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East Riding Stages Rally – February 2024

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Mark Kelly and Will Atkins held off a late fightback from the Hyundai I20 R5 of James Williams and Ross Whittock to claim 2024 East Riding Stages rally victory aboard their Skoda Fabia R5.

Now in it’s third year, The East Riding Stages rally has obviously continued to capture the imagination of competitors having attracted a whopping 133 car entry, this despite not featuring in any of the major championships!  In fact the top of the entry list was flooded with R5 / Rally 2 machinery as many leading crews elected to use the event as a shakedown for their 2024 plans with 10 challenging stages, mainly to the East of Beverley, totaling almost 55 miles the order of the day.   

Having no fewer than 7 overall rally victories to his name in 2023 (according to ewrc), Mark Kelly would have started as one of the pre event favourites and the Garstang Motor Club man wasted no time living up to this hype as he and co-driver Will Atkins set fastest time on all 3 opening tests.  And, despite seeing their lead marginally pegged back in stage 4, would hold a 6 second lead by the time the crews reached the mid event service.

The top 5 crews were however all still in contention with the Hyundai of James Williams, Ford of Callum Black, Citroen of James Ford and VW of Kevin Davies all within 15 seconds of the lead.  Thus leaving everything to play for over the afternoon loop, which consisted of a second run over the morning’s 4 stages but preceded by two short blasts through the Westwood spectator stage. 

New for 2024, the Westwood stage was an attempt to bring the competitive element of the event closer to Beverley town centre but I am guessing no-one would have expected it to be so pivotal to the event outcome! Ridiculously however early leaders Kelly and Atkins managed to traverse the 2 runs of the 1.63 mile stage 6.2 seconds quicker than anyone else, more the doubling their lead to 12.6 seconds in the process. 

And that time gain did indeed prove vital as 2nd placed crew James Williams and Ross Whittock lit up the timing sheets over the final four stages of the day to close the gap to 5 seconds by the time the cars arrived back in Beverley!  A story of what might have been for the Hyundai crew, but another win for Mark Kelly who continued his strong recent form.

2023 Protyre Asphalt Rally Champions, Callum Black and Jack Morton were another crew to lose ground on the two short spectator stages but dug in over the afternoon loop to claim a hard fought third, whilst Kevin and Owain Davies finished fourth in their VW Polo and Neil Roskell and Dai Roberts rounded out the top 5 (Ford Fiesta). 

Historic events is where I am mostly found and therefore it was extra pleasing to see two wheel drive honours go the way of Gareth James and Steffan Evans aboard their Historic specification MK2 Escort. A sublime drive by the Welsh duo saw them end the day in 14th overall, not only finishing ahead of more powerful and more recent 2 wheel drive machinery but also many a R5 / Rally 2 machine.

MK2 Escorts would in fact complete the historic podium with Martin Rossiter and Dan Petrie ending the day 20th and Phil Rogers and Jordan Jones ten places further back, both improving on their start positions by a massive 58 and 47 places respectively!!

Elsewhere class victories would go the way of Gordon Montana Morrison / Ian Parker with 15th overall in their Ford Escort (Class D), Jake Briggs / Harry Walshaw in another of the Blue Oval favourites with 17th (Class C), Ben and Andrew Wilkinson in their Peugeot 106 Maxi with 32nd overall (Class B) and Mark and Andrew Constantine (Class A) with 36th in their Vauxhall Corsa.

All in, it had been a brilliant day in the stunning East Riding countryside. Having never been to this area of the country before there is now a good chance I’ll be back to the area with the family, if not for future East Riding Stages; a tick in the box for bringing tourism to Beverley then!

Closed road rallying is pretty special and whilst we seem to be losing usable forests annually it is great to see a few of these events now popping up. Ease of access on this event and fabulous late winter weather definitely aided the spectacle and watching the top drivers take the Eastfield Farm ‘crest’ on the rev limiter in top was something to behold, definitely whetting the appetite for more in 2024. Fingers crossed for the South Yorkshire Stages!

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

NHRC

Malton Forest Rally – November 2023

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In conditions well suited to 4WD machinery, George Lepley and Dale Bowen put in a strong drive to claim Malton Forest Historic Rally victory with 8th position overall aboard their Mitsubishi Galant VR-4.

A healthy contingent of 94 cars would line up for the start of the North Yorkshire based Malton Forest Rally with several crews electing to use the event as a pre RAC shakedown.  Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney were one of those crews who, having switched from the 911 to the family owned Lancia Stratos in the run up to the event, became the star attraction for many.

With Perez still getting to grips with the Italian Machine he was never likely to trouble the top spots in what proved tricky conditions; however the pace was encouraging, especially through the afternoon loop of stages, as the Global Brands backed machine climbed 6 positions to end the event in a very respectable 20th overall and 7th in the historic category.

With a monumental amount of rainfall in the lead up to the rally, George Lepley and Dale Bowen would be hot favourites to take historic category victory but any thoughts of an easy run to the finish were quickly dispelled as Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis stormed through Langdale to claim an early 4 second category lead. This was was perhaps all the motivation Lepley required however as the Nottinghamshire man went on to set fastest category time on all of the remaining 5 tests to claim historic rally victory by 24 seconds.

It seems somewhat unfair that a rear wheel driven MK2 Escort built in the 70s would sit in the same H2 class as the late 80s Mitsubishi but Robinson fully utilised his local knowledge to keep Lepley on his toes and was rewarded with the unofficial 2WD historic victory with 9th position overall.

Steve Bannister must be able to drive the North Yorkshire stages with his eyes closed having competed in them so often over the years and the ‘Malton Missile’ was holding a strong 3rd in category before being forced into retirement at the half-way point.  This left Barry Mckenna and Arthur Kierans (Ford escort MK2) to round out the historic category podium positions and David Brown and Richard Wardle (Ford Escort MK2) to end the day as 3rd 2WD historic crew home.

Class H1, for historic specification cars up to 1600cc, was being lead somewhat convincingly by the Hillman Avenger of Matt Bown and Tom Murphy at the mid point service.  That was as good as it got for the East Midlands based crew however as brake failure would end their day prematurely.  This left the way clear for Paul Rawson and Mike Curry to claim class victory aboard their MK1 Escort, with Kurt Hodgson / Sam Campbell (Peugeot 205) and Geoff Taylor / Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp) completing the top three.

In the race for Overall honours Elliot Payne and Jack Morton fought back from a first stage deficit to claim victory by 37 seconds aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally 2; Payne thus completing a whitewash of single day North Yorkshire forest events in 2023!  Behind, Alan Carmichael and Bonnie Papper claimed a well deserved second in their Hyundai I20 R5 whilst Andrew Purcell and Martin Brady took 3rd in their VW Polo.

Elsewhere, Nick Cook and Nigel Hutchinson (Ford Escort MK1) would claim Class 3 victory with an excellent 19th overall whilst Martyn Hawkswell and Ben Cohen were first home in Class 4 (26th overall).  Ben Cree and Robert Wiggins meanwhile would take Class 2 top spot (Opel Corsa) with 34th whilst Class 1 winners Pete Gorst and Mark Twiname (Vauxhall Nova) would just pip them to the unofficial front wheel drive victory with 33rd.

Having visited Gale Rigg more often than close family in recent years it was nice to head to Cropton on this occasion, a decision which was fully justified upon hearing the roar of the Stratos down the infamous long straights!  The river flowing across junction 11 and afternoon sunshine were added bonuses also, nicely whetting the appetite for the long awaited 5 day marathon that is the RAC rally later in the month!

FULL RESULTS

GALLERY

BTRDA

Rallynuts Stages – April 2023

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Nick Elliott and Dave Price tamed the fast-flowing Mid Wales stages to claim a dramatic last gasp Rallynuts Stages Historic category victory aboard their Fiat 131 Abarth.

With the Rallynuts Stages rally forming part of the HRCR Historic Stage Rally Challenge and BTRDA Historic Cup a healthy contingent of historic specification machinery had appeared on the entry list including 4 of the top 5 finishes from last month’s Rally North Wales! 

The Midland Manor Motor Club organised event would once again be based in Builth Wells but with the stages located further North, in the forests of Hafren, Myherin and Sarnau, an early start was in order.  Not before a moment to reflect on the sad news of Craig Breen’s passing earlier in the week that is, a nice touch by organisers.

After claiming a superb victory on the recent Rally North Wales, Joe Price and Chris Brooks would have been many peoples favourite for top historic honours on the Rallynuts Stages but would find their event over almost as soon as it started, with the Ludlow based pairing unfortunately rolling out of the event in stage 1. 

Elliott meanwhile was busy making (what has become the tradition) a rapid start to the event, 4 seconds quicker than anyone else in both Myherin West and East to hold an early 8 second historic category lead!  Dropped time through both Hafren Sweet Lamb and Cwmysgawen however left the Cheltenham man in second at the half-way service point, with the Ford Escort of Robert Gough and Paul Morris 8 seconds further up the road.

Gough and Morris, a new combination for 2023, seem to be really gelling of late and looked to be well on their way to category victory after matching the time of Elliott on the first stage of the afternoon loop (Myherin Main).  A slow time in the second running of Hafren Sweet Lamb however saw the Ford Escort duo’s lead slashed to just 2 seconds with 1 stage remaining.  And with Elliot buoyed by a time 13 seconds quicker than his morning attempt could not quite hold onto their slender lead through the 4.69 miles of Cwmysgawen 2.

Elliott and Price don’t seem to have straightforward events in the Fiat and the 2023 Rallynuts Stages was no exception!  However you would put money on them coming out on the right side of a close battle and that is exactly what happened on stage 7; the RSD prepared machine stopping the clocks 3 seconds quicker than the Ford of Gough and Morris to take a dramatic 1 second victory.

Third historic crew home were Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke who were making another appearance in the North Road Garage backed Escort.   Where, despite a steady start, the 2017 BHRC champions were fastest historic pairing over the afternoon loop of stages to end the day just 10 seconds behind the historic category victors.  

Further back, Ben and Steven Smith claimed the H1/H2 class honours with 7th in the historic section of the event; the Pinto powered MK1 Escort pairing finishing 47 seconds clear of the RS1600 of Jonathan Brace and Paul Spooner.  Meanwhile Ernie and Karen Graham would round out the class podium positions in yet another MK1 Escort.

The historic category cars were as exciting to watch as ever through the ultra fast and flowing Myherin stage but none more so than Elliott through junction 13 of stage 2!  I am not sure I have ever seen a car more sideways over half a mile of visible stage.  That alone was worth the 6 hour round trip!

GALLERY

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AGBO Stages – March 2023

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Huw James and Ian Jones proved to be the class of the field, braving the slippery morning conditions before storming to a second AGBO Stages victory in as many years aboard their Ford Escort MK2.

After heavy snow in the run up to the event, thankfully the Owen Motoring Club organised AGBO Stages was given the green light, paving the way for me to witness rallying at Weston Park for the first time in well over 30 years (not that I have any recollection of my last visit)! The AGBO Stages for one reason or another is an event I have never managed to make previously but with another impressive entry list compiled for 10 short stages within the confines of the Staffordshire parkland estate I was determined not to miss out in 2023.

Having been victorious in 2022, Huw James and Ian Jones would lead the cars away in their Ford Escort MK2 and despite a cautious start were well into their stride by stage 3 to climb to the top of the time sheets.  In fact as the stages became drier on what were relatively pleasant early March conditions the pairing really began to stretch their legs and almost cruise to a 23 second victory; an excellent drive, and quite a margin given the total time on the clock was just over 23 minutes!

Behind, having initially lead the event, Oliver Davies and Jack Bowen’s attention quickly turned to their mirrors with a fast charging Lee Edwards, in his recently re-built Ford Escort G3, in hot pursuit.  Sitting 8 seconds in arrears after stage 5, the Oswestry man, with Mike Roberts alongside, stormed through the next 3 to trail Davies and Bowen by just 1 second with 1 stage remaining.  And with momentum on their side there was no stopping the V6 Jaguar engined Ford crew (what an exhaust note by the way!) as they went on to claim the runner up spot by a mere second!

Class C for 2 litre 2WD drive machinery turned out to be another closely fought affair.  And whilst the rapid Peugeot 205 of duo of Andy Corner and Ade Campo were quick out of the blocks (and would top the class times sheets for much of the day), it was the Darrian T90 crew of Dai Dot Davies and Gerwyn James who would come out on top of a final stage shootout to claim class victory with 8th position overall; in turn making it a special day for Tregaron Motor Club following Huw James’ overall success!

Elsewhere, Tom Bishop and Isobel Mansell, aboard their Vauxhall Nova, put in the giant killing performance of the day to claim class A honours with a fantastic 18th position overall, whilst Citroen C2 pilot Marcus Ridley (co-driven by Antony Knight) was first home in Class B with a very impressive 26th position.  The 2023 edition of the AGBO stages was also the first time “H Pattern” 4WD machinery were able to compete and the stunning Mitsubishi Evo 3 of Wayne Larbalestier and Matt Endean would go on to claim class E honours with 12th overall.

All in this had been a fabulous days entertainment for just £8 each and having taken so long to finally attend the event I can categorically state that it will not be my last! 

GALLERY

BHRC

RIPONIAN STAGES – FEBRUARY 2023

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The Riponian Stages rally would once again host the opening round of the British Historic Rally Championship with 6 classic stages in the North Yorkshire Forests following a route similar to that of 2022 but in reverse.  And despite the Historic section appearing a little on the light side a relatively healthy overall entry had been gathered for the Thirsk based event. 

Possibly suffering from the rising cost of living and in particular the cost of entering rallies at the moment a modest 44 crews made the start of the National event; 1 fewer than hoped for following the late blow of losing last year’s Winners Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis as a result of competition license issues!

However with Robinson joining fellow 2022 BHRC event winners Henri Grehan and Matt Edwards as missing from the entry list and pre-event favourites Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell suffering an unfortunate early engine failure it did at least open up the fight for victory, with no fewer than 6 crews ending the event within the same minute as the eventual winners.

Indeed it was Nick Elliott and Dave Price who set the early pace in their glorious Alitalia liveried Fiat 131 but courtesy of quickening their pace through the first pass of Cropton and Wass Moor it was the Ford Escort pairing of Roger Chilman and Patrick Walsh who held a slender 5 second lead at the half way point.

Nick Elliott / Dave Price

A slow time on stage 4 would essentially put pay to Elliott’s victory challenge but with Chilman dropping time in Cropton, just 9 seconds covered the podium positions as the crews headed for the Wass Moor finale; with Tom Walster, who had been away from rallying for several years prior to last year’s outing on the Carlisle stages, just 3 seconds adrift in second.

Walster, a welcome addition to the BHRC in 2023, has clearly lost none of his pace but on this occasion the experience of Chilman and Walsh shone through as the Wales Motorsport duo set fastest time on stage 6 to run out as 4 second victors and take an early championship lead.  Second place overall for Walster (with Christopher Ridge on the notes) did however represent an excellent result for the Nottinghamshire man. 

After setting a blistering pace over the afternoon loop (Fastest times in stage 4 and 5), Adrian Hetherington and Ronan O’Neill would jump from 8th at the halfway point to a remarkable 3rd overall by the end of the event to complete a Ford Escort lock out of the podium positions; with Elliott and Price having to settle for 4th and the Escorts of Simon Webster / Jez Rogers and Richard Jordan / James Gratton Smith rounding out the top six.

Elsewhere another strong performance from Josh Carr and Richard Wardle would see the Pinto engined Ford Escort MK1 pairing get the better of their more powerful counterparts to claim category 2 victory with an excellent 12th overall whilst Terry Cree and Richard Shores (Mini Cooper S) were first home in Category 1. The fight for Class D3 was possibly the hardest fought on the day however with the lead changing no fewer than 4 times throughout the event as the RS2000 crew of Mike Reed and John Millington just lost out on victory by a mere second to David Dobson and Brian Hodgson in their MK2 Escort!

Josh Carr / Richard Wardle

British Rally Championship regular Elliot Payne, with Tom Woodburn alongside, would be a hot favourite for the Interclub section of the event and it was no real surprise to see the Fiesta Rally 2 crew end the event on top after setting fastest time on five of the six stages.  Behind, Hugh Brunton / Drew Sturrock aboard their Skoda Fabia would come out on the right side of a first stage tie breaker to claim second whilst Alistair Ginley / Craig Thorley would have to settle for third despite ending the event on equal times with the second placed crew.  Meanwhile Anthony Hanson and Russel Holdsworth would claim the Interclub 2WD honours with 19th overall in their Vauxhall Chevette.  

Elliot Payne / Tom Woodburn

I had intended to mix things up on this years Riponian but with Gale Rigg being a personal favourite stage of mine the draw of making the most of relatively recent felling was too much to pass up. Maybe somewhere different on the Trackrod?! Next up for the BHRC crews is Rally North Wales which promises a slight change of route to include a return to Dyfnant forest for the first time in a few years. Let’s hope the massive £780 entry fee is not too off putting! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for similar weather to last year too!

GALLERY

BHRC

Woodpecker Stages Rally – September 2022

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Local crew, Henri Grehan and Dan Petrie put an end to recent Fiat British Historic Rally Championship dominance by registering an impressive Historic Class victory on the Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Stages and Cement their place at the top of the BHRC championship standings.

Henri Grehan / Dan Petrie

Always rapid in Radnor and Haye Park, Grehan and Petrie would have been amongst the pre-event favourites for rally victory, along with multiple British Rally Champion Matt Edwards (Fiat 131) who had taken a string of Historic victories in recent times.  And as expected it was the aforementioned duo who set the early pace; Edwards, with Hamish Campbell alongside, quickest in Haye Park and Cwm Y Gerwyn but with Grehan holding the lead at the halfway point courtesy of an exceptionally quick time in stage 3 which was equal 10th fastest overall!

Matt Edwards / Hamish Campbell

The phenomenal battle would then continue throughout the afternoon stages with Edwards marginally quicker in stage 4 and 5 to leave the crews tied on equal times heading into the Stanlo Trump finale.  But unfortunately rally followers were robbed of a proper final stage showdown as the Italian machine would suffer a mechanical failure forcing Edwards into a final stage retirement.  A disappointing end for the RSD prepared Fiat crew who were looking to make it a hat-trick of BHRC victories but conversely an excellent result for the Plas Lime backed MK2 Escort of Grehan and Petrie who now sit comfortably at the top of the championship standings.

Edwards’ retirement had however paved the way clear for Robert Gough / Sam Collis and Nick Elliott / Dave Price to claim the respective final 2 steps on the Historic class podium.  After a relatively steady run through the first pass of Haye Park, Gough and Collis were never outside the top sixteen stage times to claim the runner up spot in their MK2 Escort whilst Elliott and Price were not quite able to match the pace of the 2 Ford crews ahead of them but were rewarded with 3rd overall and first in class G1 after a strong drive aboard their immaculate Alitalia liveried 131.

Nick Elliott / Dave Price

Behind, category 2 victory would go the way of Chris Skill and Brian Hodgson aboard their MK1 Escort as they claimed 10th overall in the National Historic class, with C2 class winners Rory and Paul McCann (Hillman Avenger) just pipping C3 class winners Josh Carr and Richard Wardle (MK1 Escort) to second in category.  Elsewhere, Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver (MK2 Escort) topped class G2 with 6th overall, Ford Escort pairing Neal James and Kevin Jones headed class D3 with 20th and Malcolm and Ron Mounsey were first home in class D2 in their Talbot Sunbeam.

Chris Skill / Brian Hodgson

Meanwhile Michael McDaid and Declan Casey (MK2 Escort) would claim BTRDA Historic Cup victory.  The Irish pairing managing to keep the similar machine of Richard Gough and Jonny Tad Evans at arms-length throughout the event to claim top spot by 17 seconds.  Class H1/2 winners Jonathan Brace and Paul Spooner would defy their seeding to round out the podium positions in their MK1 Escort after yet another strong drive.

Michael McDaid / Declan Casey

After many years away from the Shropshire/Herefordshire forests it was nice to make a return to Haye Park and great to catch up with several fellow enthusiasts! Next up for the BHRC crews is the North Yorkshire based Trackrod Rally towards the end of September where championship leaders Grehan and Petrie will be looking to edge one step closer to a maiden BHRC championship crown.

GALLERY

BTRDA

Rallynuts Stages Rally – April 2022

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Fresh from Rally North Wales Victory, Matt Edwards and Hamish Campbell continued their excellent form to head a historic Fiat 131 one-two on the 2022 Rallynuts Stages Rally

With the Rallynuts Stages Rally attracting a very healthy contingent of historic machinery, and upon finding myself with a clear diary, it would have been rude not to head to mid Wales (Hafren in my case) on what promised to be a cold but pleasant early April day.

Indeed more than 35 historic category crews would leave the Builth Wells start line headed up by not one but two Fiat 131s; relatively high numbers for a BTRDA round but aided in part by the use of classic mid Wales stages such as Hafren and Myherin and being a qualifying round of the HRCR Stage Masters Challenge and the Welsh Historic Rally Championships.

And the crews would face a tricky opening couple of stages with snow on the ground in parts and the odd wintery shower thrown in too but it was the Italian machines of Matt Edwards / Hamish Campbell and Nick Elliott / Peredur Davies that would find themselves tied for the category lead as the event reached the Mid-day service halt; the pairings each claiming a fastest category stage time before tying the short Cwmysgawen test to leave everything to play for over the drier afternoon loop.

With brake bias issues corrected at service however, Edwards set a blistering pace through Myherin 2 and Hafren Main especially to find himself with a whopping 37 second advantage as they headed back to Cwmysgawen for the final 4.73 miles of the event. This had been yet another excellent drive by the 3 time British Champion who would go on to claim category victory by an impressive 40 seconds.

With Edwards in a league of his own over the afternoon loop, Elliott would instead find himself looking over his shoulders as the leading Ford crews closed in. Indeed Meirion Evans closed the gap to 9 seconds after SS4 and then to 8 following SS5 but with only a short stage 6 remaining Elliott just had enough in hand to register an excellent category one-two for the RSD prepared machines.

A strong afternoon push for Evans and co-driver Gwynfor Jones was however rewarded with 3rd in Category and class H3 victory aboard their MK2 Escort; the Welsh duo leapfrogging the similar machine of Ben Friend, who was suffering with a misfire, and managing to keep stablemates Roger Chilman and Paul Morris at bay.

The combined class H1/H2 victory would go the way of Jonathan Brace and Paul Spooner with 14th overall in the historic section, the MK1 Escort duo ending the day with a 42 second advantage after a seemingly faultless drive. The battle behind was far less clear cut however with David Lloyd Roberts catching and passing both the Fords of Andrew Stokes and Neal James over the afternoon loop to claim the runner up spot in dramatic style.

Elsewhere, Alan Walker and John Connor in yet another MK2 Escort would claim class H4 honours with 11th in the historic category. Meanwhile Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear perhaps surprised some with a very dominant display to take overall rally victory by 31 seconds. Perhaps more impressive still they were an incredible 15 seconds quicker than anyone else through Myherin 1! Definitely a crew to watch out for this season.

Overall this had been another top day out in possibly some of the UK’s finest rallying territory rounded off nicely by the amazing views on the drive out of Hafren forest. It will probably be a couple of months before my next rally but after such a good start to the season it can’t come soon enough!

GALLERY

BHRC

Rally North Wales – March 2022

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Matt Edwards and Hamish Campbell overcame both challenging conditions and strong opposition to claim a hard-fought Rally North Wales victory aboard the RSD prepared Fiat 131; a first for the Italian brand in the BHRC.

The Wolverhampton and South Staffs CC organised Rally North Wales formed round 2 of the 2022 British Historic Rally Championship and followed the ‘post pandemic’ trend of managing to attract a phenomenal entry (more than 150 if you include the Minis!), which I imagine was partially aided by the use of classic Mid Wales stages such as Dyfi, Pantperthog and Gatheiniog. Amazingly the organisers had also booked the weather with temperatures in the late teens and barely a cloud in the sky!

Desperate to add Pantperthog to the list of UK stages visited but unable to get there in time, we instead opted for an old favourite in Dyfi Main (Stages 2 & 6) and were miraculously able to find spots between junctions 4 and 5 which were new to us.  By the time the crews passed by however the incredibly rough nature of the stages had already taken its toll with a number of early retirements and many others battle scarred.

Indeed Edwards and Campbell were already managing a suspension issue but amazingly would find themselves just 7 seconds behind Nick Elliott (with Dave Robson alongside for this event) at the half way point with the MK2 Escorts of Riponian winner Matthew Robinson and 2021 BHRC champion Ben Friend already succumbing to the conditions.

With many a crew electing to take a more cautious approach to the afternoon stages (to ensure a finish), Edwards, with initial problems sorted, elected to press on.  And despite the 131 developing a steering problem in the second running of Pantperthog set a blistering pace throughout the remainder of the event to turn a 15 second deficit into a 16 second victory!  A fantastic effort by the 3 time British Champion and proof if ever it were needed that the stunning Italian machine can be a match for the Blue Oval stalwarts of historic rallying.

Holding a relatively healthy lead of 15 seconds with three stages remaining Elliott (MK2 Escort) would have been favourite to claim victory but unfortunately suffered a puncture in stage 6 which, combined with Edward’s electric pace, forced the Cheltenham man to settle for second.  Meanwhile Roger Chilman and Patrick Walsh just managed to fend off a hard charging Henri Grehan and Dan Petrie to round out the podium positions aboard their similar machine.

Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis (above) thrive on giant killing performances and 5th overall on the Rally North Wales National event proved to be one of their best yet. The North Yorkshire duo were visibly more committed than most on both runs through Dyfi Main and incredibly went on to claim category 2 honours in the Ralloy Engineering built, 1600 Crossflow MK1 by 23 seconds! Who knows what the pairing could have achieved had it not been for an incorrect morning tyre choice and an afternoon puncture amongst other issues …

On any other day, Chris Skill and Brian Hodgson may have found themselves on the top step of the Category 2 podium but had to make do with C4/C5 class top spot aboard their BD engined MK1 following a strong drive to 6th. Meanwhile Ben and Steve Smith were first home in class C3 and rounded out the category 2 podium positions with 8th in the Pinto powered MK1.

Elsewhere in the classes Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver (MK2 Escort) would claim FIA Appendix K honours with 7th Overall, Conrad Bos and Geoff Crabtree (MK2 Escort) would come out on top of a close battle in class D3 with 24th overall and Dave Hopkins and Tony Vart (below) would claim D1/D2 victory with 32nd aboard their Sunbeam.  Courtesy of being the only category 1 entry on the event Bob Bean and Mike Curry claimed the winners trophy, however just getting to the end of this event in their aging MK1 Cortina was a major achievement in itself.  Dyfi Main was difficult enough to walk on in parts!

It was great to be back spectating in Wales having not visited since the RAC in November 2019. And given the relatively sensible finish time we even managed to squeeze in a visit to the best chip shop in the country (Andrews Fish Bar – Welshpool). Well worth the minor diversion on the 3 hour plus journey home.

Having recaptured the rallying bug of late a trip to the Rallynuts Stages in early April is now on the cards and I will probably spend the next two weeks deliberating between Sweet Lamb and Myherin!  Chances of similar weather?  Very low I would imagine …

GALLERY

MSN Rally

DONINGTON RALLY – MARCH 2022

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David Henderson & Sion Cunniff dominated the 2022 Northside Truck and Van Donington Rally to claim consecutive MSN Circuit Rally Championship victories aboard their Fiesta R5.

Having not witnessed a circuit rally for almost 8 years or a rally at Donington since the mid nineties for that matter, I was drawn to attend the 2022 Donington Rally, especially given the short commute and it slotting nicely into my schedule between the opening couple of BHRC rounds.

Overnight rain had left a damp tricky surface facing the 85 crews, less of an issue of course for the four wheel drive machinery and unsurprisingly there was a Fiesta R5 lockout of the podium positions after the first 2 long stages of the event, with David Henderson and Sion Cunniff managing the track surface and tyre wear to perfection to open up a massive (in circuit rallying terms) 13 second lead over championship leaders Neil Roskell and Andrew Roughead.

And the lead pairing continued their strong pace over the next loop of stages to extend their lead to half a minute from the now second placed Darrian T90 of Barry Morris and Tom Hutchings. The super lightweight rear wheel drive machine of Irishman Morris was more at home on the drier second loop and now right back in the championship hunt following disaster for pre-event championship leader Roskell; the Garstang and Preston MC man had been doing everything necessary to claim the title on the day but was forced into retirement when his R5 Fiesta suffered a snapped belt and ultimately head gasket failure on stage 4!

With just the 3 shorter anti-clockwise afternoon stages remaining Henderson and Cunniff could afford to relax a little, but if they did it was hard to tell as the Hexham MC man went on to claim a full set of fastest stages times (Stage 7 tied with Andy Scott) and take victory by an impressive 38 seconds, remarkably a third of the season for the in-form Henderson after claiming top spot on the recent Snetterton and East Riding Stage rallies.

Picking up their pace as the day went on, 2019/20 MSN Circuit Rally champions Barry Morris and Tom Hutchings ensured a final round shootout for the 2021/22 title by claiming 2nd overall whilst the local crew of John Griffiths / Nigel Wetton rounded out the podium positions in their Fiesta R5, the Dukeries MC duo not able to keep the Darrian behind as the track dried out.

In the classes, 7th overall represented an excellent result for class C winners Josh Payton and Jamie Vaughan (above) aboard their MK2 Escort, the pairing even edging out the Class D machine of championship front runners Martin Hodgson and Tony Jones over the afternoon stages!  Meanwhile Class B honours would go the way of Ben Wilkinson and Andrew Wilkinson aboard their glorious Peugeot 106 Maxi with 17th position overall whilst James and Adrian Hardy put in a mighty giant killing performance aboard their Nissan Micra to claim class A top spot in 34th.

Being a big Donington Park fan I couldn’t imagine having a bad day at the venue but even I was impressed by the clockwork nature of the Dukeries MC organised event! It would be great the see some of the gravel perimeter roads used, similar to the RAC rallies of old, but I guess this is an asphalt championship and so, along with the logistical nightmare of ensuring us spectators stay where we are supposed to, doesn’t necessarily fit with the needs of the championship.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable day shooting through, over and around the (not too obtrusive) catch fencing which has left me massively tempted to try and shoe-horn the championship decider at Cadwell into my diary!

GALLERY