocaenog East.  This left Dave Forrest and Steve Ward to battle it out for class honours over the remainder of the event.  Ward held the advantage over the morning stages but the tables turned on stage 6; a slow time allowing Forrest, with Charlie Carter on the notes, to slip into the class lead.  And from then on in the Yorkshire based crew never looked back; claiming 4th in the historic category with 40th position overall.

Forrest

Like Ward, H1 Winners, Robin Shuttleworth and Ronnie Roughead had been in front of Forrest for much of day but a slow time on the second running of Gwydyr allowed the Eaton Yale Escort to close in and ultimately take the position on the final stage.  Still, 5th in category, and 1st in class H1 was a great result for the MK1 Escort crew.

Shuttleworth

VITAL EQUIPMENT RALLY FIRST

And finally, the MSA running order regulations have not been kind to the rally first crews; a noticeable drop in entry numbers as a result.  However, Dominic Hodge and Stefan Arndt put in a great performance to claim category and RF1.4 victory in their Nissan Micra with a fantastic 44th position overall, beating several 1400C class cars in the process.  Meanwhile, Roger Lovatt and Osian Owen claimed RF1.0 honours and Des Fletcher and Bridge Carey were the first RF1.6 crew home.

FULL RESULTS

From our point of view the Cambrian Rally proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable start to the 2016 season and I personally prefer it’s new position in the calendar.  Photography was tough as always on this event but thankfully the weather remained dry, and despite cold temperatures, viewing on the Orme turned out to be unexpectedly pleasant.

If we learned anything from last weekend it is that Luke Francis and John H Roberts may well be the fastest Mitsubishi Evo 9 crew on the British Isles and if the pace of Rhys Yates, Hugh Hunter and Euan Thorburn is anything to go by, this year’s BRC will be an absolute belter!

Next up is the Red Kite Stages, see you in Mid Wales …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

 

 

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Brits shine on Wet and Wild Rally GB

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With their WRC futures on the line, Kris Meeke and Elfyn Evans put in strong final round performances to finish their home event in 2nd and 6th position respectively.

Following the cancellation of the RAC rally, Wales Rally GB 2015 would turn out to be my final event of the year.  And after swearing never to sleep in the car again we headed to Mid Wales for the Friday and Saturday stages complete with the creature comforts of Dad’s new caravan!  Whilst the weather forecast looked bleak, there was an upbeat atmosphere surrounding the event with the genuine potential of both leading British crews featuring at the sharp end of the results.

DAY 1

Pleasingly Myherin had been reinstated to the Rally GB route and it was here that we headed on Friday morning.  Even more pleasingly, having arrived over three hours before the first car was due, there was no issue whatsoever in reaching our desired destination of Junction 24; just the small matter of a 5 mile walk up some very steep inclines to get there.  Never did I imagine that Dad’s decision to bring the Jet Boil in preference to his camera would make me so happy!

Shortly before the crews arrived we were delivered the news that Latvala had retired in Sweet Lamb.  The disappointment was short lived however as judging by the pace of the top crews, Ogier was not going to have things entirely his own way …

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And sure enough, Meeke and Mikkelsen were within touching distance of the Frenchman after the morning loop of stages;  Meeke performing incredibly well in the un-fancied Citroen to keep the young Norwegian behind.  Evans meanwhile was only 40 seconds back but would soon lose buckets of time with a puncture on the second running of Hafren, dropping the Welshman to 9th, and leaving a small mountain to climb in order to bring his Ford back into contention.

With three quarters of the event remaining however there was plenty of mileage for Evans and co-driver Daniel Barritt to recover some of the deficit.  And in full expectation of a charge from Elfyn in the afternoon we made our way back towards junction 21, taking in the National crews along the way.  The Mitsubishi Mirage R5 of Jamie Jukes was particularly impressive through one of several painful hailstone showers which blighted our journey back up the stage!

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Having just about reached our desired location in time; a “short cut” over a fenced field not exactly helping, I was plagued, yet again, by the mountings of my 70-200 separating from the lens itself.  Fortunately it was great spot to watch the action unfold as the world’s best drivers launched their vehicles from left to right between the turbine laden hillside.

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DAY 2

Dyfi has long been a favourite stage of ours and it was here that we headed on a, as forecast, incredibly wet Saturday morning.  Thankful of a good nights rest we eventually made our way down to junction 18 after making several wrong turns in the early morning darkness and comically disturbing one particular Marshall’s morning relief; The chances of being disturbed at that ridiculous hour must have been slim to none!

The double Junction of 19 & 12 was our intended target but after some debate we instead opted for the top hairpin between junctions 13 and 14; and it turned out to be every bit the spectacle I had hoped.  Remembering to pack my electrical screwdrivers (something I had forgotten at Zandvoort) I was relatively pleased with the pics achieved too.

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The Brits in particular were quick through here, Meeke although losing time to Ogier, sitting just 15 seconds off the lead while Evans was back up to 8th with 5th fastest time on stage.  Meanwhile, under-performing super-rally returnee, Thierry Neuville had gone quickest in both Gartheiniog and Dyfi before ending his rally for good later in the day with a large off in Dyfnant.

Whilst rain was forecast I at least expected a couple of breaks in the downpour but instead it was coming down even harder by the time of the second run.  Having made our way back to a slight left towards the main Corris spectator area, it would not have surprised me to have seen Noah’s Ark first on the road but thankfully the likes of Ogier, Meeke and Evans were still in full attack mode.  Ogier was more flambouyant than ever before, clearly fearing what the super quick Northern Irishman could produce.

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The original plan of heading to Aberhirnant for the night stage had long been scrapped by the time we were back at the car following the passing of the National field; instead opting for home made stew, Stella, red wine, David Bowie and Scrabble!

But whilst we struggled to place words on the board, Ogier continued his strong run through Saturday’s foul weather to open up a 35 second lead margin by the time the cars reached the overnight halt.  Meeke however had done an incredible job in lets face it, inferior machinery, eeking out 25 seconds to Andreas Mikklesen, while Evans had climbed to 7th partially as a result of problems for Ostberg in the second DS3.

DAY 3

With just the Short Sunday leg remaining Ogier could cruise to victory.  And that he did, going on to claim what turned out to be a very emotional 26 second rally win following the horrific events in Paris on Friday evening.  As it happens managing to run the 36 kilometre leg at all turned out to be a minor miracle following the discovery of a skeleton, high winds and yet even more heavy rain!  Meeke however was able to battle hard against the troublesome conditions and keep a flying Norwegian, in form of Andreas Mikkelsen at bay; recording the best result for a Briton on Rally GB since the late Richard Burns took victory in 2000.

In what turned out to be a trying event for Elfyn Evans, the Welshman did however manage to claw his way back to sixth position overall by the end of the event following the demise of team-mate Ott Tanak.  Evans would however be left ruing his day 1 puncture, without which, 4th position was very much on the cards.  Surely both he and Meeke have done enough to secure drives in 2016, but unfortunately speed is not necessarily the deciding factor.

For us, despite the conditions, Wales Rally GB 2015 had been a good one.  Over the thirty years of attending Britain’s round of the WRC, the car control possessed by the fastest drivers in the world, combined with their commitment into the corners never fails to amaze me;  the speed carried through the fast section of Dyfi 2 will be one of those moments that sticks in the memory for years to come!  Roll on 2016, where hopefully the new October date will bring substantially better weather …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)