WLE Rally Time Trial

The 4th running of the WLE Rally Time Trial, run by the Forest of Dean Motor Club, saw only our 2nd visit to this event. Held at Sweet Lamb in extremely stormy conditions, Sara Williams (Impreza) was flying before not running for the final timed pass allowing FODMC stalwart Bob Morgan to take top honours in his home built Skoda Fabia. His son Jason Morgan (Evo VI) gave him a good run for his money and Terry Brown (Escort MkII) completed the podium and top 2WD crew.

Cheviot Keith Knox Rally

In a sleep starved weekend we saw our 2nd four way title fight decided on the Otterburn Ranges. After a foggy start Damian Cole & Elliott Edmondson (Focus WRC) made a flying start and gained over half a minute on their title rivals. With mixed conditions they continued to build on this and following the retirement of Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) with a cracked gearbox casing after stage 5, a 4th title looked assured. Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC) were struggling after steering issues on the first two loops whilst John Indri & Josh Davison (Darrian T90 GTR) were struggling to keep pace in the slippery conditions.

Cambrian Rally

Once again the Cambrian would see the Gold Star title decided. Straight out of the blocks were Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) who despite a puncture, were fastest through the opening stage. Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) were the only ones who could keep pace but when they retired on stage 5, Thorburn held a minutes lead and the title was in his grasp. He held on extended his lead over the final few stages to take the title on a count back after finishing level on points with Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC), who finished 2nd on the rally. This was after a close battle with Ollie Mellors & Craig Parry (Satria Millington) saw them retire after stage 7. Alex Allingham & Chris Williams (Impreza) completed the podium and sealed the group N title also.

AWDC Walters

After our earlier expedition to Sweet Lamb to see the AWDC after 5 years, we got our next visit in within a month as we took in the final round down at Walters Arena. The crews tackled a much longer course than at Sweet Lamb but still made 8 passes and after 6 passes Chris Bird (Milner) appeared to have the event in the bag. A timely excursion on the penultimate test saw him drop over 4 minutes to Andy Degiulio (Milner). With one run left to go Degiulio went faster than Bird to secure a 1m 39s victory. The podium was completed by Martin James (Warrior) a further 3m 40s back on the lower class 7i vehicle.