January 24th, 2012
Paul Swift & David Cox in their Escort mk2
Another swift run for Paul Swift. Driving his Ford Escort with David Cox sitting alongside him again, the Darlington crew enjoyed a trouble free day to end up a fantastic 3rd overall on the day and top points scorer too. Paul set out his stall from the off with a 4th fastest time on the first stage. And despite being slowed by one fast spin on stage 5, Paul’s aggressive driving style was rewarded with consistent top times that would move him into the top 3 by the penultimate stage. His main dilemma was finding the right tyres for each stage, as tyre wear was very high. As darkness started closing in for the final stage, the local lads decided to drive with a little caution over the last 5 and a half miles and consolidate a brilliant result against some very fast competition. As a bonus, this result also moves them into the lead of the championship.
Finishing right behind the Ford Escort were Pete Gibson and Josh Davison in a Mitsubishi Evo6. This young crew would shadow Swift’s Escort all day long but were always just a few seconds adrift. Pete was another to complain about not having the correct tyres but he kept his head down and worked hard to keep out of trouble. His only damage to the car was when he nudged the offside front wing in the tight confines of the double hairpin around the pits complex. Despite going into the final stage 19 seconds behind Swift and Cox, the Mitsubishi crew pushed hard and took back 11 to end up a mere 8 seconds adrift.
Andy Davison and Mike Curry would be our 3rd placed finishers in a fine 6th place overall. Andy had recently acquired an Evolution 5 version of Mitsubishi’s successful rally car and this would be his first drive in anger. Although he set 6th fastest times on the first couple of stages, he lost his way a bit on the other 2 morning stages and at the lunch halt he was down in 11th position. His times improved as the afternoon progressed and by the end of the day he was setting 2nd fastest times, and that was just behind a Focus World Rally Car.
Next up were championship newcomers Steve Quigley and Terry Martin. Having made the long haul from Cheshire to get to Croft, Steve was probably wondering if it was worthwhile when a troublesome gear linkage found him down in 23rd after the first stage. Once fixed, he went out and did the next stage 27 seconds faster. The brightly coloured Renault Clio then continued to set quick times that moved Steve and Terry into the top 10 before they lost 2nd gear near the end of stage 7. They would lose a few more seconds on the final stage but still end up in 8th overall.
And next up in 9th place were the Durham Motor Club pairing of Ed Todd and Andy Brown. The crew once again turned up with their re-fettled GTM enthusiastically looking forward to a more reliable outing. They wouldn’t be disappointed either as they had a generally trouble free event even though their times were a little inconsistent. They did however, just creep into the top 10 and were a very happy crew at the end of the day.
Ann Forster was a navigator on the move for this rally as she accompanied the non registered Michael Pickles to 11th place 7 seconds ahead of David Conley / Mike Scrimgour in the Hillman Avenger. The old car struggled a bit with a loose wire to the alternator but once this problem was rectified they would enjoy a more reliable run. By the finish, their battle scared car show the many contacts with tyre markers and chicanes, as they pressed hard to keep up with the more modern machinery.
Another newcomer to the championship is Stuart Walker in his Mitsubishi Evo9. Stuart’s being a regular competitor in the forests but is now trying his luck on tarmac and enlisted the services of young Jack Morton for this rally. His driving style reflected a sideways approach but the times did get quicker as the day wore on. From 20th after the opening test, the crew moved up to 14th by the end. Their only complaint being that of tyre wear.
Making his debut in a rally was Stuart Bate. Stuart has competed in sprints and hillclimbs in the past but wanted to try competing with someone sitting alongside him – so he’s chosen Giles Dykes. From a lowly start number of 67, he set off on a rather nervous journey into stage 1 where he recorded 29th fastest time. As his confidence grew he went quicker in his Mitsubishi although occasionally going over his limits with a couple of spins but he was a happy man to finish an excellent 17th overall.
David Taylor and Lynsey Brench ended up 5 seconds further back in their Ford Escort Mark2. The Eden Valley duo were really pushing their 1600 powered motor along and despite complaining about tyre choice they steadily moved up the leader board to end up 18th.
Joseph Redmond / Miquel Marini were next up in the unusual Peugeot 306. The Leeds based crew struggled to repeat their 10th overall placing from the Christmas Stages as they tried to get rear tyres working properly – they found it took ages in each test before the rubber was warm and then very quickly the tyres would ‘go off’.
Geoff Simpson and Mick Johnson were a mere 2 seconds adrift of the Peugeot at the end but the smiling crew from Ripon were happy to go home with a straight car. Croft has not been kind to them in the past as they have always suffered a fair amount of panel damage from tyres and bales but their luck may have just changed.
In 30th place was the Honda Civic of Andrew Plunkett / Paul Firth. Even though they had a lot of last minute panics getting the car prepared and then suffered more time consuming spins than they could remember for one rally, it was all worthwhile.
Drew Barker and Shona Hale made the long journey down from Edinburgh with their Vauxhall Astra for their first visit to Croft. They lost time with a drive shaft problem and a huge spin in the darkness of the final stage but still enjoyed their rally.
Colin Barker had one of those rallies to forget, as he had to take not 1 but maximum stage times, the second one after a puncture happened early in the penultimate test.
And lastly we had another ‘lad and dad’ pairing – Andrew and Reg Irving in the little 1400 Peugeot 205. The West Cumbria based crew, had a testing day trying to find the right tyre combination. They made steady progress up the leader board and seemed to have cracked it on SS7. Then on the final run they had a huge moment spinning a full 360 degrees and losing 10 to 15 seconds, but they were still smiling.
A quick mention of those who never made it to the finish. Alistair Hutchinson / St John Dykes packed in on the first test with clutch problems while Alan Cowen and Phillip Coulby retired with a blown head gasket after SS1; Graeme Bell and Russ Radford went home at lunch time after their Escort’s diff broke; the Citroen Saxo of Steven Crowther / David Batley was returned to the service area on the end of a tow rope after contact on stage 5; 2010 champion Michael Glendinning called it a day after SS6 after he’d finished testing his recently acquired Elfyn Evans Impreza; Jon Olds and Janice Moore made it to the end of stage 7 but retired with a misfire and clutch problems respectively.
The second round of the championship certainly didn’t live up to it’s name as the Jack Frost Stages was run in unusually mild weather this year. Although the day dawned damp and breezy, the sun and wind quickly dried out the racing tracks of Croft Circuit and competitors enjoyed the 40 miles of action. Darlington and District Motor Club in association with AUTOGAS 2000 and Cartersport are to be congratulated for coming up with a testing variation of the racing circuit’s roads. The weather caught quite a few competitors out as the dry, grippy tarmac took it’s toll on tyres and some struggled to find the right combination to work on the day.
The next rally is already less than 2 weeks away as we head for the seaside at Blackpool. The Legend Fires North West Stages takes place on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February. Once again the organisers will be using the fantastic facilities offered by the Norbreck Castle Hotel, with Rally HQ, Scrutineering, indoor Parc Ferme and Champagne finish ceremony all within the hotel’s Exhibition hall. The ‘Cetus Rally village’ will also be open during the rally with trade stands and side shows to entertain the supporters and spectators.
Motor Sport (North West) are retaining the popular format of recent years, with a Friday evening leg giving competitors about 10 miles of stages in the dark and including a spectator friendly stage on the North Promenade directly opposite Rally HQ. The event will continue with Saturday offering of a wide variation of stages at several different venues. Overall, the rally offers approximately 75 miles of sealed surface stages within a compact route of only 150 road miles, creating a very demanding event for competitors, with no hanging around. Entries have been flowing in quickly and at the time of writing 84 crews have registered. Full details are available at the rally website – http://www.nwstages.co.uk/
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
January 10th, 2012
As entries continue to arrive on a daily basis, already the names of two former winners will be on the start line when Darlington and District Motor Club’s Jack Frost Stages Rally gets underway at Croft Circuit later this month.
Triple winner from the last three years, Paul Bird, will be travelling over from his Cumbria base but the Penrith Superbike team boss is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding which car he will wheel out on the event sponsored by fuel conversion specialists Autogas 2000 as well as specialist motorsport PR company Cartersport on Sunday 22nd January 2012.
The former National Champion is undecided whether to bring his 2007-specification Ford Focus WRC or to debut his recently-built Ford Escort Mk2 but either way, he’ll face stiff opposition including another ex winner, Dave Holland. The Leek driver won the event back in 2001 and returns for the first time in many years to try to challenge for another victory in his rapid 2.1 litre Ford Escort Mk2.
Also included in the early entries are the drivers who finished second and third overall on the recent Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally. Bishop Auckland youngster Chris Anderson took a career best runner-up placing in his 2000cc Ford Fiesta where he was followed home by Darlington stunt driver Paul Swift in his Ford Escort Mk2. Swift finished third on last season’s Jack Frost and will be hoping for a repeat of that result this year.
Two other former winners are also hoping to be on the entry list as three-times winner Tony Bardy and event sponsor Chris Wise, a twice winner, are facing a race against time to get their cars ready. Both missed the Christmas Stages but Bardy’s Nissan Sunny and the iconic MG Metro 6R4 of event sponsor Wise would be welcome additions.
Remarkably, despite winning the Christmas Stages three times in the past four years, Croft specialist Kevin Procter has yet to add his name to the Jack Frost trophy and the Leeming ace is considering an entry in order to try to put that right this year now the event doesn’t clash with the Autosport International Show whereby Procter has had commitments there in the past.
The event will again comprise up to eight stages totalling around 40 stage miles on the tarmac of the North East’s only permanent race track and will be a qualifying round of the AS Performance North of England Tarmacadam Championship 2012, Fuchs Titan ANCC Stage Championship 2012 and the SG Petch ANECCC Stage Rally Championship 2012.
Scrutineering and documentation take place the same day as the event from 06:00 with the first car starting at 09.15. There are classes for cars up to 1400cc, up to 1600cc, up to 2000cc, over 2000cc and all four wheel-drive cars as well as pre-1981 classic rally cars. The entry fee has been pegged at £195 and the final closing date is Thursday 12th January 2012.
For further information, please contact Terry Wright on 01325 359895 (before 21.00), or via email at chair@darlington-motor-club.org.uk.
Regulations and entry forms are now available at www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk.
Picture attached: Paul Swift has finished third on the last two rallies at Croft (picture courtesy of Tony Todd)
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
January 3rd, 2012
Top spot for Chris and Chris. Driving their usual Ford Fiesta, Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling snatched a last stage ‘victory’ to claim the maximum championship points on yesterday’s Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally.
The day dawned with the roads of Croft race circuit covered in patches of ice from a little overnight frost but this was quickly warmed up by the morning January sun. As the day wore on we also endured some wind and a couple of heavy showers with the sunny periods – quite a change from the recent year’s snow and ice. However, there were still enough variable conditions to keep competitors on their toes.
From the off, Anderson and Thirling made their intentions clear with a couple of solid stages to claim 5th fastest overall times and 2nd in championship yet they were lying 19 seconds behind Paul Swift. Over the next 4 stages, the Durham crew got their heads down and with some controlled, determined driving clawed back time to go into the final test just 4 seconds behind. And with their nearest chaser another 47 seconds adrift, it was time for some ‘mantalk’ in the Fiesta cabin. A final push saw them stop the clocks quicker that Swift and take a brilliant 2nd overall in the rally and the top score for the first time. It might appear that the crew have been around for some time as they took their first ever maximum score, but it’s easy to forget that the driver has only had 20 birthdays, and that’s quite a lot less than the co-driver … This perfect start to the year was more than they’d dared hope for after last year’s Christmas Stages when a mechanical problem meant they finished 3rd last.
Taking second championship points were the local crew of Paul Swift and David Cox in a Ford Escort Mk2. Paul and David were our early leaders and managed to hold that position until the darkness of the last stage. Paul was driving with lots more commitment this year and he really benefitted from his good start number; a fact he felt was helping him get clearer runs through the stages too. A poor tyre choice on stage 5 lost a few seconds and after the penultimate stage the crew felt the clutch was starting to slip. And so this problem developed in the last stage to the point where time loss was easily apparent. Added to this was a small spin too and so they lost 30 seconds on this one stage. Never the less, the Darlington crew were happy to get their championship campaign off to a good start.
Taking 3rd co-driver points was another local boy in Giles Dykes. Giles was partnering the non-registered Martin Tinker in his Lotus Exige on some fast laps of the racing circuit that were interspersed with a few offs. These were usually occurring near the start of each test as they struggled to generate heat into the front tyres and understeered off the intended course.
Craig Pennington would take 3rd driver points. The Mitsubishi Evo 9 got off to a poor start with a couple of early punctures that found him a minute down on Swift and Anderson after a couple of stages. This was a gap he’d never recover and was very happy to take a good set of points into the next event.
The next registered contender was Chris Purvis and he was another navigator sitting in a different car – this time it was Andrew Fawcett’s Vauxhall Nova. A very quick run all day and the little 1400 would end up with the giant killing act of the rally taking a cracking 8th overall.
In 9th place overall was Peppe Planeta in his Ford Fiesta. Peppe’s a long time supporter of the championship but he’s often struggled to get some reliability with his hybrid Cosworth engined beast. This year’s event was a welcome change and although he suffered from difficulty selecting gears all day, he was happy to record a good finish. This was a fine reward for his travels from the Isle of Man.
Rounding off the top 10 was the rarity of a Peugeot 306. Joseph Redmond and Miguel Marini were the crew in this tidy version. It was their first appearance for 6 years and after a quick drive around a local road in the days leading up to the rally they discovered a broken gearbox mount. Once fixed, the boys enjoyed a trouble free rally despite incurring a small time penalty.
Right behind the Peugeot was an even more unusual car – a Nissan Pulsar. Jon Olds was the pilot of this exceptionally quick example and he had no problems to report. In fact he revelled on the wet stages and steadily improved after his tardy first stage, where he recorded 15th fastest time, to finish in 11th overall and 6th driver.
Having a good run was Jack Morton sitting alongside Mark McCulloch. Their Proton was only collected on Friday and they were experiencing a few teething problems. They spent all morning trying different rear tyres in an effort to improve the handling so the teenager was happy with 2nd in class.
Colin Butler had a good day in his Subaru Impreza with very consistent times despite his dislike for the slippy stages. Andy Davison and Mike Curry appeared in a friend’s Peugeot 205 as their BMW was still in bits and they were keen to return the car in one piece as well. They found the front wheel drive was totally different to the usual powerful mount but never stopped smiling all day. Newcomers Steven Crowther / David Batley were next in their Citroen Saxo. This was a first event in their new car and their only problem on the way to 29th place was a broken gearbox mount. Next up were the husband and wife pairing of John and Liz Clayton in a Subaru Impreza. A slow start found them 58th fastest but 6 stages later and a lot less spins per stage, they’d moved them up to 39th overall. Russ Radford and Graeme Bell’s day got off to the worst possible start when a puncture cost them dearly. The stage maximum penalty saw them dead last in 64th place so the rest of the day was spent playing catch up. Bill Bates had daughter Katy alongside this time in his Lotus Exige and after a fraught day ended up 45th; his biggest time loss being on the second test when he took a maximum time after the red mist came down mid stage and he kept following the car in front rather than listen to the co-driver’s shouts at the stage split. Ed Todd / Andy Brown suffered another character building experience as they were forced to take stage maximums on the second and fifth stages after drive shaft and wheel bearing problems with the little GTM Coupe. They only just managed to keep running in the rally as they started the penultimate stage just ahead of the closing car when repairs took longer than hoped ! And our final points scorers were Malcolm and Richard Holdsworth. The father and son duo struggled with tyre choice on their Honda Civic but still made it to the finish.
Our only non-finishers of the rally were Darren Rutter and Ann Forster. Darren was enjoying his maiden rally in a Ford Escort Mk1 and was getting quicker all morning. Having moved up to 31st overall and with 2 tests remaining, he decided to call it a day when the gearbox jammed in 5th gear. A disappointing start to his rallying career but we look forward to seeing lots more of this talented youngster from Carlisle.
So the Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally has got our championship off to another good start. Northallerton Auto Club had planned to run in it’s traditional slot between Christmas and New Year but they received a setback at the beginning of December when this date suddenly was no longer available. Instead they had to run a week later with lots of rescheduling. But their efforts were rewarded with a good turnout of competitors and spectators and some reasonable weather too. A big thank you to Ian Jackson and his team for all their efforts in providing a testing rally.
We now have a break of almost 3 weeks before we’re back at Croft for the second round of the championship. The Jack Frost Stages, in association with AUTOGAS 2000 and Cartersport will take place on Sunday January 22nd. Darlington and District Motor Club are hoping to attract more entries this year as they have moved their date back 1 week so the usual clash with the Autosport Show has been avoided. It will be pretty much a similar format to last year’s rally with 8 stages running over 40 competitive miles. The organisers have only received 21 entries at the moment but anyone considering doing the event have until the 12th January to get their entry in.
The link for this rally is www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk/series_home.php?seriesid=31
More details are now available about the Legend Fires North West Stages. For 2012, this popular event will take place on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th February. Once again the organisers will be using the unrivalled facilities offered by the Norbreck Castle Hotel, with Rally HQ, Scrutineering, indoor Parc Ferme and Champagne finish ceremony all within the hotel’s Exhibition hall. The ‘Cetus Rally village’ will also be open during the rally with trade stands and side shows to entertain the supporters and spectators.
Motor Sport (North West) are retaining the popular format of recent years, with a Friday evening leg giving competitors about 10 miles of stages in the dark and including a spectator friendly stage on the North Promenade directly opposite Rally HQ. The event will continue with Saturday offering of a wide variation of stages at several different venues. Overall, the rally offers approximately 75 miles of sealed surface stages within a compact route of only 150 road miles, creating a very demanding event for competitors, with no hanging around. The Regulations have just been published and already there are 55 crews who have registered their entries.
More details at the rally website – www.nwstages.co.uk
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
December 24th, 2011
2011 Champions - The Lindsays
We are finally up and running for the 2012 championship year.
The Tyneside Motorsport Group has now been granted a permit by the MSA to once again run a recognised regional championship and we have published the Regulations and Registration Form for next year on the championship website.
As most of you will be aware, AS Performance have agreed to continue with their support of the championship for another year and we’re delighted to have them on board for the fourth season in a row.
This year, we’ve kept the tried and trusted formulas that has served us well over the last year and just tweaked things ever so slightly. Once more the championship will consist of 10 rallies with competitors being able to count their best 7 scores. The only change to the qualifying rounds will be the introduction of the Turnbull Trophy at the expense of the Solway Coast Rally. The Turnbull has been part of the championship a few times but military activity over recent years has meant that the venue was out of bounds for civilian events. Times and people change and we’re pleased that Tynemouth and District Motor Club have managed to secure the use of Albemarle Barracks once again for competition. The airfield roads are different to any other venue we visit so competitors can expect a new challenge for the championship this year. We’ve also retained the same class structure that includes a class for cars running to F1000 and FS1000 specifications – we hope that this will attract new faces and cars to the championship.
The first event of the ’year’ is the Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally. Having been planned to run in it’s traditional slot between Christmas and New Year, the organisers received a setback at the beginning of December when this date suddenly was no longer available. Instead they have been offered Monday 2nd January 2012 and as usual the rally is based at the Croft Circuit. The organisers are offering 7 stages of high quality asphalt covering 40 miles on this compact single venue rally and, because we’re running a bit late with our championship launch, the rally organisers have already published their seed entry list of 70 starters. I’m sure the organisers will be happy to accept more entries so if you’re interested, then go to the rally website http://www.northallerton-ac.co.uk/xmas/
The Jack Frost Stages, in association with AUTOGAS 2000 and Cartersport is scheduled for Sunday January 22nd and will be the second round of our championship. The organisers have this year moved their date back 1 week so the usual clash with the Autosport Show has been avoided. Once again, the event will be based at Croft and run to the similar format of last year’s rally. The organisers have only received 17 entries at the moment but anyone considering doing the event have until the 12th January to get their entry in. The link for this rally is http://www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk/series_home.php?seriesid=31
And finally for now, a quick mention about the Legend Fires North West Stages. Although the rally doesn’t take place until 3rd and 4th February and the Regulations have just been released recently, we have already seen 43 crews registering their entries.
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
December 13th, 2011
AS Performance are pleased to annouce their apppointment as a distributor for SHELL Racing Products covering specialist applications in both car and motorcycle markets and also FIA / MSA racing fuels.
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If you’re serious about maximizing your performance, Shell has a wide range of fuels and lubricants designed to help. Whether it’s two or four wheels, club-level or international championships, Shells’ technical resources and years of experience in motorsport help our fuels and lubricants to be the ‘choice of champions’.
Tags: championship, fluids, oils, racing, Rally
Posted in New products, Product news
November 30th, 2011
The Lindsay's with David Bogie
The final event of the 2011 championship was the annual awards presentation and once again it was held at the Grange Club in Chester le Street on Wednesday 23rd November. David Bogie, pictured cental above, the current BRC and SRC champion driver was the special guest for the evening and he kept the large crowd entertained before presenting the trophies to the lucky few. He’s a Star Man!
The good news for next year’s championship is that AS Performance will continue to support the series and we welcome back an old venue to the calendar – Albemarle Barracks when it hosts the Turnbull Trophy. A full list of the qualifying rounds is:-
27th December 2011 – Christmas Stages
22nd January 2012 – Jack Frost Stages
3rd and 4th February – North West Stages
12th May – Ingliston Stages
1st and 2nd June – Jim Clark National
24th June – Turnbull Trophy
12th August – Tyneside Stages
16th September – Lindisfarne Rally
23rd September – Pendragon Stages
4th November – Cheviot Keith Knox Rally
Keep your eyes on the championship website for regulations as we’re just waiting for authorisation / clearance from the MSA.
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
November 3rd, 2011
David Bogie is to present the 2011 awards. The details of the Awards Evening are now firmed up and our guest is organised. As the results from the UTS Cheviot Stages Rally are now final, we can get all the trophies engraved and handed out once more.
As mentioned last week, the Awards Evening will be our final “event” of the year. As is customary now, it will be held at the Stadium at Pelaw Grange in Birtley and will take place on Wednesday 23rd November 2011.
A reminder for everyone on how to find the venue; the postal address, is Pelaw Grange Stadium, Drum Road, Chester le Street, Co Durham; if you’re relying on a satellite navigation system – the post code is DH3 2AF and for all the navigators out there you’ll be able to find it on OS map 88, the reference is 271537.
A word of caution about access to the venue. The Council are proposing to start work on the access road into the industrial estate off the A6127 in the next week or so. There will be another update on this situation a couple of days before the presentation.
The guest speaker will be David Bogie , the current BRC and SRC champion driver.
After handing out the awards to the lucky winners, there will be the usual hot buffet and the chance to catch up with everyone over a drink. There will also be the latest news of the 2012 series.
Tags: championship, racing, Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
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
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