Tag Archives: Matthew Robinson

Cambrian Win for Weston as Perez Secures Title

October 20, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

David Weston and Kirsty Riddick put in a stellar performance to claim victory on the Llandudno based Cambrian rally. Second place was also enough for Steve Perez to land the BTRDA Gold Star championship crown.

Wet and slippery conditions faced the crews as they headed for the forests surrounding Betws-y-Coed for 8 stages which would ultimately decide which of the 2 championship contending Focus WRC pilots would walk away with the 2014 BTRDA Gold star championship title.

Paul Bird and Aled Davies got off to the worst possible start, losing 58 seconds to their rivals following an off in the tricky opening Crafnant stage. This was a monumental blow for the Superbike team owner as the time deficit would be almost impossible to claw back without issues for the other drivers. Steve Perez, co driven by Paul Spooner, meanwhile could breathe a little easier, knowing that as long as he beat Bird the title would almost certainly be his.

It was however David Weston and Kirsty Riddick who managed to pull away from the pack in stage 2, their first run through Llyn Elsi being 5 seconds quicker than anyone else. And by half way it looked like the Scottish crew were on their way to a first BTRDA win of the season as they held an 11 second lead over Perez. In fact only Bird seemed able to go quicker than the Subaru pairing; the Ford driver winning every remaining stage bar the second running of Llyn Elsi. The Llyn Elsi stage most definitely belonging to Weston as the S12 Impreza was yet again quickest through this test.

By the finish Bird and Davies had managed to get within 32 seconds of Weston and just 12 seconds shy of rivals Perez and Spooner. While second and third for the Focus crews left them completely tied on points, it would be the Chesterfield man who took the crown based on his 22 point haul from the Plains Rally in May. I doubt anyone imagined the title would be decided on 7th best scores when the championship kicked off last February!

After struggling to get to grips with the S12 Impreza on the Woodpecker and then finding his feet on the second half of the Trackrod it was pleasing to see Weston on the pace from the start of the Cambrian. He was visibly quicker than anyone else in Crafnant 2 and a deserving victory was also rewarded with 3rd place in the BTRDA Gold Star points table.

Behind the front three, Matt Edwards, with Will Rogers on the notes, showed his class by taking 4th overall in his B13 specification Evo 9. The local man improved his pace thoughout the day, but saved the best till last; just one second slower than Bird in Penmachno North and then matching the much quicker machine on the final Penmachno South test. Suffice to say the North Wales man took B13 victory but it would be interesting to see what he could achieve behind the wheel of a WRC machine.

Like Bird, Welsh Championship contenders, Alex Allingham and Chris Williams endured a terrible start to the event in their Group N Subaru, losing three minutes in Crafnant following a roll which left them in 123rd position! An excellent drive through the field however saw them climb to 13th overall, claiming the Welsh Championship in the process as main rival Luke Francis hit problems.

In fact Luke Francis’ retirement, caused by a holed fuel tank in Penmachno South, turned out to be very costly indeed as their fourth DNF of the year meant they would also miss out on the BTRDA B13 championship honours. A title which instead went to the Evo 6 crew of Simon Rogers and Andrew Sankey.

Cambrian Group N victory went the way of Thomas Naughton and Andi Mort in their Evo 9. The Mitsubishi crew were regularly fastest in class and were rewarded with a fine 6th place; over a minute clear of nearest rivals Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence. The 20 points gained from taking class victory was also enough to leapfrog Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy to take the 2014 BTRDA Production Cup title.

Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis rounded off their year in style by taking 7th overall in the H3 spec Ford Escort. Even more impressive when you consider that Welsh legend Gwyndaf Evans was second in class, some 42 seconds in arrears. It has been a phenomenal year for the Escort crew, adding BTRDA H3 and overall Historic honours to the Silver Star crown which was theirs by July. Incredibly they also finished 6th overall in the final Gold star standings; a fantastic performance given some of the machinery they were up against.

The other big championship battle heading into the final round was the 4 way tussle for the 1400 crown. With just 2 short stages remaining, title favourites Mat Smith and Giles Dykes held a near 2 minute lead over the rest of field. However the little Ka had suffered radiator damage on the second running of Llyn Elis as well as beginnings of a clutch problem. Remarkably they somehow made it through to the end, finishing fourth in class. And a further 2 minute time penalty was not enough to stop them taking a well deserved 1400 title. This had been an up and down rally to end an up and down season for the Yorkshire based crew.

Instead rally honours went the way of fellow championship challengers Marcel Freling and Karen Robinson in their MG with a commendable 17th overall. By the halfway point they found themselves behind the Peugeot 106 of Dan Gray and Matt Rogers but were able to improve their pace over the afternoon loop of stages to take victory by 26 seconds.

The wet and slippery conditions had taken their toll on the silver star field with 5 of the top ten seeded cars, and 11 in total, finding themselves on the retirements list by end of the second stage! There were however some stand-out performances behind the already mentioned Robinson and Evans. Indeed third 2 wheel drive crew home were Rex Ireland and Adrian Scadding with 15th overall in their H2 Ford Escort who were clearly enjoying themselves in the process …

While the Fiesta R200 of Kit and Tim Leigh was the second front wheel drive car home in 19th overall. This also represented top spot in class B10, beating Gary Pearson and Dave Robson’s Peugeot 208 by just 5 seconds.

B11 class honours went the way of Simon Tuckman and Shaun Hughes in yet another Ford Escort. 26th overall was enough to claim the class victory by 40 seconds from the similar machine of Jeff Wincott and Kevin Booth.

Meanwhile Steve Ellis and Steve Mcphee’s BMW 325i ended the day in 29th place and top of class B12 while Saleh Hijazi and Tom Bishop were class N3 victors in 75th position.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the Crafnant stage and the tricky conditions were a suitable platform to end what has been a fantastic series. After starting the season in the Stratos, the BTRDA title must have been completely unexpected for Steve Perez. However the Chesterfield man has been on top form throughout the year, and although he may not always have been the fastest, he did take three outright wins and was able to keep the car on the road when it mattered most.

And that is it for my 2014 national rallying year. I expect to see many of the crews competing on Rally GB next month and maybe a few on the RAC as well. With Perez likely to be back in the historic class in 2015, it will be interesting to see who will be in the fight to take his title. Roll on the Wyedean in February ….

RESULTS

1. David Weston / Kirsty Riddick – Impreza WRC (B14) – 0:49:52
2. Steve Perez / Paul Spooner – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – +00:20
3. Paul Bird / Aled Davies – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – +00:32
4. Matt Edwards / Will Rogers – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (B13) – +01:05
5. Stephen Petch / Ian Windress – Ford Fiesta R5+ (B14) – +01:39
6. Thomas Naughton / Andi Mort – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +02:41
7. Matthew Robinson / Sam Collis – Ford Escort MK2 (H3) – +03:10
8. Pat Naylor / Ian Lawrence – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +03:48
9. Gwyndaf Evans / Dale Furniss – Ford Escort MK2 (H3) – +03:52
10. Ian Joel / Graeme Wood – Ford Escort WRC (B14) – +04:25
13. Alex Allingham / Chris Williams – Subaru Impreza (N4) – +06:17
15. Rex Ireland / Adrian Scadding – Ford Escort MK2 (H2) – +07:41
17. Marcel Freling / Karen Robinson – MG ZR (1400S) – +08:04
19. Kit Leigh / Tim Leigh – Ford Fiesta R200 (B10) – +08:23
25. Mat Smith / Giles Dykes – Ford Ka (1400s) – +08:49
26. Simon Tuckman / Shaun Hughes – Escort MK2 (B11) – +08:50
29. Steve Ellis / Steve McPhee – BMW 325i (B12) – +09:06
75. Saleh Hijazi / Tom Bishop – MG ZR (N3) – +22:05

Full Results

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Trackrod Trophies end up in Chesterfield

September 30, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Steve Perez and Paul Spooner ensured the BTRDA title fight will be settled on the final round of the series with victory on the Trackrod Forest Stages. Meanwhile fellow Chesterfield man Richard Hill, co-driven by Steffan Evans, was able to claw back all of the previous day deficit to take top spot in the Historic event.

The Trackrod rally, based in the forests of North Yorkshire, represented both the final round of the RAC Rally Championship and the penultimate round of a very tightly contested BTRDA season. The slightly longer Historic event starting on the Friday evening with two night stages in the Dalby forest complex.

BTRDA

First up was the longest stage of the event with 10.5 miles through the infamous Langdale test. And it was Steve Perez and Paul Spooner who shot out of the blocks and opened up an 8.4 second lead over championship rivals Paul Bird and Aled Davies. Local man Jim McNeil also put in a stellar first stage performance in his B13 Subaru, splitting the two Fiesta R5s of Stephen Petch and Charlie Payne. It would not last long though as a stage 2 off caused the York driver to take a stage maximum, sending himself and co-driver Tom Hughes tumbling down the order.

Meanwhile in the 1400 section a much anticipated tussle between David Bennett and Mat Smith was over before the cars reached Gale Rigg as Smith, co driven by Giles Dykes, broke a drive shaft following a trip into a Langdale ditch. They would manage to carry on but lost 8 minutes to their rivals as a result.

David Weston and Kirsty Riddick, having lost a significant amount of time to their rivals in stage 1, jumped 4 positions to 4th overall with stage victory in Gale Rigg (Stage 2); more than 5 seconds quicker than anyone else. It was a good stage for Steve Perez also as he increased his overall lead to 12.9 seconds. A 4.5 second increase in margin that was then effectively reversed following Bird’s first stage win of the day in neighbouring Cropton.

As in previous rounds, the Fiesta’s just don’t seem to have the outright grunt of their elder siblings and Stephen Petch, try as he might, could not keep up with the two foci in front, or the now charging S12 Impreza of David Weston; Weston claiming third overall from the SGP Motorsport machine following the Cropton test.

Bird found his rhythm as the day went on, taking his second stage win in Staindale to leave a 5.9 second margin heading into the Dalby finale. But whilst the Cumbrian took his third consecutive stage victory, Perez had done just enough to hold onto top spot, taking victory by a mere 3.4 seconds. David Weston rounded off a solid performance with 3rd overall, 25 seconds behind the leader. A what might have been story given the Scotsman lost over 23 seconds in stage 1.

Group N honours went the way of Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy who had the edge on Thomas Naughton and Andi Mort’s similar machine throughout the day, eventually taking class victory by 21.3 seconds and finishing a very credible 6th overall. Fellow Mitsubishi crew, Thomas Preston and Jamie Forrest claimed the B13 class victory with 9th overall while Martyn Hawkswell and Benjamin Cohen were the first rear wheel drive competitors home with 14th overall in the B11 MK2 Escort.

David Bennett, with Alistair McNeil alongside had set a blistering pace throughout the day in the 1400 category, eventually taking class victory by over 3 minutes with a mighty impressive 12th overall. Justin Lawson had been challenging early on but lost a wheel in Staindale causing retirement whilst also ending his title hopes.

15th overall was enough for Paul Street and Clive Hilton to take the historic class victory in their Ford Escort, with B10 victors, Kit and Tim Leigh, finishing one place further back. The Porsche Boxster of Ian Jemison and Dean Kellett was going better than ever on home soil, finishing 17th overall and claiming B12 honours in the process.

Championship wise, the gold star title is now a purely Ford Focus WRC affair with just the Cambrian Rally remaining. Perez currently has 167 points banked and can improve to 175 with a victory while similarly Bird can tally 176. Essentially whoever wins the final round will take the crown with various complicated outcomes should neither be on the top step of the podium. Luke Francis, David Weston and Stephen Petch are now all out of the running courtesy of the 167 banked total of Steve Perez.

It is mathematically a 4 way battle for the 1400 crown; Ryan Weston and Marcel Freling still in with a chance if Dan Gray and Mat Smith fail to finish well on the Cambrian Rally next month. Realistically though it is a dual between Dan Gray and Mat Smith; the odds stacked heavily in Smith’s favour with Gray needing to take maximum class points and have 3 cars between his 106 and the little KA to take the title. Smith’s impressive fight back on the Trackrod, resulting in a 21 point haul, may just be enough to take top spot.

BTRDA RESULTS

1. Steve Perez / Paul Spooner – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – 41:08.0
2. Paul Bird / Aled Davies – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – +00:03.4
3. David Weston / Kirsty Riddick – Subaru Impreza (B14) – +00:25.4
4. Stephen Petch / Ian Windress – Ford Fiesta R5+ (B14) – +00:36.8
5. Charlie Payne / Andrew Roughead – Ford Fiesta (B14) – +01:14.2
6. Russ Thompson / Andy Murphy – Mitsubishi Evo (N4) – +01:58.4
7. Tom Naughton / Andi Mort – Mitsubishi Evo (N4) – +02:19.7
8. Pat Naylor / Ian Lawrence – Mitsubishi Evo (N4) – +03:31.3
9. Thomas Preston / Jamie Forrest – Mitsubishi Evo (B13) – +03:51.2
10. Steve Petch / John Richardson – Mitsubishi Evo (B13) – +04:19.7

Full Results

RAC

There may have been no Stratos in the Yorkshire forests this year but this was more than made up for by an entry list boasting Ryan Champion in a Porsche, Julian Reynolds in a Fiat 131 and Ben Mellors in a Toyota Celica RA40; enough to wet the appetite of any enthusiast. With the early morning sun shining on a recently felled section of Gale Rigg there really was no better place to take in the action.

In similar fashion to the 2013 event, Matt Edwards, co-driven by Paul Morris, had been able to build a healthy lead of 14.9 seconds after the two friday night stages. Many competitors suffered problems however including local hero Steve Bannister, who went off the road and out of the rally in Staindale. Champion also had issues but was able to restart on Saturday morning under Super ‘Rally rules’ where he and Craig Thorley managed a stage victory on the Cropton test. Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis were another front running crew to lose time; an off in Staindale causing a time loss of over 2 minutes.

Unlike last year however Edwards was not able to maintain the top spot throughout Saturday’s four stages. Instead Richard Hill and Steffan Evans, having taken time out of them on every stage, snatched the victory on the very last test, winning the rally by just 7.4 seconds.

Behind, Tim Pearcey and Neil Shanks recorded some solid stage times on their way to a well deserved third overall with Category 2 victors, David Stokes and Guy Weaver finishing 4th in their Mk1 Escort. An impressive result given vastly experienced local man and class runner up, Warren Philliskirk, was over a minute behind.

Meanwhile category 1 victory went the way of Bob Bean. The evergreen MK1 Cortina pilot securing a winning margin of over 25 seconds by the end of the day.

Nevertheless, second in class was enough for Ray Cunningham to wrap up the title; greatly deserved as it is a long time since the UK rally scene has been treated to a Mini driven like that! I for one hope they return in 2015.

RESULTS

1. Richard Hill / Steffan Evans – Ford Escort MK2 (D5) – 54:41.3
2. Matt Edwards / Paul Morris – Ford Escort MK2 (D5) – +07.4
3. Tim Pearcey / Neil Shanks – Ford Escort MK2 (D5) – +01:10.9
4. David Stokes / Guy Weaver – Ford Escort MK1 (C5) – +02:17.0
5. Tim Freeman / Paul Williams – Ford Escort MK2 (D5) – +02:19.6
6. Warren Philliskirk / Nigel Hutchinson – MK1 (C5) – +03:23.3
7. Charlie Taylor / Steve Bielby – Ford Escort MK2 (D5) – +03:48.7
8. Chris Browne / Ali Cornwell-Browne – Escort MK1 (C5) – +03:49.9
9. Tim Mason / Graham Wild – Porsche 911 (C4) – +4:01.3
10. Andrew Siddall / Carl Williamson – Escort MK1 (C5) – +04:11.6

Full Results

And so a big well done was in order for the Chesterfield rally community having produced both winning drivers. The annual trip to the North Yorkshire stages had been as enjoyable as ever, with the irritation of Midge bites and a split pair of jeans more than made up for by a fish and Chip tea at the one and only Thompsons! I really have no idea which way the Gold Star title pendulum will swing, but I am thoroughly looking forward to finding out on next month’s Cambrian Rally finale.

For digital images, professional prints or any other requirements please email me at paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk.

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Bird is the Word in Shropshire Forests

September 3, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Paul Bird, ably assisted by Aled Davies, became a serious title contender after taking his third BTRDA victory of the year on last weekend’s Woodpecker Stages Rally.

Round 7 of the BTRDA championship saw the crews head to Ludlow for six stages in the forests of Shropshire. The 2014 event would see the teams tackle Bringewood, Wigmore, Haye Park and Radnor with local knowledge usually key for a strong performance.

The stage of two halves that is Bringewood was where I headed; it being the only stage used in recent years that I had yet to visit. Having decided that the tight and twisty start of the stage was just too slippery, it was the very fast latter part where I elected to take in the action.

As the well known proverb suggests, it is the early ‘Bird’ that catches the worm and the Cumbrian driver most definitely made the best of the unexpected dark and damp morning conditions; noticeably quicker passed me and leaping into a 7 second lead over the B13 specification Evo 9 of Luke Francis and John H Roberts. Francis meanwhile maintained his exceptional start to the event by managing to hold onto second place through the 6 miles of High Vinnals; keeping the super high traction WRC machines of Steve Perez and David Weston at bay.

Perez, co driven by Paul Spooner, was back on the pace in stage 3 however. Fastest time through Radnor ended Bird’s monopoly of stage victories and allowed him to climb to second overall, in turn narrowing the lead margin to just 10 seconds. Weston on the other hand seemed to be struggling with the S12 Impreza and remained 4th, some 50 seconds behind Bird at the mid event service.

Behind, Alex Allingham and Chris Williams were leading an intense battle for Group N honours, with Tom Naughton, Roland Llewellin, Jamie Anderson and Russ Thompson all within 21 seconds of the class leading Impreza. This would be some battle over the remaining three stages.

The infamous full length Haye park test was first on the agenda after lunch followed by a single visit to Wigmore and the Radnor finale. All three stages gave ample opportunity for crews to improve their positions especially as the weather had improved significantly. Bird and Davies however carried on where they had left off and went on to win all three tests, taking a convincing 27 second victory over the similar Focus WRC of Steve Perez and Paul Spooner. Weston, co driven by Kirsty Riddick was much closer to the leading pace after service, but was unable to claw back all of the time lost to Luke Francis, leaving the Evo 9 pilot to take a fantastic third overall.

The group N battle continued to be hard fought. Jamie Anderson, with Jon Scott alongside, set a fast time in Haye Park to leap frog both Naughton and Llewellin. He was then able to take 5 seconds out of Allingham in Wigmore cutting the lead to 21 seconds as the crews headed back to Radnor for the final stage. And after taking a massive 18 seconds out of the the long time class leaders over the 10 mile finale they must have been left wondering what might have been.

In the 2WD section, local man Joe Price, re-united with Chris Brooks, made his long awaited return to competition in the newly built historic spec MK2 Escort. His flamboyant style had most definitely been missing from the stages as they sought yet another Woodpecker class victory. On the day however, already crowned champions, Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis proved just too quick for the Ludlow crew claiming the historic and silver star class victories by more than 1 minute.

In the 1400 category, the rapid duo of Mark Gamble and Steve Link made a one off appearance in their Suzuki Swift, hoping to take the fight to the BTRDA regulars. Although championship front runners Mat Smith and Giles Dykes took an early lead, Gamble was able to improve his pace as the day went on. And after Smith lost time with a puncture in Wigmore the two crews went into the Radnor finale tied on exactly the same time. Indeed momentum was with the Japanese machine and the little Ka could not keep up with the the now flying Swift leaving the Wolverhampton man to take a well deserved victory.

Smith and Dykes would still head back to Yorkshire with the maximum category score however as Gamble and Link were not registered for championship points; thus keeping their title hopes alive but needing healthy tallies on both remaining events.

Class-wise, Opel Manta man Jon Ballinger, paired with Mike Wilding, claimed B11 with 24th overall, whilst also winning the award for most sideways passed me in Bringewood.

Joe Price’s old ride came home 35th overall in the hands of younger brother Harvey. He and co-driver George Gifford claiming class B12 in the process.

Three places further back in 38th, Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith put in a strong performance to claim class H1 victory in their immaculate Hilman Avenger.

John Baker and Ian Jones would take the class H2 honours with 45th overall while B10 went the way of Vauxhall Nova crew James Hutchings and James Hood with 47th. And Sacha Kakad and Andrew Price would yet again claim top spot in N3 with 50th overall in their Fiesta ST.

On reflection it was nice to have a Woodpecker rally without the dust, but I would like to put in an early request for more sunshine next year! Whilst it was also good to tick Bringewood off the ‘to do’ list, it won’t be a stage that I rush back to. The second half of the stage must be great to drive but doesn’t present the same spectacle for the onlooker due to the over hanging trees that line the hillside route. The final couple of corners in Haye park on the other hand were great to watch, with Robinson being particularly impressive around the fast open right hander at Junction 18.

Rallying wise, next up for me is the Trackrod which just happens to be the next round of the BTRDA championship. Paul Bird now has 4 very strong points scores but must score well in the two remaining rounds to take the Gold Star crown. Chesterfield man Steve Perez is potentially in a better position as he could in theory afford a none finish while Petch, Weston Jnr and Francis are all still in with a chance of top spot. This title race could go all the way to the final stage of the Cambrian Rally in October…. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

RESULTS

1. Paul Bird / Aled Davies – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – 0:41.33
2. Steve Perez / Paul Spooner – Ford Focus WRC (B14) – +00.27
3. Luke Francis / John H Roberts – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (B13) – +00.59
4. David Weston / Kirsty Riddick – Impreza S12 WRC (B14) – +01.01
5. Alex Allingham / Chris Williams – Impreza N10 (N4) – +02.02
6. Jamie Anderson / Jon Scott – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +02.05
7. Tristan Bailey / James How – Mitsubishi WRC 04 (B14) – +02.12
8. Tom Naughton / Andy Mort – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +02.18
9. Wayne Sisson / Neil Shanks – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +02.39
10. Russ Thompson / Andy Murphy – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (N4) – +03.01
11. Matthew Robinson / Sam Collis – Escort MK2 (H3) – +03.08
23. Mark Gamble / Steve Link – Suzuki Swift (1400S) – +05.38
24. Jon Ballinger / Mike WIlding – Opel Manta (B11) – +05.41
35. Harvey Price / George Gifford – Escort MK2 (B12) – +07.27
38. Barry Jordan / James Gratton-Smith – Avenger (H1) – +08.15
45. John Baker / Ian Jones – Ford Escort MK2 (H2) – +09.12
47. James Hutchings / James Hood – Nova (B10) – +09.12
50. Sacha Kakad / Andrew Price – Ford Fiesta ST (N3) – +09.28

FULL RESULTS

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For digital images, professional prints or any other requirements please email me at paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk.

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Bird Flies to Nicky Grist Stages Glory

July 14, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Paul Bird and Aled Davies upped their pace over the afternoon stages to jump from third to first and claim their second BTRDA top score of the year. Meanwhile Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis wrapped up the Silver Star Championship with yet another maximum score in the 2WD class.

The Nicky Grist stages, being event 6 of the 9 round schedule, was set to be pivotal in the race for the Gold Star crown. With 6 scores counting, Scottish rivals David Bogie and Euan Thorburn had effectively ended their challenge by not entering the event. Meanwhile Dave Weston Jnr and Paul Bird’s chances lay on a knife edge with both needing to score big on the remaining 4 events to be in with a chance of taking the championship honours. A championship lead by Russ Thompson, having scored on each of the first five rounds.

Torn between Monument and Route 60 we eventually settled for the latter given the unpredictable weather forecast; the open spaces offering greater flexibility in terms of photographing the event should the heavens open. We were however greeted with glorious early morning sunshine on arrival; It was good to be back on the stages after 3 months away.

The early running suggested the battle for victory would be between the Focus WRC of Bird and Davies, the similar machine of Somerset and Dukeries winners Steve Perez and Paul Spooner and the Subaru Impreza WRC of Dave Weston Jnr and Kirsty Riddick. By the halfway point each had taken at least 1 stage win with Weston Jnr holding a 5 second lead over Bird, and Perez 6 seconds further back in third.

In 4th, Stephen Petch and Ian Windress, in the newly acquired Fiesta R5+, were struggling to keep pace with those ahead and would find themselves 27 seconds adrift after 4 stages. While Alex Allingham and Chris Williams were only just behind in 5th with 4WD new boys Desi Henry and Damien Duffin putting in a great performance to be lying 6th overall in their B13 Evo 9.

It was all to play for after lunch as the crews repeated the first three stages of Monument, Route 60 and Halfway with an extra loop added to the Crychan finale. Bird seemed to have the bit between his teeth, taking 4 seconds out of Weston Jnr’s lead on the second running of Monument and then a further 2 on stage 6 to take the lead heading into the final 2 tests. Perez had been able to tie Bird on stage 5, but could not match the Cumbrian on Route 60, and remained 11 seconds off the lead.

Dave Weston Jnr was obviously suited to the Halfway stage; having been quickest on stage 3, the Subaru pilot was again top of the times on stage 7. This left a deficit of just 1 second between himself and Bird going into the final stage.

Crychan however was most definitely Bird’s stage as he and Aled Davies emerged as rally victors by just 3 seconds. This was their second BTRDA win of the season after taking top spot on Bird’s home event, the Malcolm Wilson Rally, in March.

Behind, the Group N battle had been lead for most of the day by current Welsh Champions Alex Allingham and Chris Williams. Their lead averaging at around 10 seconds over the morning loop. A ball joint failure on Stage 7 however caused their retirement leaving the Mitsubishi crew of Jamie Anderson and Chris Brooks to take the victory for the second time in as many BTRDA events. Roland Llewellin and Jamie Edwards would take second in class with Wug and Max Utting rounding out the podium in their Subaru.

The new bridge on Route 60 had taken it’s toll on a couple of the Group N Mitsubishi runners with Thomas Naughton and pre event championship leader, Russ Thompson, suffering event ending damage after hitting the bridge hard; the lip of the new structure being at the point of compression after a steep downhill part of the stage. Luke Francis and John H Roberts in a similar B13 spec car were among a number of other crews also caught out. Thankfully this section was heavily cautioned for the second run but this was no consolation for the drivers who had suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage on the first pass through.

Silver Star honours went they way of Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis and with it the Championship title after hardly conceding a point to their opposition over the first 6 rounds.

The Escort crew also taking top Historic honours with 14th overall. Terry Brown and Den Golding put in a strong performance to come home second in class, with H2 winners, Paul Barrett and Dermot Coltan just one place further back in 19th. Robinson showed massive bravery over the famous slight right over crest in route 60, rivalled only in commitment by Alex Allingham and Chris Williams in the group N Subaru.

It was a battle of attrition in the 1400 category with early leaders Mat Smith and Giles Dykes retiring with Clutch problems, David Bennett and Alistair McNeil going OTL before Stage 1 and Tom Walster and Chris Ridge being excluded. All this allowed the very rapid Nova crew of Justin Lawson and Paul Hargreaves to take the win, with the Peugeot 106 of Dan Gray and Matt Rogers taking second, just over a minute in arrears.

Mick Smith and Tom Jordan in the 1400c class Nissan Micra put in a great performance to take third, beating several more powerful cars in the process.

In the main field, B12 went the way of Seamus O’Connell and Elgan Davies in the MK2 Escort, with B11 going to fellow Ford crew Edvall Martin and Siw Helen Stenberg. The Stenberg’s performance particularly impressive given second and third in class were the vastly experienced John Perrott and Jon Ballinger!

Neil Matthews and Jez Rogers claimed B10 honours in their Vauxhall Nova with 29th overall whilst also taking the Nicky Grist Challenge Victory. Meanwhile Sacha Kakad and Andrew Price recorded their 5th maximum N3 points haul of the year with 41st. And Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith brought the glorious Hilman Avenger home in 52nd to take the class H1 victory.

All this leaves Matthew Robinson sitting on top of the Gold Star championship table with 3 rounds remaining. However with 6 scores already counting, he and co-driver Sam Collis are unlikely to be there at the end of the year. Instead Steve Perez and Stephen Petch are in a good position as things stand while Dave Weston Jnr and Paul Bird also have strong points scores but cannot afford another non finish. Dave Bennett is now out of the running in the 1400 championship after registering another non finish, while Mat Smith must score well on all three remaining rounds to stand a chance of the title. A couple more good scores from Justin Lawson or Dan Gray on the other hand could see either one of them take the crown.

The rain had just about held off throughout the day with the umbrella only really needed for the walk back to the car. The novelty of leaving Epynt on a Saturday rewarded with top drawer fish and chips in Crickhowell. Something which won’t be repeated in 2 weeks time when we are back on Epynt for the Harry Flatters rally. How dare the owners have Sunday off!

RESULTS

1. Paul Bird / Aled Davies – Ford Focus 07 WRC – 45:23
2. David Weston Jnr / Kirsty Riddick – Subaru Impreza WRC – +00:03
3. Steve Perez / Paul Spooner – Ford Focus WRC – +00.19
4. Stephen Petch / Ian Windress – Ford Fiesta R5+ – +00.44
5. Desi Henry / Damien Duffin – Mitsubishi Evo 9 – +01.15
6. Jamie Anderson / Chris Brooks – Mitsubishi Evo 9 – +01.31
7. Tristan Bailey / James How – Mitsubishi WRC 04 – +02.06
8. Wayne Sisson / Neil Shanks – Mitsubishi Evo 9 – +02.12
9. Roland Llewellin / Jamie Edwards – Mitsubishi Evo 9 – +02.20
10. Karl Simmons / Guy Simmons – Subaru Impreza WRC – +02.33

Full Results

Standard prints available HERE.

For digital images, professional prints or any other requirements please email me at paul.commons@yahoo.co.uk.

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Elliott charges to Mid Wales Stages Victory

March 5, 2014 paulcommons1983 1 Comment

Nick Elliott and Dave Price made up for the last stage error on the Red Kite by taking maximum BHRC and RAC points on the Mid Wales Stages. Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis came a close second while in turn claiming the 55 mile event honours. Meanwhile 2013 Welsh Champions Alex Allingham and Chris Williams came out on top in the slightly shorter modern event.

If the route through Tarenig forest into the Pikes Peak stage was anything to go by this was going to be a very tricky event for the competitors. Prior thoughts of combining Motorsport images with the fantastic mid Wales scenery looked to be difficult; confirmed by the high winds and sideways rain which aggressively met the hardy spectator who ventured onto the barren mountain range dividing Myherin forest and the Pikes Peak hairpins.

Having settled on a sweeping 90 left for stage 1 of the combined historic/55 mile event, it was obvious that this was going to be tough photography wise. Not being someone who is happy to get equipment wet, I was left with no option but to bolt the 70-200 on, attach the monopod, and see what could be achieved whilst holding an umbrella.

The photography may not have been great but the commitment of the historic guys through this section was superb. Richard Hill and Jason Pritchard were as entertaining as ever. Pritchard would unfortunately retire, however RAC round 1 winner Richard Hill, with Steffan Evans on the notes, would go on to take fifth overall to keep him firmly at the top of the points table. It may have been an even better result had it not been for a 1 minute time loss in Stage 2.

A phenomenal drive through Pikes Peak and Myherin saw Nick Elliott and Dave Price take a commanding 36 second Historic lead into the first Sweet Lamb service. The hard work had already been done in the battle for top RAC honours too as they also held a 17 second lead over Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis. Meirion Evans and Iwan Jones were putting in a strong performance to hold second in the Historic event with David Stokes and Guy Weaver rounding out the podium positions. Behind Robinson in the 55 miler sat Terry Brown and Den Golding who in turn were closely followed by the first non Ford crew of Owen Murphy and James O’Brien.

2013 Welsh Champions Alex Allingham and Chris Williams were quick out of the blocks in the modern event. They gained most of their 28 second winning margin on stage 1 alone and would go on to set fastest time on all four stages. Their commitment through this tightening 90 right of stage 1 was second to none.

Daniel Humphreys & Ian Pryce claimed the runner up spot with a great run over the final 3 stages; giving up less than 5 seconds to the eventual winners over the Myherin, Hafren and Sweet Lamb tests. Paul Davy and Roger Allan would follow them home with third overall.

The afternoon schedule saw the crews tackle Hafren and Sweet Lamb before a short service and another run through Pikes Peak. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of witnessing the downhill running of the final stage and subsequently headed to the last but one hairpin of this infamous stage. On arrival it looked as if the weather was going to play ball. Luck however was not on our side; as before I even had chance to swap to the wide angle lens the heavens opened. This time it was definitely more than a passing shower. Combined with the frequent gusts of wind, the ‘Epynt style’ sideways rain made capturing any sort of movement ‘troublesome’ at best.

Fortunately the odd one or two images came out but this was more than a slight anti-climax after what had turned out to be a very good morning. “If only this event still had it’s summer slot?” was one of the topics of conversation on the long walk back to the car …

Upon reading the results on the way home it was no surprise to find out Elliott and Price had claimed the BHRC victory. The Historic event podium positions also remained unchanged throughout the afternoon’s 3 stages leaving Evans and Jones to take a well deserved second and Stokes and Weaver to take the C5 victory with third overall. Confusingly however Robinson and Collis would be the second BHRC registered crew home with their victory in the Open event. Category 1 honours went the way of Graham Waite and Gill Cotton in the mighty Volvo Amazon. It is always a pleasure to witness this machine being man-handled around the stages.

Following Robinson home in the RAC event were Owen Murphy and James O’Brien in the crowd pleasing Sunbeam and round 1 winner Richard Hill in his bright yellow Ford. Ray Cunningham and Gary McElhinney followed up a great run on the Red Kite with another stunning performance to take category 1 honours and a fantastic 22nd overall.

Although leading to slightly confusing results, the BHRC and RAC organisers must be highly praised for allowing competitors to score points in both championships. It did worry me that the split of historic competitors across two series at the start of 2013 would not necessarily be in the best interests of the sport. However collaboration like this can only aid what is by far the closest and most exciting category of rallying currently available on British shores.

The two championships now head in different directions with Rally North Wales being the next event for the BHRC runners and the Tour of Hamsterley next up for the RAC contenders. It is looking more and more like being another great year for historic rallying. Lets hope the entries grow even bigger over the forthcoming events.

For full results see Rally Roots

Prints can be purchased here.

For any other requirements please get in touch via the contact form

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Scottish Champs take BTRDA opener

February 17, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

David Bogie & Kevin Rae started 2014 in the best possible fashion by taking a commanding victory on the Wyedean Forest Rally. Meanwhile Matthew Robinson & Sam Collis took the Historic honours and Mat Smith & Giles Dykes claimed top spot in the 1400 category.

With the terrible recent weather, I was half expecting this event to be cancelled. I should however have known better as the organisers have history; managing to keep the event on in prior years when faced with sheet ice and several inches of snow! Off to Car Park H we therefore headed for stages 2 and 7.

Thoughts of whether a boat would be more appropriate transport than the 4×4 were soon dispelled on arrival as the Sallowvallets stage had held up surprisingly well. Having headed towards the end of the stage last year we decided to go in the opposite direction with junction 6 being the chosen location. As per usual this event had attracted a large number of spectators with many also headed to this fast 90 right.

The action however was already underway as the crews headed to Mailscot; the first stage of the day. On paper it was difficult to pick a winner with any of the top 4 focus WRC crews more than capable of taking top spot. Bogie had obviously had his weetabix for breakfast though as his devastatingly quick time of 5.55 was a whole 9 seconds quicker than anyone else. Mat Smith was also on it from the off taking the same margin out of David Bennett in the battle for the 1400 victory. A category which has grown to almost 60 competitors in 2014.

Back on stage 2 it was tough conditions for us photographers with sporadic rainfall and light levels changing by the minute. It proved to be a good spot to watch the 1400’s though with some flamboyant driving on display.

Dave Brick had few problems transferring his infamous driving style to the little Nova, entering the corner as sideways as humanly possible. The Historic entries were also highly entertaining through this section providing a good opportunity to shoot straight into the sun for a decent black and white conversion.

Car_305

At the front, Bogie was quick again in Sallowvallets and managed to extend his lead by a further 3 seconds over Scottish championship rival Euan Thorburn. The orange Focus was awesome to watch through Junction 6; entering the 90 right almost backwards in similar style to his late great World Champion Countryman. Colin would have been proud.

Below, recent four wheel drive convert, Russ Thompson was another star performer at this bend. The light proving troublesome when shooting from the inside but aided by use of a polarising filter.

Any thoughts of a Thorburn comeback were soon put to bed as Bogie’s big rival would unfortunately retire on stage 3. This left the Scotsman with a 34 second lead over the fellow Focus WRC crew of Paul Bird and Aled Davies at the lunchtime service halt. Jim McNeil was having a superb drive and maintaining third overall in his B13 spec Subaru. Whilst 2nd in B13 and 4th overall were Mitsubishi crew Luke Francis and John H Roberts. Matthew Robinson was leading the historic class by 40 seconds with 9th overall and Mat Smith was upto his usual giant killing antics with 13th overall but only 12 seconds in front of close rival David Bennett.

The downhill hairpin at junction 30 of Serridge was our choice for the afternoon loop of stages. Pleasingly the risk of further rain seemed to have faded allowing more variety of shot choice. We had been to this location before when it was run in the opposite direction but thankfully this time it was much more of a spectacle. Again the top 1400’s were the stars around here, fighting to keep the power on as they headed down to the open hairpin left at Junction 32.

Before the crews reached us the battle for B13 was effectively over as early leaders Jim McNeil & Tom hughes were hit with a 2.5 minute road penalty. This left Luke Francis & John H Roberts free to claim the class honours and with it a fantastic 3rd overall behind the WRC machines of Bogie and Bird.

Ollie Mellors and Roland Llewellin were the main movers in the afternoon. Mellors & Alex Lee moving from 7th to 4th in the crowd pleasing S2000 Proton and Llewellin and Jamie Edwards rising from 10th to 6th. The pair of them sandwiching the very impressive Russ Thompson & Andy Murphy who in turn claimed the group n victory. Jim McNeil would eventually take 8th overall with Rob Smith and Ross Weir 9th in the WRC impreza.

It was a blue oval lockout of the historic class podium where Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis managed to maintain their lead and take a sensational 7th overall. The winning margin rising to well over a minute by the end of the event.

Theo Bengry & Les Forsbrook put in a solid performance themselves to claim 2nd in class and 15th overall. Whilst the third historic crew home were Rob Dennis & Simon Rodgers in their similar MK2.

David Bennett & Alastair McNeil would rue the time lost on stage 1 as the Ford Ka of Mat Smith & Giles Dykes would take the class win by a mere 14 seconds.

Darren Pinchin and Karen Jenkins would take third in class in their Proton Satria with 24th overall. This could be one hell of a year for the smaller engined machines.

All in all it was a great performance from David Bogie and Kevin Rae. To take victory by over a minute from Paul Bird’s newer machine, over just 45 stage miles, is pretty impressive. It would be a great spectacle if he and keen rival Thorburn were to contest the whole championship season. As fans we can but hope ….

Dad would have to wait until gone 6 before he got his overdue ‘cuppa’ due to afternoon delays. Inadvertently this did however allow for the odd shot in the dark.

As usual we were one of the last cars to the leave the car park. And following the traditional stop at Mitcheldean chippy it was time to head back towards the M50 and home. We will have to wait until the Somerset stages for our next fill of BTRDA action but before then there is the excitement of Pikes Peak downhill on the Mid Wales Stages. Roll on 2nd March ….

For full results see the BTRDA website.

Prints can be purchased here.

For any other requirements please get in touch via the contact form

RESULTS

BTRDA

RAC

RESULTS

Paul Bird and Aled Davies upped their pace over the afternoon stages to jump from third to first and claim their second BTRDA top score of the year. Meanwhile Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis wrapped up the Silver Star Championship with yet another maximum score in the 2WD class.

RESULTS

Motorsport Reporting & Photography