South Downs Stages

Our first event proper of 2010 saw us make our first visit to Goodwood race track for the South Downs Stages. The iconic track hosted a special celebration to the TR7, with 6 cars competing and further examples of the V8 beast on display. The rally was dominated by the gaggle of Escort MkII’s which headed the field. Simon Mauger & Chris Butcher set fastest time on stage 1 and didn’t look back, taking victory by 30 seconds from Paul King & Alicia Miles. Completing the podium were Paul Diamond & Steve Cox who pipped the highest place TR7 of Alastair Flack & Ralph Higson on a tie-break.

Grizedale Stages

The delights of Grizedale forest were the destination for our final event of the year. Once the seeded entry list was completed everyone expected a victory for the Focus WRC of Paul Bird & Kirsty Riddick but they still had to deliver. They did this with applomb and their final victory margin was just shy of two minutes. Alex Allingham & Mark Glennerster (Impreza) took second place by just 10 seconds from the Focus WRC of Mike O’Brien & Patrick Walsh. The historic section was won by Nick Woodman & Simon Mills (Escort MkII) whilst 1400 honours went to the Nova of Graham Gaskell & Dave Gibson.

Wyedean Media Day

Almost 2 months after our last outing we finally chalked up our first event of 2010, the Wyedean Media Day. This year the event returned to Chepstow Racecourse with guests able to sample the Piercefield Park stage, in the reverse direction to how it is run on the actual rally. A number of local crews were there, with a large number of Escorts (MkI & MkII) dominating proceedings. Our thanks go to all at FODMC for arranging the day and Graham Waite who took us out for a spin in his Volvo Amazon.

Citroën, Loeb and Sordo gunning for more titles in 2010

The Citroën Total World Rally Team will start Rally Sweden (11th-14th February), the first round of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship, with their motivation at an all-time high.  Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will be gunning for a seventh consecutive title, while Dani Sordo and Marc Marti will be the key men in Citroën’s conquest of a sixth crown in the Manufacturers’ World Championship.

Motorsport back at the Palace!

It’s been a long time coming, but Crystal Palace will once again play host to a national motorsport event. Motorsport at the Palace, sponsored by the Ancaster Group, have confirmed that a two-day sprint event will be run over the May Bank Holiday weekend (30-31 May 2010), reigniting the spirit of racing at the Park.

Organised by Sevenoaks and District Motor Club (Sevenoaks DMC), with the support of the London Borough of Bromley, the two-day event will allow visitors to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the legendary machines which powered the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss to victory.

Horsey and Matovu prove pace in Eldoret

Rising Kenyan rally driver Peter Horsey and his Ugandan based co-driver Moses Matovu enjoyed a positive start to their 2010 rallying season when the pair posted a number of top three times on the KCB Biashara Banking Rally in Eldoret, before ultimately being sidelined with transmission problems.

Bumper entry for Snowman Rally

Last year’s winner Reay Mackay heads a strong field of 115 entries for the Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally on February 20th – the opening round of the Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship.

The Fort Augustus driver will be at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo 7 for the Inverness-based event, having switched from the MG Metro 6R4 in which he achieved a famous victory in the snow and ice twelve months ago.

Watson to kick start busy season on Wyedean

19 year old Tom Watson is eagerly looking forward to his first full season of rallying and plans to use this weekends Wyedean Forest Stages as a shakedown ahead of what will be a very busy year for the Swansea based rally driver.

Hockridge halted by throttle issues in Ireland

Andrew Hockridge’s hopes of another strong finish across the Irish Seas was stymied by a faulty throttle body on last weekends Galway International Rally, the opening round of the 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy, but retiring whilst leading his class was small consolation for the rapid Welshman.

Hockridge and co-driver Darren Garrod were back in action in their Geoff Jones Motorsport run Citroen C2R2 Max for the first time since the Fastnet Rally in October. Despite the lengthy layoff Hockridge was fast out of the blocks, with his Signature Cheese backed Citroen topping the scoreboards even though he thought he’d been too cautious in the foggy conditions!

Wright to start title defence on Wyedean Forest rally

Rally driver David Wright, from Bentham, will start his season next weekend on the Team GMF Wyedean Forest rally, the opening round of the 2010 BTRDA rally championship.

Wright, who won the BTRDA title in 2009, is aiming to kick off his year with a good result after battling through the snow on last years event.

Edwards looks forward to BTRDA return

Llandudno based Matt Edwards is looking forward to a return to the popular BTRDA Rally Championship this weekend, as he joins the 586 Sport team to contest the season opening Wyedean Rally in an MG ZR

The 25 year-old, supported by High Hill Ford, Fuchs Titan Race Lubricants, EvoParts.org and Racing Lines, had hoped to contest the opening rounds of the British Rally Championship in the Evo 9 he scored success in on the 2008 Cambrian Rally, but a shortage of funds to further the programme meant the seasons plans would be re-evaluated.

Bulldog International Rally North Wales to be featured at Ffresh Festival

Following working with the organisers to produce a five-minute video of the 2009 Bulldog International Rally North Wales, eighteen-year-old student Gareth Wyn Parry will have his work showcased at a major film festival in Wales later this month.

Gareth, who is studying for a BTEC National Diploma in Media Production specialising in film and television at Coleg Menai, Bangor, produced the film to form the basis of one of the units needed to pass his first year at college.