July 13th, 2010
Since the announcement that the Lindisfarne Rally has been cancelled, we have tried to find a suitable replacement but this has not been possible. Therefore as the number of rounds in the championship has been reduced to nine, so a competitor’s best six scores will now count towards their points totals – see championship regulation 3.
Next up is a mention of the 7th rally of the championship the Pendragon Stages. Northallerton, Eden Valley and Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Clubs will once again promote the annual Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages on Sunday 29th August 2010. Regulations have just been released and the organisers are offering 84 miles of stages – full details can be found at the event’s website, www.pendragonstages.co.uk
And finally there’s also some official news of the last rally of this year, the Cheviot Keith Knox. Due to increased ‘Priority One’ military activity on the Otterburn Ranges over the weekend of 23rd/24th October, the Army has withdrawn permission for the rally to take place at that time. Members of the organising team have met with representatives from the MoD to be told that the only possible alternative date for this year’s rally is a fortnight earlier – Sunday 10th October.
Whickham and District Motor Club and Hadrian Motor Sports Club will now host the UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Stages on Sunday 10th October 2010.
Commenting on the change of date, Andy Kobasa the Rally Clerk of the Course, said ‘We are obviously aware that this will not suit everyone but, mindful of the popularity of motorsport on the Otterburn Ranges, we hope that they will understand the reasons for the move and come and join us on 10th October.
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Uncategorized
July 6th, 2010
Bob Grant and Pete Carstairs picked up yet another win on this weekend’s Crail Stages. Dunfermline Car Club’s annual visit to the derelict naval base in the East Neuk of Fife always provides good competition on good tarmac – and this time with good weather thrown in too !. 8 stages were planned to give 56 challenging miles of rallying for 99 crews. Driving their usual immaculate Subaru Impreza, the local crew were quick out of the blocks to grab a 13 second advantage over the next championship contender. And with enough controlled aggression, they would stretch their lead by being fastest on every stage despite picking up a puncture towards the end of stage 6. By the end of the last stage the difference to their nearest pursuer would be exactly 1 minute and yet again they have collected another maximum set of points.
And their nearest pursuer would be in the shape of Stuart Baillie in another Subaru. This maybe an older version of the Impreza but when prepared by Richard Clark, it’s always going to provide a threat. This was only Stuart’s second rally in the car but he found it quicker than his previous mount and was regularly just behind Grant and Carstairs until a little problem with car cutting out when going over the little loose section that was cutting up on stages 5 and 6. Switching into conservation mode to ensure a finish, he dropped over 20 seconds on the last 2 stages but was still half a minute clear of his nearest rival.
The battle for 3rd and 4th places would see a couple of Ford Escort Mark 2s fight it out all day long. Barry Renwick and Ken Bills were a few seconds quicker than Michael Glendinning and Andrew Roughead on most of the stages but a problem on the penultimate stage would see them drop over 30 seconds and eventually lose the fight by 12 seconds at the end of the day. Although Glendinning had reverted back from the Subaru he used on the Jim Clark, he pushed hard showing the crowds his sideways style of commitment – sometimes down the straights as well as around the corners. He reported no problems apart from the 10 seconds lost at the end of stage 5 when he spun just before the flying finish. Both Glendinning and Renwick would go home with huge smiles on their faces at the end of a tense battle.
Gareth White and Callum Atkinson brought their Citroen C2R2 home fifth after surviving an early scare when he lost the brakes on the first stage; current championship leaders Alistair Hutchinson / St John Dykes were next up despite a small fire in the air filter when in service and also completing the sixth stage with 3 wheels on their car – this was caused by hitting the loose section of road very hard and a tired wheel bearing crying enough; David Hope’s times in his Subaru Impreza improved as the day went on – his co-driver Fiona Gourlay struggled in the morning feeling unwell; Paul Dolan / Derek Fawcett moved up from their usual mount of a Mitsubishi Evo 7 to the latest version, an Evo 10 supplied by MSR, and spent most of the day getting used to the new car and it’s improved performance; problems included a huge spin on the first test when he was first car through after someone dropped engine oil on the racing line and he was another to pick up a puncture on stage 6; Chris Grieve had a steady run as he managed to record a finish after recent reliability issues in the transmission department look to be cured; Michael Davison / Jack Morton’s first rally this year in the Proton was trouble free; Kev Monaghan / Chris Purvis were very happy to make the finish after thinking about putting the car on the trailer after the first stage – very high engine temperatures forced the Corsa crew to short shift for the rest of the rally and a puncture, yes on stage 6, would see them lose over 4 minutes while they stopped to change the deflated corner; newcomers Barrie Thomson / Andrew Irving brought their immaculate Peugeot 106 home in 31st place overall and picked up the Best Improvement on Seeding award having started at number 98; Sarah Hunter’s run in her Peugeot 205 was spoilt when she lost over 2 minutes on stage 6 and finally Chris Clark enjoyed his day in the underpowered Ford Ka that struggled on the fast airfield stages.
Commiserations go to Andrew Plunkett when his Honda Civic’s engine let go on the opening stage; Andrew Fry and Michael Hunter whose Rover struggled with alternator problems from the off until they too stopped with engine problems and finally the husband and wife team of Chris and Katherine Singer who retired with a frustrating misfire.
There’s little change at the top of the driver’s table but Michael Glendinning has now leapfrogged Paul Dolan into second place behind season long leader Alistair Hutchinson. In the co-driver’s table, St John Dykes continues ahead of Andrew Roughead and Michael Lindsay.
Dunfermline Car Club are to be congratulated once again on running a cracking rally despite the internal troubles they endured in the weeks leading up to the event. The next rally in the championship is the Tyneside Stages and that will take place over the military ranges near Otterburn on Sunday 1st August. The event will contain 9 special stages with approximately 90 stage miles on sealed roads and subjective route notes will be available in various formats, the official supplier is Patterson Route notes prepared by “Patterson’s Pacenotes”. Competitors will get an opportunity to carry out a route reconnaissance on the day before the rally. 37 entries have been received already and entries will close on 19th July at noon when the organisers will start seeding but they will continue to accept entries until 27th July.
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Uncategorized
June 3rd, 2010
Michael’s a winner ! Michael Glendinning and Andrew Roughead driving a Subaru Impreza for the first time brought the car home in an excellent 5th overall and top championship contender on the Jim Clark National Rally. The car was previously used in Ireland before Michael acquired it and he was quickly in the groove setting fast times on the Friday night’s stages. He would re-start on Saturday as second championship contender but still half asleep. Despite a couple of ‘slow’ times he picked up his pace, including a stage win the second time around Eccles, and when Andy Fenwick / Lee Tindall retired they were neatly placed to pick up the pieces. Even a snapped shaft on the very last stage couldn’t slow the boys down to record their first maximum points score of the year.
Following along in second place was Rob Hornshaw and co driver Dave Boyes in their immaculate Ford Escort Mark 2. It was their first appearance of the year and a steady start would see them end Friday night’s stages in 30th overall. It took a couple of tests on Saturday before they could make progress up the leaderboard to finish 18th overall. The afternoon stages in particular were a little nervy as they drove the last 4 stages with the oil warning light on all the time but the engine held out.
Two places behind on the results sheet but right behind in the championship were the evergreen Corsa crew of Kev Monaghan and Chris Purvis. The boys from Tynemouth managed to find a good rhythm in the 1600cc engined car on Friday’s 3 evening tests and keep some of the more powerful motors behind them. They would endure some brake and chassis problems during Saturday but still continued to push hard despite the odd scare in the wet of the early afternoon. However, they kept the car on the road and it was good to see their huge smiles at the end as they were delighted to finish – something of a rarity for them over recent months.
Dave Seed driving his Ford Escort G4 was another happy man at the finish. Dave was teamed up with a new co-driver for the rally and reported only one problem of a puncture on Saturday’s first stage. He picked up the problem early in the stage and lost over 5 minutes to drop to 54th overall. His push over the remaining 6 tests would see him move up the order to end up a fine 26th at the finish. Duncan Wardrop and Ian Crosbie were relieved to complete a rally as they’re still getting used to their new Subaru Impreza. They didn’t suffer any major dramas all rally but gained some valuable seat time as they learnt more about the new car.
Propping up the time sheets after very character building experiences were Paul Hughes / James Knox ( Mitsubishi Evo6 ) and Ross Hunter in his Honda Civic. The Mitsubishi crew from Whickham lost over 20 minutes on the first run through Swinton when they ground to a halt with no fuel. They managed to ‘find some’ and get going again but they just didn’t have enough stages to make an impact on the huge time loss. And finally Ross Hunter, who comes from Newton St Boswells but never really had the opportunity to make use of his local knowledge. He suffered not one but two drive shaft failures – fortunately not on the same test. He lost over 35 minutes on the first run through Wedderburn to drop to last on the road and results. He recorded much more competitive times over the next 3 stages before another shaft went on the second attempt at Swinton – but this time he only lost about 20 minutes. A steady drive through the remaining stages would see him get back to the finish and at least take home some decent championship points.
So what about those crews who never made it back to the Duns finish ? The biggest disappointment must go to Andy Fenwick and Lee Tindall who retired whilst leading the rally. Driving the newly acquired Subaru S8 as campaigned by Richard Burns, the past winners of this rally completed the rally’s first stage, a short dash around the streets and industrial estate of Duns, a mere tenth of a second up on Bob Grant’s Subaru. But over the next 15 miles of Abbey St Bathans, they nailed it to grab a 30 second lead. They would resume on Saturday morning in the head of the rally and were controlling the lead until they entered stage 11 when the front brakes locked on and forced their immediate retirement. Bob Grant and Pete Carstairs endured a fraught rally with a huge spin and mechanical problems and their rally ended on Saturday afternoon when they were still in 3rd place. The diff being the suspected problem. Barry Renwick and Ken Bills moved up from their usual Ford Escort into the ex Steve Simpson Hyundai Accent for this event. Barry only drove the car for a few miles on the day before the rally and started the first stage a little uncertain. His steady run would come to an end on the penultimate stage when, having clawed his way up to 2nd place, he retired with no brakes at the end of the Wedderburn stage. The husband and wife team of Chris and Katherine Singer were making their debut with the ex Andy Fenwick Mitsubishi Evo6 but their run came to an end on stage 10 when they retired with drive shaft problems. And finally the Vauxhall Corsa of Simon Stewart / Doug Levee called it a day after mechanical problems saw them lose over 10 minutes on the last stage of Friday night.
Special thanks go to Organising Committee of the Jim Clark Rally, and in particular Colin Pagan the Rally Manger, for all their efforts in running this classic event. It proved once more to be a very demanding rally both for the car and crew and our annual opportunity to run through the closed public roads of Berwickshire. Great facilities and a great challenge, the rally deserves to be part of our championship.
Now that we’ve reached the halfway point in the championship, we still have Alistair Hutchinson at the head of the driver’s table – a place he’s held since the start of the year. He’s followed by Barry Lindsay, Paul Dolan, Paul Swift and Michael Glendinning. The co-driver’s table is a similar story in that St John Dykes continues ahead of Michael Lindsay, Andrew Lees, Andrew Roughead and now Chris Purvis. And a brief mention of the class leaders too – in class 1 it’s Andrew Fry and Michael Hunter in their Rover 200; class 2 sees Barry and Michael Lindsay in their Peugeot 106 out front; the class 3 leaders are Alistair Hutchinson and St John Dykes ( Renault Clio ); Rob Hornshaw and Dave Boyes lead class 4 in a Ford Escort Mark 2 and the big class is topped by Paul Dolan ( Mitsubishi Evo7 ) and Giles Dykes. It’s interesting to note that in the 5 rallies that have taken place, we’ve had 5 different overall winners. This keeps the championship wide open as we head into the second half of the year.
The next rally that we’re heading to is the D & W Brown Builders (Mull) Stages. This will take place at Crail Raceway on Saturday 3rd July. The regulations have been available for a few weeks now and the organisers are offering 61.6 miles covered in 8 stages. Dunfermline Car Club have already received 24 entries so far and the closing date for entries is 26th June,
Michael Glendinning / Andrew Roughead Subaru Impreza
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Uncategorized
May 4th, 2010
Barry and Michael Lindsay’s well judged pace on the Squarepage Systems Rally helped them to 5th overall and take yet another set of maximum championship points. The Dunfermline Car Club organised rally was run at the old Ingliston Race track that’s adjacent to Edinburgh Airport where 8 stages were set out for 40 miles of competition. Saturday’s rally was run around the usual tight confines of the Royal Highland Showground but with an added twist. The organisers managed to gain access for the first time to the garden section of the complex and with a mix of narrow, blind sections; a jump over a bridge and fast perimeter roads it added some variety to the usual straights with square corners.
The opening 2 stages were damp after some overnight rain but the Lindsays seized the opportunity to transmit all their car’s power onto the road and were 4th overall while the more powerful cars struggled with wheel spin down straights as well as out of corners. This was a lead they would never lose despite Barry Renwick / Ken Bills getting within 3 seconds at the lunch halt. So with the confidence of true champions, they “backed off” to the finish but still managed to go 7 seconds faster on the final stage which just happened to be a repeat of stage 7.
Gareth White and Callum Atkinson registered their arrival in the championship with a fine second top points score as they finished 8th overall in the rally. Driving the ex Jason Pritchard Citroen C2R2 Cup car, they adapted well to the venue and reported a trouble free drive. Their times got better as the day progressed and they ended up just 1 second and 2 seconds shy of the Lindsay’s Peugeot 106 on the last 2 stages. It looks like the youngsters will keep our class leaders honest on future rallies and not only push them very hard but bring more variety with their French machine.
And from a championship point of view, the drive of the rally was from Andrew Fry and Michael Hunter. Using their Rover MG ZR, the young Dumfries crew drove with commitment to find themselves up to 14th at halfway. A push in the afternoon’s stages would see the 1400cc powered car move further up the leaderboard to finish a fantastic 3rd in championship and 10th overall in the rally.
A brief mention for David Hope / Fiona Gourlay driving a Subaru Impreza to 11th overall and Dave Seed / Mick Morpeth in their Ford Escort G4, just 1 second behind. Once again both crews were starting their championship year with good solid performances and the Ford crew will be rueing the 23 seconds they lost on the first slippy stage as they just couldn’t make up the time lost over the remaining 7 tests. Paul Dolan and Derrick Fawcett’s championship hopes continued to progress ever upwards with a solid 14th overall. The Northallerton crew felt robbed of a top 10 finish when they broke a drive shaft on the very first stage. They crawled out of the test and the resultant loss of over 1 minute meant that they were only 36th fastest after stage 1. But they just got their heads down and with the Evo 7 now working the way Mitsubishi had intended, they charged back up the time sheets to score more valuable points
As for the retirement’s list – well young Matt Thompson’s move across from the navigator’s seat ended with a lack of drive (and gearbox oil) in his Mitsubishi Evo IX on stage 4; Peppe Planeta and Giles Dykes retired their Ford Fiesta after stage 2 with engine problems and started the long drive back to the Isle of Man earlier than planned; Hexham’s Chris Grieve had to call it a day when his Peugeot 106 retired at the lunch halt as he investigated the source of his poor handling – it turned out to be the limited slip diff not working; and finally Barry Renwick and Ken Bills in the immaculate Ford Escort Mk2 retired from 6th position on stage 5 with a noise on the transmission – it sounded as though it could be expensive so they decided to save the car for another day. On a brighter note when the rally lost a few crews from the effects of the Icelandic Ash Cloud, we only had one non starter who was stuck in the southern hemisphere.
And so after 4 rounds of the championship, Alistair Hutchinson still leads the driver’s table from Barry Lindsay and Paul Dolan. While across in the co-driver’s section we have St John Dykes ahead of Michael Lindsay and Andrew Lees.
A big thank you goes to Dunfermline Car Club for putting on yet another well organised event to their usual high standard and once again this venue has proved that a well driven car with less power can be quicker than the boys with the big motors.
The next rally in the championship is the Jim Clark National based at Kelso Racecourse but run on the closed public roads around the Duns area. This event will tag onto the tails of the International Rally run on the 28th and 29th May. The event regulations and entry forms have been out for some weeks now and over 50 entries have already been received by the organisers. As mentioned in earlier bulletins, entries will close at the discounted rates on May 4th. All information is publicised on their website www.jimclarkrally.com and anyone considering doing the rally should be aware that the organisers do not print or send paper copies of anything unless requested. Anyone having trouble accessing the site should contact either Colin Pagan, on 07967 478765 or David Malthouse on 07792 226914 
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
March 9th, 2010
Regulations have just been released for the next event in the championship – the Squarepage Systems Stages. This rally, scheduled for Saturday 24th April, is being organised by Dunfermline Car Club and will be based at Ingliston, near Edinburgh. The organisers are offering 8 stages giving about 40 competitive miles and they will also be using a new part of the venue which is 100% tarmac but has never been used for rallying before.
Something else new for this event will be television coverage. The organisers have done a deal to get an hour on television with a DVD going to all that enter the rally. Details have yet to be finalised but there will be £20 added to the entry fee with the organisers picking up the other half of the cost and it will be shown on Motors TV.
As mentioned before, the organisers are very keen to stress that this rally is NOT a re-run of the event scheduled there on 13th March. They will be using completely new routes allowing for much more flexibility and more miles.
The Jim Clark Rally organisers have published preliminary details of their 2010 event with the issuing of Rally Guide 1.
The Jim Clark National Rally is the fifth round of this year’s championship. This will take place on the evening of Friday 28th and Saturday 29th May and is part of 6 separate ‘rallies’ taking place that weekend. It is the annual opportunity to compete over the closed public roads around the Duns area.
Rally Guide 1 provides information about all six different rallies to be held over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. Included in the document are details of the six rallies, including the National Rally which will be based in Kelso.
With regard to re-fuelling you should be aware that this will be done only by visiting the re-fueling rigs or a petrol station. No-one will be allowed to put fuel in cars by any other means. Carless and Sunoco have confirmed that they will be at the Jim Clark Rally and they will be in position for the duration of the three days of competition. Shell have yet to make a commitment. At present I cannot say whether there will be room in the zone that the organisers have in mind. There will definitely be NO management cars / auxiliary vehicles allowed on the National and those that infringe this will be penalised.
The organisers promise that the event regulations and entry forms are due out during the week commencing 15th March with entries closing at the discounted rates on May 4th.
It should be noted that the organisers have declared that all of their communications will only be available via the event’s website. The Rally Guide 1 is to be found in the ‘competitors’ section of the site you can go directly there by using the following link www.jimclarkrally.com
Anyone having trouble accessing the site should contact either Colin Pagan, on 07967 478765 or David Malthouse on 07792 226914
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
February 9th, 2010
Bob Grant & Pete Carstairs in their Subaru Impreza
Bob’s back with a bang. Bob Grant and Pete Carstairs returned to the series on the North West Stages and although they would be the first crew home, once again we have another co-driver taking the top honours. After the last event we talked about the youngster Jack Morton setting out on his rallying career but this time it was the turn of a man with many year’s experience. Chris Thirling was a last minute choice of co driver for Darren Doherty but he would step into the ex Tristian Pye Subaru Impreza N12 and end up winning the event.
It was Grant and Carstairs who drove their usual Subaru Impreza with the pace and reliability to lead home the remaining 13 championship crews home. Although never quite on the pace of the winners, the crew suffered on the tight hairpins of the Promenade stages and the slippy, mud covered roads with overshoots were not uncommon. However, they kept the pressure on Doherty / Thirling over the 82 miles of competitive rallying and were just 29 seconds adrift at the finish to claim a magnificent 2nd overall in the event.
And second driver home would be Craig Pennington. Craig is another new name to the series this year and after his non finish on the Christmas Stages he was pleased to get such a strong finish under his belt. Starting from a lowly number of 49, he was quickly on the pace in his Mitsubishi Evo VII and would go into the overnight halt in 16th place. A steady run throughout the 24 stages on Saturday would see him push further up the leader board and end up a fine 12th overall.
Malcolm Davey and Paul Slingsby drove their Ford Escort MkI home to 16th overall and take 3rd place crew. The vastly experienced crew from Bradford couldn’t quite match their feat of winning the class and claiming 14th overall as they did on last year’s North West Stages but they would still take home a good bagful of points.
The Durham Team of Mark and Matt Thompson (Peugeot 206), Alistair Hutchinson/St John Dykes (Renault Clio) and Paul Dolan/Derrick Fawcett (Mitsubishi Evo VII) would finish in 18th, 19th and 22nd overall.
Last time out, Steve Doherty / Peter Grant blew the engine of their Ford Escort and only managed to get a new motor installed the day before the rally. The boys’ hopes for a good run only lasted until stage 15 when they retired with overheating problems. Also unlucky not to make it back to the finish were the father and son pairing of John and Chris Haygarth. Started from number 57, they obviously revelled when driving their Subaru Impreza in the dark to go into the overnight parc ferme a fantastic 9th overall. A good run on the Saturday would end after the last Promenade stage and they were still in a fine 13th overall – the reason for retirement being a windscreen problem.
It may be the first weekend in February but after 3 rallies, we now go into the ‘mid season break’ for 11 weeks now. A quick look at the leading positions in the championship and we have Alistair Hutchinson at the top of the driver’s table ahead of Paul Swift with Malcolm Davey and Paul Dolan in joint 3rd and across in the co driver’s section we have St John Dykes leading Andrew Lees and Giles Dykes. In the classes we have Class 1 being led by Andrew Fry and Michael Hunter; class 2 it’s Barry and Michael Lindsay; in class 3 we have Alistair Hutchinson and St John Dykes and finally class 5 is headed by Paul Dolan and Giles Dykes.
A special mention to the organisers of the Legend Fires North West Stages for putting on a very professional rally. All the indoor facilities at the Norbreck Castle Hotel were fantastic; the opportunity for spectators to view cars in action on the Promenade stage just over the road from Rally HQ was great and all the competitors who made it back to the finish would know that they had completed a brilliant event for the clubman.
So after the upcoming 11 week break, we’ll have our first rally of the year in Scotland. The Squarepage Systems Stages will be organised by Dunfermline Car Club and be based at Ingliston. They will be using a new part of the venue which is 100% tarmac but has never been used for motorsport before. Competitors will have to cross a road but it is a private road which will be closed to the public and so no tax or insurance is required. The organisers are keen to stress that this rally is NOT a re-run of the event scheduled there on 13th March. There will be using completely new routes allowing for much more flexibility and more miles. They may be adding £20 to the entry fee as they may have television coverage (an hour on Motors TV) with a DVD going to all that paid the entry. So it looks like 12 stages with approximately 45 stage miles and television coverage with regulations due out soon.
And a quick mention for the new rally in our championship this year – the Jim Clark National. This event will take place on the Friday 28th and Saturday 29th May and is part of 6 separate ‘rallies’ happening in the famous area of Duns that weekend. This is a rare chance to compete over closed public roads and the organisers promise that Rally Guide 1 is due for publication anytime now and should contain basic information about all of the Jim Clark rallies. Event regulations and entry forms are due out on the 28th March with entries closing at the discounted rates on May 4th.
All information is publicised on their website www.jimclarkrally.com and you should be aware that the organisers do not print or send paper copies of anything unless requested. Anyone having trouble accessing the site should contact either Colin Pagan, on 07967 478765 or David Malthouse on 07792 226914
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news, Uncategorized
January 20th, 2010
Image supplied courtesy of AML Photography
Paul Swift and Andrew Lees were the fastest crew on the recent Jack Frost Rally but Jack Morton is the new name on everyone’s lips. And the reason is not simply because he was on his second ever rally and finished 4th overall. It’s also because he’s just 15 years old, a navigator and his calm attitude in coping with the pressure of being second / third overall for most of the 8 stage event. Jack’s first rallying experience was a couple of weeks earlier when he contested the Christmas Stages in a 1400cc Vauxhall Nova but he was totally cool about everything happening a lot faster on the stages. Although Morton’s driver wasn’t registered for the championship, he is a renowned tarmac driving expert and the youngster is certainly a name to watch out for in the future.
Paul Swift and Andrew Lees may have been a little surprised to take the spoils of fastest crew but they were also very delighted too. Driving their pristine Escort Mark I RS2000, the local boys steadily moved up the leader board as the day progressed to take an excellent 7th overall. Going into the last stage, Paul felt he couldn’t take back the 2 seconds that Chris and Kath Singer were ahead of him but a slip by the Mitsubishi crew let the Escort though. It was a trouble free day mechanically and a chance to show why he drives cars on the limit as the day job too. A very professional display.
So what happened to the Singers ? Despite finishing the first stage in a lowly 21st position, the husband and wife team pushed hard in their Evo 6 to get back up to 7th heading into the last stage. Unfortunately, they ended up going backwards into the gravel trap at the end of the pit straight. A fine recovery saw them drop just 4 seconds to the chasing Swift / Lees but it also meant the loss of maximum points too. At the end of the day, the Mitsubishi crew were happy to finish in 8th considering the number of spins they’d incurred all day and rued the lack of softer tyres.
A new crew to this year’s championship is Michael Glendinning and Andrew Roughead in an Escort Mark II. The Tyne Valley pairing reported no problems and Michael’s commitment and reliability saw him hold 8th and 9th place for 7 of the day’s 8 stages. They would end up just 3 seconds shy of the Singers and were rewarded with 3rd registered crew and their first good haul of points this year after a disastrous Christmas Stages didn’t suit
Alistair Hutchinson was re-united with his regular co-driver St John Dykes this time out and their Renault Clio finished a fine 10th overall. Alistair wasn’t able to repeat his giant killing act from the last rally and complained about the lack of grip on some of the faster sections of the track. But that’s no shame as at the finish, our top 4 drivers were just separated by a mere 9 seconds.
A quick mention of one more new name to the championship – another youngster to watch in the coming days is Chris Grieve. He was driving an ex Peugeot Super Cup 106, on his first rally, and although he had to contend with clutch problems, the North Tyne man used his experience from the Legends Racing Series to good effect and his commitment was rewarded with an excellent 13th overall. That was just 10 seconds behind our current champions Barry and Michael Lindsay in a similar car. Yes the Lindsays did have a little problem with a slipping clutch on the last couple of stages and they would lose some time. However, the son and father crew still managed to claim maximum points in the class. They’ll have to watch their backs on forthcoming events though as it looks like this will be a hotly contested class again in 2010.
And what happened to some of the fancied runners ? Well, the Thompsons retired their Peugeot 206 with gearbox failure on stage 1 and were quickly joined by Steve Doherty / Peter Grant when they ventilated the block of their Ford Escort on the same stage. Billy McLelland actually completed the first stage before retiring with a blown turbo on his Mitsubishi Evo V. And more gearbox woes would see the end of Chris Myers / Matt Whattam ( Mitsubishi Evo IX ) from a fine 3rd overall and the Wigan crew of Martin Farrar and Andy Ward in the Subaru Impreza.
A big thank you must go to Terry Wright and his team at Darlington Motor Club for putting on another slick event, the Cartersport Jack Frost Stages. Perhaps they were a little bit luckier than the guys from the Christmas Stages as they didn’t have the full force of the weather against them but they still put in extra snow clearing efforts in the week leading up to the rally. Rally day passed off as a pleasantly mild, sunny day that was a huge change from 2 weeks earlier. And although it was the same racing circuit used 15 days apart, there was sufficient variation in the layout to give the rally it’s own challenge and character.
The next rally in the championship is the Legend Fires North West Stages. This rally is always very popular and so the usual full entry is expected as this always includes some very quick crews too. The organisers are promising a multi venue rally with several special stages at a number of different venues and the total stage mileage is in the region of 80 miles. The rally runs over the evening of Friday 5th February and all day on Saturday 6th with the rally headquarters being at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool for the first time; the event’s scrutineering and central service area will also be located there too. The organisers have already received 88 entries so if you’re considering doing the rally, then get in touch with the Entries Secretary, Ann McCormack – her contact details and all the necessary information, regulations and entry forms are available at www.nwstages.co.uk
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
January 6th, 2010
Image supplied courtesy of AML Photography
New Year and what a start to the year. The Christmas Stages may have been run at a familiar venue but with the unusual, very seasonal weather, we have an un-familiar winner in Alistair Hutchinson. Alistair used all of the month leading up to the event rebuilding the car and with the wintry conditions lately his main aim was to get to the finish in one piece. He came armed with 4 remould snow tyres and it was to prove a wise investment. The Renault Clio was to have more grip on the stages that those with loads more power, and even most crews with 4 wheel drive too. A small ‘driving problem’ ( puncture maybe ? ) on stage 6 resulted in him losing a minute but that was his only problem all day. Rumour has it that he’s hoping for more snow on the next event and then he can use the same tyres again before selling them as ‘hardly used’ !! By the finish, Alistair had not only achieved his aim but also bagged a cracking 5th overall too.
Second championship contender was a newbie in the form of Steve Doherty. Steve brought his 2 litre Ford Escort from Manchester to a venue where he’s never visited before and after a steady drive ended up 11th overall. Being new to the series, Steve enlisted the services of the experienced Peter Grant to sit alongside him and apart from being baulked on one stage for a minute, he had no problems to report.
And coming in third in our championship was another new face to the series, Paul Swift. Paul is a ‘precision driving expert’ by trade and rallying gives him an opportunity to pitch his skills against the clock. He spent a lot of the day with the car at various angles and nudged the bodywork on occasions so his day was in no way ‘incident free’. He and co-driver Andrew Lees lost a lot of time on the very first stage but recovered well until stage 6 when he dropped over a minute, yet they would still end the day in a fine 13th overall.
Congratulations to all 19 registered championship crews who made it to the finish as quite a few competitors retired due a variety of reasons ranging from lack of suitable tyres to lack of ability in the arctic conditions. Our reigning champions, Barry and Michael Lindsay, did make it to the finish but struggled through stages 5 and 6 with a power steering problem and so decided to disconnect it altogether for the final stage. Fortunately for them the icy surface meant Barry didn’t need the muscles of Popeye to steer the car home to another class win and 17th overall. Bill Bates / Kari Bosworth weren’t as lucky as they sheared the wheels studs on their Peugeot 106 near the end of stage 1. Bill was really frustrated as he was using some good snow tyres and was one of the few to have grip. Although he managed to eventually fix the problem, he would end up OTL.
Those of us who were present on the day applaud Ian Jackson and his team from Northallerton Motor Club. Not only did they have to re-schedule the rally with less than 2 months notice ( effects of the Croft Noisy days dispute ), but they also had to battle long and hard with the weather. The snow and ice moving team worked twice between Christmas Day and the event to make sure it ran and then on the day the well drilled organising team coped admirably with the freezing cold and driving snow. Special mention too to the marshals and timekeepers stuck out in the open and the enthusiastic sponsor who never stopped helping from before 6am in the morning – well done to everyone involved with the organisation of the Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally.
The next round of the championship will be the Cartersport Jack Frost Stages which will be held on January 17th. Once again the rally will be based at the Croft circuit where 8 stages will be run offering a total of 36 miles. At the moment, the organisers have 20 spaces left and officially, entries closed on Monday 4th January but after the success of the Christmas Stages they’re expecting a rush of entries. If you’re still thinking of doing the rally you should contact Terry Wright at Darlington Motor Club as soon as possible, more information for this event is available at www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk
And then less than 3 weeks later we have the Legend Fires North West Stages. This is always an extremely popular event so a full entry is expected. The rally runs over the evening of Friday 5th February and all day on Saturday 6th. This year the rally will have a new base, the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool where the event’s scrutineering and central service area will also be located. For those competitors who haven’t tackled the event before you can be sure of a multi venue rally with several special stages at a number of different venues providing approximately 80 stages miles. It’s also the one rally in this year’s calendar in which every starter is guaranteed to run in the dark ! If you’re thinking of doing the rally you’re encouraged to get your entry in quick – you’ll find the regulations and entry form at www.nwstages.co.uk
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
December 14th, 2009
I know that it’s still over 2 weeks before we start the first round of this year’s championship, but the regulations have just been released today for the third event. The Legend Fires North West Stages Rally will take place on the 5th and 6th February and is always a very popular event with competitors.
Having lost their rally HQ of the last 5 years at Pontins Blackpool Holiday Centre, the organisers will base the 2010 rally at the Norbreck Castle Hotel. The opening stages on the Friday evening will utilise the most northerly part of Blackpool’s famous Promenade and provide a mixture of fast straights and hairpin bends. And for the keen spectators, the event’s central service area will also be located close to rally HQ giving spectators a one-stop scrutineering/stage/service opportunity. This multi venue rally will contain several stages at a number of different venues providing approximately 80 stages miles. This rally is also the only one is the calendar in which every starter is guaranteed to run in the dark – a bit of a novelty these days !
If you’re thinking of doing the rally you’re encouraged to get your entry in quick – you’ll find the regulations and entry form here
But moving back to our opening round – the Specsavers Christmas Stages Rally on January 2nd. The closing date for entries has now passed and the organisers have received 87 entries. As mentioned before, the first 85 are guaranteed a start and the remainder will now be ‘hand picked’ at the organisers’ discretion. The seeding committee are busy working on the official entry list and this is expected at any time on the rally website – keep up to date with the latest on the event here
And finally for now, the latest news on The Cartersport Jack Frost Stages which will be held on January 17th. The second round is just like the Christmas Stages in that it will be based at the Croft circuit again where 8 stages will be run offering a total of 36 miles. The organisers have now received 37 entries and you have until Monday 4th January to get your entry in for this one. Anyone struggling to pay for the entry fee at the moment should be aware that the event regulations state that all cheques will be banked on 31st December so you can post date your cheque for that date. The link for this event is http://www.darlington-motor-club.org.uk/series_home.php?seriesid=21
As ever, more details of the championship can be found at North of England Rally Championship website
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news
December 7th, 2009
The championship has finally been granted a permit and we are now up and running for 2010. The regulations and registration form have been published and the website updated to reflect these changes. 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 very pleased to have them on board again.
Once more the championship will consist of 10 rallies with competitors being able to count their best 7 scores. This year, we’ve included the Jim Clark National rally in the series so competitors will get one of the few opportunities to be able to run over closed public roads in mainland Britain. A new feature for 2010 will be the introduction of 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 Christmas Stages on January 2nd and the rally will be based as usual at the Croft Circuit. The organisers are offering 8 stages covering 40 miles and they have already have received 69 of the possible 95 entries. Only the first 85 received are guaranteed a run, with the remaining 10 chosen at the organisers’ discretion, and the closing date for entries is Saturday 12th December – more information can be found on the rally website
The Jack Frost Stages on January 17th is the second round and will also be based at Croft again. The organisers haven’t received as many entries as the Christmas Stages ( yet ! ) but you will need to get your entry in by Monday 4th January for this one. The link for this event is here.
More details can be found via the link at North of England Rally Championship website
Tags: Rally, Tarmacadam
Posted in Event news