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Steve Perez and Paul Spooner claimed the honours in the penultimate round of the Pirelli National Gravel Rally Championship as they won the Trackrod National Rally today (Saturday 27 September).
In their Ford Focus WRC, top seeds Perez/Spooner finished 40.2 seconds ahead of the Subaru Impreza WRC of Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield on the Pickering-based event to claim his first maximum points in the series this season.
"I've won, Yorkshire's been good to me!" Perez said. "It's great to take the victory and maximum points in the championship but it's unfortunate under the circumstances."
Early leaders Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery, who took charge after stage two, suffered some bad luck and a small setback to their championship title hopes when they retired on the final stage, the Givendale test, after the engine blew on their Hyundai Accent WRC. They had earlier been struggling with a misfire despite leading the pack.
Late entry Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh finished up third in their Subaru Impreza WRC after a trouble-free run followed by North Yorkshire driver Charlie Payne and co-driver Craig Thorley in their Mitsubishi Lancer WRC.
Production cup leader Nik Elsmore and his navigator Craig Drew claimed the spoils in the production category as well as winning class N4 in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 as they finished fifth overall 14 seconds ahead of the similar machine of Tony Thompson and Jon Dunning, who survived a full spin in stage eight.
Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson were seventh in their Hyundai Accent WRC after having a bit of trouble in stage three when they had no reverse and lost time at a chicane.
They were followed by the Subaru Impreza WRC of Alan Cookson and Julian Wilkinson in eighth whilst Harrogate pairing Michael and David Curtis were ninth in their Mitsubishi Evo 5 with Ian Tippett and Andy Rowe rounding up the top 10 in their Evo 6.
Andrew Coley and Dan Pearce took the honours in the Two-Wheel Drive Challenge after a problem-free run.
Other retirements included Marcus Dodd's father Harry and co-driver Richard Skinner, who bowed out after stage two with a mechanical problem on their Hyundai Accent WRC.
The result means the MSA Pirelli Gravel Rally Championship title remains in the balance heading into the final round, the Bulldog Rally, on Saturday 18 October, with the absent Jon Ingram, who withdrew from the event following his wife suffering a serious horse riding accident last weekend, leading Dodd by five points on dropped scores.
However, if Ingram contests the final event, he must finish no lower than second, if indeed Dodd wins the event, meaning a grandstand finish is set for this season's title chase.
Final Classification :
1, Steve Perez/Paul Spooner (Ford Focus WRC) 52:55.1
2, Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza WRC) 53:35.3
3, Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza WRC) 54:33.1
4, Charlie Payne/Craig Thorley (Mitsubishi Lancer WRC) 54:44.8
5, Nik Elsmore/Craig Drew (Mitsubishi Evo 9) 55:01.5
6, Tony Thompson/Jon Dunning (Mitsubishi Evo 9) 55:15.5
7, Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson (Hyundai Accent WRC) 55:40.8
8, Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson (Subaru Impreza WRC) 56:31.4
9, Michael Curtis/David Curtis (Mitsubishi Evo 5) 58:25.6
10, Ian Tippett/Andy Rowe (Mitsubishi Evo 6) 59:55.0
Championship Standings after round 6 (nett score in brackets)
1. Jon Ingram 110 points (91)
2. Nik Elsmore 87 points (62)
3. Marcus Dodd 86 points (86)
4. Julian Reynolds 77 points (77)
5. Richard Cathcart 68 points (68)
6. Roger Duckworth 65 points (65)
Further details of the event are available at www.rallyyorkshire.co.uk or for information on the 2008 MSA Gravel Rally Championship, please visit www.gravelrally.co.uk.
Please find attached an image of Trackrod National Rally winners Steve Perez and Paul Spooner, the image is courtesy of CMWI.net.
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