NETRC UTS Cheviot Keith Knox stages 2012 – results
Barry and Michael Lindsay keep cool to take 3rd overall.
Yet another drive of stunning brilliance by the Spadeadam crew would see them take maximum points on the final round of the North of England Tarmacadam Rally Championship – the UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Stages. This year’s Cheviot ran later than usual and crews returned from their recce session on Saturday to report a little snow near the start of the Cottonshope stage. After a sharp overnight frost, the range roads were covered in a glistering coat of ice and despite the brilliant sun shining in a clear blue sky; the air temperature couldn’t make it above zero. The rally organisers took the decision to delay the start for 35 minutes and then competitors set off with just a little trepidation. Most crews gingerly made their way around the opening lap with lots of short shifting simply trying to stay on the road but also limit their time loss. Not so our outgoing champions, who were visibly quicker than most and recorded 4th fastest time. Conditions improved by the repeated run of the opening 2 stages as the roads became wet and offered more grip. Driving their usual Peugeot 106 at amazing speeds in the icy conditions, the Lindsays once again embarrassed lots more powerful cars with their commitment. At the end of the day, Barry didn’t seem too fazed about the conditions although he did admit to having several lock ups and unexpected off road moments including a particular one where he left the road coming out of Watty Bells which he was very relieved to get away with.
In fourth place and 22 seconds behind was Peter Taylor in his new Citroen DS3 taking the runners up points. Peter only acquired the car from Ireland a few days before the rally and had only done a short test around a kart track. So the youngster from Carlisle set out with a plan for the rally of learning about the car. However after completing the opening 41 miles, he was lying second overall ! He intended to consolidate and learn more but a problem with the brakes on stages 7 and 8 dropped him down to 4th however he was back on it for the final test. By the time he made it back to the final time control, Peter was happy that having to change his driving style and also learn with a new co driver for the day, he’d done a good day’s work and come away with a good result.
Taking third in the championship points for co-driver’s was Mike Curry. Mike managed a lifetime’s ambition of sitting in a Darrian with the non-registered Ashley Field and would end up in 10th place overall.
Kevin and Jimmy Knox were our next crew in the aging Honda powered Ford Sierra. The boys were once again competing in the rally that commemorates their late brother and demonstrating the style and commitment that everyone remembers the family for. They took a chance on the opening lap by running on forest tyres that certainly offered more grip that most competitors had. They returned to first service in 10th place and hovered around that position for most of the event. Their only complaint all day was a slight misfire that slowed progress occasionally on their way to an eventual 11th overall.
Our next points scorers were Pete Gibson and Josh Davison. The Mitsubishi crew started steadily in the very slippy conditions as they tried to gauge a safe but quick pace. By the end of stage 5 they were happy holding 5th place. Unfortunately once the afternoon runs kicked off, they started to lose boost pressure and speed. By the end of the final test the car was still running but progress down the straights was painfully slow. A small consolation would be the news that both Pete and Josh have now moved up to finish second overall in the championship.
Finishing right behind in 14th place was Callum Atkinson who was navigating for the non-registered Lachlan Cowan in his Ford Fiesta. The Scottish duo had a fairly quiet day but like lots of other crews left the road temporarily between the flying finish and stop line of stage 1 when the road was so very icy.
David Conley was next driver in his faithful Hillman Avenger. The lad from Bardon Mill was using his 1600 engine as he’s still awaiting some work being done on the bigger 2-litre motor. David had a steady run but never seemed able to produce the speed he’s managed on earlier runs over the ranges. He was very wary of the ice and slippy conditions and pleased to get around in one piece.
Alex Laffey and Jack Morton rounded off the top twenty finishers in a Ford Fiesta. It wasn’t their usual car but an M Sport version this time. The youngsters were happy to continue to learn the roads and confessed to not having any moments all day. Another solid result also ensured that Jack would be confirmed as our champion co-driver.
The vastly experienced Ken Bills was drafted into the hot seat of a Subaru Impreza for the non-registered Chris Daykin. They were another crew that left the road after the flying finish of the first test and were found lagging in 33rd place after the opening lap. Better progress was made over the rest of the day and they ended up in 21st place overall.
Alan Cowan brought his Vauxhall Astra home in 25th place after a character-building day. It was first time out with a new co-driver and they got on well although he did admit to leaving the road a few times during the day. He was still amazed the car was the same shape at the finish, as he’d felt sure that he would hit something eventually – but he didn’t !
Right behind the silver Astra was Michael Davison and Chris Dodds in their orange Proton Satria. Their biggest problem was getting stuck in a ditch just before the stop line of the opening stage. This didn’t affect their stage time but initially they felt they had ended their rally. Eventually after a lot of effort, the pair of them managed to manhandle the car back onto the road with only a headlight missing.
Paula Swinscoe managed to make it to the finish after a poor opening stage which saw her non registered driver, Matt Beebe lose over 5 and a half minutes. And our final classified finisher was co driver Chris Williams who was in the right hand seat of non-registered Julian Barnett’s Subaru Impreza. Their rally was lost on the opening test when the in car camera took fire and they lost over 7 minutes extinguishing the flames.
So what about the guys who never made it to the finish ? Don Whyatt retired at first service when the gearbox on Mark Jasper’s Metro 6R4 was stuck in 3rd gear; Andrew Roughead never made it to the first time control; Paul Hughes lost out when George Mackey’s Subaru left the road on the opening test; Dave Seed and Colin Tombs managed to get further than these three crews before sliding into a ditch just at the top of Watty Bells. The car drove back to service okay but the Durham crew were OTL due to the time lost getting the car back onto the road; Terry Martin also ended up in a ditch when his driver put their Darrian off the road on stage 3 – they were lying 23rd at the time. Geoff Simpson and Mick Johnson were another crew to exit on stage 3 – their problem being no drive to any of the four wheels. Kev Monaghan / Steve Dargan were delighted to be in 9th place after the opening, icy lap but then slipped to 23rd on the rerun of the Cottonshope stage after they lost 2 minutes from an off at a 90 right. They climb back up the leaderboard only lasted until the Laingshill test when the cam belt decided to go AWOL ! Stuart Bate is still a novice at this venue as this was only his second attempt over the Ranges and with a different co driver for this event too. He was steadily gaining confidence and lying in a comfortable 16th place until 2 miles into the first run at Yardhope when he reached his breaking point for a left 7 slightly more briskly than anticipated. The end result found him stuck in a peat bog on the outside of the corner. And our final contender was Caroline Lodge sitting in a MG with a driver on her first rally. It was going well for the first 4 miles until a tightening right 9 caught them out and they ended up below the road in the heather.
This year’s UTS Cheviot Keith Knox Stages provided more variety and challenges both to the roads used on the ranges and the weather conditions. 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 but they used them differently from other rallies. However, despite this fact and the need to have several changes in stage layout and direction, every stage ran – something that might have been seen as an optimistic hope at daybreak. The Cheviot continues to provide an uncompromising challenge and the rally ended off another fine season of competition for our championship.
And now that the competitive stuff in the cars is over for another year, we can look forward to getting some awards to the lucky winners. As is now customary, we will be returning to the usual venue of Pelaw Grange in Birtley and the date is Wednesday the 5th December. Put it in you calendars now and more information will be announced in the near future.