Meirion Rally Report from Motorsport News of 27th October 1999

Golding wins after electrical problems claim Collins

Report by - Ian Mills

Charles Golding and Preston Ayres took victory on the Meirion Rally in their immaculate Escort RSI600.

The event mixed clubmen with historic entries and ran alongside the Bulldog Rally, using the final five stages of the main event.

The rally should have provided Phil Collins/Cliff Simmons with a comfortable win. The pair were revelling in the use of pacenotes on a forestry event and had opened up a lead of 90 seconds over the first four stages before their Escort ground to a halt with electrical problems in Dyfnant.

Collins’s demise should have handed the win to Keith Wilde/Andrew Sankey on stage times - they were almost a minute clear at the finish.

They picked up a one-minute road penalty with a rare mistake by Sankey which dropped them to second - just three seconds behind the winners.

Francis Tuthill/Pauline Gullick made it a good day for the historic entries as they brought their Porsche 911 home In third place. Russell Spry/Robert White had chased Collins all day but they, too, had problems in Dyfnant and eventually trailed home fourth.

John Keatley/Maurice Beckett should have been fifth but they also incurred road penalties and dropped to ninth. Pre-event favourites Andy Miers/Tony Beddoes had a short rally as their Escort was seen parked up just three miles into the first stage, Myherin. Robert Dalziel/Anthony Lewis also fell victim to this stage when their Sierra slid off the road and out of the event.