Report from Autosport of 22nd August 1974

Drummond's power succeeds

By IAN SADLER Photographs by HUGH BISHOP

Point for point the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire Car "Club organised Castrol 75 rally produced what was regarded by many to be the best Castrol special stage rally yet run. The day was right Saturday, with all of Sunday in hand to clear-up and travel home. The weather was right, sunny and bright and the time was right with an all-daylight run for all but the last few over the final special stage. The Llandrindod Wells location before 15 superb stages could hardly have been bettered and the Shrewsbury finish was in the right direction for many Castrol AUTOSPORT competitors. The Castrol 75 was a very fine event with what turned out to be a high level of competition. Tony Drummond/Dave Richards were highly popular winners with their new 232bhp power unit installed but the most impressive performance of the rally came from Russell Brookes, finishing just 58 seconds down on Drummond after 70 very demanding stage miles.

"Tony Drummond/Dave Richards hurl the Firestone-shod Escort over Pennal to a fastest time."

Scrutineening was carried-out in two sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning with the growing group one category inspected at Pritchards Coach Station and the rest at the Automobile Palace; the scrutineering split necessary as many competitors were unable to arrive until Saturday with work commitments. Seeded first was the quick Endrust Mini of Pat Ryan/John Platt, last year's winners. Both Roger Clark/Jim Porter and Chris Sclater/Mike Greasley non-started; Clark because the Burmah this coming weekend is a more important event for Ford. Sclater because of a hunch that a strange noise from the car might have spelt disaster, unaffordable as Datsun Dealers are only in possession of one engine at the moment. The car was trailed as far as Shrewsbury and the noise only materialised on the drive to Llandrindod. Mike Greasley was concerned that pushing off with an unknown engine fault could well reduce their chances of appearing on the more important Burmah. The Birmingham Post Triumph Dolomite Sprint of John Bloxham/Richard Harper was moved-up into Clark's place, Will Sparrow/ Rodney Spokes started next (G2 DTV Magnum with twin cam engine) ahead of Tony Fowkes/Bryan Harris driving a borrowed Mexico as their new car is not yet ready. Russell Brookes/John Brown (Andrews Heat RS2000) were next away followed by Drummond/Richards; their Escort now a very potent two litre BDA. Eighth position was filled with Tony Pond/Mike Broad (Steinmetz DOT Ascona) followed by Colin Malkin/ John Foden with the I55bhp BRM engined Chrysler Dealer Team Avenger. Tenth spot was taken by the Kleber Escort of James Rae/Les Marshall. The 'high quality entry continued with Peter Clarke/Howard Scott (Escort RS now for sale); Paul Faulkner/Monty Peters (Escort RS); Jeff Churchill/Roger Jones and Niger Rockey/Ron Channon (Escorts); George Hill/ Keith Wood (Martin Group Firenza); Malcolm Patrick/Philip Short (Escort RS); Robin Eyre-Maunsell/Neil Wilson with Eyre-Maunsell's " old nail" Imp; Burmah Orchard winner

David Agnew with his new BMW 2002 (Peter Scott navigating) With the first 20 completed'by the Escorts of Frank Pierson/ Colin Francis and Martin Clark/Paul White.
The Castrol 75 started at 8.30 am on Saturday morning with the first stage half an hour from Llandrindod Wells, the 10 miles of Radnor providing a bloodstirring start to the rally. Complete with a new loop to catch the old hands out the stage provided just about every driving surface possible from tarmac to a muddy track with a well-filled ford; the road taking the cars high above the surrounding countryside over the top of 'the hills before dropping down to the next valley. Will Sparrow was quickest to wake-up on this stage setting a pace -ahead of the field he would maintain. Sparrow took Radnor by 18 seconds from Drummond, even after his Vauxhall was down to three cylinders for the last couple of miles after the ford. Punctures on this long stage were not uncommon and Tony Pond experienced the first of many here; being forced to drive nearly half of the stage with a flat rear, the tyre disintegrating just before the finishing line under Pond's forceful driving. Another competitor off to a fairly inauspicious start was Kleber award winner James Rae who cruised the last few miles with a deflated and flapping rear tyre. David Agnew/Peter Scott rolled the BMW but continued for the rest of the rally with no further offs, despite a bent trailing arm upsetting the car's controlability.

"Colin Malkin/John Foden were well placed with the BRM engined Avenger until unlucky stage 13."

Will Sparrow again revelled in the absence of Clark on Red Lion Hill, increasing his lead to 23 seconds from Drummond while Malkin was now lying just three seconds behind the Escort RS driver in third place. George Hill was already experiencing a severe drive-line vibration which began ruining the gearbox. The unit eventually had to be changed putting the Martin Group driver well out of number sequence so that the Firenza suffered baulking over the last few stages. Frank Pierson was experiencing a problem with the differential which was not sorted out until the afternoon.
After stages at Sarnau, Cwmsgawen and Waunmarteg the route headed north and west to Tarenig. Among those not to reach the first control after Waunmarteg were Peter Clarke/Howard Scott who retired with second and third gear,s 'missing after trouble struck on the fourth stage. Clarke tackled the fifth stage, Waunmarteg, but dropped more seconds than he liked and called it a day after the stage; it being pointless to continue enjoying the rally with such a handicap. The Escort of Martin Clark/Paul White was out of the running after an accident. Rheidol followed Tarenig before a stage at Nant-y-Moch below the dam, this road last used six years previously on the Express and Star. One of the two designated spectator stages this narrow tarmac road dropped from the level of the dam down into 'the valley below, through the river then back up to the west side of the dam, all with a 55 seconds target time. The hillsides provided a natural amphitheatre for the hundreds of spectators who witnessed plenty of drama here, most of which was provided by Nigel Rockey and James Rae. Rockey was lucky, for at a tight left hand bend forty feet above the river and, just before the road dropped down to the ford he entered at a very enthusiastic speed and spun to a halt with his back wheels dangling over the edge. Rae was not lucky, but not unlucky either in so much that substantially less damage occurred than was possible. The Kleber driver started his run very quickly just scrabbling round the first couple of corners and continued down the hill giving the car full power down into the lefthander at a place where others were not just on a trailing throttle but braking as well. Inevitably the car could not take the corner and in a well crossed-up power slide the back wheels went over the edge before the car toppled, quite slowly, and slid down the bank to land wheels up by the river. With only superficial damage the car was eventually persuaded back to the road with the help of the crowds. Rae was docked a 1500 seconds maximum but apart from the need for a plastic temporary windscreen there were no other problems resulting from the incident. Rae's Escort had not been handling at all predictably, the reason more than likely being a bent axle discovered at scrutineering. One other driver who put on an almost predictable performance was Roger Platt whose Capri 'is more often than not on the bump stops with every change of direction. Platt over-cooked the first downhill corner, went straight off on the second then kept the power on for an impressive auto- cross before choosing a spot to dive down the bank and crash back on to the road. Platt lost enough speed with the excursion to enable the Capri .to manage the tight third corner.

"John Price puts his Renault-Alpine well out of shape at the finish of Coed-y-Brenin II"

After the excitement of Nant-y-Moch there was just one more forest stage at Cyneinog before the lunch halt at Machynlleth. Several cars showed signs of the morning's activities and there was a higher than average count of rolled cars, including the Agnew/Scott BMW which was looking decidedly secondhand on close inspection. The early afternoon stages provided a Waterloo for many of the top contenders including rally leader Will Sparrow who was forced to retire before reaching the first stage at Pennal. A clamp holding the distributor had broken and the operating gear ruined itself; a sad failure after such a pace-making drive. Tony Pond's run came to an end on the next stage, Pantperthog when he and Mike Broad felt yet another rear tyre go flat. It was pointless for Pond to continue after a puncture so early in the stage, with a flat spare on the car and a shortage of replacement rubber. Incorrect tubes were suspected to have been the trouble.
Another good drive came to a close a couple of stages later with the retirement of Colin Malkin/John Foden on Coed-y-Brenin II when the clutch exploded and the engine revs sky-rocketed with a large hole in the block the outcome. With just one more stage to go to the finish Tony Fowkes/Bryan Harris took some time on Foel Dinas when they hung the borrowed Mexico over the edge after a downhill hairpin. They nevertheless continued to complete what was obviously an enjoyable day of rallying rather than a competitive drive even though Fowkes managed to squeeze it into the top five on one stage. After Pat Ryan's retirement with driveshaft failure added to the rest, only five of the top ten seeds were running at the Shrewsbury finish. Other notable retirements included Nigel Rockey/Ron Channon who had the liners go porous after four stages and stopped on subsequent stages before calling it a day after the first-half, being followed around by a cloud of steam from the exhaust which was more Nigel Gresley than Rockey. Subsequent stripping of the engine has revealed a cracked block so his Burmah: appearance depends on some rapid parts finding.

Good drives came from Jeff Churchill and Richard Iliffe. Iliffe looking noticeably quicker rally by rally. Paul Faulkner/Monty Peters took a consistent fifth place after a trouble free run (keeping their place at the head of the Castrol/AUTOSPORT championship) and Dave Roderick scored an impressive result with his Dragon Polifilm Escort. John Price provided a refreshing non-Escort spectacle putting his ex-works Alpine 1600 into ninth spot ahead of the Gordon Batchelor/Rodger Jenkins Escort. Ford succeeded again with Linda Jackson (Sky Petroleum Escort) beating the DOT Ascona of Rosemary Smith for the ladies award.

"Russell Brookes caused quite a splash with his rapid drive, seen here on Nant-y-Moch."

Many people's wishes came out right when Tony Drummond won the Castrol 75 not many could have possibly predicted the incredible performance from Russell Brookes to place himself ahead of many more powerful G2 Escorts. Drummond ran the whole event on just four tyres —the prototype Firestones. The grip available being excellent on smooth going but just a little too skittery on cut-up surfaces but Drummond might alleviate this by fitting narrower rear tyres. He intends to use the same set again for the Burmah, the fronts perfect and the rears only one third worn. The organising team of the Castrol 75 must be congratulated for such a superb day stage rally. Results were available 40 minutes after the last car clocked-in to the Lord Hill Hotel.
Castrol 75 Overall results
1, Tony Drummond/Dave Richards i(2.0 Escort RS),4.547 penalties ;
2, Russell Brookes/John Brown (2.0 Escort RS2000).4,605 ;
3, Jeff Churchill/Roger Jones (1.8 Escort RS). 4,617;
4, Richard Iliffe/Philip Bolton (1.8 Escort RS) 4,625;
5, Paul Faulkner/Monty Peters (1.9 Escort RS), 4.654;
6, Dave Roderick/Mike Woodward (1.8 Escort RS), 4,656 ;
7, George Hill/Nigel Raeburn (2.3 Firenza), 4,700;
8, Robin Eyre Maunsell/Neil Wilson (0.9 Chrysler Imp), 4,760 ;
9, John Price/Mike Sones (1.6 Renault Alpine), 4,774;
10, Gordon Balchelor/Rodgar Jenkins (1.7 Escort RS), 4,792.
Ladies award : Linda Jackson (1.6 Escort RS).

SS1 Radnor target: 10 m
:1. Sparrow/Spokes, 623 ; 2, Drummond/Richards, 641 : 3, Brookes/Brown, 644 : 4, Malkin/Foden, 646 ; 5=, Faulkner/Peters. Churchill/Jones. 660.
SS2 Red Lion Hill target: 2 m 40 s.
1. Sparrow/Spokes, 19O ; 2, Malkin/Foden, 193 ; 3, Pond/Broad, 194 ; 4. Drummond/Richards 195 ; 5. Churchill/Jones, 197.
SS3 Sarnau target : 4 m
1, Drummond/Richards. 282 ; 2=, Pond/Broad, Malkln/ Foden, Churchill/Jones, -286 ; 5, Sparrow/Spokes, 287.
SS4 Cwmsgawen target : 5 m 30 s
1. Drummond/Richards. 358 ; 2, Churchill/Jones, 360 ; 3. Sparrow/Spokes. 363 ; 4. Pond/Broad, 364; 5, Brookes/ Brown, 370.
SS5 Waunmateg target : 2 m
1. Churchill/Jones 137 ; 2, Sparrow/Spokes, 139 ; Drummond/Richards. Malkin/Foden, 140 ; 5=, Ryan/ Platt, Rockey/Shannon, 141.
SS6 Tarenlg target : 5 m 30 s
1, Sparrow/Spokes, 423 ; 2. Malkin/Foden, 427 ; 3=. Churchill/Jones, Pond/Broad, 428; 5=. Drummond/ Richards, Brookes/Brown, 429.
SS7 Rheidol target: 2 m 40 s
1. Sparrow/Spokes,=, Drummond/Richards, = Pond/ Broad, 181; 4, Malkin/Foden, 182; 5=, Rae/Marshal , Churchill/Jones, 183.
SS8 Nant-y-Moch target: 50 s
1. Faulkner/Peters, 75; 2. Batchelor/Jenkins, 76; 3. Drummond/Richards Roderick/Woodward, Watkins/ Davies, 77. SS9 Cyneinog target: 3 m 20 s
1, Sparrow/Spokes, 26O; 2, Pond/Broad, 264; 3= Drummond/Richards, Malkin/Foden 265 ; = Watkins/ Davies, Brookes/Brown, 268.
SS10 Pennal target : 3 m 10 s
1=, Drummond/Richards, Roderick/Woodward, 245 ; 3, Brookes/Brown. 249 ; 4=, Faulkner/Peters. Churchill/ Jones, 250.
SS11 Pantperthog.
1, Drummond/Richards, 499 ; 2, Faulkner/Peters. 505 ; 3, Churchill/Jones, 508; 4, Roderick/Woodward, 512 • 5, Rae/Marshal, 513.
SS12 Coed-y-Brenin target: 2 m 50 s
1, Drummond/Richards, 225 ; 2, Brookes/'Brown, 226 ; 3, Iliffe/Bolton, 229; 4=, Faulkner/Peters, Churchill/ Jones, Roderick/Woodward, 230.
SS13 Coed-y-Brenin II target: 4 m
1, Drummond/Ricnards, 334; 2, Roderick/Woodward. 342 ; 3, Churchill/Jones, 343 ; 4=, Brookes/Brown. Iliffe/Bolton. 344.
SS14 Foel Dinas target: 2 m
1. Roderick/Woodward, 161, 2, Brookes/Brown. 162 ; 3=. Drummond/Richards, Faulkner/Peters, 164, 5. Hill/Raeburn. Churchill/Jones, 167.
SS15 Dyfnant target: 7 m 30 s
1, Brookes/Brown. 503 , 2, Drummond/Richards, 512; 3. Roderick/Woodward, 518: 4. Watkins/Davles, 521 , 5, Hill/Raeburn. 522.