Elliott is elated to win all-Escort battle for Clubmans glory
There was an epic battle between the Ford Escort Mk2s of Nick Elliott/Dave Price and Ieuan Rowlands/ Emyr Hail for the Clubman’s Rally honours.
The pair traded seconds and swapped position over the five- stage event but Elliot held on to take the win by just 1.3 seconds.
“It was very close and that boy Ieuan can drive,” said Elliott. “That last stage was scary in the mist and the wipers couldn’t clear the screen fast enough.”
Rowlands was driving an Escort Mk2 for the first time in five years and was using the event as a shakedown for the Cambrian Rally in two weeks time. The Ffestiniog driver has another Escort under construction but as it was not ready borrowed his engineer Meirion Robert’s left- hand drive example. He said: “I lost the event on stage four, Llangywer, because I was pushing too hard and I was untidy in there. I was three seconds slower than Nick on that one.”
Paul Davy and Roger Allan recorded their best result in more than ten years with third in their Impreza. “I couldn’t live with the Escorts but it was worth being here to watch them,“ said Davy. British Rally Elite member Jason Pritchard and co-driver George Gwynn marked their debut run in a four-wheel drive car with fourth overall in their ex-Richard Cathcart Subaru Impreza Nll.
Local crew Paul Walker and Vern Brown ran as high as third until a puncture on stage three cost them four minutes and dropped them to 15th overall. It was a costly incident for the Subaru Impreza crew: third position would have been enough to secure the Millers Oils Welsh Clubman Forest Rally Championship after title rivals Keith Parry and Wyn Davies crashed their Impreza on the opening test.
Teenager Matthews takes a clear win
Mini Rally
Anglesey teenager Sion Matthews and co-driver Gruffydd Matthews dominated the two-stage event. The Vauxhall Nova paring were never threatened by the other three crews and finished 27.1 seconds clear of Paul Edwards and Brynmor Pierce It was Edwards’ first-ever event on gravel and using pace notes for the first time in his Peugeot 205. Alywn and Alwena Frazer took third. It was the first time the co-driver had been in the car since the pair rolled their Nissan Micra on the DPS Stages Rally at Trawsfynydd in July Martin Pendlebury wheeled out his Ford Escort Mkl for its annual trash around his around his local forests and took fourth.
Bogie takes Evo title despite scare
Challenge ace defies gasket leak
Mitsubishi Challenge
David Bogie, who won the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge on last Saturday’s Bulldog Rally, feared he wouldn’t finish the gravel event when his Lancer E9’s head gasket started leaking.
“We knew we wouldn’t be able to win after the brake problems but when the head gasket problem started I was worried we wouldn’t make the finish,” Bogie said. “But we were able to put water in it after each stage and got to the finish.”
Bogie will be given a one-day test to familiarise himself with his new car, which is being constructed at ADR Motorsport, the company responsible for Mitsubishi Motors UK’s rally programme, before he makes his WRC debut in December.
Evolution Challenge bosses have also revealed plans to expand Bogie’s prize from a one-off drive. The Challenge champion has traditionally received a season long campaign in the BRC but there was outcry earlier this year when it was announced that the end of season reward would amount to a seat on Rally GB only “It’s too early to say what will happen but we’re hoping to extend David’s prize,” a Mitsubishi spokesman confirmed.
Meanwhile, Bogie cut short his celebrations to navigate Tam Haining on the Solway Coast Rally last Sunday. Driveshaft failure orced them out after three stages.
Davidson ends runner-up run
Yokohama Challenge
Andy Davidson and Laura Taylor took their first Yokohama RWD Challenge win in their BMW325i on their way to 12th in the Clubmans Rally
“I have been second on every event I finished this year until this one, “ said Davidson
The result ensures the title fight will go down to the wire on the final round, the Kail Kwick Stages on November 14/15. Erstwhile points leaders Toni Carannante and Ella Flynn finished 14 seconds adrift.
Richard Felgate and Mark Mason consolidated third in the points with a third place finish.
The Lancashire pairing of Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy came out on top of the Peugeot 205 battle despite suffering from the side effects of fuel fumes inhalation due to a leaking pump.
Martin Ausker in and Jon Ross were just 0.6seconds behind them. They were thankful to rival Thompson who loaned them suspension parts after theirs failed in the early stages. Dan Corner looked set for the third of the 205s but an error by co-driver James Greenwood meant they incurred a one-minute penalty for booking in early for to the last stage. Jamie Anderson and Jon Scott inherited the position.
In Brief
Scottish youngster Euan Thorburn finished fourth overall on the National Rally but was excluded after failing post-event scrutineering. He damaged his Subaru Impreza's exhaust on stage three and replaced it at service. However the new system did not have a catalytic converter fitted and did not conform to Group N rules. The exclusion denied Thorburn what would have been his best result in a national round. This was the first event he decided to run the car in Group N: had he elected to remain in Class B13 a catalytic converter would not have been a requirement.
John Lloyd and Adrian Cavenagh withdrew their Ford Focus WRC from 13th position after they left the road on stage three. They fell nose first into a deep bank and, while they were able to extract the car, they pulled out at the next service because Lloyd had suffered a minor rib injury in the incident.
Nathan Crew and John Connor's ambitions of winning Class B9 in every event they contested in 2008 ended off the edge of a Dyfi cliff. The MG ZR crew had already secured the class honours and top front-wheel-drive crew in the gravel championship but were going for a clean sweep when the incident occurred on stage three. Both crew members were uninjured.
American co-driver Alex Kihurani experienced his second British event alongside Thomas Naughton in a Mitsubishi Lancer E9. The Philadelphia student and X Games Rally bronze medalist is based at Manchester University until Christmas. Their run was short-lived as they crashed out on stage three after running as high as 12th after the event's opening test.
Anglesey co-driver Kath Rumney all but secured the overall co-drivers title in the Welsh Clubmans Forest Rally Champioship ahead of the Cambrian Rally in two weeks. She guided Dave Robinson's Ford Escort WRC to seventh in the Clubmans Rally.
Ford Escort RS1800 crew Stuart Clark and Cliff Simmons finished 51.4 seconds clear of the similar car of David Lloyd-Roberts and Dei Jones to win the Historic section of the Clubmans rally. Several crews used the event to gain experience: it will form the opening round of next year's British Historic Championship.
James Slaughter was thankful to have the expertise of Historic Championship co-driving ace Elgin Davies on board for the first time. He recorded a Class H5 win in his Ford Escort Mk1.
Regular MN contributor Ian Harden guided Andy Stretton to a Class 02 win on the Clubmans rally in their Peugeot 205.
Herefordshire crew Steve Holder and Steve McPhee used the event to gain their international licence ahead of a planned entry on Wales Rally GB. The Subaru Impreza pair struggled with the cars handling until a set of second-hand tyres improved it. They finished 19th.