North Of England Tarmac Championship – Cheviot Result
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.