Tag Archives: Stephen Petch

Ahlin & Petch Claim Nicky Grist Spoils

July 14, 2017 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Since my last visit in 2015, the mid Wales based Nicky Grist Stages has gained British Rally Championship status, and with it, an additional day of action of the very fast Tarmac roads of Epynt; uniquely making the event the only multi surface fixture on the 2017 BRC Calendar.

The 2017 British Rally Championship hasn’t quite attracted the same level of interest as it’s re-birth year however and thankfully the modest 28 international entries were swelled somewhat by a healthy 102 national B competitors taking part in the Saturday only BTRDA round; a pivotal round 6 of 8 in the 2017 championship.

There are few better views in British rallying than that offered by Route 60 and from our vantage point between junctions 5 & 6 it was easy to see why Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss had taken an early lead in their Spencer Sport Fiesta R5. Their commitment over the infamous crest was second to none with this moment alone making the 7 hour round trip worthwhile!

But, having been quickest on 5 of the 8 gravel stages and having built a lead of just over 19 seconds by the overnight halt, things would all go wrong for the Welsh pairing as the event headed for the Tarmac. Disappointingly, having played their joker, the pre-event championship leaders would initially pick up a five second penalty before being forced into retirement on stage 12 with fuel pump failure.

This left the door wide open for Fredrik Ahlin and Torstein Eriksen to claim their 3^rd win of the year. Just eight seconds in arrears heading into SS12, the Swedish/Norwegian pairing were more than worthy winners and will look to consolidate their championship lead over the final 2 Asphalt rounds of the season.

Whilst not able to benefit from the same pre-event recce as the BRC competitors, the action at the front of the BTRDA field was just as fierce; a three way fight for the event win soon developing between the WRC fiesta’s of Peter Taylor and Stephen Petch and the R5+ machine of Callum Black.

Two early stage wins for Peter Taylor, co driven by Andrew Roughead, had seen the Carlisle man take an early lead before a puncture in SS4 would drop them back to third. Taylor would fight back during the afternoon loop however, claiming 3 of the 4 stage wins, but the overall victory proved just out of reach.

Whilst consistency had been the key for Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson to emerge as leaders following Taylor’s problems in stage 4, it was a turn of pace in stage 7 that would ultimately seal victory. Callum Black and Peter Taylor were just a respective 5 and 6 seconds in arrears heading into the second running of the Halfway stage, however a clear fastest time overall for the Bishop Auckland man ensured he and Wilkinson would take a relatively comfortable 9 second margin into the Crychan finale. And whilst Taylor claimed his fifth stage win to snatch second from Black, Petch maintained his nerve to record an 8 second victory. A victory which puts him right back in the title hunt with just the Woodpecker and Trackrod to run.

The production based Group N machines excelled in the dry and dusty conditions with eventual class winners, Sacha Kakad and James Aldridge, finishing the day in an excellent 5^th position overall. Kakad didn’t have it all his own way however; the evo X driver first having to fend off a fast starting Patrick Naylor and later an afternoon charge from the vastly experienced Richard Hill. Naylor and Hill’s victory challenges would end with time losses in SS4 and SS7 respectively however, leaving the consistent Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy to claim second, just 5.7 seconds in arrears. An apt result given Kakad and Thompson shared fastest time overall on the days third test.

Class B13 honours would go the way of Subaru crew, Toni Carannante and Simon Coates, with 11^th position overall; a class which Dylan Davies and LLion Williams had dominated before retiring with power steering failure in SS6. Davies’ unfortunate demise did however throw the battle for class victory wide open with just 4 tenths separating Carannante and the Mitsubishi Evo 6 of Simon Rogers as they approached the final 2 stages. And despite Rogers, with Wyn Davies alongside, recording a time 6.5 seconds quicker in the Crychan finale, Carannante and Coates would take class victory courtesy of a super quick pass through Halfway.

With 13^th position overall, Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor claimed an excellent Silver Star victory in their Citroen DS3; the Black Country/York based pairing dominating proceedings in both class B12 and the two wheel drive category to take victory by almost 50 seconds.

Second in category, and 16^th overall, was the MK2 Escort of B11 class winners Owen McMackin and Lee Taylor. Strong performances in both runs of Halfway and Crychan the deciding factor as they headed home another MK2 in the hands of Nick Dobson and Steve Pugh and the Andy Davison/Tom Murphy piloted Sunbeam.

Just one place further back in 17^th were 1400 victors Dave and Toby Brick. The “Flying Farmer” was at his flamboyant best over the morning run of Route 60 and would find himself locked in a day long battle for class victory with the Talbot Sunbeam of Chris Powell and Jim Lewis; the duo separated by just 4.2 seconds as they headed into the final stage. Unfortunately for Powell however, the Herefordshire Raceway backed machine would not emerge from stage 8 leaving Brick to take a very hard fought victory.

Bob Vardy and Keaton Williams fought off a healthy gathering of B10 rivals to claim class victory in their Ford Fiesta R2. Lying second at the mid point service, Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith had closed the gap to just 2 seconds after the second running of Route 60 but would ultimately drop to third behind another R2 in the hands of Jordan Reynolds. Neither of whom quite had the pace to catch Vardy and Williams as the pairing registered a 12.9 second class victory with 22^nd position overall.

Steve Ward and Mike Crawford enjoyed a strong run over the Mid Wales gravel to claim overall Historic and class H2 honours with 33^rd position overall. Josh Browne had taken an early lead in a similar MK2 Escort but was forced into retirement after stage 4 leaving the way clear for Ward to take victory from the H3 class winning Ford of Paul Gunter and Jack Walby. Meanwhile Class H1 would go the way of Ken Davies and Alan Jones in their Volvo Amazon.

Elsewhere, Joe Evett and Matt Fowle would claim 1400C honours with a superb 35th whilst Sam Bilham and Cameron Fair would record class N3 victory with 38^th position overall. Bart Lang and Sinclair Young meanwhile defied their seeding with a dominant Rally First victory in 53^rd position overall!

FULL BRC RESULTS

FULL BTRDA RESULTS

CLASS WINNERS GALLERY

Bart Lang / Sinclair Young | Nicky Grist Stages 2017

Joe Evett / Matt Fowle | Nicky Grist Stages 2017

Sam Bilham / Cameron Fair | Nicky Grist Stages 2017

Toni Carannante / Simon Coates | Nicky Grist Stages 2017

Having not managed to attend any BTRDA events in 2017 prior to the Nicky Grist it soon became apparent what I had been missing. The variety of machinery is the key, made even better by the inclusion of the BRC competitors; the extra commitment of whom, probably aided by the recce, was at times simply breathtaking!

The addition of the BRC certainly helped bolster entry levels too; something which the Trackrod Rally in late September will be hoping to replicate as the event closes out the season for both the BTRDA and BHRC championships. With many events struggling for entries in 2017, maybe searching for more ways to entwine the 3 major UK championships is the answer …

All images © Paul Commons (Paul Commons Motorsport Photography)

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Thorburn Triumphant in the Lakes

March 10, 2015 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Euan Thorburn and Richard Cooke put in a sensational afternoon drive on the Lake District based Malcolm Wilson Rally to convert a 15 second deficit into a 46 second winning margin.

A 2.30am alarm was required for the long journey up to the Cumbria for round 2 of the BTRDA rally series. The 40th anniversary running of the Malcolm Wilson Rally would see 118 cars leave the M-Sport based start to attempt 8 stages, covering 44 competitive miles, within the Whinlatter, Grizedale and Greystoke forests.

High winds and occasional showers greeted our mammoth climb to junction 7 of Comb for stage 2 and it was Paul Bird and Aled Davies who made the most of the tricky morning conditions; opening up a 5 second lead over Thorburn and Cooke on completion of the undulating Whinlatter forest tests.

Bird then continued his excellent start to the event, making full use of his local knowledge to register fastest time in both Thornsgill and Greystoke to complete a clean sweep of morning stage victories. Thorburn was however able to keep the Cumbrian man in sight, and by the time the cars reached the first Penrith service halt the reigning Scottish champion was just 15 seconds adrift with more than half of the rally remaining.

Thorburn was using Paul Benn’s 02 Focus WRC for this event and maybe the Scotsman just needed the morning to re-acclimatise with this particular car, having used a similar model to claim the 2013 BTRDA and 2014 Scottish titles. This seemed to be the case as an excellent drive through Grizedale North saw him take stage victory by 15 seconds before going better still in Grizedale South and registering a time that was a whopping 29 seconds quicker than anyone else to now lead the event by the same margin from Bird and Davies.

Stephen Petch and Ian Windress meanwhile had found a good rhythm in their Fiesta R5+ and joint second fastest time in stage 6 promoted them 3 places up the overall standings to 4th overall; now just 11 seconds behind the very rapid B13 Subaru of Jim McNeil and Tony Bassett. Conversely, David Weston’s strong morning display, which had seen the WRC Subaru lying in third place overall, unravelled with a puncture in stage 5. He and Kirsty Riddick however remained just 12 seconds behind the final step of the podium in fifth following the completion of the Grizedale loop of stages

While Bird’s victory hopes had faded, second appeared to be safe having secured a mammoth 1 minute and 17 seconds gap to third with just 8.5 miles left to run. The fight for the final step of the podium however was most definitely on; now between Petch and Weston following the unfortunate retirement of Jim McNeil’s Subaru with an electrical gremlin.

Heading into the wet final stage, the WD40 backed Ford held a slender 2 second lead. But try as they might, Petch and Windress could not quite match the 7 minute 30 second marker laid down by the Subaru of Weston and Riddick; eventually missing out on third place by a mere 4 seconds. Weston on the other hand will have been pleased with third as even without the puncture, the top two would have been difficult to catch.

Upfront, Thorburn continued his total afternoon domination by claiming another impressive stage victory with a time that was 17 seconds faster than Bird to end the rally with a winning margin of 46 seconds. His time in the wet afternoon running of Greystoke was a whole 21 seconds quicker than the morning test! This had been some drive by the Berwickshire man.

There was little that Bird could do to defend his lead with Thorburn in this sort of form and so his search for a fifth Malcolm Wilson Rally victory will have to wait another year. However the Cumbrian will be consoled by the fact that he has a healthy BTRDA championship lead after adding 28 points to the 30 earned from his Wyedean Rally victory.

CLASS B13

Luke Francis and Jim McNeil locked horns early on in the battle for B13 honours; Francis setting third quickest time overall in Revellin Moss, only for McNeil to go quicker in Comb and then Greystoke to take an 8 second class lead into the first Penrith service, with the Mitsubishi of Wayne Sisson and Fiesta of Andrew Gallagher lying 12 and 16 seconds further back respectively in 3rd and 4th position in class.

McNeil then dominated the two Grizedale stages setting 3rd and 5th fastest times overall to take a commanding 42 class lead into the final 2 stages. Meanwhile, Andrew Gallagher, with Jane Nicol on the notes, had managed to haul in Francis and was now six seconds in front of the Welshman; a battle that would prove key given the demise of McNeil before the start of stage 7.

Indeed, Francis may have been able to cut the gap to just 2 seconds heading into the Greystoke finale, but 5th fastest time overall for Gallagher would ensure that he and Nicol would head back North of the border with class victory and a fine 5th place overall.

In fact a slow time for Francis on the final test cost him second in class too; Wayne Sisson and Neil Shanks putting in a strong final stage performance to take the runner up spot in B13 with 6th place overall.

CLASS N4

Russ Thompson and Thomas Naughton were again the front runners in the top production class; the pair each taking 2 class stage wins on the morning stages, but with Naughton and Andi Mort holding a 9 second margin over Thompson and Andy Murphy at the first Penrith service.

As in other classes though it was the Grizedale tests that proved decisive; Thompson coming out on top and taking a 17 second lead into the final 2 stages. While Naughton was quicker in both, the gap was just too big to close, leaving the Clitheroe man to wrap up his second BTRDA class win of the season with 7th position overall.

CLASS H3

Matthew Robinson, with Kim Baker on the notes this time, put in yet another stellar performance to claim both the Historic and Silver Star honours on the Cumbrian event. The Escort crew were kept on their toes early on by the evergreen Steve Bannister. The infamous red striped MK2 however suffered from a puncture in Grizedale North, causing them to take a stage maximum as a result and ending any hopes of class victory. That aside the Ripon man would have taken some beating; finishing the day in 10th position overall to take Silver Star honours by 1 minute 28 seconds and H3 by a massive 2 minutes 55!

CLASS B11

You would not have believed Boyd Kershaw had been away from the sport for 2 years after he and co-driver Mark Fisher opened up a 29 second class lead after the first four stages. In fact the Escort crew went on to set fastest time in class on all eight stages to take a comfortable 1 minute and 14 second victory over the front wheel drive Astra of Stuart Egglestone and Brian Hodgson; ending the day as second 2 wheel drive crew home in 14th position overall.

1400

The much anticipated pre-event duel between Yorkshire rivals Mat Smith and David Bennett unfortunately ended on the morning loop of stages. Bennett, with Alistair McNeil alongside, had been lying 16th overall with a 10 second class lead before incurring event ending damage in the short Thornsgill stage. This left Smith and Giles Dykes to take a comfortable 1 minute and 15 second class victory in their newly liveried Proton; but more impressively ending the day as third 2 wheel drive crew home, claiming 15th position overall in the process.

Meanwhile victory in the 1400C class was again claimed by Keith and Mairi Riddick in their MG ZR, giving them a large championship class lead at this early stage of the season.

CLASS B10

Class B10 was settled sensationally on a tie break after both Greg McKnight and Barry Lindsay registered the same overall time after 44 competitive stage miles. In a fantastic battle that saw the class lead change 4 times throughout the day, Greg and Chris McKnight finally ended the day as class winners courtesy of their quicker stage 1 time.

CLASS H2

Andy Kelly and Roger Herron came out on top of the all Escort affair that was class H2. David Dobson had however been leading the class in his MK2 before an off in Grizedale South ended his hopes of victory. Instead Andy Kelly picked up his pace as the day went on to take class honours by 47 seconds with 36th position overall.

CLASS N3

Tony Simpson and Ian Bevan were guaranteed class victory with an event finish by virtue of being the only car entered in N3. However a solid performance by the Fiesta crew was rewarded with 43rd overall.

CLASS H1

Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith were holding a near 4 minute class lead when the only other H1 crew in the event, the Escort of David Thirlwell and Graham Reader, retired in Grizedale South. Jordan and Gratton-Smith however beat several more powerful cars on their way to an excellent 44th overall.

RALLY FIRST

Mick Quinn and Neill Cameron in their Nissan Micra got the better of Phil and Chris Spilsted’s similar machine to take RF1.0 class victory with 80th overall.

Nick Carr and Joe Sturdy claimed RF1.4 victory with a winning margin of 2 minutes and 33 seconds to finish the day in a very respectable 55th position overall.

While James West and Steve Eggington put in a strong performance to claim RF1.6 honours by over 3 minutes with 49th position overall in their VW Polo.

RESULTS

FULL RESULTS

IN SUMMARY

To be honest I didn’t think anyone would have the beating of Paul Bird in his own back yard but Thorburn’s afternoon charge was simply breathtaking and hopefully he will be making a few more appearances south of the border in 2015; a major highlight from a great day following yet another well run BTRDA event.

We just about made it to three stages, having almost been turned away from Greystoke due to the car parks being jam packed. I am not sure I have ever seen so many people in there and for the first time ever I actually enjoyed the stage. A significant amount of tree felling and surface changes since our last visit has completely transformed the viewing. Clearly charging a mere £5 for parking works and is most definitely the right way to get spectators to park where you want them to.

After a full days action it was gone Midnight before I arrived back in Birmingham; the 21.5 hour day probably the longest period of time I have gone without sleep since last years Le Mans. Was it worth it? Absolutely!

The next rally for me is most likely to be the Pirelli in late April although I may yet be tempted by Rally North Wales …

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Petch Marches to Malton Forest Glory

November 5, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson emerged as victors of the 2014 MEM Malton Forest Rally after a day long battle with the similar machine of Charles Payne and Andrew Roughead.

The 2014 Malton Forest Rally was not even on my radar until I stumbled across the entry list just one week ago. It may not have been the largest field of cars ever to start an event but this was more than made up for in terms of quality. A historic entry boasting the likes of Julian Reynolds in a 131, Ben Mellors in the Celica RA45 and Matt Edwards in the Geoff Jones Motorsport prepared MK2 Escort was something that could not be missed. Not to mention the 4WD Fords of Stephen Petch and Charles Payne together with the new turbo engined Proton Satria of Ollie Mellors!

Having visited Gale Rigg on this years Trackrod, I headed instead to Cropton, staying long enough for the historics to complete the reverse run followed by a quick dash to Langdale to see the whole field attempt the final stage. It was nice to be back in the Spiers House part of Cropton having not watched there since the 2007 North Humberside Stages whilst it had also been several years since I stood at Langdale’s double junction; a section of stage which has been completely transformed following a spate of tree felling.

OVERALL / CLASS 5

Ollie Mellors defence of his 2013 crown did not last long. The Proton Satria, with the new turbo development engine under the bonnet suffered from mechanical issues on stage1. Whilst not finishing the morning loop of stages, the MEM machine, co-driven by the vastly experienced Rob Fagg, did however manage to complete some much needed mileage by rejoining the field in the afternoon.

Instead the battle for rally victory lay with the Fiesta R5+ of Stephen Petch and the similar looking Focus engined machine of Charles Payne. Number 2 seed and BTRDA regular, Petch, managed to open up an early lead in Gale Rigg, but it was Payne who returned to the halfway service with a 1 second lead courtesy of a very quick time in the first Langdale test.

The SGP Motorsport man had the bit between his teeth after lunch however, taking a mammoth 7 seconds out of Payne in Cropton and a further 2 in Gale Rigg. And although Payne’s Focus engined Fiesta probably had the power advantage down the long straights of Langdale, it was Petch who appeared the neat and tidier around the tight double junctions. The tied Langdale stage time enough for Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson to take an 8 second victory.

HISTORIC

Fresh from a great result on the Cambrian Rally a couple of weeks ago, Matt Edwards, with Paul Morris on the maps, was back behind the wheel of his GJM prepared MK2 Escort for the Malton Forest Rally, an ideal warm up for the season ending RAC rally at the end of the month.

While the man from North Wales was a clear favourite, many were drawn to the stages by the return of the RSD Fiat 131 Arbarth in the hands of Julian Reynolds and the Ben Mellors piloted Toyota Celica RA45; both cars having made their competitive debuts on the recent Trackrod Forest Stages.

No-one was going to make the Italian machine go quicker than the very rapid Julian Reynolds and it was great to see, and hear, the stunning machine being put through it’s paces along some of Yorkshire’s finest stages, seemingly over the teething problems suffered on the Trackrod.

Edwards however was yet again in a class of his own, fastest historic on every stage bar one to claim the class victory by over a minute from the Swift Caravans sponsored 131 of Reynolds and Patrick Walsh. RSD must have been over the moon with the runner up spot however, proving that the Fiat is more than capable of competing with the dominant blue oval machines. I have my fingers crossed that Reynolds and Walsh appear on the RAC entry list over the next couple of weeks.

Tim Mason and Graham Wild were the only entered class H5 crew in their Prepfab prepared Porsche 911. They didn’t rest on their laurels however, taking the fight to the large H4 class entry and missing out on the overall historic runner up spot by a mere 3 seconds.

Ben Mellors and Alex Lee had been going well in the huge Celica, lying 14th overall and 6th historic before the second Langdale test. However a snapped gear lever in the final stage prematurely ended a great run for the Mellors Elliot Motorsport crew. Disappointment aside, like Reynolds, the Bakewell driver did manage to show the potential of the Japanese machine; both cars providing hope that we might see a little more variety in the class over the coming years. Class H3 proved very close indeed.

Andrew Siddall had initially set the pace in Gale Rigg but failed to emerge from the first Cropton test, leaving Phil Jobson and Ian Watson to battle it out. The pair traded times throughout the day but it was Jobson, with Arwel Jenkins on the maps, who managed to overturn a 5 second deficit in the final stage to take the class victory by 4 seconds from Ian Watson and Mike Dickson.

While class H2 may have been a little less competitive, Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith still put in a strong performance to claim 25th overall in their Hilman Avenger, finishing exactly 1 minute ahead of the MK1 Escort crew of Robert Rook and Miles Cartright; the latter not shy in throwing their Ford around the classic Yorkshire forests either.

CLASSES

Ian Jemison and Dean Kellett followed up a great run on the Trackrod with a well deserved 21st overall (10th in the open class) in their very unique Porsche Boxster. Whilst their only class opposition retired on stage 1, 21st overall, against some very strong crews, meant they would have taken some beating and were one of the most committed crews through this section of Cropton …

Class 3 was a mainly Ford Escort affair; Dave Lewis and Steve Southall ending up on top of the pile, with the similar machines of Paul Hudson and Robert Carr just under a minute further back. Lewis and Southall finishing just one place behind the Boxster of Jemison in 22nd position.

In class 2, Michael and Josh Davison managed to get the better of the Peugeot’s of Andy Stretton and Steve Megson. The bright orange Proton Satria, overturning an 8 second deficit on the final stage to claim class victory by 17 seconds from Stretton and, co-driver, Ian Harden’s 205.

In class 1, 2014 BTRDA 1400 champ, Mat Smith, proved that it is not just a Ford Ka that he can throw around the forests as he and co-driver, Chris Row, went on to take a convincing class victory with 23rd place overall. This after suffering gear linkage problems in stage 1 which left them down in 50th position! A happy household was guaranteed as second car home in class was Amanda Cornforth-Smith in the White Ka, with her father, Derek, alongside.

The 400 mile trip had most defintiely been worthwhile; the Malton Forest Rally proving once again to be a great little event which turned out to be one of best days viewing this year. Queues on the A64 were more than made up for by a much needed stop off at dad’s for refreshments before the final leg of the journey home. Next up is RALLY GB, still one of the highlights of the motorsport year …

RESULTS

1. Stephen Petch / Michael Wilkinson – Fiesta R5+ (5) – 0:38:27
2. Charles Payne / Andrew Roughead – Fiesta (5) – +00:08
3. Peter Stephenson / Ian Windress – Focus WRC (5) – +00:57
4. Ian Joel / Graeme Wood – Escort WRC (5) – +01:42
5. Paul Benn / Richard Cooke – Focus WRC (5) – +01:50
6. Steve Petch / John Richardson – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (5) – +03:00
7. Matt Edwards / Paul Morris – Escort MK2 (H4) – +03:02
8. Tony Jardine / Peta Todd – Mitsubishi Evo 9 (5) – +04:10
9. Julian Reynolds / Patrick Walsh – Fiat 131 Arbarth (H4) – +04:18
10. Tim Mason / Graham Wild – Porsche 911 (H5) – +04:21

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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New Territory, Windscreen glare and an incredibly close finish to the Somerset Stages

April 15, 2014 paulcommons1983 Leave a comment

Steve Perez and Paul Spooner held off a late challenge from Stephen Petch and Ian Windress to take the Somerset Stages victory on a first stage tie breaker.

In hindsight the bottle of wine in Pizza Express on friday night was not the wisest decision with such an early start. However I wasn’t driving and was suitably refreshed by the time we arrived at Knowle some three hours later.

Having not attended the Somerset Stages since 2009 and with a new stage to tick off the list I was really looking forward to this one especially with four Foci and a WRC Impreza filling the top five spots on the entry list.

After the misfortune of getting caught up behind a slow moving wide load on the A39 we just about reached junction 12 before the zero car arrived. As expected the light was proving to be a bit of an issue but fortunately I had come prepared with a couple of polarizing filters in an attempt to combat the anticipated windscreen glare. Not having much luck with the Hoya wide angle filter I decided to revert to the UV for a couple of shots on the inside of the junction. This was the best of the bunch with a black and white conversion a necessity in the strange light.

With great disappointment, the super fast David Bogie had retired with ignition coil failure before the cars even reached stage 3. The rest of the field more than made up for his departure however with some spectacular driving around this relatively tight hairpin.

The B&W polarizer I had on the 70-200 was working much better ( and to be honest, even though cheaper than the hoya filter, is a much better quality piece of kit). The Marshal’s car parked behind the junction was perfectly positioned in the sense that no practice shot was required to set the filter; but less well positioned when, along with the infamous red & white tape, it filled the background of the majority of my shots. I don’t like to overly use Photoshop but it does come in useful every now and then!

By the halfway mark, Paul Bird and Aled Davies in their Focus WRC had built up a 13 second lead over the similar machine of Steve Perez and Paul Spooner with Stephen Petch, David Weston and Luke Francis rounding out the top five. Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence were getting the better of their Group N opposition with 6th overall whilst the in form Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis were leading the historic class in 11th. Darren Pinchin was making the most of David Bennett’s retirement and Mat Smith’s decision to miss this event by leading the 1400 section with 21st overall.

With the aid of Google Maps, it was decided that junction 3 was worth a look for the second running of the stage. Listening to a couple of my Dad and Uncle’s familiar Mini related stories from their competitive days helped pass the time. I lose count of the number of times I have heard the one about the loose wheel and the nettles ….

After a small delay for the recovery of stranded vehicles the leading 1400 contenders soon came into view with the light still proving to be an issue from a photographer’s perspective. The crews were able to really attack this wide open downhill hairpin left with Jon Ballinger and Mike Wilding in their Opel Manta being by far the most spectacular through this section.

A sit down with a cuppa as opposed to chasing off to the final stage was the preferred option by the time we had got back to the car. This gave time to catch up on the results and discover that Paul Bird and Aled Davies had unfortunately retired on the 10th stage of the rally with a reported broken drive shaft. This left Steve Perez and Stephen Petch to battle it out for victory.

With two stages remaining Perez held a 7 second lead over Petch with David Weston a further 26 seconds back. Incredibly Petch went 3 seconds quicker in the short Timberscombe stage and then 4 seconds faster in Bats Castle to tie Perez with a total penalty of 42.28! Petch and Windress had actually won more stages throughout the day but the tie breaker rewards the the crew who are quickest out of the blocks. And so it was Steve Perez and Paul Spooner who would come out on top courtesy of their quicker stage 1 time.

David Weston and Kirsty Riddick would consolidate a strong run with the final step of the podium while Luke Francis and John H Roberts claimed B13 honours with 4th overall. Tom Naughton and Andi Mort took the group N victory by just 1 second from Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence after a stunning final stage push. They went into the Bats Castle finale with a 5 second deficit to make up.

Class B12 went the way of Callum Black and Paul Wakely in their front wheel drive DS3 with 10th overall. Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis held onto the Historic lead throughout the day with 11th whilst B10 went the way of Andy Burnell and Scott Cleverdon in the Skoda Felicia Kit car. The very flamboyant Jon Ballinger and Mike Wilding claimed B11 with 18th overall and Darren Pinchin and Karen Jenkins took the top spot in the 1400 category with 19th in their Proton Satria.

Minehead was the next point of call for fish and chips (Yes with the mushy peas on the chips thank you) and an opportunity to put my back out skimming stones into the sea. All in all it was a top day out. It is always good to get into new territory and Knowle proved a pretty good stage to watch.

With the Sportscar racing season starting this weekend, my next rally is looking like being the Dukeries in June. Hopefully Britain will be in the middle of a heatwave by then ….

Results:

1. Steve Perez / Paul Spooner – Ford Focus WRC – 42.28
2. Stephen Petch / Ian Windress – Ford Focus WRC +0.00
3. David Weston / Kirsty Riddick – Subaru Impreza WRC +0.28
4. Luke Francis / John H Roberts – Mitsubishi Evo 9 +01.32
5. Tom Naughton / Andi Mort – Mitsubishi Evo 9 +01.57
6. Pat Naylor / Ian Lawrence – Mitsubishi Evo 9 +01.58
7. Martyn England / Dawn England – Mitsusbishi Evo 10 +02.55
8. Russ Thompson / Andy Murphy – Mitsubishi Evo 9 +03.08
9. Roland Llewellin / Jamie Edwards – Mitsubishi Evo 9 +03.15
10. Callum Black / Paul Wakely – Citroen DS3 +04.09

Full Results

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CLASS WINNERS GALLERY

Euan Thorburn and Richard Cooke put in a sensational afternoon drive on the Lake District based Malcolm Wilson Rally to convert a 15 second deficit into a 46 second winning margin.

CLASS B13

CLASS N4

CLASS H3

CLASS B11

1400

CLASS B10

CLASS H2

CLASS N3

CLASS H1

RALLY FIRST

RESULTS

IN SUMMARY

OVERALL / CLASS 5

HISTORIC

CLASSES

RESULTS

BTRDA

RAC

Motorsport Reporting & Photography