Report from Old Stager of December 2001

Words and pictures by Mike Hally

Bulldog Rally

Round Five: Stait of the Nation...

After waiting half a year to get started, the championship seemed to be over almost before it began, but with a fine climax that meant the leader for most of the series was deposed on the penultimate stage by a breath-taking time from the young pretender.
It was a fine day on terrific stages through Dyfi and Dyfnant. The gloomy weather forecast of the night before, showing Wales blanketed by a thunderous downpour from dawn to mid-afternoon, proved typically erroneous (Welsh weather has no respect for forecasters) and while the stages were slippery in places there was few showers to interrupt the sunny spells.
Much of the talk at the start revolved around lists of damaged parts replaced after the last round. Chris and Hilary Green’s Lotus Cortina had new engine mounts, cross-member, springs all round and that was only the major items, while the MG Midget of challengers James Stait and Marcus Cartwright had new bump stops and mountings, and a new propshaft (the previous one bent in Clipstone). They also treated the car to a new set of Colways, since this was the decider.

Overall Championship

Chris Green led the drivers’ table by 10 points over James Stait, but the ‘best 4 out of 5’ rule meant the situation was actually much closer. Provided both won their classes and finished well up the overall placings, as they’ve done repeatedly in the series, it would come down to who finished higher overall.

They tied over the first stage, Dyfi Main, the longest in the event. The Greens took a single second off Stait/Cartwright on the next, only to drop two seconds on the third. But on the fourth Stait was “really settled in now” and saw the Speedo flickering over 100 repeatedly on the long downhill straights of Gartheiniog. He was rewarded with a time 19 seconds quicker than the Cortina crew, a decisive blow with only one stage to go. Chris and Hilary took seven seconds back through Dyfnant, but it wasn’t enough. James Stait champion driver, Chris Green runner-up, Richard Hill third.
However, the champagne that the Greens’ enthusiastic team surprised them with was justified by Hilary’s capture of the co-drivers’ title. Although three points behind Geraldine McBride at the start, she was better placed to win, as she had missed a round so every point counted on this event. And so it proved. Hilary Green champion co­driver, Stephen Montoto second, and Geraldine McBride third.

Overall Historic

The Irish came looking for a third successive 1-2-3, but were nearly scuppered before the start when Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride’s Porsche came off the trailer in very poor shape on Friday evening. Sounding as if it was running on only a couple of cylinders it had barely enough power to climb a hill in Shrewsbury (and the hills in Shrewsbury are not very challenging). Fortunately the expertise of the Charringtons service crew, John Cropper in particular, saved them. Dirt in the fuel system was diagnosed and they began the long and tedious procedure of flushing out pipes and filters.

By the start in Dolgellau the following morning it was at least running on all SS4, though Nutt felt it still wasn’t quite right. Maybe that was psychological, because Nutt/McBride were easily fastest over the first stage... or maybe the fact that Nutt’s “dander was up by that time” overcame any loss of power. In fact they beat Drexel Gillespie/Gill Cotton and John Keatley/Maurice Beckett over four out of the five stages to take first overall historic. The latter two finished just one second apart. It might have been closer had Gillespie’s Lotus Cortina not had to run three miles on a punctured rear on the first stage (though their time suggested it made little difference).
Keatley was struggling to adapt to a new limited-slip that was pushing him wide on hairpins, of which there were about 15 on the first stage alone. But for Nutt and McBride this was a triumph for their new approach to note-less stages, Geraldine giving less information and Dessie treating it more as advice with what’s visible on the road ahead being more important.

Overall Post Historic

If the fact that Iain Freestone/Nick Kennedy won again sounds familiar, that shouldn’t detract from another fine drive, fastest on every stage (and only beaten once by any of the histories). It also hides a dramatic story - a broken manifold on the RS2000 in the penultimate stage fried the alternator and from then on (and through Dyfnant itself) they were on the battery. The starter wouldn’t work and a cunning plan to dawdle on the road into Dyfnant so they wouldn’t have to wait was foiled when the start was delayed.

Behind them, Mike Brown/Jonnie Oldham were the closest challengers in their RS 1600, though time dropped with a puncture on the second stage put them out of reach of the winners. Jesse Shakespeare/Dean Brady looked impressive in their Escort, beating Brown/Oldham a couple of times but finishing a minute down.

Historic Classes

The Porsche class went to Nutt/McBride and Keatley/Beckett, ahead of Steve Perez/Jonty Bolsover, debuting a smart new blue 911. The lone finisher in B4 was Peter Quinton/Dennis Turner in their Mk2 Cortina, after Barry Marsh/Robert Burton’s TR3 retired with fan belt & alternator problems. As usual B3, the 1600’s, was well-supported, with Gillespie/Cotton streets ahead of the pack, headed by the Greens. Gwilym Roberts/Bill Robertson were next up, followed by Paul Pesticcio/James Morris in a Lotus Cortina (after Pesticcio’s RS2000 had fallen foul of the ‘post-1974 parts’ rule earlier in the season). Paul Mankin/Neville Bearpark were next, ahead of Jim Clark/Dave Cabena who finished their first event of the year in a Lotus Cortina. Philip Smith, co-driven by son Stuart, also finished in their Cortina GT, though a cut-out switch with a mind of its own cost them a maximum on the first stage. Keith Pettitt/Bemard Baker made the finish in their Mk2 Cortina, but were OTL with a maximum on Gartheiniog.
The 1300 class has been getting rather less well-populated (where have all the Minis gone?) with only John Willis/Andy Armstrong, Peter Wiseman/Mark Bentley and David Street/Bernard Fisher and Clive King/Paul Kendrick challenging Stait/Cartwright. Willis/Armstrong were another crew who’d had a lot of repairs to do after the Premier. When they saw the MG had taken over a minute off them on the first stage they realised it wasn’t going to be their day and settled for second, while Wiseman/Bentley had a disappointingly short run, breaking a CV joint in the first stage. King/Kendrick also had driveshaft failure on the first stage, though they fixed it in time to take in a couple of the later stages. Street/Fisher had a rather better time, finishing third in class.
In the 1-litre class Martin and Patricia Pratt brought their run of finishes to an end rather convincingly, blowing the Anglia engine on the first stage. ‘Dad & Lad’ James and Ian Graham did rather better, making no real mistakes on their way to another class win, helped by Ian’s now traditional lucky wife’s knickers (don’t ask).

Post Historic Classes

As lone finisher in the over 2-litre class, Freestone/Kennedy took the class as well as overall Post Historic; Graham Woodhouse/Brett Waldron went OTL in their Datsun 240Z, while the Dominic Frattaroli/Eddie Myatt version non-started after blown the engine earlier in the week.
The 1600-2000s had a better turn-out, with Brown/Oldham leading Shakespeare/Brady home, and Richard Hill/Stephen Montoto crowning a successful return to rallying this year, taking third in class and winning overall MSA Championship awards. They were on edge the whole time though, after the RS2000 fuel pump cut out on the first stage then mysteriously righted itself after a minute or so. Next up were Keith and Graham Smart, also Escort-mounted, while fifth came Andrew Street/Simon Gaden, just thankful to finish in the Saab whose gearbox developed an increasingly serious rumble during the day. That's probably the last BHRC outing for the lime green 96 at least, in their hands, as the project for next season is a 99.

As with the Histories, the 1600 class was the best-supported in the Post Histories and it produced a dead heat. Rikki Proffit/Phil Harrison led the class pretty convincingly over the first four stages in their Mexico, but got a puncture early in Dyfnant and had to drive nine miles on the rim. They lost over two minutes and were relieved to find the Minilite had stood up a lot better to this treatment than the tyre. They still got the class win on the tie-breaker - fastest through the first stage - over Derek Belbin/Michael Davison also in a Mexico. Belbin, who was only on his second rally “in yonks” was enjoying himself so much that he found time to wave to your photographer while hanging the driver's side wheels on the edge of a precipitous drop on SSI (fortunately the co-driver was watching the road).
Kevin Broadhurst/Bryan Thomas (Escort) were third while Kevin & Dan Holley were next up in the Avenger GT. James Francis/Andrew Turner rounded off the finishers in their eye-catching Escort Estate. This was only James’ second rally ever and his first time in the forests. John Worthing/John Cadwallader had a frustrating time in their Escort, with gear selection problems on the first stage. It seemed to clear and the next stage was fine, but John stuck it in reverse at service and it wouldn’t come out. People have completed whole stages stuck in one gear many times, but tackling the northern Dyfi stages and Dyfnant in reverse wasn't an appealing prospect so they were out.

All mention of championship positions provisional at the time of writing.