NETRC 2013 DCC Stages RESULTS

Another rally win for Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling. After their splendid 3rd overall on the North West Stages, the Durham crew followed up with an emphatic victory at the DCC Stages.

From the off they’d opted for caution for the first tight square left into the complex as a mixture of cold tyres, loose mud / debris could have spoilt the whole day before it had even started. No dramas to the flying finish and they were both happy with the run through SS1 – although the rear tyres had gone off before the end of the stage. The little Fiesta had dropped only 1 second to the fastest time but with a 4 second lead over those behind.

The configuration of the next 2 pairs of stages suited the car better with not as many square corners and some fast flowing sections, At the half way point, they were happy with a comfortable gap of almost half a minute to the nearest pursuer. Into the fifth test and the Ford enjoyed a great drag out of the first split with Stuart Walker’s Mitsubishi to set the pace for this pair of stages. Into the final run and it became evident they had taken the best out of the tyres on stage 7 as the car was just hanging on in some of the faster corners. Chris was delighted to have had a trouble free day and take another victory. Having elected to play their ‘Joker’ too, the double points awarded now sees both of them lead their respective tables.

Taking second championship points were Ross Fernie and John Young. The Glenrothes crew are a welcome addition to the championship with their Subaru Impreza STi. The current Scottish Tarmac Champions know this venue well after finishing 3rd overall on the 2012 event. And one year on, they were keen to improve on that placing with consistently quick times in the morning runs. Sadly these times were just a few seconds shy of the rapid Fiesta on each test so at the lunch halt they trailed by 23 seconds. Ross tried to persuade Chris that he was driving too fast but the truth was he couldn’t get his Subaru to go any quicker. Another trouble free run was just hampered a little on the final stage when a vibration affected his concentration but didn’t stop him taking another excellent 3rd overall and a handy haul of points.

Coming right behind in 5th place were Stuart Walker and Julie McGuire in the Mitsubishi Evo 8. They were another crew to play their ‘Joker’ on the rally and to good effect too. Their only worry all day was about the right rear wheel carrying too much positive camber. They weren’t sure how it happening but they just kept tightening up the wishbone after each stage and hoped for the best.

Taking 4th place in the championship were another newbie crew of Nick Thorne and Ian Murray in the Honda Civic. Starting from a lowly number 48, they were one of several crews who were unhappy with their seeding. However, after the opening pair of runs, they were lying in 18th place and continued that rise up the timesheets to 15th at half way. They bolted on some new tyres for the afternoon’s reversed stages and were delighted to reach 11th overall at the end of the day. The upside of having a poor start number was that they were awarded the ‘best improvement on seeding’ trophy !

Jon and Alison Trenholme were next up in the Subaru Impreza. They had concerns about the car running too hot before the rally and had tried fitting new hoses. This didn’t seem to make much of an improvement on the day and they were regularly seen topping up the cooling system. At the lunch stop, they were lying down in 33rd but they were content that the problem wasn’t getting any worse so pushed on to finish in 19th place. In 21st place and taking 6th co-driver’s points was Lewis MacDougall who was sitting alongside the unregistered Steven Hay in his Vauxhall Corsa.

The final points scorers were Drew Barker and Shona Hale. The local crew had tweaked the suspension of the Corsa before the rally to try and improve the handling. The wee Vauxhall decked out in tartan livery, was going better but now caused some worry with the engine temperature running on the high side. Things didn’t get any worse in the afternoon and they pushed on to finish in 30th place.

First retirement was the Vauxhall Astra of Ray Cummings and Peter Littlefield. They’d made a good start and were 3rd championship contenders after the opening 5.6 miles but slipped back on the next one after a change to harder tyres. Reverting back to the original setup proved the right choice as they were back up to 10th overall after stage 3. The small water leakage from the expansion tank was topped up at each service and didn’t cause too much concern. Unfortunately on stage 4 the lack of power half way through the test was more worrying so Ray switched off to save the engine. Richard Stewart was unlucky to roll his car at the final split of the 4th stage when his car and another touched. Luckily for him though he escaped unhurt – sore but unhurt. Oh, and he’s now looking for another Corsa shell ! And our final retirement was the Vauxhall Astra of local crew of Alan Cowan and Katie Stimpson. They broke a driveshaft over the wee jump at the end of stage 6 but managed to drive out of the stage. They pulled the shaft out to change it but a bit stayed in the diff and they struggled trying to get it out despite the best efforts of the assembled services crews around trying to help so it was game over ! Three retirements and they’re all Vauxhalls …

Our thanks go to Dunfermline Car Club again for all their efforts in providing another different challenge for the championship, which proved to be very popular. The weather had been kind – dry and sunny all day with just the occasional cool breeze to remind everyone it was still spring. And with most crews opting to play their ‘Joker’ on the rally, lot of points were scored on the day.

It’s now less than 5 weeks before we’re back to Duns for the Jim Clark National Rally. This year’s rally will take place over Friday 31st May and Saturday 1st June and this is not the traditional Bank Holiday weekend slot. Once again, the organisers are offering some 100 miles of stages run on the closed public roads of Berwickshire. The action starts on the Friday night with the usual test in the centre of Duns where competitors get the chance to entertain the hundreds of fans lining the streets. The action then moves to Abbey St Bathans for 16 miles of fast and furious driving; then they tackle Tweedside (a brand new wide, fast stage in the south of the region) before the overnight Parc Ferme. The majority of the event takes place on Saturday over tests such as Ayton, Eccles, Edrom and Swinton with the return of Langton. It’s only a short, circular 2 mile test with its famous watersplash but it always draws the crowds in.

As is customary now, the rally will be based at the Kelso Racecourse although a ceremonial start will be in Duns Town Square with the ceremonial finish at Kelso Town Square. It will be possible to carry out a recce of the stages on the Sunday or Thursday before the rally and there’s even a chance to take part in the shakedown between 10 and 2 on the Friday. Entries are already coming in well with over 50 received already and with the optional discounted rate of £645 closing on the 8th May, those wanting to compete need to act quickly. The final closing date is 1 week later on the 15th with the £100 higher charge added. The organisers will take 140 cars and as the rally in a qualifying round of 5 national / local championships as well as the BRC, it will be popular. Anyone interested in competing should get their entry in quick as we don’t want folk not getting a run as happened at Ingliston.
Full details of the rally can be found at www.jimclarkrally.com