North of England Tarmacadam Rally Championship – North West Bulletin

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