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| Bulldog Rally Stage Snippets |
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| Tuesday, 24 October 2006 | |
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(with many thanks to Ciara Conlon) Nine points separated Roger Duckworth and Craig Middleton going into the Bulldog Rally, the final round of the MSA Gravel Rally Championship. Craig only had to finish in the top 8 to clinch overall victory in the 2006 MSA Gravel Rally Championship and that was assuming Roger won. Pat Flynn and his daughter Ella claimed overall victory in the Bulldog Mini Rally in their Hankook backed Peugeot 205. The Citroen AX of Owen Cule and Emily Goodhand finished in second place, just over a minute and a half behind the Flying Flynn's. Jamie and Peter Davidson claimed the final podium position in their Peugeot 205. Colin Hope and Nick Patrick crossed the finish ramp to clinch overall victory in the 2006 Eurorallye Cup. well done lads !!! Martin Laverty claimed second spot while Mike Winfield filled the remaining podium position. Declan Magee and Tommy Nugent have been crowned the 2006 Total Motorsport Solutions (TMS) 206 Super Cup champions. Three maximum scores on the final three rounds sealed the title for the Ulster crew. Fellow Ulster driver Colin Britton finished the championship in second place despite missing the final two rounds. The season long battle in the 2006 Peugeot 1400 Challenge between Martin Laverty and Mike Winfield went down to the wire on the Bulldog. Laverty and co-driver Andrew Roughead scored maximum points and emerged as champions, finishing the event twenty five seconds ahead of Winfield and Andy McGowan. Chris Moore and Richard 'Weeman' Edwards were crowned the 2006 Fiesta Sporting Trophy Champions after an epic battle throughout the day. George Thomas and Graham Hopewell who were the only other crew in with a chance of winning the title led the category going into the final stage where they crashed out heavily. Unlucky boys, we really feel for you. Anthony Willmington took overall victory in the 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution Cup on the penultimate round, the Park Sytems and he opted out of competing on the Bulldog. Despite their non-finish at the weekend, Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson closed out their season on twenty one points and shared the runner up spot with Paul James and Derek Davies. Jonathan Sparks and Bradley Magnus finished their championship in fourth place overall, four points behind Darlington driver Tony Thompson. In the Subaru Group N Trophy, three crews arrived in Oswestry in with a shout of victory but after a dramatic day in the Welsh forests, it was Rob Smith and Alun Cook who lifted the Dave Wood Memorial Trophy after finishing second behind rivals Wyn Humphreys and Mark Lewis who missed out on the title by a single point. Scotsmen Alistair Tough and Ali Mackay rolled out of contention on SS4 to end thier championship bid. Next season, ANCRO plan on running the series once again and it is expected to be very popular. Runner up in the 2005 ANCRO Championsip, Barry Johnson, was absent from the Bulldog as he was on duty at another sporting event doing his bit for charity. Along with twin brother Kevin and JWRC star Guy Wilks, the trio entered the legendary Scott motorcycle trial. Guy made a good start on the first leg before Kevin took over although no one seemed to see Barry complete the anchor leg... Perhaps he had taken refuge from the rain in a local hostelry... 2005 Champion Paul Bird recently had to cough up his £50 fine which he had incurred due to his late withdrawal from the Border Counties Rally. Whickham & DMC vice chairman Gordon Bradford had slapped the levy on him and threatened to suspend his licence if he didn't pay up! Thanks to those 13 vigilant people who contacted our illustrious Press Officer to point out that Andreas Mikkelsen is actually Norwegian and not Finnish as stated in the rally report... They said what… “Three seconds is annoying!” Craig Middleton at first service after MSA scrutineer Pete Farrington pointed out that he was only three seconds slower than the '05 Focus WRC of Andreas Mikkelsen through the opening stage. “We have to look after our co-drivers too”. Craig also pointed out that finishing in the top six would give Robin Hernaman the overall co-driver title. How considerate Craig. “I just have to figure out the accent”. Steve Perez explains the apparent language barrier between him and Scottish co-driver Peter Martin who went on to say, "I've been trying to learn English for 20 years and I've not succeeded yet!" Steve continued, “Not bad for an old man” as he browsed the times for SS1. Don’t be too hard on yourself Steve... “Do you know who owns these?” Mr Perez points to a pair of women’s knickers that were attached to his rear bumper at first service. Apparently Richard Gower found them at the end of SS2 and hooked them onto the Focus WRC. It's amazing what you can find in the middle of forests these days... Richard went on to explain, “After I found the knickers I could not think of anything else. It’s been the highlight of my year!” Richard’s co-driver Aled Davies has 'allegedly' lost over a stone in weight and Richard jokingly explained his times over the opening two stages… “Aled is the reason we’ve been so slow. He has lost so much weight that he has unsettled me…!” No, we can’t see where the stone has gone either…!!! “No problem with the car, just the occupants!” Wug Utting responded when he was asked if everything was OK with the car at first service. Wug later commented at the finish ramp, "Max has won the Under 21 co-driver title and I've won bugger all again!" At least he said it with a grin. Colin Hope decided that the cautious approach was the best option for the final round of the Eurorallye Cup, "I am tippy toeing around to the finish as we have the championship to think about so I daren't push too hard!" Colin breathed a sigh of relief at the finish ramp as he explained, "The car started misfiring on the final stage. The Fuel pump packed up at the end of the stage and she started blowing fuses." Sounds like Colin and Nick were lucky to make it back to the finish. ANCRO Clubman regular from last year, Alistair Adams and Andy Ballantyne have not been out in their Escort since the Bulldog rally last year. Andy remarked at first service, "We're brushing away the cobwebs and boy did we brush them away on that last stage!" Alistair obviously caused a few tense moments in the car through stage two then... Fiesta Sporting Trophy front runner George Thomas explained his intentions for stage three, "We'll have to push on the next one so Graham, tighten your belts!" Chris Moore and Rich 'Weeman' Edwards also had a "big moment" and Chris explained, "We went through some logs on stage three and ended up on the wrong side of the stage. We had to reverse back out and get going again. We nearly threw it all away". A frustrated Owen Murphy remarked at the finish, "The car is sold so I couldn't push hard in case anything happened to it. I didn't drive well." "We're here so it's not THAT bad. The clutch started slipping through stage three so I took it easy to make sure I got here to the finish. And here we are." Brian McGuinness nursed his Vauxhall Nova through Dyfi Main and Dyfnant. Pat Flynn is obviously questioning something about Craig Middleton as he proclaimed to the young Llandrindod Wells man at the finish, “Imagine how Gay Monthly will feel now mate!” Craig Middleton on his plans for the Saturday night celebrations, "We're going out in Hereford tonight. All the Ludlow massive are out so watch out!" Crew by crew: National Craig Middleton / Robin Hernaman (Hyundai Accent – Class B13) Craig found it difficult to get into a good rhythm over the opening two stages as it was “very slippery in places but good grip in others”. They were 2nd overall going into first service and leading the ANCRO registered competitors. “I was not holding back but I was not pushing too hard either!” A clean run over stages three and four consolidated their position on the ANCRO leader board. They remained in second place overall and first of the registered competitors and extended their lead over championship rival Roger Duckworth, holding a near forty second lead going into the final loop. Craig’s concentration began to wane over the penultimate stage and he explained, “It was just nerves and it was quite a long stage. I was worried that something may go wrong!” However, the pair crossed the finish ramp in third place overall to claim second place championship points and clinch the 2006 MSA Gravel Rally Championship. Craig, who was overcome by the result said, “It has not sunk in yet. I am not sure if it will tonight or whether it will be the awards night but I am delighted!” Roger Duckworth / Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza – Class B13) Roger and Mark were in fourth place overall going into the first service halt of the day but third of the registered ANCRO contenders. Gearbox problems had blighted the opening loop of two stages and Roger explained, “It is not going into active mode. All the diffs are in road mode.” A faulty gearbox mode switch was found at first service and replaced. Brake problems through the second loop of two stages thwarted his climb up the leader board and they were still in fourth place going into second service but nearly forty seconds down on his title opponent Craig Middleton. Roger explained, “There was a broken brake pipe inside the caliper but we didn’t have a spare one so we had to disconnect it and run with 3 brakes over the last two stages.” Roger and Mark crossed the Oswestry finish ramp in fourth place overall and third of the registered contenders but his result was not enough to claim overall championship honours. He remarked, “I knew it would be a long shot coming into the event. I am disappointed.” Steve Perez / Peter Martin (Ford Focus – Class A8) Steve drafted in co-driver Peter Martin to sit with him for the rally as Steve’s regular navigator Scott Martin was competing in the clubman section of the event with Barry Clark in a Ford Fiesta. Steve and Peter were third overall after two stages, nearly twelve seconds behind Middleton. A clean and steady pace over stages three and four closed the gap to Middleton to only seven seconds going into the penultimate stage. Steve was quicker than Craig through the fourteen mile Dyfi Main stage and just under two seconds separated the pair going into the final stage. A blistering time from the Vodka Kick man was enough to overhaul Middleton from second overall and he claimed maximum championship points. A quickest time overall through Dyfnant brought a smile to Steve's face and the 2004 National champion gleefully commented at the finish, “I’ve really enjoyed the event. I’m really pleased but I’m too old for these young boys!” as he pointed in the direction of Middleton and Mikkelsen. Richard Gower / Aled Davies (Hyundai Accent – Class B13) Richard and Aled were in eighth place overall going into first service but fifth of the ANCRO registered competitors. They found it difficult to get into a rhythm over the slippery opening stages and were just over a minute behind Middleton going into the second loop. Richard settled into the rally through the next two stages and they moved up into seventh place overall going into the penultimate stage. A puncture on both stages in the final loop hindered their climb up the leader board and they dropped back to eighth place overall but claimed fourth place championship points. Bob Ceen / Alistair Douglas (Subaru Impreza – Class B13) Bob Ceen was way down the order after the opening stage as engine trouble blighted his event. He subsequently retired from the rally after stage two with a blown engine. Alistair Tough / Alistair Mackay (Subaru Impreza – Class N4) Alistair was fourteenth after the opening two stages and arrived into service fifth in the GpN category. He remarked, “I don’t know what the problem was but we were slow through those two.” The current Scottish GpN champions failed to make it back to second service after their immaculate TEG run Impreza N12 left the road they ended their rally down a steep drop. Both crew are OK after the accident although it took the recovery unit seven hours to retrieve the car from it’s resting place, 150 foot down a steep embankment. Rob Smith / Alun Cook (Subaru Impreza – Class N4) Expecting very wet conditions on the stages, Rob made a wrong tyre choice for the opening loop, opting for a narrower tyre. They were tenth overall and second ANCRO registered GpN crew going into first service, lying nearly nine seconds behind championship rivals Wyn Humphries and Mark Lewis. A consistent and trouble free run over the remaining stages was enough to hold on to their position. Smith and Cook crossed the finish ramp in tenth place overall, finishing almost thirty seconds behind Humphries. This was enough however to claim the 2006 Production Cup title and also the inaugural Subaru GpN Trophy. Rob commented at the finish, “Look at this grin, I am ecstatic! It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!” Wyn Humphries / Mark Lewis (Subaru Impreza – Class N4) A problem free run over the opening two stages saw the young Welsh driver hold second place in GpN but first of the ANCRO registered competitors going into first service. Wyn and Mark were seventh overall and ahead of the Hyundai WR Car of Richard Gower going into the second loop of two stages. They dropped out of the top ten after stage four and were third in GpN but still leading the championship registered crews going into the final loop. A consistent run over stages five and six saw the pair break back into the top ten and they crossed the finish ramp in ninth place overall and third in GpN. They did however claim maximum championship GpN points. Stephen Petch / Michael Wilkinson (Mitsubishi Lancer – Class N4) The centre diff blew on the start line of SS1 but they continued going. They dropped a lot of time through stages one and two and retired from the event on the road section to service. The SG Petch run Mitsubishi Lancer arrived back into service on the end of a tow rope. Paul Wedgbury / Gemma Price (Subaru Impreza – Class B13) Paul’s ex-SCCA Mitsubishi Lancer suffered an intermittent misfire through stage one but this was rectified for stage two. Paul and Gemma were in thirteenth place overall going into first service and sixth in class B13. A relatively trouble free run through stages three and four saw the pair hold their position but the penultimate stage saw them retire from the event. A broken exhaust manifold resulted in lack of boost forcing them to retire after the end of stage five. Wug Utting / Max Utting (Subaru Impreza – Class N4) Wug and his son Max cruised through the opening two stages and sat just inside the top ten of the GpN category going into first service. A consistent pace through the final four stages and a faultless car brought them back to the Oswestry finish ramp in eighteenth place overall and ninth in GpN. However, they picked up third placed points for the ANCRO GpN championship and the result also ensured that young Max claimed the Junior (under 21) co-drivers title in the 2006 championship. Peter Egerton / Simon Staddon (Hyundai Accent – Class B13) Peter took a cautious approach to the slippery conditions on the opening two stages and they were in twenty-third place overall going into first service. Peter remarked, “I didn’t want to take any chances but they were nice stages.” Peter and Simon moved up the leader board over the second loop of two stages and they were twentieth place overall and eighth in class B13 going into the penultimate stage. They moved up another three places on the leader board over the closing two stages and the HPM run Hyundai Accent WRC crossed the finish ramp in seventeenth place overall, thirty-five seconds ahead of Utting. Kevin Stevens / Tim Sturla (Subaru Impreza – Class N4) Tim’s regular ANCRO championship driver Andrew Pawley opted out of the final round so Tim sat with his BRC partner Kevin Stevens in preparation for Wales Rally GB next month. As the pair have made their own notes on the BRC this year, Kevin found it difficult to adjust back to organisers notes over the first two stages. Two stalls on stage two hindered their progress even more and they were sitting just outside the top twenty overall going into first service. Once the pair settled into a rhythm over the final four stages, their stage times improved dramatically and they crossed the finish ramp in fourteenth place overall and seventh in GpN. Paul James / Derek Davies (Mitsubishi Lancer – Class N4) Paul overshot a hairpin and dropped some time on stage two and they were twenty eighth overall going into first service. They climbed four places up the leader board over the second loop of two stages and were 0.4 of a second behind the WRC of John McGaffin going into the penultimate stage. Paul and Derek broke into the top twenty over the final two stages and they crossed the finish ramp in nineteenth place overall, fifteen seconds ahead of McGaffin. Paul and James also picked up maximum points in the final round of the Mitsubishi Evolution Cup. Crew by crew: National cont... Emma McKinstry / Kenny Hull (Mitsubishi Lancer – Class N4) Emma and Kenny arrived into first service with serious electrical problems on their Mitsubishi Lancer and they decided to retire from the event and ensure they did not do any damage to the car. Emma explained, "It feels like it's on the limiter at 5000 revs". The problem has not yet been diagnosed… Jonathan Sparks / Bradley Magnus (Mitsubishi Lancer – Class N4) Jonathan and Bradley had yet another trouble free run in their Mitsubishi Lancer and the Evolution Cup pairing arrived back to the finish ramp in twenty seventh place overall. The team collected second place Evolution Cup points for their result. Declan Magee / Thomas Nugent (Peugeot 206 – Class A6) Magee and Nugent arrived into first service with a slightly damaged car having hit the side of it off a ditch on stage two. As Colin Britton opted out of the event, Declan and Tommy were the only registered competitors with a chance of claiming the 2006 TMS 206 Super Cup title. The Ulster crew were in thirty eighth place overall and leading class A6 going into first service. A drama free drive over the final four stages saw the pair move ten places up the leader board to cross the finish line in twenty eighth place, almost three and a half minutes ahead of their nearest class rivals, the similar spec Peugeot 206 of Steven Brettle and Mark Newsome. Declan and Tommy claim the 2006 Total Motorsport Solutions 206 Super Cup title as a result of their finish. Crew by crew: Clubman George Thomas / Graham Hopewell (Ford Fiesta) George, one of the two drivers that could clinch the inaugural Fiesta Sporting Trophy (UK) title was second in the category after the opening stage but ahead of championship rival Chris Moore by less than three seconds. George and Graham dropped nearly seven seconds and fell back to third going into service, just over four seconds behind Moore who now led the category. George and Graham pushed very hard through stage three and took nearly eleven seconds from Moore and therefore had a seven second advantage going into Dyfnant. This is where it went horribly wrong. George crashed out halfway through the nine mile stage, ending all hopes of lifting the first Fiesta Sporting Trophy title. Both crew are OK after the accident. Chris Moore / Richard Edwards (Ford Fiesta) Chris and Richard endured hand brake cables through the opening stage as the split pin had come loose, "this made it difficult at junctions", Chris explained. The Innovation Motorsports crew were quickest through stage two and subsequently took the overall lead in the FST(UK) section of the rally. A brief off road excursion (see quote in They said what...) on stage three dropped them down the leader board and they were seven seconds down on Thomas going into the final stage. For Chris and Richard to win the overall series, they had to finish inside either first or second. A very close battle between Chris and Kevin Davies over the final two stages caused some sharp breaths. Chris claimed second place behind Simon Hughes and less than on second ahead of Kevin Davies. Chris was jubilant at the finish and he said, "I just can't believe it. I've waited so long for this and I've finally done it (won a one-make championship" Owen Murphy / Paul Williams (Ford Fiesta) Owen and Paul endured a frustrating day as their car has been sold and they felt that they could not push as hard a they would have liked for fear of causing damage. The pair were just inside the top ten in the Fiesta section after the opening two stages, nearly eight seconds behind Mike Faulkner and nearly fifty seconds adrift of the series leader. They crossed the finish ramp with an immaculate car and in ninth place overall in the Fiestas but they had dropped another thirty seconds over the final two stages. Tom Walster / Kirsty Riddick (Ford Fiesta) Tom and Kirsty took the early lead in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy section of the rally with a quickest time through the opening stage. However, they lost their advantage through the second stage and were just over a second behind Chris Moore going into the first and only service halt of the day for the Clubman section. They dropped further down the leader board after stage three, to sixth in the category and Tom explained, "I dropped twenty seconds over fourteen miles and I've no idea why. Everything felt OK?" Another quickest time through the final stage brought them back up to fourth place and they finished just under two seconds behind Kevin Davies and Shaun O'Gorman and just under eight seconds behind round winner Simon Hughes.. Mike Faulkner / Peter Foy (Ford Fiesta) Mike and Peter endured a car that was down on power through the opening loop of two stages and they sat just inside the top ten going into first service. His service crew were unable to locate the problem so they had to go out to the final loop with the same power problem. They struggled through the remaining twenty two miles of stages, dropping time, and was overtaken by Murphy in the leader board after the final stage. They finished three seconds behind the Cork man. Fraser Jones / Inbal Edry (Ford Fiesta) Fraser struggled through the very slippery stages in the opening loop, overshooting a unction on stage one and went wide at a unction on stage two. Fraser was also complaining that his car was down on power but again, no solution was found in service. They were ninth in Fiestas after two stages, four seconds behind Ulster man Jonathan Greer. Had a great run through stage three and Fraser remarked as Inbal nodded, "stage three was just amazing!" They both climbed two places up the leader board over the final two stages to finish the event in seventh place in the Fiestas, nine seconds behind Adam Gould. Brian McGuinness / Ian Harden (Vauxhall Nova) Brian and Ian were thirtieth overall and second in class 1 after the opening two stages. They were however, first of the ANCRO registered competitors. A slipping clutch through the closing two stages caused a few tense moments but the pair made it back to the finish ramp in twenty-eighth place overall and victors in class 1 by fifteen seconds. Richard Moore / Suzanne Emiliani (Ford Fiesta) Richard and Suzanne also complaint about their car being down on power. They also had to endure the problem for the entire rally as the team were unable to find a solution. They finished fourteenth in the Fiestas, just over thirty seconds behind Richard Parry-Jones. Chris Peart / Gordon Blyth (Proton Satria) Retired their Proton Satria on stage one. Reason currently unknown. Despite not finishing the event, Chris and Gordon pick up the class two honours in the 2006 Eurorallye Cup. Colin Hope / Nick Patrick (Vauxhall Nova) With the Eurorallye championship as a constant reminder, Colin and Nick knew that they had to get their Vauxhall Nova back to the finish ramp to claim the overall honours. a cautious approach through the opening two stages (see quote in They said what...) saw the pair sit in fortieth place overall and third in class. A near disaster through the closing loop saw a misfire develop in the engine. The fuel pump blew at the end of the final stage and they had to nurse the car back to the finish ramp. They made it back in thirty-third place overall but more importantly, victors in the 2006 Eurorallye Cup. Winston Clark / Rob Allen (Ford Escort RS2000) Winston and Rob were another crew to fall foul to the opening two stages. They retired their immaculate MkII Escort on stage two with broken halfshaft. Martin Laverty / Andrew Roughead (Peugeot 206 1400) A clean run through the opening loop saw the Derry driver take the early advantage in the battle for the TMS Peugeot 206 1400 Challenge. Martin ad Andrew had a near thirty second advantage over Mike Winfield and Andy McGowan going into first service. Another quick time through stage three saw Laverty extend his lead to nearly forty five seconds going into the final stage. A cautious approach to the final stage saw Laverty drop over twenty seconds to Winfield, but it was not enough to overhaul him from the head of the championship table. Martin jubilantly said, "It was very slippery on that final stage. we had 44 seconds on Mike but we also had everything to lose." Mike Winfield / Andy McGowan (Peugeot 206 1400) Mike and Andy knew what needed to be done to win the 2006 Peugeot 1400 Challenge, nothing but an outright win would do. Mike aired on the side of caution through the opening two stages but was maybe too cautious and they dropped nearly thirty seconds to their championship rivals Laverty and Roughead. A last minute charge on the final stage was not enough to clinch victory from Laverty, Mike and Andy crossed the finish ramp in second place in the Peugeot 206 1400 Challenge. More details can be found on the MSA Gravel Rally Championship is listed at www.gravelrally.co.uk. Results and final championship positions etc can be found at www.ancro.info |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 November 2006 ) |
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