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R.A.C Rally

Roger Albert Clark Rally – November 2025

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Battling snow, ice, fog and heavy rain over the gruelling 5 day event, Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss would put in a controlled drive aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2 to secure 2025 Roger Albert Clark Rally victory; Pryce finally claiming victory having come close on the two previous editions.

Osian Pryce / Dale Furniss – Pundershaw

The biennial marathon event, which visits Wales, England and Scotland had once again proved extremely popular and whilst no current WRC stars would be found at the Carmarthen start ramp in 2025 the entry list was still stacked with quality.   Indeed, the return of multiple Roger Albert Clark (RAC) rally winner Martin McCormack, this time aboard a gravel spec BMW M3, had created much interest and he would be joined by the likes of ex British Rally champions, Osian Pryce (Ford Escort MK2), Matt Edwards (Ford Escort MK2), Mark Higgins (TR7) and Jonny Milner (Peugeot 205) to add further spice.

The opening leg of the rally may well have been the shortest but it was far from a walk in the park after freezing temperatures left the crews facing some incredibly tricky stage mileage with grip levels changing by the corner.  Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss, aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2, made the best of the conditions however particularly excelling in the darkness of stages 5 and 6 to hold a respective 17 and 19 second lead over the similar machine of Matt Edwards and the BMW M3 of 2023 winner Martin McCormack. 

But if Thursday’s stages appeared tricky then Friday’s tests, particularly in Myherin and Sweetlamb/Hafren, were in another league entirely!  Myherin would in fact prove treacherous in places and would unfortunately catch out the usually infallible Lancia Stratos of Seb Perez, much to the absolute devastation of many a spectator!  Perez and co-driver Dale Bowen were not the only ones to suffer either as a massive off for Robert Gough and Jack Bowen caused lengthy delays which ultimately put pay to the second running of Dyfnant at the end of the day.

Pryce meanwhile, in territory not far from his own back yard, would again be the man to beat, skillfully navigating the snow and ice to hold a very healthy lead of over 1 minute over the similar machine of Paul Barrett and Gordon Noble heading into the day’s final test.  But, after a very strong day in Mid Wales it would be the latter Northern Irish duo who would head North to Carlisle with confidence in their stride after a stonking time in the second running of Sweet Lamb/Hafren which, coinciding with a spin for Pryce, would see them emerge as closest challengers, ending the day just 29 seconds in arrears.

Saturday would unfortunately turn out to be a bit of a disaster as half of the stage mileage would be lost as a result of traffic issues around the stages.  The four stages that did run however still provided plenty of drama.  Whilst the opening Tommy’s Fell stage was snow and ice free, Riccarton was most definitely not and Pryce’s decision to take a steady approach to the stage would see the Welshman lose the lead to the now flying Northern Irishman.  This did seem to be all the motivation Pryce and Furniss needed however as they were back in the lead after Hyndlee and courtesy of a fantastic stage time through the fog of Kershope would extend their lead to 58 seconds by the end of the day.

Day 4 would see the temperatures rise and rain set in as the crews travelled over the border into Scotland for stages in Ae, Twiglees, Castle O’er, Craik and Newcastleton where, despite a puncture, Pryce and Furniss would extend their lead to almost 2 minutes by the time they were back in Carlisle.  The day would however belong to Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell who were obviously getting to grips with the E30 M3 as they reduced their deficit to the leaders by 40 seconds and would find themselves within sight of second heading into ‘Killer Kielder’ for the final day of the rally.

It was not to be for McCormack and Mitchell though as their efforts would tragically end in Pundershaw on the final morning, gearbox failure leaving them stranded mid-stage and their rally most definitely over.  This would however pave the way for Matt Edwards and co-driver Sion Williams, in their CarrPrep Ford Escort MK2, to make a late push for the podium. 

Despite having a day 2 to forget (losing over 6 minutes with a puncture and later knocking off the fuel pump feed) Edwards and Williams would be on top form for the remaining 3 days culminating in a final day to remember which saw them climb from 6th in the historic category to the final step of the historic podium; setting fastest time on the 37 mile “Bigger one” finale to end on a real high.  Sitting just 3 minutes and 57 seconds off the lead by the end of the event it was certainly a case of what might have been had lady luck been on their side.

There was understandably an element of pace management taking place ahead though as after the retirement of McCormack, both Pryce and Barrett could concentrate on getting their Ford’s home to the finish in one piece (Barrett having decided the lead gap was just too large to close down).  And both crews would do exactly that. 

But for a spin on day 2 Pryce had hardly put a foot wrong and had managed his pace accordingly throughout the very tricky conditions to add the coveted RAC Rally victory to his already impressive CV at the third time of asking.  Barrett and Noble meanwhile may not have featured in many onlooker’s top 3 predictions given the quality of the entry list and therefore 2nd overall from a start position of 7th is a mighty impressive result for the Omagh Motor Club duo.

Two further Ford Escort Rs1800 MK2’s would round out the top 5 historic crews with Dyfrig James and Emyr Jones succumbing to the final day charge of Edwards to drop out of the podium positions whilst conversely Dan Mennell and John H Roberts would climb two positions during the day to end the event in 5th.

Just one place further back, Mark Higgins and Carl Williamson would finish sixth after a fantastic drive in the awesome David Appleby Engineering TR7 V8; the pairing proving the potential of the British Leyland machine with some very impressive stage times throughout.  But for an off on the final day costing 4 minutes and a fan belt issue on day 1 the fan favourites may well have featured on the podium, however class H7 top spot represented a very welcome consolation prize.

Mark Higgins / Carl Williamson – Sweetlamb/Hafren

Talking of fan favourites, one of the star drives of the rally came from Swedish crew Arne Radstrom and Kent-Ola Bjorklund who wrestled their Volvo 262c through Wales, Scotland and Kielder to claim a quite brilliant 8th and second in class H7.  Affectionately referred to as the “Orange Brick” this drive will be remembered for a long time to come and may well encourage more of the Swedish Marque onto the stages.

Endaf Owens and Phil Pugh had lead category 2 aboard their Ford Escort MK1 for large parts of the event but couldn’t hold off a final day charge from Ben and Steven Smith in the Dansport prepared Porsche 911.  Usually found in a MK1 himself, Smith was visibly getting quicker and quicker in the 911 as the event progressed and put in a stunning charge on day 5 to climb 14 positions and end the event in 20th position overall (18th historic).  Meanwhile Andy Wolfe and James Crook would beat their seeding by a whopping 55 positions to round out the category 2 podium in their Ford Escort MK1.

Ben Smith / Steven Smith – The “Bigger one”

Enrico Brazzoli and Martina Musiari, in their Porsche 911 SCRS, could possibly claim the award for best engine note (What a sound!) to go with Category 4 top spot and 28th position overall in the historic event. Meanwhile class H9 winners Mark and Andrew Constantine, aboard their 1300cc Vauxhall Nova Sport, would round out a brilliant performance with 2nd in category and 36th historic car home whilst an equally impressive drive from Andy Madge and Matt Cooper would see them finish just one place further back to claim class H10 honours and 3rd in category 4.

Enrico Brazzoli / Martina Musiari – Pundershaw

In Category 1 it was looking like a Mini 1-2 was on the cards after day 4 but unfortunately the second Mini in the hands of Colin McDowell and Geraldine McBride would lose a significant amount of time on the final day.  This left the way clear for the Cortina’s of David Wood / Reece Brookes (Mk2) and Paul Mankin (MK1) and to complete the podium positions as Joe Whyte and Des Sherlock claimed a fantastic category victory in their Austin Mini Cooper S.

Joe Whyte / Des Sherlock – Sweetlamb/Hafren

The Open rally for none historic cars would run concurrently with the historic event and see Scottish pairing Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank put together a stellar performance over the 5 days to end the rally in third position overall. The Ford Escort MK2 pairing’s dominance of the open rally class evident by their winning margin of almost 25 minutes! Robert Barrett and Simon Taylor would come home second in class (Ford Escort MK2) whilst the Vauxhall Astra GSI of Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry would complete the open rally podium with 22nd overall.

Elsewhere notable historic class wins would go the way of Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis (H6) aboard the recently built Opel Kadett GTE with 19th, Mark Tugwell and Phillip Sandham (H2) in their Ford Escort MK1 Twin Cam with 35th position and Bradley and Simon Howlett in their Talbot Avenger (H5) with 49th. Theo Ruijgh and Thies Stegeman meanwhile would be first home in class H11 (Volvo 244) whilst Ondrej Coufal and Marek Simik would come out on top of the Datsun 240Z battle in class H17.

The 2025 RAC rally had been one hell of an adventure for me personally, so god only knows what it must feel like to make it to end in one piece as a competitor! Spending 5 solid days following the rally was a brilliant experience that way exceeded my expectations; day 2 spent in a snow covered Sweet Lamb and a long walk into deepest darkest Pundershaw on the final day being particular highlights.

The rally was far from perfect however as, possibly a result of it’s own success, lost 6 stages, 4 of which were entirely traffic related; not completely surprising given the number of competitive vehicles along with their associated management crews traversing the sometimes very narrow forest perimeter roads.

But by far the biggest issue was the lack of a reliable online results service throughout the event meaning no-one was entirely sure of class positions at any point. The latter is hopefully something that is relatively easy to fix for 2027 and maybe a restriction on entries, (historic category cars only?) would reduce the congestion experienced. Anyway I am confident the legendary small team of volunteers behind the rally will come up with the solution. Long live the RAC!

My RAC 25 in numbers
Miles Driven – 1065
Kilometres walked – 55
Stages viewed – 10
Cameras used – 2
Lenses used – 3
Countries visited – 3
Hotels frequented – 3

GALLERY

BHRC

Woodpecker Rally – August 2025

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Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss were in a league of their own on the recent Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally as the Welsh pairing dominated proceedings to claim a 53 second National Rally victory aboard the Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2.

Traditionally based in Shropshire the Sixty & Worcestershire Motor Club organised Woodpecker Rally has re-located to Newtown in recent years and would be mostly confined to the Hafren Forest complex in 2025; most probably the result of extensive forestry damage caused by Storm Darragh at the back end of last year.

However, likely driven by the shortage of gravel rallying in Wales so far in 2025, we were blessed with an entry list that was top drawer in terms of both quantity and quality with none other than 2022 British Rally Champion, Osian Pryce, leading the 2 wheel drive seedings aboard a Wales Motorsport prepared Ford Escort MK2.

Using the event as a test for the upcoming biennial Roger Albert Clark Rally, Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss were on the pace from the off, setting ridiculously quick times through the opening 2 tests to storm into an incredible 26 second lead after just 12 competitive miles. Another 2 fastest stage times would follow leaving the Welsh pairing sitting on a monumental 41 second National Rally lead at the mid event service!

More often seen behind the wheel of modern four wheel drive machinery, Pryce had already proven his raw talent and adaptability in 2025 having dominated the two wheel drive section of the Nicky Grist Stages. And, despite easing the pace a little over the afternoon loop, through what proved to be monsoon conditions, the local pilot would record a similar commanding result on the Woodpecker as he and Furniss went on to record a phenomenal 53 second victory after just 43 miles of driving!

Paul Barrett would make a rare appearance on the Woodpecker, and with Arthur Kierans alongside would be right in the mix for the podium positions aboard his Ford Escort MK2. In fact the Northern Irishman would prove to be the class of the British Historic Rally Championship contenders as, after being involved in an almighty scrap with the similar machine of Dan Mennell throughout the morning stages, he and Kierans were able to show an impressive turn of pace over the afternoon loop. Indeed Barrett would go on to set fastest historic time on SS7 before equaling that of Pryce on the final test to secure a strong second.

Dan Mennell and John H Roberts have become a force to be reckoned with in recent times and despite losing touch with Barrett over the afternoon loop would end the day a solid third in their Ford Escort MK2; the Anglo Welsh pairing completing the event with almost a minute in hand over another BD powered Ford Escort MK2 in the hands of Robert Gough and Jack Bowen who themselves would round out the BHRC podium.

Nick Elliot and Dave Price would make a first BHRC start of the season on the Woodpecker but were instantly on the back foot after a stage 1 puncture left the Fiat 131 crew way down in 23rd. A strong afternoon however would see the pairing climb to 7th by the end of the day and hold the unofficial honour of first none Ford home.

Irish duo, David Crossen and Ben Teggart meanwhile had a day to forget in Wales as a broken throttle cable in stage 1 ended their day prematurely. Such a shame after an excellent opening three rounds of the season saw them flying high in the championship. It’s not all lost though as Category 3 honours may well still be up for grabs on the season ending Trackrod.

Category 2 numbers have disappointingly reduced in recent times but it was great to see the Ford Escort MK1 of Tim Pearcey and Andy Boswell out in Wales and, after a day mixing it with the category 3 MK2’s, would be rewarded with category victory and 17th position overall. Further back, class H2 winners Drew Struthers and Iain Thorburn would claim the category 2 runner up spot with 26th aboard their Hillman Avenger.

With 19th overall Baz Jordan and Arwel Jenkins would claim category 4 honours and with it the British Historic Rally Championship title aboard their Mitsubishi Galant. Given the lack of category opposition I’m not entirely sure this is the outcome the championship organisers had in mind when opening it up to all categories; however, you have to be in it to win it and, having supported historic rallying for many a year, more deserving champions you will not find.

It is difficult to work out who won what when it comes to the classes on this event as there seem to be a fair few anomalies! For instance last time I checked BD powered MK2’s don’t qualify for category 1 and I have no idea why some are in H6 while others H8! I can’t be the only one struggling with the new historic categorisations …

… But with some degree of certainty David Wood and Reece Brookes would claim category 1 victory after a strong drive to 28th overall aboard their Ford Cortina GT. Simon Goodwin, with multiple BRC Drivers champion Matt Edwards alongside, would claim class H7 in the awesome Triumph Tr7, whilst Kurt Hodgson / Sam Campbell (Peugeot 205) and Phil Hall / Nathalie Rutten (Skoda Favorit) would take the respective H10 and H14 (Cat 5) victories.

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear dominated the interclub event in their Skoda Fabia R5 only to be awarded a 2 minute penalty for an early check in to SS6. Instead Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh would go on to claim a 6 second rally victory aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2, themselves just holding off a late charge from the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Tom Williams and Michael Gilbey. Such was Hirst’s pace however that despite the 2 minute penalty he and Dear would still end the day just 10 seconds from the podium positions and only 57 seconds from the lead!

Mad Mick Jones and Chris Evans (Ford Escort MK2) would be first Historic competitors home in the Interclub event with 23rd position overall after Sacha Kakad and James Aldridge (Ford Escort MK2) suffered a 1 minute time penalty for the same infringement as Hirst and Dear above. Gary Smith and Clive Jones meanwhile, in yet another Ford Escort MK2, would round out the podium positions just edging out the similar machines of Mike Simpson / Dale Gibbons and Hywel Davies / Sion Rowlands.

Following the cancellation of Rally North Wales and the Severn Valley it had been 6 long months since the opportunity to take in a gravel rally had presented itself and oh how I’d missed it. Despite the horrific afternoon downpour it was great to be back in the classic Rally GB territory of Hafren forest and catch up with many a likeminded individual. Osian Pryce in full flow was also a sight to behold and whets the appetite nicely for the Roger Albert Clark Rally in late November, where the Welshman must be one of the favourites for victory.

Full Results

Gallery

BHRC, NHRC

Riponian Stages Rally – February 2025

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Dan Mennell and John H Roberts claimed a maiden British Historic Rally Championship victory with a sublime drive on the season opening Riponian Stages whilst Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis stormed to Category 2 victory and Baz Jordan and Arwel Jenkins were last crew standing in Category 4 to leave a 3 way tie at the top of the championship table.

The 2025 British Historic Rally Championship may once again have started with a traditional trip to the North Yorkshire forests for the Riponian Stages Rally but behind the scenes it was all change. For starters, a much reduced calendar was on the cards with more of a gravel focus. A calendar which was then shortened further by Mother nature’s impact on the Welsh Forests (Rally North Wales and Severn Valley Stages cancelled) but then rescued by the legendary Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club who brought back the Carlisle Stages as a late replacement.

It was in the small print where perhaps the most exciting developments had taken place however with the BHRC deciding to embrace the latest FIA Historic regulations for cars homologated all the way up to 1999 for the first time. Thus, not only allowing all wheel drive machinery a shot at the title, but opening up the overall championship to all classes too, meaning there is just as much chance of a category 1 Mini taking the crown as there is a Group A Mitsubishi Galant.

The Riponian Stages rally itself also had a different feel for 2025 with the organisers forced to make changes following the unavailability of Wass.  This would instead see a return of the short Boltby test combined with maximising the available mileage in the Cropton / Gale Rigg complex.  But despite the efforts of Ripon Motor Sport Club historic entries were a little on the disappointing side with numbers falling just shy of the 40 mark and missing the likes of Mark Higgins, Nick Elliot and 2024 champion Seb Perez.

The aforementioned crews would have struggled to beat the in-form Dan Mennell and John H Roberts however.   After rounding out 2024 in style with historic victory on the Malton Forest Rally, the Anglo / Welsh pairing started 2025 in much the same manner, setting a blindingly quick time in Cropton before another fastest historic time in Boltby to hold a commanding 17 second lead at the Thirsk service halt.

David Crossen and Ben Teggart were back after a partial campaign in 2024 and it would be they who were quickest out of the blocks on the day though.  In fact the Northern Irish pairing, aboard their Ford Escort, were 2 seconds quicker than anyone else in the opening Gale Rigg test and would have kept Mennell in check during the afternoon stages had it not been for dropping 12 seconds in Boltby!

Having done all the hard-work in the morning, Mennell and Roberts followed this up with a well controlled afternoon drive to keep the chasing pack at bay and claim an excellent maiden British Historic Championship victory.  A winning margin of 20 seconds after just over 40 miles of rallying proof if ever it were needed that the Carr Prep prepared Ford Escort duo will be strong championship contenders and most definitely the current Kings of the North Yorkshire forests.

The story of the afternoon stages however was the red-hot battle for third which saw the category 3 MK2 Escorts of Ben Friend, David Henderson and Adrian Hetherington separated by just 1 second after the second running of Gale Rigg.  Cropton 2 (SS5) looked to be the decisive stage as Ben Friend failed to emerge and Henderson edged ahead but Hetherington, with Ronan O’Neill alongside, capped off an impressive afternoon run by setting a time 6 seconds faster than anyone else through Boltby 2 to snatch third at the final opportunity.

Despite being only 4th quickest over the afternoon loop, Crossen and Teggart had more than enough in hand to claim a best British Historic Championship finish to date with second.  A great drive through the slippery morning conditions providing the opportunity for a steadier afternoon run.

The Ford Escort Mexico of Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis made a welcome return to action on the Riponian Stages and the Yorkshire pairing had clearly lost none of their pace.  Never outside the top 12 stage times the 1600 Crossflow powered MK1 crew were rewarded with an excellent 7th overall after a great drive and better still a share of the championship lead courtesy of winning their category by a whopping 1 minute and 2 seconds.

Category 4 honours meanwhile would go the way of Barry Jordan and Arwel Jenkins aboard their Mitsubishi Galant VR4.  Last year’s victor George Lepley, this time with Dafydd Evans alongside, was expected to dominate but engine issues in stage 1 curtailed their event early.

Elsewhere class victories would go the way of Matthew Stroud and Josh Carr (H6) with an excellent 5th, in turn claiming maximum HRCR Northern Historic championship points and the honour of first non BD powered crew home.  Further back Tim Pearcey and Ifan Devine would take class H3 with 11th overall in their Ford Escort MK1, Rally2 honours would go the way of Martyn Hawkswell and Nick Welch aboard another MK2 Escort whilst Terry Cree and Richard Shores would claim H1 and Category 1 honours having swapped their BMW for the Mini Cooper S on this year’s event.

In the Interclub event, Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh proved too quick for the opposition, setting 4 fastest stage times on their way to a 57 second victory aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2.  Andy Davison and Tom Murphy (Sunbeam VXR) meanwhile would just edge out the BMW E36 of David Wilson and Owen Paterson to claim 2 wheel drive honours with 12th with Mat Smith and Derek Cornforth the first front wheel drive crew home in 14th. 

Having decided on Cropton, junction 2 proved an excellent watch.  Hearing the leading crews flat in top on the long approach was something else.  Just look at the metrics on this in-car of David Henderson and Chris Lees!

Unfortunately, as a result of the cancellation of Rally North Wales, that’s probably it as far as forest rallying goes for me until the late summer but hoping to take in plenty of rallying on the black stuff over the coming months.

FULL HISTORIC RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Rally Anglo Caledonian – November 2024

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Seb Perez celebrated his British Historic Rally Championship crown in style; braving storm Bert, with Dale Bowen alongside on this occasion, to claim historic category victory on the new for 2024 Rally Anglo Caledonian.

The brain child of Colin Heppenstall, Rally Anglo Caledonian was a new event for 2024, effectively replacing the Carlisle Stages with a 140 mile 2 day blast through the English / Scottish border forests.  A mouth watering prospect and what better way to round out the British Historic Rally Championship season!  However things started to unravel on the run up to the event as first the rally was robbed of an epic title showdown following the forced withdrawal of title hopeful Mark Higgins (injured) and then the onset of Storm Bert!

Heavy Snow, rain and high winds were forecast putting the rally in doubt but somehow, through quick thinking and a flexible approach the team behind the award winning Roger Albert Clark Rally managed to pull off a minor miracle in what were, at times, horrific conditions.  The fact that only 2 stages and part of Buck Fell were lost is quite frankly an incredible achievement!

Day 1 saw the worst of the conditions as Kielder was hit with a couple of hours of heavy snow before rain set in.  And despite the organisers decision to delay the event by a few hours and re-work the running order the stages were still treacherous by the time the historic crews came through the first loop of stages in the Kershope forest complex.

The result was a completely mixed up leaderboard with cars separated by minutes rather than the usual seconds with Matthew Stroud leading the historic runners from David Henderson, Paul Thompson and Matthew Robinson.  Meanwhile Perez and Bowen had opted for a steady start, lying 11th of the historic runners and sitting over a minute behind after stage 2.

The newly crowned BHRC champ would soon reap the rewards of a cautious start however as top 3 stage times in Ash Park 2 and Kershope 2 saw the Porsche 911 pilot climb to second in the historic category before really showing his class by setting a pair of phenomenal stage times in what turned out to be the final stages of the day.  Indeed his time of 17.48 through Gowanburn, a whole 1 minute and 31 seconds quicker than overall event winners Alan Carmichael and Jane Nicol in the Hyundai i20N may well go down in folklore!

Paul Thompson meanwhile had required a hire car for this event following accident damage incurred on the Malton Forest rally and would have been over the moon to sit 2nd in the historic category overnight following a measured drive through the snow, ice, fog and darkness of Killer Kielder; so impressive in-fact that he and Josh Davison had a margin of almost 5 minutes over 3rd placed fellow Yorkshireman David Henderson! But given the conditions just making it to the end of day 1 was a feat in itself as expected front runners Nick Elliott, Ben Friend and Stefaan Stouf found out whilst Adrian Hetherington would also hit trouble but return on Sunday under Super Rally rules.

Sunday would be a different kettle of fish entirely however as rising temperatures and torrential rain had almost cleared the snow entirely from the Southern Scottish stages and the predicted high winds were not quite as bad as expected leaving the event to run like clockwork.

After setting the timing sheets alight on Saturday evening Perez and Bowen picked up where they left off on Sunday morning, reeling off 4 top 5 stage times in a row through the classic stages of Castle O’er, Twiglees, Windyhill and Ae to sit just 18 seconds behind the overall event leaders!  Could the 911 crew really take the battle to the modern 4WD Hyundai over the remaining 4 stages?

Unfortunately a gear stick issue in Twiglees 2 would put pay to any overall victory challenge but once resolved the 2024 BHRC champ would still go on to record a dominant historic rally victory with a winning margin of over 7 minutes!  Some drive and we can only hope the mighty Porsche makes a return in 2025!

Paul Thompson and Josh Davison meanwhile followed up an excellent day 1 with another solid performance on day 2, consistently setting top 15 stage times in their borrowed Ford Escort MK2 to round out their season in style with the runners up spot on possibly the toughest UK gravel event of the year.

Recent rear wheel drive convert David Henderson, with Will Atkins alongside, was setting a strong pace throughout Sunday and may well have challenged Thompson for second had it not been for losing the clutch in Castle O’er 1 and suffering punctures in both Windyhill 1 and Castle O’er 2.  Despite this Henderson still managed to close on Thompson throughout the day and round out the podium positions just over 1 minute in arrears.

Elsewhere in the historic category classes Bryan Jardine and Declan Campbell claimed Safari spec victory in their MK1 Escort with a brilliant 8th overall and 7th in the historics whilst Andy Madge and Matt Cooper claimed an excellent Pre-85 class victory with 18th overall aboard their Toyota Corolla; this after putting in one of the starring performances of Saturday morning to sit well inside the top 10!

Other historic class victories would go the way of Douglas and Graeme Menzies in their Ford Escort MK2 (D3) with 15th overall, Alex Waterman and Chris Davies (C2) aboard their Datsun 1600 SSS with 20th overall, James and Jack Brady (F2) with 24th overall in their Porsche 911, Drexel Gillespie and Gill Cotton (C3) with 26th in their Ford Escort MK1, Ed Abbott and Tom Bishop (D4) in the crowd pleasing Jaguar X-JS V12 with 35th and William Paterson and Tom Hynd (D2) with 40th overall in their Talbot Sunbeam.

In a different approach to the Roger Albert Clark Rally, the organisers allowed 4WD machinery for Rally Anglo Caledonian and despite having the best machinery for the job Alan Carmichael and Jane Nicol put in an excellent drive aboard their Hyundai i20N to claim victory,  it can’t be easy having the likes of Seb Perez hunting you down especially as the Derbyshire man could probably drive 911’s in his sleep!

The Sunday stages also formed the final round of the Scottish Rally Championship where the pace at the front was frenetic!  4wd crews featured heavily at the top of the time sheets but it was Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry who would run out victors in their Proton Satria Evo after a well controlled drive. 

Top seeds Josh Wink and Jack Bowen (Hyundai i20 R5) appeared to struggle through the morning stages but were ultra rapid over the final 3 and were an incredible 11 seconds quicker than anyone else in Twiglees 2 to leap from fourth to second on the final stage of the event!  Meanwhile Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank would head the 2 wheel drive crews, coming home an excellent 5th in their Ford Escort MK2 whilst Donald Peacock and Mairi Riddick would be first historic crew home in 13th.

Everyone must have a story to tell regarding the rally and ours was no different having only managed 1 stage on Saturday following a drive to Kielder that took 5 hours longer than usual!  The main story of the weekend though has to be how the organisers managed to keep the event running.  A quite unbelievable achievement in the circumstances.  Let’s hope they are rewarded with a much larger entry in two years time.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY 

NHRC, Uncategorized

Malton Forest Rally – November 2024

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Ford Escort crew Dan Mennell and John H Roberts continued their strong run of form in the Forests of North Yorkshire, making up for last stage disappointment on the recent Trackrod to claim a commanding Historic Category victory on the 2024 Malton Forest Rally.

The Malton Motor Club organised Malton Forest Rally has often attracted a strong and varied entry but none more so than the 2024 event. Indeed this year’s rally featured a historic entry that many a national championship would have been proud of, with not only an abundance of top Yorkshire based crews on the start list but also featuring the likes of BHRC front runners Ben Friend and Adrian Hetherington.

It would be a Yorkshireman at the head of the field early on however in the form of Dan Mennell. Malton local Mennell had already upped his game in 2024, showing glimpses of potential with a fastest stage time on the Riponian early in the year, but with the addition of experienced Welsh co-driver John H Roberts seems to have found another gear. And, seemingly motivated by the last stage disappointment on the recent Trackrod rally, the Ford Escort pilot leapt into 2 second lead after stage 1, an 8 mile blast through Langdale.

A five mile stage in Gale Rigg would follow before another 8 miler in Cropton closed out the morning loop of stages. And it was the latter stage where Mennell and Roberts would stamp their authority on the event, setting a time 5 seconds quicker than anyone else but more importantly 16 and 19 seconds quicker than Friend and Matthew Robinson respectively to hold a commanding 23 second historic category lead at the mid point service.

The battle behind however was far less clearcut with positions second to fifth covered by a mere 3 seconds! Sitting 5th at service, Ben Friend had shown his pace in the Yorkshire forests already this year having claimed victory on the recent Trackrod and appeared to have re-found this form on stage 4 as the Allglass Anglia Ford Escort man, with Osian Owen alongside on this occasion, recorded fastest time in Landgale 2 to climb three places up the leaderboard to second.

Matthew Robinson and Hannah Davison (Ford Escort) had struggled through the morning also and, whilst not able to match the pace of Friend in Langdale, had however moved up to third and sat just 2 seconds behind the Suffolk man as they headed into the Cropton finale. Could Friend come out on the right side of another last stage Yorkshire forest decider? Unfortunately for Friend and Owen the answer on this occasion was no as Robinson used all of his local knowledge to set a ridiculously quick time in Cropton 2 to take the runners up spot in style.

There would be no catching Mennell and Roberts however. With the damage being done on the first run through Cropton the Anglo Welsh duo were able to take a slightly more relaxed approach to the afternoon loop. It’s all relative though as Mennell and Roberts were still the quickest historic crew over stages 4, 5 and 6 to claim a an excellent 26 second breakthrough victory.

Northern Irish pairing Adrian Hetherington and Ronan O’Neill (Ford Escort) made a welcome return to the Yorkshire forests for the Malton Forest rally but any thoughts of a top finish were ended by a mechanical issue during the morning loop. Meanwhile after a strong morning run which saw them lying third at service, Paul Thompson and Josh Davison would disappointingly end the day in the Gale Rigg undergrowth after a large off following a compression. This instead left the way clear for the evergreen Steve Bannister, with Callum Atkinson alongside, and Jack Mathewson, co driven by Chris Williams, to complete a Ford Escort MK2 lock out of the historic category top 5.

Further back, Stuart and Linda Cariss would claim class H1 victory for the smaller engined machines after ending the day a very commendable 20th in the historic category. In fact some 28 historic crews would make it to the finish at Adderstone Field which must be some kind of record for a Northern Historic Rally Championship event?

There were no surprises at the head of the overall field as the ultra rapid Elliot Payne would claim victory for the 3rd successive year aboard his Ford Fiesta Rally2, this time with Patrick Walsh alongside. Kyle White and Anthony Nestor would however put in a strong showing to claim second in their Hyundai i20 just 29 seconds in arrears.

Elsewhere class victories would go the way of Max Crowther and Phil Bramma (Class 1) with 58th position overall in their MG3, Scott Renshaw and Terry Wilson (Class 2) with 36th aboard their Fiesta R2, Gary Beckwith and Kirsty Angell (Class 3) with 40th in their Ford Escort MK2 and Nigel Cay and Fred Roberts (Class 4) with an excellent 19th overall aboard their 3 litre Vauxhall Chevette.

This had been another great days rallying in the Yorkshire forests and whets the appetite nicely for the British Historic Rally Championship deciding Anglo Caledonian rally in just over 2 weeks time. Dan Mennell is not showing on the entry list as we speak but on this evidence, should an entry materialise, could be a real dark horse for the win.

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Woodpecker Stages Rally – September 2024

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Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney tamed the Mid Wales forests for a second time in 2024 to take Woodpecker Stages National Rally victory and cement their place at the top of the British Historic Rally Championship standings

Due to the unavailability of the traditional Herefordshire forests, the 2024 Sixty and Worcestershire MC organised Woodpecker stages rally would see a healthy historic entry tackle tests in Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Ceri, headed by last year’s victors Joe Price and Chris Brooks.  And whilst the 2024 Woodpecker route was a return to similar territory used on the Severn Valley, the organisers had done a great job of ensuring only minimal parts of Hafren were re-used; in-fact even the mileage which had featured on the Severn Valley was passed in the opposite direction!

One thing that was surprisingly consistent however was the weather, with fog and mist a very unwelcome treat for an early September event which proved an additional challenge for the crews.  Not that this seemed to get in the way of Price however as the Ludlow man set a very strong pace through the opening Ceri test to sit just 1 second behind the leading 4 wheel drive historic crew of George Lepley and Dale Bowen.

Having narrowly missed out on victory in 2023, Lepley and Bowen, aboard their Mitsubishi Galant VR-4, would have been keen to get the better of last years victors, but possibly suffering from an incorrect tyre choice would drop time in the next three stages.  However, sitting only 7 seconds behind at the halfway point, the Galant crew would have been confident of making up the time over the afternoon loop (in conditions benefitting all wheel drive machinery) only for a transmission issue in stage 5 to bring a premature end to their event.

After an excellent morning loop, Price and Brooks, aboard the infamous bright Orange Ford Escort, had found themselves with a commanding 24 second lead over the chasing two-wheel drive historic pack and looked odds on for another Woodpecker historic victory.  British Historic Rally Championship leaders Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney, aboard their Global Brands backed Porsche 911, had other ideas however and set a blisteringly quick time through the second running of Ceri to trim the lead by 7 seconds as the crews headed back to the Hafren forest complex.

It was always likely the classic Rally GB / RAC fast flowing but undulating tracks of Hafren forest would decide the outcome of the event and stage 7 in Hafren South proved to be just that. Despite increasing the lead to 18 seconds after SS6, it is not in Price’s nature to take it steady and he and Brooks would unfortunately find themselves off the road, bringing to an end a fabulous defense of their Woodpecker historic title, packed full of their usual sideways flamboyance.

Courtesy of his ultra quick time in stage 5, Perez was now in prime position to take historic honours, however the Chesterfield man found himself with just 4 seconds in hand heading into stage 7 after championship rival and multiple British Champion Mark Higgins, in the David Appleby Engineering prepared TR7, lit up the timing sheets in Hafren Main.

In-fact Perez and McElhinney had found themselves in a battle royale throughout the morning loop with the Fiat 131 of Nick Elliott and the aforementioned Mark Higgins; with the trio of eclectic historic machines covered by just 2 seconds at the Sweet Lamb service halt.  But whilst Elliott drifted away from the battle throughout the afternoon, Higgins, with Carl Williamson alongside, had kept the TR7 right in the mix with his strong stage 6 time.

Once in the lead however there was no catching Perez; the category 2 Porsche pilot seemingly finding another gear to top the historic time sheets through both the final two tests to claim an impressive 8 second BHRC victory; stemming the charge of Higgins somewhat (after back to back Tarmac wins for the TR7 man), and maintaining their lead at the top of the championship standings.

Nick Elliott and Dave Price meanwhile will have been happy with 3rd after struggling for pace over the afternoon loop in the their Fiat 131 whilst class wins went the way of Ben Jemison and Dean Kellett in their Vauxhall Chevette (D4) with 12th in the National event, David Dobson and Brian Hodgson in their Ford Escort (H2) in 14th, Mike Reed and John Millington in the RS2000 (D3) with 20th, Terry Cree and Richard Shores aboard their BMW 2002 (C3) in 22nd and the Toyota Corolla of Ian Beveridge and Paul Price (C2) in 23rd.

Elsewhere Ollie Mellors and Max Freeman produced a fabulous drive in the interclub section of the event to claim a quite brilliant 47 second victory aboard their Proton Iriz R5 whilst Tom Llewellin and Sion Williams were first historic crew home aboard their Weir Rallying UK Ford Escort MK2, recording a total time that would have seen them 3rd overall in the National event!

Whilst the weather was disappointing the action was anything but and the BHRC leaves Wales with a mouth watering championship fight in prospect over the remaining three rounds of the season, especially as dropped scores start to come into effect.  Can Higgins apply his Tarmac form to the loose in Yorkshire and the English / Scottish borders or will Perez’s pace on the gravel prove too much?  And with Nick Elliott and the Ford’s of Richard Hill, Adrian Hetherington and Rudi Lancaster still in the mix, should the aforementioned duo falter, it promises to be a thrilling end to the season. 

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages – April 2024

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A sublime drive by Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney, in typical Welsh spring conditions, would land the Porsche 911 duo a famous Historic Rally Victory on the 50th anniversary Severn Valley Stages.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Severn Valley Stages, Midland Manor Motor Club had the excellent idea of extending the usual rally distance to create a mouth watering 62 mile event winding through classic Rally GB stages such as Myherin and Hafren.  Naturally this was a huge attraction to would-be entrants with a reserve list required within days of opening and a whopping 180 cars taking the start in Llandrindod Wells!

Slightly disappointingly only 34 of which were lined up for the Historic element of the event, which had reduced in number during the run up to the rally following the withdrawals of Matthew Robinson (engine) and George Lepley (illness).  Despite this however onlookers were treated to rip-roaring battle for victory that will long live in the memory.

Nick Elliott and Dave Price sat on top of the British Historic Rally Championship points table coming into the Severn Valley Stages and the Fiat 131 pairing were quickly into their groove in Mid Wales as they set fastest time on stage 1 by 6.6 seconds.  Their fortunes would quickly turn on the very next stage however as the RSD prepared machine would disappointingly end the day in a Tarenig ditch.

This instead left an incredible battle for victory between the category 3 Ford Escort MK2 of Joe Price and Chris Brooks and the older category 2 Porsche 911 of Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney; a duel which seemed to yoyo one way and then the other depending on the profile of the stage and differing strengths of each machine.

Perhaps making up time in the faster sections Perez and McElhinney would find themselves in the lead of the rally after the first run through Tarenig (SS2), but it was Price and Brooks who recorded faster stage times in Myherin and Hafren to sit just 1.9 seconds adrift of the lead by the time the cars reached the Builth Wells mid point service.

And with all to play for and still some 33 stage miles left to go Price seemed to have stepped up a gear as for the third stage in a row the Ludlow man set a quicker time than Perez to finally take the rally lead on stage 5. But could he hold onto it?

No was the answer! As relinquishing the lead seemed to be all the motivation Perez needed with the Global Brands backed Derbyshire man going on to record devastatingly quick times in both Myherin Main and Hafren Main (the longest stages of the event) to secure a famous 5 second victory, the first for a category 2 machine in almost 5 years!

Behind, ex British champion Mark Higgins, back in the David Appleby Engineering TR7 for the Severn Valley, was able to really show what the British built brute of a V8 was capable of as he and Phil Pugh sat just 12.3 seconds off the historic rally lead after stage 4.  And whilst not able to match Price and Perez through the second run of Sarnau and Myherin Main, signed off in style with fastest stage time in Hafren Main by a whole 8 seconds to round out the podium positions.

Adrian Hetherington and Daniel Petrie had an up and down rally but a strong run over the afternoon stages saw the Ford Escort MK2 duo climb from 6th to 4th, setting fastest time in stage 5 in the process, to leave Mid Wales with the BHRC championship lead.

In category 2 Jeremy Easson and Mike Reynolds would claim the runner up spot with 13th aboard their Ford Escort MK1, but some 6 minutes behind the event and category winners.  (More a statement of how well pedaled the 911 was than anything else)  Whilst Class C3 winners, Josh Carr and Osian Owen, fought back from time lost in the morning to climb from 6th to 3rd in category with 13th and 10th fastest times on the final 2 stages aboard their Pinto powered MK1.

Elsewhere, MK2 Escorts would claim class D3 and D2 victories with Shaun Bolt and Shaun Layland fininshing 11th in their 2 litre machine whilst Chris Squires and Shaun Hughes would end the day in 14th in their 1600cc Ford.  Meanwhile Steve Magson and Steve Bielby would take the non homologated class victory with 16th whilst Matt Bown and Tom Jordan would claim Class C2 in their Hillman Avenger.

The Severn Valley Stages would also form part of the British Rally Championship where Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans would claim National event victory in their Ford Fiesta Rally 2.  The Welsh pairing would emerge in the lead after stage 3 and not look back as they went on to record a 20 second victory from the similar machine of William Creighton and Liam Regan and Polo GTI R5 of Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani.

The bulk of the entry would however be found in the Severn Valley Stages part of the event where Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear would come away with another victory aboard their Ford Fiesta R5, whilst well driven Mitsubishi Evos in the hands of  Rob Wilson and Martin Haggett and Russ Thompson and Stephen Link would complete the podium positions. 

A healthy contingent of historic class machines would also feature in the clubman field where a strong drive by Jack Thorne and Dan Morefield would see them emerge as victors aboard their Ford Escort MK2 with the similar machines of Barry Stevenson-Wheeler and John Pickavance and Rob Dennis and Andy Boswell taking 2nd and 3rd.

I have often wondered how longer rallies, akin to the old ANCRO series, would be received today and I think we now have an answer!  What an event this had been, great stages, crazy weather (Fog, high winds, sun and rain) and possibly the best entry for a UK gravel rally in many a year!  The question is whether more longer rallies for a reasonable entry fee can be achieved?  I am guessing if 180 cars can be attracted then the fee would be less of a problem!

HISTORIC RALLY RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Rally North Wales – March 2024

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In what turned out to be a rally of attrition, Nick Elliott and Dave Price braved very soggy conditions to claim 2024 Rally North Wales National victory; a first in the fabulous RSD prepared Fiat 131 for the duo and ending a 2 and a half year BHRC victory drought!

Round two of the British Historic Rally Championship would see the crews head to Welshpool for the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire Car Club organised Rally North Wales. Dyfnant Forest, having made a return to the timetable in 2023, would again feature heavily with 2 stages (East and West) but first up the crews would make the long journey out towards Aberangell for the infamous Gartheiniog and Dyfi tests.

Round 1 winners and pre event favourites George Lepley and Dale Bowen didn’t take long to get into their stride, with the Anglo / Welsh pairing living up to the hype and leaving the morning visit to the Dyfi forest complex with a commanding 11 second lead. However their strong run would soon come to an end in stage 3 (Dyfnant West) after suffering from a sheared front hub.

Whilst desperately unlucky for the Galant VR4 crew it did allow the 2 wheel drive machines to take centre stage and it would be historic stalwarts Nick Elliott and Dave Price who would find themselves with a 15 second lead by the time the cars reached the mid point service halt courtesy of a consistent run through the morning stages.

It was Irishman David Crossen who was a net quickest over the first runs through Dyfnant West and East however, enough to leave he and fellow Irishman Adrian Hetherington on equal times and rounding out the top three as the cars returned to Welshpool. All to play for then given the conditions which seemed to progress from light drizzle to heavy downpours as the day went on.

Having struggled on the Riponian, the Fiat 131 appeared much more to Elliott’s liking in Mid Wales though and the Cheltenham man put in a stellar drive over the remainder of the event. In what can only be described as monsoon conditions by the time the cars reached Dyfnant for a second time Elliott and Price did an excellent job of navigating through the slippery stages to keep the chasing pack at arms length and make a well overdue return to the top set of the BHRC podium.

Crossen’s afternoon meanwhile did not live upto the morning’s promise as he and co-driver Ben Teggart dropped to third in Gartheiniog before dropping out of the event altogether one stage later with their MK2 Escort failing to emerge from the second running of Dyfi. A stage which would also see the demise of round 1 top scorers Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis with diff issues. The Yorkshireman may not have been on the pace for outright victory but looked odds on for a top five at the halfway point and a good haul of points.

And after such a strong start, the luck was certainly not with the Irish crews on St Patrick’s weekend as a puncture in stage 7 for Adrian Hetherington sent he and Dan Petrie plummeting down the order. Seventh overall in the end such a disappointment for the MK2 Escort crew having closed the lead gap to 12 seconds with just 2 stages to go and looking certain to leave Mid Wales at the top of the BHRC standings.

The 2024 running of Rally North Wales turned out to be a real rally of attrition but this did benefit those who managed to stay out of trouble. Daniel Mennell and Seb Perez were two such drivers who found themselves sitting 5th and 6th at service but would ultimately end the day on the Historic podium!

Just a second apart after the first loop of stages there wasn’t much to choose between the two crews but whilst Perez was marginally quicker in stages 5, 6 and 8, crucially, Mennell (with Richard Wise alongside) was a whopping 9 seconds faster in Dyfnant West to claim second overall by a mere 1 second! An excellent drive by the Yorkshire duo, building on the flashes of speed shown on the Riponian one month earlier.

Despite losing out on second, Perez and Gary McElhinney will have been delighted with 3rd in their Category 2 Porsche especially after their devastating final stage retirement on the RAC last November. Perez certainly knows his way around rear engined rear wheel drive machinery and could well be an overall title contender come the end of the season; category 2 victory by almost 5 minutes proof if ever it were needed of an excellent drive.

This year’s event had also attracted a couple of Welsh rally legends to the historic category in the form of multiple British Rally Champions Mark Higgins and Gwyndaf Evans. Higgins had stepped into the David Appleby Engineering Triumph TR7 and showed what the brute of a V8 was capable of by setting very competitive times in stages 1 and 2 before falling foul of a particularly slippy section towards the end of Stage 3. Gwyndaf meanwhile fared rather better and whilst not really in the victory battle he and co-driver Dale Furniss set joint fastest historic time on stage 5 on their way to an excellent 4th overall in the National event.

Elsewhere the battle for class C1/C2 honours was one of the rally highlights with 4 crews in the mix for victory early on. It would however turn into an all Avenger battle over the afternoon loop following the retirement of Ian Beveridge’s Toyota and Mark Tugwell’s Escort MK1. Riponian class winners Matt Bown and Tom Murphy would just have the edge in pace though and the East Midlands based duo would claim a second class victory in as many rounds as they edged out the Chrysler Avenger of Tony Jardine and Dominic Tobin.

Other BHRC class victories would go the way of David Dobson and Brian Hodgson in their MK2 Escort (Class H1), Mike Reed and John Millington (D3, Escort MK2), Phillip Harris and Derek Davies (C3, Escort MK1) and Stuart Anderson and Adam Houston (D4, Vauxhall Chevette).

Rally North Wales was also the opening round of the Welsh Rally Championship which contained a fair few well pedalled historic machines. None more so than Ben and Steven Smith in the Pinto powered MK1 Escort who put in a sublime drive to claim top spot with an overall time which would have seen them finish 6th in the BHRC!

And so after a very long and wet day in Mid Wales it is Nick Elliott and Dave Price who proudly sit on top of the BHRC standings with Adrian Hetherington having to make do with second after what could have been so much more. Next up is another visit to Wales, this time a little further south for what promises to be an excellent 50th anniversary celebration of the Severn Valley Stages Rally. Let’s hope everyone has fully dried out by then!

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BHRC

Riponian Stages Rally – February 2024

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Valentines day and Pancake day, stalwart February traditions which have in recent years been joined by the British Historic Rally Championship commencing with the Thirsk based Riponian Stages Rally; a quite different North Yorkshire based event having taken full advantage of the relatively recent relaxation of the road closure laws.

Similar to previous editions two loops of three stages would face the 105 starting crews, with the recently created Wass Moor (through the joining of Wass, College Moor and Pry Rigg) first up, followed by Cropton, which included a little used section at the start, and a new route through Gale Rigg. 

A tricky route at the best of times, snowfall in the run up to the event, followed by rain and a torrential downpour overnight had left the stages very slippery with what can only be described as lakes and rivers in some parts!  Not that this will have phased pre-event favourites George Lepley and Dale Bowen in their Jason Lepley Motorsport prepared Galant VR4 who had 4wd at their disposal.

I’m not sure too many would have predicted Daniel Mennell and Richard Wise aboard their MK2 Escort topping the time sheets after stage 1 then? However any thought of an upset was off the table on the very next stage as an off in Cropton undid all of their early good work.  A real shame but their pace continued to be strong over the remainder of the event (setting a 2nd and two 3rd fastest stage times) which suggests they could be right in the mix over the course of the season.

Committing to the whole BHRC in 2024 (although not eligible for overall championship honours), Lepley and Bowen were fully into their stride by stage 2 however and cemented their position at the top of the time sheets by stopping the clock 9 seconds quicker than anyone else in stage 3 (Gale Rigg) to hold a 20 second lead by the time the cars reached the Wombleton service halt. 

Two more stage wins in the afternoon before a steadier run through the Gale Rigg finale would see the Nottinghamshire man claim a second career BHRC victory.  He and Bowen may well have had more modern machinery and all wheel drive at their disposal but their pace on the day would have seen them finish 5th overall in the Interclub event, behind only the leading R5 / Rally 2 crews!

Behind, the performance of Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis to claim maximum championship points as top 2WD crew home, was maybe just as impressive.  In very challenging conditions the MK2 Escort duo held off a strong charge from Adrian Hetherington and Ronan O’Neill to claim Category 3 honours, just 37 seconds behind the aforementioned historic winners and topping off a great drive by setting fastest historic time on the final run through Gale Rigg.

Hetherington had managed to keep the rapid Yorkshireman in sight for most of the day and had brought the gap down to just nine seconds after a sublime afternoon run through Cropton but Robinson’s final stage heroics would leave Hetherington and O’Neill having to settle for a very well deserved final step of the historic podium.

2021 BHRC champs Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmons were back for 2024 after concentrating on the BTRDA championship in recent years and were right in the mix for the podium positions throughout.  Hetherington just had the edge in the Yorkshire forests however, but 3rd in category would represent a great start to their championship season.

2023 championship runners up, Nick Elliott and Dave Price had hoped to be fighting for victory in their RSD prepared 131 having worked with Matt Edwards on setup pre-event.  The Riponian proved more difficult than expected however with the recently re-liveried Fiat seeming to struggle in the testing conditions especially on the faster Cropton and Gale Rigg tests culminating in the Cheltenham duo ending the day in 5th.

In category 2, Josh Carr and Osian Owen picked up where they off in 2023 as the reigning category 2 champs defeated their BDG powered counterparts to take maximum category points on the Riponian for a second year running with an excellent 13th overall in the historic event.

After a few morning struggles Jeremy Easson and Mike Reynolds were actually quickest in category over the afternoon loop aboard their BDG powered MK1 Escort, setting 12th fastest time on stage 6 to top off a strong drive which saw them finish the day in 15th.

Meanwhile Tim Pearcey, with Steve Pugh alongside, was able to increase his pace over the afternoon stages, getting to grips with his new MK1 Escort and leapfrogging Terry Cree and Richard Shores’ BMW to claim the final step on the category podium.

Elsewhere class wins would go the way of Ben Jemison / Dave Jackson with and excellent 10th in their Vauxhall Chevette (D4), Steve Magson / Steve Bielby (H2) with 16th, Mike Reed / John Millington (D3) with 18th and Matt Bown / Tom Murphy (C1 / C2) in 29th.

Having recently announced his participation in the British Rally Championship for 2024, Elliot Payne, with Patrick Walsh alongside, set a blistering pace in the Interclub event to claim victory by a whopping 50 seconds aboard his Rally 2 Fiesta.  Alistair Ginley / Craig Thorley (Ford Fiesta) and Stephen Petch / Michael Wilkinson (Skoda Fabia) would round out the podium positions.  Meanwhile Sam and Olly Lucking would claim historic honours (Ford Escort MK2) with 13th whilst Jack Mathewson and Miles Cartwright (Ford Escort MK2) and class H1 winners Stuart and Linda Cariss (Ford Escort MK1) would complete the historic top 3.

Having personally avoided the Wass Moor stage for the last couple of years a return to the more Western of the stages for 2024 proved to be a wise decision.  The leading crews over the junction 4 crest were mighty impressive and the amount of water at the recently felled junction 5 made for an interesting spectacle also.  Enough to whet the appetite for the 2nd round of the season, Rally North Wales, in just over 1 months time where hopefully a few more historic competitors will be tempted out.    

National Rally Results

Interclub Rally Results

GALLERY

Uncategorized

Roger Albert Clark Rally – November 2023

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Managing to stay out of trouble as others faltered, Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell perfectly circumnavigated the longest, toughest, most grueling Roger Albert Clark Rally to date to claim victory by more than 5 minutes; a record equalling fourth title for the rapid Irish driver.

Two years in the making, the 2023 running of the Roger Albert Clark Rally promised to be the best yet with a route covering 5 days, 3 countries and over 350 miles!  Not only this but an incredible entry of over 150 crews had been attracted which included the likes of Oliver Solberg, Kris Meeke, Chris Ingram and Osian Pryce in addition to the usual front running historic competitors, thus making the event one of the most eagerly anticipated in many a year!

With such a grueling schedule the event was always likely to be one of attrition and Meeke, Ingram and 2023 BHRC champion Roger Chillman were all official retirements before the end of the Welsh leg!  This left Solberg and Pryce to battle it out for top spot as the event moved into South West Scotland on day 3 with the former starting to pull away as he became more familiar with his father’s MK2 Escort.

Pryce had however been managing an oil leak and his victory challenge would unfortunately come to a premature end in Glen Gap as the RallyXtreme MK2 Escort eventually utilised all available lubricant after visibly smoking through most of the morning.  A very disappointing end for the 2022 British Rally Champion after such a promising run over the first 2 days.

Solberg meanwhile seemed to go from strength to strength and had built a lead of over 4 minutes by the end of day 3, growing to over 5 and a half minutes by the start of Stage 28 (Harwood 2, the final stage of day 4).  But then disaster struck for he and Elliot Edmondson as the Viking Motorsport machine suffered a drive shaft failure putting them out of the rally.  And whilst the team had them back in the event under Super Rally rules for day 5, the amount of time required to be made up ultimately saw them end up in a Shepherdshield ditch as they went all in for victory.

Having 3 pervious RAC victories to his name Martin McCormack knows exactly what it takes to end the event on the top step.  He and co-driver Barney Mitchell had sat 3rd at the end of day 1 and 2 and had wisely decided on a more cautious approach after a few near misses early on and then an oil issue of their own on day 3.  And it turned out that this was exactly the right strategy as the Irish duo maintained a 5 minute margin over the final day to claim a brilliant victory whilst still managing to put on a show with their infamous flamboyant style!.

Like McCormack, Cathan McCourt and Liam Moynihan had also opted for a safety first approach and were rewarded with an excellent 2nd overall for their efforts, a quite unbelievable result given their lack of mileage on UK soil. In fact McCourt had started the final 39 mile Kielder test in 3rd, 30 seconds behind the crowd pleasing Stratos of Perez, but with the intention of having a real go on the monster finale. And the charge certainly paid off as Perez was unfortunately forced into retirement with the Lancia’s engine succumbing to the heat of the battle.

Whilst McCourt set a quick time on “The Big One” no one was able to get anywhere near the time of Jason Pritchard however as the Welshman set fastest time by a monumental 51 seconds, topping off an incredible final day charge for he and Phil Clarke which saw the experienced duo climb into the podium positions. Pre rally the triple British Historic Champions would have been amongst the favourites for victory but after a trying event saw them visit a couple of ditches, suffer multiple punctures and encounter a fuel pressure issue they will have been delighted with 3rd!

The 39 mile final test was always designed to be a sting in the tail and it proved just that for the unfortunate Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney.  But their incredible run will be THE lasting memory for many followers of event having peddled the Stratos with such style across some of the UK’s finest stages. We can only hope they come back for more in 2 years time!

Further back Mike Stuart and Sinclair Young put in a fabulous performance to claim category 2 honours with an excellent 5th overall in their MK1 Escort.  The Scottish pairing managed to find the perfect pace throughout the event, benefitting from the issues of others along the way to move from 13th at the end of day 3 to 9th by the end of day 4 and then gain another 4 spots over the final day in Kielder.

Northern Irish pairing, Robert Woodside and Dean Beckett aboard their Tuthill prepared Porsche 911, had been leading the category at the end of day 1 but were not able to match the pace of Stuart as the event progressed.  However 10th overall, first none Ford and first in class C4 represented an excellent result after 5 long days.  Meanwhile just one place further back after a consistent run were Class C3 winners Ben and Steven Smith aboard their RS2000, the first none BD powered Ford home.

It’s always great to see the Category 1 machines on display and victory looked to be going the way of Martin Linden and Rickard Forsell in the Volvo PV 544 only for the Swedes to be forced to Super Rally part way through day 4.  This left the way clear for Pete Stimson and Mark Butler to take a well earned victory aboard their Ford Anglia with 81st overall. 

Elsewhere Mark and Andrew Constantine would claim category 4A honours in their recently built Nova SR and Aaron McClure would take Category 4B just one place further back in 55th position overall. Meanwhile Neil Weaver put in one of the star performances of the event as he and Jack Morton took the S1600 Vauxhall Corsa to Open Rally victory with 6th position overall, in the process recording a remarkable category victory margin of over 23 minutes!

This had been some event to follow and whilst I had only elected to take in the middle 3 days still managed to clock up a whopping 874 miles!  Even the weather behaved itself this time with the trip into new territory (for me) in South West Scotland a personal highlight.  Rallying has traditionally been all about endurance and this 350 mile event required it in abundance. So much so that just 4 of the top 20 seeds made it to the finish without Super Rally!  If only a more traditional way of navigating the event between Wales and Carlisle could be found; stately home stages and a route through North Yorkshire or Cumbria seemingly the obvious answer but probably out of the question … 

But that’s just nitpicking, what an event, bring on 2025! 

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY