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Middleton Wins In Scotland |
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Sunday, 10 September 2006 |
Welshman Craig Middleton and co driver Robin Hernaman kept their title
hopes very much alive by clinching overall victory on the Park Systems
National Rally which comprised round six of the ANCRO-organised MSA
Gravel Rally Championship today.
The Hyundai Accent WRC pairing finished forty-four seconds ahead of
series leaders Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield (Subaru WRC) who in
turn finished nearly two minutes ahead of Jon Burn and Jim Ward.
Richard Gower and co driver Aled Davies crossed the finish ramp in
fourth place overall but claimed third placed championship points in
his Hyundai Accent WRC.
Despite intercom problems, Middleton held the joint lead after the
opening stage, setting an equal time to Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery
(Hyundai Accent WRC) over the nineteen mile Arroch Hill test. The young
Llandrindod Wells driver pulled ahead after stage two and set quickest
time through the next two stages to hold a twenty-two second lead over
Duckworth going into the final stage.
Craig explained, “We had a problem on the rear end on the final stage,
I think it is a damper problem. I tried to save the car and cooked the
brakes in the process which was a bit worrying”. Nevertheless, Craig
went on to take a further twenty-one seconds from Duckworth and crossed
the finish line in first place to claim maximum championship points for
the third time this season.
Duckworth opted for harder tyre pressures over the opening stage in
order to avoid punctures and this resulted in him dropping time to the
leading cars. A cracked manifold over the closing stages caused some
concern and resulted in a lack of boost in his Subaru WRC meaning Roger
opted to switch off the anti-lag on the final stage in an effort to get
the car to the finish.
Richard Gower and Aled Davies lost their intercom on the opening stage
and took a steady approach through the remaining four stages to get the
car back to the finish. Richard commented, “We probably lost one second
a mile but we got home safely”.
Pre event favourites Barry Johnson and Stewart Merry dropped two
minutes on the opening stage after they picked up two punctures and
they retired from the event on stage six. A fuel pressure problem had
deteriorated throughout the event and they retired at the start of the
final stage. Championship contender going into the penultimate round of
the series, Marcus Dodd, also retired from the event with a blown
engine on stage three.
Rob Smith and Alun Cook took overall GpN victory and also claimed
maximum points in the Subaru GpN Trophy section of the event. The
Towcester driver finished nine seconds ahead of Alistair Tough and
Alistair Mackay after a faultless run over the stages. Tough and Mackay
suffered anti-lag problems on the opening stage and endured
intermittent turbo issues for the entire event. Despite this, they
brought their TEG run Impreza back to the finish twenty-seven seconds
ahead of Anthony Willmington, who claimed maximum Mitsubishi Ralliart
Evo Cup points.
Declan Magee and Thomas Nugent took overall honours in the TMS 206
Super Cup. Of the three 206 crews that started the event, only Declan
made it back to the finish. Miles Johnston and Max Utting retired after
they hit a rock and damaged the sump on stage two while Mike Harris and
Ben Garrod holed their radiator on the same stage.
The overall standings after round six show Roger Duckworth leading the
drivers championship on 106 points ahead of Craig Middleton who holds
second place on 97 points but with the drivers' two worst scores still
to drop, it's still anyone's title going into the final round - The
Bulldog Rally - on October 21st
OFFICIAL RESULTS AFTER SS7
| Pos. |
Driver/Co-Driver |
Time |
| 1 |
Craig Middleton/Robin Hernaman |
56:25.4 |
| 2 |
Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield |
57:09.1 |
| 3 |
Jon Burn/Jim Ward |
58:57.8 |
| 4 |
Richard Gower/Aled Davies |
59:00.1 |
| 5 |
Rob Smith/Alun Cook |
59:08.7 |
| 6 |
Alistair Tough/Alistair Mackay |
59:17.7 |
| 7 |
Anthony Willmington/Andy White |
59:44.7 |
| 8 |
Matt Owen/ Robbie Durant |
59:51.9 |
PROVISIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 6
| Pos |
Driver |
Points |
| 1 |
Roger Duckworth |
106 (nett 86) |
| 2 |
Craig Middleton |
97 (nett 97) |
| 3 |
Anthony Willmington |
96 (nett 67) |
| 4 |
Richard Gower |
92 (nett 75) |
| 5 |
Alistair Tough |
81 (nett 67) |
| 6 |
Marcus Dodd |
69 (nett 69) |
| 7 |
Rob Smith |
67 (nett 67) |
| 8 |
Wyn Humphries |
67 (nett 55) |
| 9 |
Stephen Petch |
64 (nett 64) |
| 10 |
Steve Perez |
60 (nett 60) |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 December 2006 )
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