October 29th, 2011
Another set of top points for Andy Davison and Mike Curry on Sunday’s UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Rally.
Driving his usual BMW M3, the Northallerton lad claimed he had a steady run over the Otterburn military ranges as he aimed to repeat his championship performance on the Tyneside Stages in July. However, this time he managed to improve on his 5th place with a fantastic 4th overall in a top class entry. It’s true his car didn’t show the same amount of contact as it had endured with the straw baled chicanes as last time out but he had several ‘moments’ on a testing day. He also found out during a spin coming out of the dry ford at Yardhope, that it was possible to get the big BMW fully broadside on the very narrow road and not slip off onto the grass. Quite a bit of time was lost there as the crew shuffled back and forth to get going in the right direction again. The result also meant that Andy’s good run in the second half of our season would reward him with an excellent 4th overall in the championship.
Next up in our championship was Paul Swift driving his Ford Escort Mark 2. Continuing his practice this year of learning the ranges, Paul enlisted the services of yet another new co-driver, this time the vastly experienced Ken Bills. Before the event had started, Paul knew that no matter what result he left Otterburn with; he was assured of 2nd overall in the championship. And so he concentrated on his education of the twisty, undulating and narrow roads without paying any attention to the regular results updates. Like most crews, he suffered from a couple of small spins in the greasy morning stages and was delighted to reach the final control in a fine 8th overall with no major problems.
And finishing next in 13th overall was David Conley in his Hillman Avenger. Once again the Bardon Mill based driver was forced to run in the up to 1600cc class, as his ‘other’ engine wasn’t ready for the event. And it proved to be another successful day in that he would take the class award too. Partnered as usual by Mike Scrimgour, the boys had a quiet day by their standards with only a couple of spins, an overshoot and an indiscretion with a chicane bale to slow progress.
And to add to their day, they would record the achievement of beating the Lindsays. Barry felt he was having one of those days where he just couldn’t get into the driving – and even wondered if he was getting too old for this game. It’s true that the stages probably suited the bigger engine motors, but out on the stages our new champions looked to be in their usual committed, tidy and fast style as always. They still had a few close shaves as they tried their hardest but at the end of the day, 15th overall and 2nd in class was no bad show for an old Peugeot 106 Cup Car !
Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling in their Ford Fiesta were just over 40 seconds adrift of Barry and Michael Lindsay. The Durham crew have had a mixed year at Otterburn with some great stage times on both the Tyneside and Lindisfarne Rallies but only a 19th overall and a DNF to show for their efforts. The Cheviot would get off to a great start for them as they stopped the clocks on equal 9th fastest time. Once again they settled into a good rhythm with regular times just outside the top 10 keeping them in class leading 12th place overall going into stage 10. Unfortunately, the car’s gremlins struck again and the car stopped in mid stage. This time Chris managed to coax the car back to life, while the other Chris swore in frustration, and they managed to get back to service. A time loss of 2 minutes meant they had slipped 5 places down the leaderboard but were still in the rally. The car behaved itself through the final stage and the boys were relieved to finish in 16th overall and take the class victory too. It also meant that the younger Chris secures 3rd placed driver in our championship while Chris The Elder, leaps from 4th to 2nd placed co-driver.
Dave Seed was another driver with a new co-driver for the day as Colin Tombs stepped up when Mick Morpeth cried off due to work commitments. Dave blamed brand new tyres for his poor start and his times improved on the repeat of the first stage as he went 38 seconds faster. A few spins in the morning kept the crowds entertained but they always managed to get back onto the road with no damage. A puncture on stage 9 would lose them just over a minute but they were another happy Durham crew at the finish.
Two places behind in 22nd overall were the husband and wife pairing of Chris and Katherine Singer. They are another crew who’ve had good results spoilt by an accident and reliability issues this year. And the Cheviot almost fell into the same category as their Citroen Saxo had a drive shaft go on stage 4. They lost over 5 minutes but managed to coast over the hill and down into service. As this was the shortest stage of the event, a maximum time actually helped their situation. The local crew who live just off the military ranges managed to replace the shaft and get out once more. A steady run the afternoon helped them learn more about the car and they recorded their first finish of the year.
Kevin and Jimmy Knox were next along in their unusual Ford Sierra. The Honda engined car was suffering from the off with a misfire. It took a while to find out that the cause was a faulty wire in the loom and the boys were grateful to someone else’s service crew for their expertise in locating the problem. Despite not having the right tyres for the stages, they continued in their tradition of enjoying the day’s rallying and finished 28th overall.
The father and son team of Michael and Josh Davison finished in 37th overall. And after their character-building day, they were very happy just to get to the finish. It all started after the car was taken off the trailer in the morning and refused to fire up. Many frantic minutes were spent trying to identify the problem and with 5 minutes to get to MTC1, they found a dodgy relay. The Proton Satria was running in 39th place after 2nd service before they were forced to take a stage maximum on stage 6. Half a mile into the test, Michael was so concerned about the car’s handling that he stopped to check but couldn’t find anything wrong. Another mile up the road and he stopped again to find loose wheel nuts and once tightened up he was fine !
Ann Forster was our last registered co-driver home as she partnered Andrew Irving for his first visit to Otterburn. And right behind them was Paul Bank driving his N1 specification Peugeot 106. Paul has been across the ranges in the co-driver’s seat several times, but this was his first time pushing the pedals and holding the wheel. He thoroughly enjoyed himself despite a few spins and found the stages faster than he remembered them to be.
So what about the 4 championship crews who never made it to the finish ? Michael Glendinning and Paul Hughes started at number 2 in the Subaru Impreza and put on the expected show with a tremendous run for the first 7 stages and were just 1 second behind the rally leader. However it all went wrong within 200 yards of the start of the next stage when the car gave out a loud bang and left the crew with a gearbox full of neutrals.
Peter Taylor and Andrew Roughead were another crew hoping to build on their recent good finishes. After the first lap their Renault Clio was lying 10th overall but they never made it back into service. Approaching the final chicane of the fourth stage just a little bit quicker this time would have been fine if it hadn’t been raining heavier this time around. They locked up and almost made it though before the rear quarter clipped a bale and sent them off the road. It wasn’t far from the tarmac but the incline on slippy grass proved too much and although the car wasn’t damaged, they were out of the rally.
Also suffering were Ed Todd and Andy Brown. The lads started their GTM Coupe from number 35 and after the first pair of stages, they had moved up to 24th overall and 2nd in class. Unfortunately yet another broken drive shaft halted their progress and they recorded another non-finish
And finally, it was Kev Monaghan / Chris Purvis’ cruel luck to be our final retirement. Driving the Vauxhall Corsa, the Tynemouth lads were having a steady run just outside the top 20 for all of the day’s first 10 stages. It all went wrong half way through the final stage when after a heavy landing the car stopped with a holed sump.
It was another good UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Rally. Once again Andy Kobasa and his team from Hadrian and Whickham Motor Clubs were restricted in their use of certain roads across the military ranges. However, despite this fact and the need to have several changes in stage layout and direction, every stage started on time. The Cheviot continued to provide a stern challenge and the rally was well received by competitors.
The final “event” of our year will once again be the Awards Evening. The final details are still being sorted out but it will be at the usual venue of Pelaw Grange in Birtley and the date is Wednesday the 23rd November. Put it in you calendars now and more information will be announced in the near future.
Tags: championship, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
October 18th, 2011
Goodridge Ltd would like to congratulate GEARLINK KAWASAKI on finishing 2nd in the British Supersport Championship 2011. Goodridge have continued to be proud sponsors of GEARLINK KAWASAKI for the 2011 season, supplying the team with both brake lines and G-Link quick disconnect couplings.
Despite taking a win, second and fourth place in the final three races of the Fuchs Silkolene British Supersport championship at Brands Hatch; it was not enough to secure the title for Gearlink Kawasaki rider Ben Wilson who lost out by just one championship point to rival Alastair Seeley. But although Seeley may have won the trophy Wilson has been heralded by the fans as the peoples champion and provided them all with a fantastic display of racing throughout the season.
Ben Wilson – “To say I am disappointed is an understatement; I am devastated as I had my heart set on winning the title this year. I managed to get the lead in the last race but made a couple of mistakes and that allowed Seeley to get ahead. Once he got the gap on me it was all over. To be fair the gap didnt increase but fair play to him, he rode a good race and in the end took the title from under my nose. I want to say a big thank you to everyone at Gearlink Kawasaki, all my sponsors, supporters and also my family who have been behind me all season. I am just sorry we couldnt have brought the title back for them.”
Michael de Bidaph team owner and manager “We came to Brands Hatch with a big task on our hands to win this championship and we thought we may be able to do it. But Alastair Seeley has upped his game and has been phenomenally quick around here all weekend. But in the first race Ben pushed him into making a mistake and we thought it was all coming back our way. The rain this morning did us no favours whatsoever as Ben had to be careful because the track was so slippery and then in the final race we knew it was always going to be hard to beat Alastair and all I can say is that I am so disappointed, for Ben, myself and the team. I wanted to win for all our sponsors who have been so good to us. “
“I would like to say a massive thank you to all our sponsors they all know who they are. We couldnt have done it without them and I appreciate what they have done for us.”
Tags: championship, racing, Superbike
Posted in Event news
October 18th, 2011
Goodridge Ltd would like to congratulate Buildbase BMW on winning the 2011 National Superstock 1000 Championship.
2011 is the first year which Goodridge and Buildbase BMW have established a sponsorship partnership which has resulted in a fantastic championship win for their rider Richard Cooper in the Superstock and a 3rd place championship finish for Barry Burrell in the BSB Evo class. Goodridge Ltd supplies Buildbase with brake lines and G-Link quick disconnect couplings.
Cooper secured the Superstock 1000 title two weeks ago at Silverstone where he extended his lead to 46.5 points – guaranteeing him the championship whatever the outcome of the final race. However, today’s race was red-flagged after just two laps due to several crashes.
Due to a lack of time, and an already delayed schedule due to a red-flagged Superstock 600 event, race control made the decision to cancel the race. The series organisers applied the scores as they stood after Silverstone, subsequently declaring Cooper the 2011 title.
Cooper’s championship victory is his first – and the second consecutive Metzeler National Superstock 1000 title for BMW Motorrad. BMW S 1000 RR rider Luke Quigley finished third in the highly competitive championship.
Richard Cooper said: “Well it’s very frustrating for me and the team not to be able to race today, I had hoped to give them another great finish and end the year on a high. In fact we almost did the opposite! I had a crash very early on, before the race was red flagged. But I’m unhurt and I’m still the 2011 Superstock 1000 Champion! I can’t thank the team, the supporters, BMW Motorrad and my family and friends enough for helping me take my first title. Thank you all.”
Stuart Hickman, team principal, said: “Well it’s been a tough weekend and an equally tough year. But we’ve taken the Superstock 1000 title, taken third place in the BSB-EVO series and a very good number of race wins, podium finishes and lap records along the way. Our team have worked hard and I’m very proud of them. And I’m very excited about what 2012 will have in store for us.”
Tags: championship, racing, Superbike
Posted in Event news
October 18th, 2011
Goodridge would like to congratulate Samsung Crescent Racing on a fantastic finish in the 2011 British Superbike Championship which saw John Hopkins miss out on the British Superbike Championship by the smallest ever recorded deficit, 0.006 seconds.
Goodridge continue to be proud sponsors of Samsung Crescent Racing for the 2011 season, supplying the team with brake lines, G-Link quick disconnect couplings and fuel/ oil hose and fittings.
In a day of tough breaks at the final round of the 2011 British Superbike Championship, Hopkins suffered an electrical glitch on the first lap of the first race, but was able to reset the bike’s ignition trackside and recovered from last place to 12th. His championship rival Tommy Hill meanwhile finished fourth, to narrow Hopkins’ championship lead to just two points. Hopkins’ team-mate Jon Kirkham was able to help in damage control by placing a superb second, ahead of Hill.
In the final race of the series Hopkins held third place for 16 laps before being passed by Hill. Both then passed James Ellison to be second and third going into the last lap with the gap between them just 0.060-seconds. In a lap which saw countless pass and re-passing, their race and the championship was decided by the final lunge for the finish line, which Hill made by the smallest advantage measurable. Jon Kirkham had been challenging for fifth place when he crashed (uninjured) at Druids on the fifth lap.”
John Hopkins: “Well I don’t feel great obviously, but I don’t feel completely empty either. This has been a great season, I gave it everything I had but it just wasn’t to be. So hats off to Tommy for taking the title.
“I couldn’t be more grateful to the Samsung Crescent Racing team, they gave me everything including the best bike out there. I came into this year on a make or break basis in terms of my racing career but with their help I’m now set for a world championship ride next year. The team has put me there. I’m hugely grateful.”
Jack Valentine, team manager: “I’m speechless. It’s impossible to put into words how this feels. It’s hugely disappointing, yet I find I’m happy as well I think that’s the pride I feel for the team. What they’ve achieved this year has been brilliant, an unbelievable job. We just have to take away the positives. We were there and we got to within literally an inch or so of the title. We did everything we could.
“So I’d like to say a big thank you back to my riders as well, I’ve appreciated everything they’ve done this season. Hopper has been an inspirational rider to work with, very giving, very open and always positive we’ll have so many great memories of this season with him. JK has been through an incredible journey this year, making the step up to the big time and today he showed he’s now one of Britain’s top riders for sure. Then huge thanks to Lez and Dale and their crews, all of them have been incredibly professional and inspirational this season. It’s been a great team. And finally, to Samsung, FIXI and all our sponsors thanks for everything, without their support we wouldn’t be here, the support has been brilliant. We hope they enjoyed the ride as much as we did.
“One more thing, then: bring on 2012!”
Tags: championship, racing, Superbike
Posted in Event news
October 18th, 2011
Goodridge Ltd would like to congratulate Swan Yamaha on winning the 2011 British Superbike Championship! Tommy Hill secured the title in the final race of the year by a margin of 0.006 seconds against John Hopkins of fellow Goodridge sponsored team Samsung Crescent Racing.
Goodridge Ltd supplied Swan Yamaha with brake lines, G-Link quick disconnect couplings and hose and fittings for both team bikes and would like to congratulate them on a fantastic season of racing.
Hill said: “I am gobsmacked to have won the title for Swan Yamaha; this has been my goal and I was trying to stay as relaxed as possible in that final race. The season has put a lot of pressure on everyone and that reflects on everyone. We have been regularly finishing in the top three and that has therefore been the benchmark and the whole of the Swan Yamaha team have been working so hard all year to make this possible. It has just been a complete shock for me and I feel like we should be having another race next weekend now! It wasn’t until the other riders started congratulating me that I even realised I had won as it was so close between myself and Hopper.
Team Owner Shaun Muir concluded: “We delivered everything we set out to achieve at the start of the season although we have made life difficult along the way! It didn’t start the best for Tommy this weekend but he couldn’t have done more in that race. Big thanks also have to go to Michael for his support in the final race as he did a great job of acting as Tommy’s wingman. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors, partners and supporters who have made this possible
Tags: championship, racing, Superbike
Posted in Event news
September 16th, 2011
A small matter of 11 seconds stood between victory and a disappointing 2nd overall for Peter Taylor and Andrew Roughead on Sunday’s Pirtek Lindisfarne Rally. But being second to a Subaru Impreza and having 2 others snapping at their heels was still a cracking result for a Renault Clio.
Over the opening lap of 4 stages, Taylor quickly settled into good pace and returned to first service in second position but complaining of a spongy brake pedal. A quick bleed of the system sorted the problem and the repeated tests would see him increase his advantage over his chasers from 8 to 26 seconds. It all well wrong 3 and a half miles into the next stage when the front near tyre deflated on one of the many Otterburn compressions and he maintains he didn’t hit anything. They drove the remaining 6 miles at a reduced pace and a loss of about 90 seconds. With the ‘bodywork patched up’ and new wheel fitted, they tackled the 2 remaining runs with huge bravado. They recovered 21 seconds on the penultimate stage but were still 33 adrift at final service. Another special effort of the last stage could only recover another 21 seconds than the winner and the youngsters were left to rue what might have been.
And finishing next in 5th overall were our new champions, Barry Lindsay and Michael Lindsay. Although they’ve both been top dogs 4 times already – so I suppose we should say that we have different champions for 2011 ! The boys from Spadeadam did some extra mental preparations for the rally and came intending to just drive to the finish and see what happens. So what happens, but the usually reliable Peugeot 106 started to play up and they entered first service with a dodgy gear linkage. They persevered with it for the rest of the day and Barry likened it to ‘fishing for gears’ and ‘stirring broth’ when it came to changing gears but it didn’t slow him down much. As they day progressed, the battle plans seemed to be forgotten too and they got involved with a fight for the class lead. Some onlookers thought his times weren’t suffering either as he was changing up a gear approaching corners when most others were changing down !! At final service he felt the need to preserve a result and put wets on the back for the final 14 miles of steady rain. And so the ‘Lad and Dad’ combination, managed to take another class win and add the title to their achievements of 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2009. Fantastic.
David Conley and Mike Scrimgour wheeled out the faithful Hillman Avenger once more for the event. Problems getting the 2 litre engine repaired meant the 1600 engine would be have to be used this time. The first 2 stages didn’t feel too good and he was left chasing the top 10 runners. A misfire meant he couldn’t get maximum revs but a switch to the backup fuel pump solved the problem. Lady Luck stayed with them when they came across a loose distributer at final service – a stripped bolt being the offending item. Once sorted they tackled the final stage with a vengeance and managed 4th fastest time to move them up from 8th to 6th overall.
A new co-driver in Giles Dykes also accompanied Paul Swift’s return to Otterburn as ‘Coxxy’ was away doing roundy roundies. They managed to complete the first lap this time out despite finishing stage 4 stuck in 4th gear. Problem sorted and back out on the roads, Paul settled into a comfortable rhythm and consistent top 10 times. He was another to adopt a more cautious attitude towards the rain and started the last stage on wets. They still set the 6th fastest time and finished a fine 7th overall. Paul was happy to leave the ranges with the Ford Escort Mk2 still intact and having gained some valuable experience of the roads.
The evergreen Geoffrey Harkness with Caroline Lodge alongside him produced another solid display to record a 13th overall finish and take 5th championship points. Geoffrey reported a near off on the little loop above the tip from the Camp and blamed the sheep’s droppings for the making the surface slippy. He also ‘lost’ some engine coolant later on but a top up at final service saw him safely to the finish.
The final championship contender was Jack Morton, who was co driving in a Nova. Jack was happy to finally get to the end of a rally this year despite the diff starting to break up with 3 stages to go. A class win and 16th overall topped what was an eventful weekend – allegedly !
So what happened to those who never made it to the finish ? Michael Glendinning enlisted the services of Paul Hughes for the rally and in the opening 28 miles opened up a comfortable 1 minute and 10 seconds over their nearest challengers. They entered service complaining about the lack of an intercom, and how quiet it had been in the Impreza, but a new battery quickly solved that. So off they headed into Bellshiel 2 only to be caught out on a tightening left 5 almost 6 miles in. Michael nearly caught the slide but a back wheel slipped onto the grass and then the Subaru was into a roll. Both crew members escaped unharmed.
Gareth White / Callum Atkinson brought their Citroen C2R2Max with high hopes of a good result. And it looked on as they were mixing it with the quick boys to go into the fourth stage a terrific 5th overall. Unfortunately, it all went wrong a mile and a half in when they lost grip at a hairpin and the back off the car dropped off the road and ripped the whole offside corner off.
Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling were another crew heading for a top finish. They were never out of the top 10 overall all day after a solid, confident run over the first 10 stages. They would go into the last 14 miles lying in a super 5th place and with a comfortable 22 seconds cushion on the next crew. They were only 1 and a half miles into the stage and then approaching the hairpin at High Shaw, jumped hard on the brakes. Unfortunately, they had no power when we went back on the throttle. The car seemed to go into “limp” mode as on an earlier rally this year and, on that occasion, it proved to be the throttle position sensor as the villain. Hopefully, the crew from Durham will rectify the problem soon and set the record straight on the Cheviot.
Simon Stewart and Doug Levee were making one of their rare appearances in the little Vauxhall Corsa. Unfortunately, they couldn’t repeat their fine run of the ‘Clark’ and drove out just over a mile from the end of the first run through the Holystone stage. They cited clutch problems as being their downfall.
And our last championship contender was the father and son pairing of Michael and Josh Davison. In the days leading up to the rally, the lads were having gearbox problems but they only managed half of the first stage before retiring with clutch problems and the orange Proton Satria returned to service on the end of a rope.
Special thanks go to Ed Barber and all his team at Tynemouth Motor Club for another superb rally. It ran to time and with slick changes for the revised stages, it meant a great day’s sport for all competitors. And as usual, we had most of the four season’s weather in one day. It will take some beating for the Cheviot to follow that … and the Cheviot will be our final championship rally of this year. The UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Stages Rally is taking place on the Otterburn Military Ranges on Sunday 23rd October and 2011 is the sixth consecutive year that UTS have sponsored the rally. The event is a qualifying round of 5 championships this year and the organisers are offering a compact route of approximately 88 competitive miles, in a total route of 93, run over 11 special stages and costing £335. Entries are available now and will close for seeding on Wednesday 12th October.
A Route Recce will take place at 12:00 on Saturday 22nd. The Route Safety Notes will be on sale from PATTERSON PACENOTES. The recce is follow by Scrutineering at Otterburn Ranges between 14:00 and 18:00. Once again the Rally HQ in the Percy Arms Hotel, Otterburn and more details on the rally can be found at http://www.cheviotstages.co.uk/
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
September 12th, 2011
Barry and Michael Lindsay are the 2011 AS Performance North of England Tarmacadam Rally Champions.
Driving their Peugeot 106, the boys finished 39 seconds ahead of the Ford Escort of Paul Swift and Giles Dykes on today’s Lindisfarne Rally. Despite having to drive for most of the day with a niggling gear linkage problem, the Peugeot crew managed to stay ahead of their championship rivals and bring home another championship. A full report will follow soon …
Tags: championship, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
September 12th, 2011
Pete and Drew Gibson managed a fantastic 5th overall and first in class on the Ulster National Rally on what was there first visit to Ireland.
The Thursday recce went well as 4 stages were repeated to give an 8 stage event. Many amendments were made to the organisers notes to try and ensure a safe run in the absence of any local knowledge.
Saturday morning saw Pete on the pace from the start but maybe a bit too hot in the cool and damp of stage 1 Langford Lodge where a grassy moment gave a stern reality check but still netted them their first top ten time. A change to more suited tyres at first service gave them 8th fastest on the 15 mile Slieve Galleon stage but near disaster struck when the gearbox played up on stage 4 and a missed gear contributed to a substantial off with a puncture and body damage. Lady luck shone on the boys however and a separate incident to car 1 took the limelight and allowed them to limp out of the stage with bent rear suspension and body damage. A frantic 30 minute service followed and a repeat of the first stage was given much respect. The boys got their heads down on Tardee 2 and posted 4th overall time, a pace they retained to the end to pick up the class win and 5th Overall.
Tags: championship, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
August 16th, 2011
Lee Hastings and Brian Findon take a popular win on this weekend’s Solway Coast Rally. Driving a Subaru Impreza, the boys from Dumfries finally made it to the end of their local rally at the third attempt and with it a fine 5th place overall. It was a successful return to the championship too after they dropped out on the North West Stages with a drive shaft problem, as they registered their first maximum points.
Although the car ran faultlessly all day this time, the victory wasn’t a straightforward one. After the first loop of 2 stages, Hastings returned to service in 9th overall and 3rd placed championship contender behind Barry Lindsay and Paul Swift. By mid morning the temperature was rising and the sun coming out to shine, so the stages were drying out and Lee upped his pace. He could only pull back 1 second over the next 10 miles to close the gap to the Lindsays but then a rare mistake on stage 6 by the Peugeot crew saw them spin a full 180o and lose 9 seconds. The consequences were that both crews would enter final service dead level. Maybe the Lindsays put on their championship heads over the final 2 stages to run in safe mode, although they still recorded their fastest times on the repeated stages, or maybe Hastings and Findon tried even harder – who knows but the Subaru would stop the clocks 4 seconds quicker on both stages to take the narrow win.
The Peugeot crew weren’t too unhappy with 7th overall and the runners up spot in the championship though. This earned them another good haul of points to stretch their respective leads at the top of the points tables and moves them one more step closer to another title. And if results go their way, that could be decided on the very next round in September.
Taking 3rd place in our championship on the rally were Durham crew Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling. They started at a steady pace to get used to the venue and completed the first loop in 12th place. An overshoot on stage 4 didn’t cost too much as they managed to move up to 9th. A good session with a tyre cutter opening up the tyres for the afternoon stages helped them go quicker on the drying stages even though by the end they lost a place by 1 second. The lads are starting to get some reliability after their woes of last year and the results are getting better too. After this weekend’s good run to 10th overall, they have both moved up to 3rd overall in the championship and the possibility of finishing even higher is there for them.
Paul Swift and David Cox were delighted to make the start of the rally after their roll a fortnight earlier on the Tyneside Stages. In those 14 days, the car has spent a lot of time in the bodyshop but looked resplendent once more come the opening stage. And after a cautious start, they would return to service in 7th place overall. Unfortunately, they picked up a puncture and were forced to take a stage maximum on SS4 This dropped them down to 32nd place and no chance of a good finish but they had clear runs in the afternoon to pick up 8 places and still take home some useful points.
The final points scorers were Paul Banks and James McWhir, although not competing in the same car. Paul was happy to finish the rally with top class points after the shock he got when starting the first test. Like most crews, he was new to the Dundrennan Ranges and was surprised by the technical nature of the stages and the amount gravel. He kept his head down though and drove his Peugeot 106 faster on each stage. James McWhir was called up to sit alongside the non-registered Michael Hunter in his Lada Samara. The Spadeadam man was another to have a good, trouble free run and ended up in 22nd place overall.
We only had 2 crews that went out of the rally and both decided to retire at service after the first pair of stages. Local crew Duncan Wardrop and Ian Crosbie were one of nine crews to pick up a puncture near the end of the second stage and this caused some damage to a drive shaft of their Subaru Impreza. Gareth White and Callum Atkinson also decided to take an early bath and head home with their Citroen C2R2 Max intact.
The championship tables have a familiar look as Barry Lindsay continues to lead the driver’s side with Paul Swift, Chris Anderson, Alistair Hutchinson and Chris Grieve giving chase. It’s a similar story in the co-driver’s table as well with Michael Lindsay ahead of David Cox, Chris Thirling and then comes Ann Forster, Paul Makepeace and Andrew Roughead tying with the same number of points. In class 1, Paul Banks and Ann Forster are leading; class 2 sees the Lindsays have already ‘won’; class 3 is headed by Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling; for class 4 it’s Paul Swift and David Cox and across in the ‘big class’ Michael Glendinning and Stuart Baillie are equal drivers with Mick Johnson the leading co-driver.
Special thanks go to Solway Car Club and their long-term sponsors DA Autoparts via usedcarparts.co.uk, for all their efforts in running the rally. They’re a really enthusiastic bunch of guys trying hard to provide a great day’s rallying for competitors. They have to be applauded for coming up with a ‘new venue’ for rallying and in a different geographical location too. It provides the championship with more variety and a different challenge to our contenders. This rally has improved on it’s inaugural run last year and the club are keen to continue in that vein with ideas for changes to the 2012 rally already in the pipeline.
The next round of the championship is also the penultimate round for 2011 and we’re going back to Otterburn for the Pirtek Lindisfarne Rally. The event takes place on Sunday 11th September when Tynemouth Motor Sport Club are planning to run 11 stages that will provide 95 miles of competition over the daunting military roads of Northumberland. The entry fee is £325; the Entry List is already open and closes for seeding on Friday 2nd September. The organisers are offering a reconnaissance session that starts at midday on Saturday the 10th and then the usual pre event preliminaries are taking place at the Otterburn Leisure Centre from 15:00. All the details are available at the club’s website - http://richard-burns.com/tdmc/lindisfarne
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
August 3rd, 2011
- Andy Davison / Mike Curry in their BMW M3
Andy Davison takes top championship points on the Tyneside Stages. Driving his BMW M3, the lad from Northallerton managed to get a clean run most of the time with only one problem all day. Andy, co-driven by Mike Curry, was quick out of the blocks being 7th fastest on the opening stage and by second service he was up to 4th overall – making a mockery of his seeding at 31. As others gained speed in the afternoon, he dropped down a place before he lost just over a minute on stage 7. A rear tyre had delaminated and although he was slowed by the little problem, it didn’t cost him any places and he finished a fine 5th overall. The car looked a little second hand by the end after he lost both door mirrors and the front wings carried the evidence of regular contact with chicane bales but he was a very happy man back at the Otterburn Leisure Centre.
Paul Hughes took the co-driver’s laurels as he finished in second place overall, just 25 seconds behind the winner. Paul was sitting in the hot seat of David Turnbull’s recently acquired ex works Subaru S11 WRC and they had a trouble free day getting accustomed to the new car.
Taking second place for drivers was Peter Taylor. The youngster from Spadeadam was out in his Renault Clio R3 with last year’s top co-driver, Andrew Roughead, sitting alongside. The pairing are often competing in the BRC and were using the Tyneside as a test session before the Ulster Rally. A good play around with suspension settings was very useful as they set competitive times all day and after almost 90 miles, they were just 4 seconds behind Davison / Curry in the BMW.
Next up in our championship was Alistair Hutchinson driving his Renault Clio. The Northallerton man was driving as hard as ever and was only slowed on stage 3 when he picked up a misfire. He luckily found a wire rubbing out on the engine and after a quick fix in service he continued up the leaderboard to finish a fine 9th overall.
Our current championship leaders were next along in their usual Peugeot 106. Barry and Michael Lindsay put in their usual committed performance to win the class and finish 13th overall. However, what was not usual were the battle scars of contact out on the stages. Barry set off into the first stage 30 seconds behind a guy who’s never been to the venue before and by half way through the 9-mile stage he’d caught up with him. Even with lights on and horn sounding the poor guy wasn’t aware of the presence of the little 106 for several miles. Just before the end of the stage he backed off a little for a ‘flowing section’ and the pocket rocket shot up the inside line to get ahead before the fella turned into the Peugeot damaging the co-driver’s door and window. This didn’t really halt progress for the rest of the day and another good set of points ensured they increase their lead at the top of our championship table.
Behind the Lindsays were local boys Chris Grieve and Paul Makepeace in another Peugeot 106. The lads have suffered with a bad run of mechanical problems since the Croft rallies and were keen to record some points again. In the weeks leading up to the rally, the car’s benefitted from new engine, shafts, new brake pads and it was all worthwhile as they managed to get to the finish in 16th overall and second in class. Their only ‘troubles’ were keeping the car on the black stuff as they pushed hard and found the grass didn’t provide the same level of grip.
Another crew to record a cracking result were Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling. The Durham lads were 16th overall in the Ford Fiesta on the first stage to confuse the seeding committee after they were set off at 66. Special preparations after the recce meant they found early speed that they could maintain for the rest of the event. Unfortunately, they lost out when they were awarded a notional time on the final stage and they dropped 3 places without turning a wheel in anger !
Kev Monaghan and Chris Purvis were another crew to suffer a similar fate with the same incident. However, after their first stage panic, they were very glad to get to the finish. A water leak was discovered in first service and they used up nearly all their lateness fixing what turning out to be a problematic gasket. That’s 3 good results in 3 rallies with the new car now, let’s hope their Otterburn jinx is over too.
Dave Seed and Mick Morpeth enjoyed a trouble free day in their Ford Escort G4. Only minimal time was lost when they caught and passed a couple of slower cars and more useful points gathered on the rally pushes them into our top 10. Another crew to enjoy themselves were Gareth White and Callum Atkinson. The lads from St Boswells were using their newer car, the C2R2 Max, and it’s reliability would bring them home in 24th place. Classified right behind them, but sharing the exact same time penalties were the Knox brothers. Kevin and Jimmy were making a rare appearance in the Honda powered Ford Sierra and recorded a bit of a frustrating day. A niggling misfire and unreliable brakes prevented the boys making good progress on a regular basis but, as ever, they were as happy as ever at the finish. A further 2 and a half minutes back was the consistent Geoffrey Harkness and Caroline Lodge. Driving their usual Vauxhall Corsa, the Spadeadam team were happy to report a trouble free day.
Our final 2 finishers were the family crews of the Davisons and the Malthouses. Michael Davison and son Josh struggled with brake problems on their Proton Satria for most of the rally. However, by the end of the day it was the clutch that was giving more concern but they made it to the finish with Josh pushing the car into the final control. Jeff Malthouse had his nephew Graham reading the notes for him as he wheeled out his Peugeot 205 once again. The lads were short on match practice but still enjoyed a trouble free run to 46th overall.
Such a hard event always catches out crews and we had 3 championship contenders that suffered on the day. Paul Swift and David Cox were the first to go, just a couple of miles from the end of the opening stage. A downhill medium left over a wicked cattle grid saw their Ford Escort leave the road and roll into ditch. Both crew members escaped unharmed but the race has already started to find panels for the next rally in less than 2 weeks time.
Chris and Katherine Singer had a lucky escape after a huge crash. Their problems started in the week leading up the event when a coming together with black faced tup meant lots of cosmetic work was required to get the front end of the Saxo looking more the way Citroen had designed it. Once the rally started, things seemed to be going well as they were leading arch rivals Michael and Barry Lindsay by 11 seconds after 4 stages before a right rear puncture on the next stage saw them lose 30 seconds. Battling hard to make up for lost time, it all went wrong as they left Featherwood Farm on stage 7. Approaching the uphill jump over cattle grid, Chris changed into 6th gear before taking off and then the front offside wheel studs sheared ! Landing with 3 wheels on their wagon they managed to stop the car before the next junction and then wander off on foot to find the offending wheel way down the road.
Our last crew to suffer were Edward Todd and Andy Brown. Driving the unusual GTM coupe the Durham crew lost time on stage 4 when they made minimal contact braking into the back of the misfiring car in front. Their recovery up the leaderboard was going well until 2 miles from the end of stage 8 when the diff gave up.
A big thank you to Alnwick and Berwick Motor Clubs for staging the Tyneside Stages, sponsored by Wilkinson Maintenance and Alba Water. Once again the value of clubs working together produces a good event as the Military Ranges of Otterburn provides a stern test for competitors. The organisers coped well with the delay on stage 1 after a car rolled (the crew unharmed) and the more serious incident on the last stage when a member of the public needed urgent medical attention. Unfortunately, almost 30 crews had to be disappointed at missing the chance to have a go on the longest stage of the day. And the organisers found some warm and sunny weather too – shame about the midges though !
Next rally in the championship is the Solway Coast Rally, sponsored by Usedcarparts. This event is new to our series and will run on Sunday 14th August. Solway Car Club are promoting the rally that offers a total mileage of approximately 70 miles and will contain 8 special stages totalling approximately 42 miles. The stages will take the form of 85% sealed military range roads and 15% loose surface roads. The event will start and finish at the Military Ranges, Dundrennan, near Kirkcudbright. Scrutineering will take place on Saturday 13th August [15:00 – 18:00] and Sunday 14th August [07:00 onwards] at the nearby Girstingwood Rally HQ Complex
The entry list is now open and will closes finally on Saturday 6 August 2011; the entry fee is £229.90. Although the organisers haven’t managed to arrange a recce, they will have route notes and DVDs prepared by Scotmaps (Bill Sturrock) that will be available in various formats. There’s lots more information available at http://www.solwaycarclub.co.uk/cgblog/10/usedcarparts-co-uk-Solway-Coast-Rally/
Also here’s another quick mention on round 9 of this year’s championship – the Pirtek Lindisfarne Rally. It’s back to Otterburn on 11th September for 11 stages and just under 100 miles of competition over the fantastic military roads of Northumberland. You will find all the details are available at Tynemouth Motor Sport Club’s website -http://richard-burns.com/tdmc/lindisfarne
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news