{"id":468,"date":"2012-09-18T08:27:11","date_gmt":"2012-09-18T07:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asperformance.com\/?p=468"},"modified":"2012-09-18T08:27:11","modified_gmt":"2012-09-18T07:27:11","slug":"netrc-tyneside-stages-2012-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/event-news\/netrc-tyneside-stages-2012-results\/","title":{"rendered":"NETRC Tyneside Stages 2012 Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Anderson
Anderson & Thirling in their Ford Fiesta 2000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another first for Chris Anderson. After his excellent 2nd overall on the recent Tyneside Stages, he managed to go one better and top the podium for the first time ever to win the Lindisfarne Rally outright. But it wasn\u2019t an easy victory as Peter Taylor would push him hard all day long and only lose out by the narrowest of margins.<\/p>\n

With confidence sky high after their last outing, Anderson with Chris Thirling sitting alongside him in the Ford Fiesta started stage 1 with a plan of maximum attack. It worked, as they were 9 seconds faster in 7.7 miles over of Peter Taylor\u2019s Renault Clio. A couple of fastest times in the next 3 tests meant they would enter first service 32 seconds to the good. The Durham crew took a chance to try a particular tyre option for the repeat of these 4 stages, which would see both drivers, just a second or two apart on 3 stages until a heavy shower on the 11.75 miles of Wainfordrigg when Anderson admitted to backing off a little in his Fiesta. Taylor with Jack Morton in the hot seat this time, would take back 13 seconds on that loop to trail by 19. After lunch the stage directions were changed to anticlockwise, and the Clio crew managed to claw back another 7 seconds in just less than 24 miles. Coming into the final service, the youngster from Spadeadam felt he couldn\u2019t go any faster as Anderson \/ Thirling were still 12 seconds ahead with 14 miles of competition left.<\/p>\n

Neither crew thought they could go any faster but they both started the final test even quicker than before. It was drier now after another quick shower of rain and Anderson was the first to hit trouble a mere 2 and a half miles in. He arrived at a tightening left-hander a tad quicker than before and he suddenly found himself off on the grass and amongst some rocks. Telemetry downloaded after the rally shows the engine stopped for 38 seconds before he regained the road and luckily for him the only damage seemed to be a bent sill. It took a few miles to get the confidence back to push hard again as the Ford crew felt they\u2019d lost their lead. However, unknown to them and just a couple of miles further on, Taylor had a similar moment. He tried his luck taking a R3 after Yardhope Farm flat out but the kick on the road pitched the rear wheels onto the grass. In no time the Clio was doing doughnuts and taking the offside front wing off against a fence. It seemed like an age before the car restarted and they managed to drive back onto the stage to resume the attack. Both crews were very lucky to survive unscathed and by the time they reached the stage finish at Featherwood Farm, the clocks would show that Taylor was 8 seconds faster. So after 93 miles of fast and furious action, Anderson took the laurels by 4 seconds !<\/p>\n

Anderson\u2019s name will now go on the same trophy that shows some of the sports legendary names like Clark, Vatanen, McRae, Wilson, Mawson and Price \u2013 not bad for a 21 year old with a very short career.<\/p>\n

Behind our dicing duo would be current champions Barry and Michael Lindsay. Although they finished over 3 minutes adrift in 5th overall, they too felt their little Peugeot 106 couldn\u2019t go any faster over these roads. Barry was certainly trying as he admitted to a moment through the fast section just before the finish of the first run over Riverside stage. His cut onto the grass threw them onto 2 wheels and in true \u2018Paul Swift style\u2019 he didn\u2019t lift. Trouble was though he needed to get it straightened up before the cattle grid. He managed and although his Dad felt the whole stage was a bit wild, Barry was pleased to record the second fastest time on the stage. The Carlisle lads were a bit concerned about the lack of brakes after the morning tests, so a precautionary change of brake pads in second service ensured the problem wouldn\u2019t occur again the final 40 miles.<\/p>\n

19 seconds behind the Lindsays were Paul Swift and Giles Dykes. The Ford Escort pilot is still quite a novice on the Otterburn Ranges and so he enlisted the services of the experienced Giles Dykes to guide him. And it seemed to be paying dividends as Paul had a relatively quiet event on his way to an eventual 7th overall. His only problems were a sticking handbrake on the second loop of stages and locking brakes o the wet roads of the penultimate test to slow his progress. Paul was pleased to finish the rally just 19 seconds adrift of Barry Lindsay and even managing to take a few seconds off him over 2 stages.<\/p>\n

And finally making it into the top 10 of a rally were Kev Monaghan and Steve Dargan. Their Vauxhall Corsa is now showing reliability and he\u2019s happy that his times are getting closer to the class benchmark of Barry Lindsay. So close he managed to beat him on stage 4. Kev admitted to going faster than before with several trips across the grass when he\u2019d run out of tarmac. The flat right at Dudlees Farm on stage 4 almost caught him out with a little trip into the farmyard just as he was entering the chicane. He survived that and a similar moment on the banks of the short Rooking Law test. However, his biggest loss was on the first wet run though the long Featherwood stage as he accepts he bottled out a bit to conserve a good result.<\/p>\n

Ed Todd and Andy Brown were next up in their little GTM Coupe. Just getting to the start was a major achievement as the car had a clutch problem in the week leading up to the rally. It was only discovered on the Friday that the thrust bearing and fork were welded together and the clutch master cylinder piston rod was bent ! So they were glad to set off into stage 1 and had already passed the car in front before they lost power. It took about 6 minutes to trace the problem to a failed fuel pump and once switched over to the spare pump, they were on their way again. Only problem after that was the lack of rear brakes after the penultimate stage. With only 10 minutes allowed in final service they couldn\u2019t cobble a repair so they struggled around the final stage, but recorded a time 4 seconds quicker than before !<\/p>\n

Next up was Alan Cowan in his Vauxhall Astra having a reasonably clear run. His only problem being a visit to a ditch on the second run of Bellshiel but he mustn\u2019t have been in there long as he was 25 seconds faster than his earlier run through the test. He was happy to win the \u2018Astra Challenge\u2019 on the rally too.<\/p>\n

Another driver to confess to visiting a ditch was Andrew Plunkett. With Paul Firth alongside in the Honda Civic, the Tynemouth crew lost it just before the bridge in Riverside and ended up beached on a rock with 2 wheels waving at passing cars. A stage maximum was the result and a drop down the order to 38th so they were happy to recover to finish 26th overall.<\/p>\n

Our final finishers were Drew Barker and Shona Hale. Although they had a trouble free run, their lack of experience at the venue was to prove a bit costly for the Dunfermline crew as they concentrated on taking home a result.<\/p>\n

A quick mention for those who never made it to the finish. Running first on the road was probably the downfall of Don Whyatt. The Dublin based co-driver was once again out with the non-registered George Mackey and they were leading the rally until they hit a slow sheep that was suddenly started crossing the road on stage 4.<\/p>\n

A steady start for Pete Gibson \/ Josh Davison would see them just inside the top ten at first service. They edged up to 7th place by the Toft House test only to end it on the penultimate stage. Coming back up the hill out of Watty Bells, they left the road on a left 7 by cattle grid and ended up through a fence. Damage doesn\u2019t appear to be too bad so we look forward to them making the next round at Warcop.<\/p>\n

Stuart Walker was out in his Mitsubishi Evo9 with a new co-driver who hadn\u2019t even been across the Ranges before the recce. She coped well on the first lap before the crew were left with no gears on the 6th test.<\/p>\n

Jon Olds was a very frustrated man after losing his VW Golf on the short Riverside stage. He lost it just before the bridge and slipped slowly off the road to end up 6 feet below the road. Once the car had been recovered it drove perfectly well but he was OTL.<\/p>\n

Phil Morton and Jo Emma Hind started well enough before they started slipping down the order with a mis-fire. They eventually called it a day on stage 9 and pulled over at the entrance to Watty Bells as the engine was getting hotter and they decided to save the motor for another day. Our final championship contender was Colin Tombs who started the rally with the non-registered Gavin Spencer. They only managed to complete 2 stages before a ball joint snapped on the first run through Holystone.<\/p>\n

A special thank you goes to Tynemouth Motor Club for actually taking the risk of running the event with only 45 entries. However, Ed Barber and his team came up with a challenging route that was different to others and on the day, produced another slick rally.<\/p>\n

The driver\u2019s table show Paul Swift still in the lead from Chris Anderson and Pete Gibson while in the co-driver\u2019s section Jack Morton heads Chris Thirling and Josh Davison. We\u2019ve also reached the point where the dropped scores rule come into play so things will get more interesting from now on.<\/p>\n

And before we have time to recover from the Lindisfarne we\u2019re back in action again this Sunday for the Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages. As usual now, the event is organised by Eden Valley, Kirkby Lonsdale and Northallerton Motor Clubs and takes place over the Warcop Army Ranges near Brough. Although the format is similar to last year\u2019s rally, this time it will include some public roads as short link sections. This allows competitors the opportunity to use ‘route notes’ on the special stages. The organisers are proposing 8 tests with a total mileage of about 70 miles and less than 20 road miles. Officially the closing date for entries is past but I\u2019m sure that anyone still considering doing the rally will be still welcomed \u2013 just make contact via the event website,\u00a0 http:\/\/www.pendragonstages.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Another first for Chris Anderson. After his excellent 2nd overall on the recent Tyneside Stages, he managed to go one better and top the podium for the first time ever to win the Lindisfarne Rally outright. But it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[14,13,8,7],"post_series":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468\/revisions\/479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asperformance.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}