Making it four different winners in the opening
four rounds, Herefordshire driver Andy Burton claimed maximum points in the 2008
Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship as he won today's Severn Valley National
Rally.
Driving the Peugeot
Cosworth, Burton, and co-driver Shelley Rogerson, finished nearly 25 seconds
ahead of series leaders Jon Ingram and Ian Allsop after taking charge at the top
of the leaderboard from the outset and never looking back despite concerns about
their new engine making the distance.
Ingram and Allsop (Subaru Impreza WRC)
came home ahead of defending champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery (Hyundai
Accent WRC) after Dodd had earlier been hampered by a problem with the boost
control pipe, which the HPM Motorsport team managed to fix at second
service.
"It's good and it keeps the championship all
open," said Burton, who was back in action in the championship after
missing the previous round on the Isle of Man earlier this month. "I'm
delighted with the result. I honestly didn't think we'd make it to the finish
with the way the engine's been so I'm really pleased. It's been a great event
with good stages."
Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh were fourth in their
Subaru Impreza WRC. They had a relatively trouble-free run with the exception of
a slight off in stage six and were followed by round three winners, Roger
Duckworth and Mark Broomfield. Duckworth was not feeling well throughout the
event and a problem with the diff controllers on stage five on his Subaru
Impreza WRC did not help their push.
Scottish crew David Bogie and Kevin Rae were sixth in
their Mitsubishi Evo 9 and took the honours in both Group N and the Mitsubishi
Evo Challenge as they finished ahead of the same machine of Irish pairing
Richard Cathcart and Martin Brady. Cathcart had an intercooler problem earlier
in the day before their intercom went faulty on the final three
stages.
Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh were eighth in their Ford
Focus WRC as they struggled through the event with tyre problems. Keith Cronin
and Greg Shinnors made it to the finish in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 despite losing
all power on the final stage to take ninth with Nik Elsmore and Craig Drew
rounding up the top ten in their Evo 9.
Significant retirements included Neil
McCance and Graham Hopewell, who went out on stage three in Radnor, following an
off in their Mitsubishi Evo 9, and Daniel Barry and Mark Bowens who retired on
stage seven in their Evo after also going off.
In the Two-Wheel Drive class,
Nathan Crewe and John Connor were first home in their 1400cc MG ZR as they
finished 21st overall despite an overheating problem on the final four stages
whilst Michael Curtis and David Curtis took the Revolution Wheels award in their
Mitsubishi Evo
5.
In the ANCRO Rally Challenge, running in
the Severn Valley Clubman's Rally alongside the National event, Welsh crew Elfyn
Evans and Gareth Roberts won as they finished an impressive third overall in
their Ford Fiesta ST. Tom Walster claimed second in his Fiesta with Welshman
Meilyr Evans in a similar car placed third.
However, maintaining his points
lead was Cumbrian Kris Hall with Chris Ridge taking the lead in the co-drivers
standings also.
The Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally
Championship returns for round five, the Swansea Bay National Rally on Saturday
19 July.
Final
Classification
1, Andy Burton/Shelley Rogerson (Peugeot
Cosworth) 1h:05m:17.8s
2, Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop (Subaru Impreza
WRC) 1:05:42.6
3, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent
WRC) 1:06:18.1
4, Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza
WRC) 1:06:34.7
5, Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza
WRC) 1:06:35.5
6, David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
9) 1:07:14.9
7, Richard Cathcart/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
9) 1:07:30.9
8, Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Ford Focus WRC 06) 1:07:38.8
9,
Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:07:45.3
10, Nik
Elsmore/Craig Drew (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
9) 1:08:10.3
Championship Standings (after Round 4 of 7 with two worst
scores to drop)
1, Jon Ingram 88 points
2, Andy Burton
63 points
3, Marcus Dodd 61 points
4, Nik Elsmore 54 points
5,
Daniel Barry 53 points
6, Stephen Moore 53 points
7, Richard Cathcart
51 points
8, Neil McCance 48 points
9, Stephen Petch 44 points
10,
Roger Duckworth 43 points
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