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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

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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

BHRC

Riponian Stages Rally – February 2022

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Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis were in a class of their own in the North Yorkshire forests to claim a comfortable Riponian National Historic Stages Victory and an early lead in the British Historic Rally Championship title race.

Possibly one of the best entry lists on record for a North Yorkshire based rally and full utilisation of the relatively recent road closure regs for UK rallying was all the convincing I needed to head north on a dark early February Sunday morning for the Riponian Stages Rally!  Two loops of 3 healthily lengthed stages in the classic Wass / College Moor and Cropton / Gale Rigg forests faced the mammoth 122 crews leaving the Thirsk start line, 50 of which were fully registered BHRC runners gunning for honours in the National Historic Stages part of the event.

Gale Rigg has long been a personal favourite stage of mine but remarkably it had been 5 years since my last visit and the change in tree line combined with new routes opened up by use of Keys Beck Road made it feel like a completely new stage, although it proved just as good as I remembered for viewing!

Any thoughts of a steady start to the season were blown out of the water early on as most crews seemed to be ’on-it’, none more so than local man Matthew Robinson who, with regular co-driver Sam Collis alongside, set a blistering pace from the off and by half distance had developed a lead of more than 20 seconds over the similar machines of Nick Elliott and Ben Friend.

And it was more of the same over the afternoon stages as not even the weather (hail and snow at various points) could get in the way of Robinson and Collis claiming a full set of fastest stage times to claim an excellent 47 second victory and firmly put last years RAC disappointment behind them.  Despite not quite able to match the Malton man’s phenomenal pace, Nick Elliott and Dave Price got their BHRC title ambitions off to a positive start with second overall whilst Roger Chilman and Gwynfor Jones rounded out the podium positions after 2021 champions Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmons dropped time on the final stage.

Behind, in the category 3 classes David Brown and Callum Atkinson claimed D4 honours with 9th overall whilst Ben Mellors and Alex Lee were first home in D3 with 11th overall aboard their immaculate Toyota Celica. Meanwhile Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver would top the FIA Appendix K runners in 10th.

As usual category 2 contained a wonderful array of pre-74 machinery but was ultimately topped by the Pinto powered MK1 of Ben and Steven Smith who just managed to keep behind the powerful Datsun 240z of combined class C4/C5 winners Jeremy Easson and Mike Reynolds.  Meanwhile Mark Tugwell and Steve Pugh claimed top spot in the combined C1/C2 category aboard their MK1 Twin Cam whilst historic stalwart Bob Bean, with Mike Curry alongside, claimed category 1 honours in the stunning Lotus Cortina.

In the Interclub Stages part of the event, Ollie Mellors and Max Freeman defeated a plethora of Ford Fiestas to claim a convincing victory aboard their Proton Iriz R5 with Ford Fiesta R5 pairings Elliot Payne / Patrick Walsh and David Henderson / Chris Lees rounding out the podium positions.  With 9th overall David Mennell and Steven Brown would claim the Historic honours with an excellent drive in their 1600 Escort with the more powerful H2 category machines of Richard Spink / Nigel Hutchinson and Thomas Hewick / Mick Johnson completing the top 3.

Caught out by the cold weather, the traditional stop at Thompsons Fish & Chips Restaurant on the way home went some way to thawing me out but I don’t think I fully warmed up until the following morning!  Nevertheless it was an excellent event all-round that seemed to run like clock-work!  Bring on the next event which should hopefully be Rally North Wales in March and possibly even the Donington Stages Rally before that.  I guess you just don’t know how much you miss forest rallying until you return to the woods …    

GALLERY

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Edwards Ecstatic to land home BRC Victory

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The 2019 Cambrian Rally would combine the opening rounds of both the BTRDA and British Rally championships with runners in the latter National A event intriguingly set to complete an additional 3 stages in the dark.

A healthy contingent of latest spec R5 machinery at the sharp end of the entry list had added additional excitement to the North Wales based event, which included 2 M-Sport entered Fiesta’s for FIA Priority 2 seeded Chilean brothers Pedro and Alberto Heller.

It was another M-Sport Fiesta in the hands of 2018 BTRDA and BRC champion Matt Edwards that again proved to be the class of the field however.  In a field stacked with quality, David Bogie and Tom Cave, would prove his closest challengers but whilst both claimed stage wins neither could match Edward’s consistency, with the Swift backed Ford man (co-driven by Patrick Walsh) going on to claim victory by 26.5 seconds.  Edwards’s later describing success on his home turf as a dream come.

Cave’s challenge would infact come to an unfortunate late end; despite completing the full stage mileage, the unlikely misfortune of suffering 3 punctures over the final loop of stages left the Welshman unable to attempt the final road section, allowng Bogie to claim the runner up position in his Fabia, and the similar machine of Northern Irishman Martin McCormack to round out the podium positions.

Behind, Peugeot 208 crew, James Wilson & Arthur Kierans claimed a hotly contested BRC Junior category victory which saw the top five runners separated by just 30 seconds!  Gaining the lead in stage 5, Wilson and Kierans managed to hold off a fast recovering Will Creighton (puncture delayed) over the final few stages to take class honours by less than 2 seconds!

In the National B event meanwhile, Euan Thorburn made a winning return to action in his WRC Focus.  Benefiting from a healthy lead developed over the morning loop, he and co-driver Paul Beaton had just enough in hand to nurse their misfiring Ford to Goldstar glory, with the Fiesta WRC of Charlie Payne and Carl Williamson a close second.

Perhaps benefiting from a return to running first on the road, it was runners from the 1400 and historic classes  that would fill the Silver Star podium positions.  2018 Champion, George Lepley switched to RWD machinery for the Cambrian and, co-driven by Arwel Jenkins, duly shone in Barry Jordan’s historic spec 8v Avenger, ending the day in a phenomenal 13th position overall and in turn claiming historic honours by over 40 seconds from the BDG powered Escort of Hugh Hunter!

2018 class winners Chris Powell and Jim Lewis, again topped the 1400 time sheets; the Sunbeam crew catching and passing 2019 Champion Dave Brick over the damp afternoon stages to claim a hard fought 2nd overall in the Silver Star category.  With the final step of the 2WD podium just reward for a strong drive by Brick.

Elsewhere, Lancer Evo 9 crew, Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence, were first home in the showroom category with 4th overall whilst Ian Bainbridge and Daniel May claimed B13 victory with an excellent 5th in their very nicely turned out Subaru Impreza.

FULL RESULTS

NATIONAL A
NATIONAL B

PHOTOS (click “view full size” for best resolution)

Cambrian5
Cambrian1
Cambrian12
Cambrian3
Cambrian8
Cambrian4
Cambrian6
Cambrian7
Cambrian2
Cambrian9
Cambrian11
Cambrian10

 

 

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Edwards Dominates Rallynuts Stages to claim Maiden BTRDA Victory

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With the Malcolm Wilson rally falling victim of the weather, the BTRDA contingent would instead head to mid Wales for round 2 of the championship, the recently re-branded Rallynuts Stages Rally (previously Severn Valley Stages).  And, after a month or two of less than pleasant weather, it was rather apt that one of the warmest days of the year so far would welcome the Midland Manor Motor Club Organised event to the championship after several years of association with Historic rallying.

Much like the Cambrian Rally, the entry list was filled with rapid machinery, including 4 WRC Ford’s.  But, also following a similar theme to the season opener, it was an R5 machine, more specifically a Fiesta R5 in the hands of Matt Edwards and Darren Garrod, that would take centre stage.

OVERALL

Edwards truly was in a league of his own on this event and with no protruding logs to halt his progress, would go on to record fastest time on all 7 stages and claim a maiden BTRDA victory by a mammoth 40 seconds from the WRC Ford’s of Luke Francis and Paul Bird;  the Welsh star clearly enjoying his home stages having now set fastest time on 12 of the Championship’s first 14 stages, all 12 of the stages completed by the Swift backed Fiesta man (missed stages 2 & 3 of Cambrian)!  With pace like this, there is little doubt Edwards will be at the sharp end of the British Rally Championship battle when the series kicks off later this month.

Behind, Luke Francis and John H Roberts had a much stronger second BTRDA championship outing in their Melvyn Evans Motorsport prepared Fiesta WRC.  Forced into retirement after clipping a rock on the Cambrian, the North Wales based duo registered second fastest time on every stage bar the last to finish the event in a very comfortable second.

Rounding out the podium positions, Paul Bird, with Jack Morton alongside, continued his strong start to the season after a 2 year lay off.  Locked in a tight battle with the Fiesta of Hugh Hunter throughout the morning stages, the North of England duo managed to snatch third in stage 3 before inching away from their rivals over the final 4 tests; thus ensuring they maintained their early championship lead.

CLASS RESULTS

Well inside the top ten, class B13 victory went the way of Tom Cave and Dale Bowen.  Cave, making a guest appearance in the family owned Subaru, was near untouchable over the classic Welsh terrain, finishing the event 1.5 minutes clear of his nearest class rival; his speed further rewarded with 7th position overall and the honour of first non Ford home.

With 11th overall, Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy claimed a comfortable class NR4 victory in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.  Their day was perhaps made a little easier when usual front runners Patrick Naylor and Ian Lawrence suffered a stage 1 mechanical, however a 40 second class victory over the similar machine of Tom Naughton is proof they would have been a match for anyone on the day.

A thrilling Silver Star battle produced a somewhat surprise result with Max Utting and Mike Ainsworth making a mockery of their seeding to claim category victory in their Ford Fiesta ST.  It was in fact a sensational come back by the Oxford based duo who, having  found themselves 14 seconds behind the Category leading Escort after SS3, completed the Radnor and second Crychan tests some 29 seconds faster than their rivals!  And with just the 2 short stages remaining, Utting and Ainsworth would maintain their advantage to record a very impressive top twenty finish.

B12 Class winners, Owen McMakin and Lee Taylor had lead the Silver Star category through the first 3 stages, however the remainder of the event did not go so well;  The Irish / Welsh pairing not only losing the lead to Utting in stage 5 but also falling behind the Class B11 Escort of Rob Dennis and Andrew Boswell.  McMakin’s strong early pace was however rewarded with his second BTRDA class win of the season and third overall in the Silver Star Category.

Class B10/R2 honours went the way of Josh McErlean and Aaron Johnston in their Fiesta R2; the pairing having snatched the lead from the similar machine of George Lepley in Radnor before gradually pulling away over the afternoon stages to record a 9 second class victory with 24th overall (4th in the Silver Star Category).

Rounding out a very successful day for the blue oval marque, James Giddings and Sion Cunniff claimed class N3 victory in their Fiesta ST with 46th position overall; the 4th class win of the day for a Fiesta crew!

In the 1400 category, round 1 winners, Chris Powell and Jim Lewis exploded into a 31 second lead after the first 3 stages only to find themselves condemned to the retirements list just one stage later.  This left the door wide open for Dave and Toby Brick, this time in a Vauxhall Corsa, to take a commanding 3.5 minute victory with 37th position overall.  Meanwhile Perry Gardener and Steve Link would take the 1400C honours with 78th position overall in their Vauxhall Nova.

By the end of SS4, two of the leading Historic contenders, Nick Elliott (engine issues in SS1) and Rudi Lancaster (Gearbox) were out of the event, which left the Escort’s of Ernie Graham and Terry Brown to battle it out for category victory.  There was absolutely nothing to choose between the two cars over much of the morning before a slow time in Radnor for Brown and co-driver Den Golding put pay to their challenge; the 18 seconds lost allowing Graham and co-driver Robin Kellard to go on and record their second BTRDA Historic victory in as many events.

Behind, Tom Coughtrie and Baz Green seemed to have the H4 spec, ex works, Mitsubishi Galant running well and duly claimed class honours with 4th in category and 47th overall.  Whilst, just one place further back in 48th, Gareth Lewis and Mark Crisp dominated class H1/H2 in their MK2 Escort, claiming class victory by nearly 2 minutes from the similar Ford of Jeff Wincott.

After a day long battle with Bart Lang, Andrew Wheatley made it two Rally First victories out of 2 in his Ford Puma.  He and Ian Nichols finishing the event in a very commendable 62nd position overall.

FULL RESULTS

Next up, the BTRDA contenders head further North for another Welsh outing, this time for the Knutsford & District Motor Club organised Plains Rally on 12th May.  A rally in which Stephen Petch will be hoping to repeat his 2017 success and keep himself at the forefront of the title battle.  If the in-form Edwards should make an entry however he and co-driver Michael Wilkinson may well have their work cut out!

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Mellors Masters Cambrian in Brand New R5 Proton

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Ollie Mellors and Max Freeman stylishly proved the pace of the Proton Iriz R5 on the North Wales based Cambrian Rally; the pairing fighting off a large contingent of R5 and WRC machines to claim a maiden BTRDA victory.

The BTRDA season opening Cambrian Rally had by no means attracted the largest of entries, but what it did boast was a quality filled top 20.  And with this in mind, few would have expected Ollie Mellors and Max Freeman, in the brand new Proton Iriz R5 to head the time sheets as the rally returned to the Llandudno finish; especially given the pairing had never even met prior to the event and many a WRC Ford were seeded in front of them.

The technical nature of the Snowdonia National Park stages more often than not reward local knowledge, skill and bravery however, and, despite the power disadvantage, it was the R5 cars which shone in the glorious North Wales sunshine.

Indeed, it was BRC regular Matt Edwards who leapt into a massive 16 second lead after the first run through Penmachno South, only for his victory challenge to be dramatically cut short when clipping a hidden log in stage 2.  Under new regulations however, Edwards and co-driver Darren Garrod were able to re-join the event for the final four stages thus gaining valuable seat time and continuing their utter domination of the stages; claiming stage victories by 6, 12, 8 and 4 seconds respectively!  A case of what might have been …

“To finish first, first you have to finish” is well known phrase in rallying, and Mellors was in prime position to take advantage of Edward’s indiscretion, taking a 7 second lead after stage 2 and managing to hold the Focus WRC of Paul Bird and Jack Morton at bay for the remainder of the event to record a mighty impressive 6 second victory, the most significant to date for the new Iriz R5.  An even more remarkable feat when you consider the Proton suffered a puncture in the penultimate stage.

Bird may well have fancied his chances against R5 machinery but, following a 2 year ban, will have been more than happy to commence his full time BTRDA return with maximum points; reward for the first championship registered crew home in second place overall.

Meanwhile, current champions Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson in the WRC Fiesta, made a strong start to their title defence.  After a conservative approach to stage 1 saw them lying 8th overall, the WD40 sponsored Ford crew upped their speed as the day went on to eventually round out the podium positions, just 30 seconds shy of the eventual winners.

Further back, Dylan Davies and Llion Williams claimed B13 class honours with 8th position overall in their Subaru Impreza whilst Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy were the first “showroom” class crew home in 10th aboard their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

And, finishing just outside the top 40, Tom Coughtrie and Baz Green claimed the first ever class H4 victory for pre-91 historic machinery in their ex-works Mitsubishi Galant VR4.

SILVER STAR

The battle for 2 wheel drive victory was fought out by a wide variety of machinery and it was Ieuan Rowlands in the freshly built Historic specification Avenger who was quickest out of the blocks.  Usually aboard a Volvo engined MK2, the Ffestiniog resident, with Emyr Hall alongside, was using the event to shakedown the BRM engined machine ahead of a full British Historic campaign and held a 13 second Silver Star category lead until a stage 4 puncture dropped them back.

17th, 14th and 15th fastest time in the remaining three tests would however secure the local crew third place and top spot in the historic category.  On this evidence they will be at the sharp end of the BHRC battle when the series kicks off on next month’s Rally North Wales!

John Rowlands, in his usual B11 class MK2 Escort, would head a 2WD top ten remarkably covered by just 52 seconds following brother Ieuan’s issues in Alwen, themselves lucky to still be in the event following a huge moment in stage 1 (see Facebook!) And using his local knowledge to full effect was able to pull away from the field over the afternoon stages to register a relatively comfortable Silver Star victory for he and Glenn Latham.

2nd in the Silver Star category represented a fantastic result for Chris Powell and Jim Lewis in their 1400 Talbot Sunbeam.  The Herefordshire based duo putting in an incredible performance to end the event just 24 seconds behind John Rowlands in 17th position overall and take the 1400 category by over 3.5 minutes!

Elsewhere, James Williams and Ross Whittock claimed the combined B10/R2 honours with 19th overall in their Vauxhall Adam.  BRC regular, William Creighton in his Peugeot 208 had provided stiff early competition and held the class lead before losing 2 minutes in Penmachno North (SS6); thus leaving the door wide open for Williams and Whittock to claim the honour of first front wheel drive crew home.

Owen McMakin and Lee Taylor registered class B12 victory with 24th position overall in their MK2 Escort after a day long battle with Richard Sykes.  Sykes was in fact leading the class by 4 seconds in his Citroen DS3 before ending the day in a stage 6 ditch.

Josh Browne and Jane Edgington would wrap up a 23 second combined H1 & H2 historic class victory with 26th position overall whilst the second placed MK1 Escort crew of Ernie Graham and Robin Kellard were left to rue the 26 seconds lost on the opening 2 stages of the event.

Zak Hughes and Tom Wood claimed N3 class victory with 33rd position overall in their Fiesta ST whilst the Vauxhall Nova crew of Perry Gardener and Toby Brick were first home in 1400c with 48th position overall.

Rounding out the class winners, Sam & Liam Johnson and Matthew Baddeley & Shaun Hughes claimed the respective RF1.4 and RF2.0 classes in what turned out to be a tough event for the small contingent of Rally First crews.

Full Results

Concentrating on the front of the field you could be forgiven for believing UK Forest Rallying to be in good health.  However just 4 Rally First cars and not that many more 1400 machines started the Cambrian; the ludicrous MSA running order regulations surely contributing to the decline in numbers.  The second running of Llyn Elsi was described as rough by the top runners so you can only imagine how it felt for the smaller runners at the back.

Rally 2WD appears to be the way forward for some rallies but this format is unlikely to suit the BTRDA Championship and Nicky Grist, amongst others, has called for a return to running 2 wheel drive and historic machinery nearer the front.  Let’s hope common sense prevails before too long as with just over a week to go before round 2, the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the entry list is not exactly bursting at the seams!

However, this should not deter from was ultimately an excellent Cambrian following the snow and ice enforced cancellation of last years event.  The battle at the sharp end was as close as ever and despite long delays early on no stage mileage was lost, for which the organisers deserve massive credit.  But whilst the Cambrian has BRC ambitions for 2019, the question that has to asked is how sustainable the current BTRDA entry levels are? especially given last seasons hike in forestry commission charges.  Changing the running order may well be the only viable solution …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)