Revolution Series – Round 5, London

After our first trip to the Lee valley Velodrome back in December 2014 we were back for round 5 of the Revolution Series where elite teams compete over a series of disciplines to earn points and ultimately they gain enough to win the series. With each team made up of two riders the Madison style events feature prominently and of course the iconic longest lap. Add to the mix UCI class sprinting, womens races and stars of the future (boys & girls) and there was a whole lot going on. The main results of the night were Ed Clancy and Oli Wood of JLT Condor dominating the Elite events, whilst Laura Trott won both races she started.

Riponian Stages Rally

It was only our third trip to the Riponian and it already is a firm favourite despite the weather. In many respects the snow at the end of the day made the event for our final stage, Roppa. Charles Payne & Andrew Roughead (Fiesta) dominated the event with a series of fastest stage times, (all but the last 2 stages), saw them take a comfortable victory. In a superb 2nd place were Matthew Robinson & Sam Collis (Escort MkII) who had been on it all day, benefiting from final stage dramas which saw Ian Joel & Graeme Wood (Escort Cosworth) drop the best part of a minute and a half on the final stage.

Race Retro – Rally Stage

A cool wind blew through Stoneleigh on Saturday, but with bright sunshine and sideways rally cars, we had a good day. One of the largest variety of cars to date and over 50 of them running through the stage, there was plenty to entertain. Of those crews it was the father and son of Dai & Ben Llewellin who took turns in various cars, most notably the Skoda Octavia WRC, which was excellent value. There were the usual sideways Escort MkII’s, Audi Quattro’s, Ferrari 308 GTB’s and Metro 6R4’s plus many more. Add the noise of the Firenza Chevrolet V8 and it was all you could ask for.

Race Retro – The Show

12 out of 12 for us as we took in Race Retro again after having never missed one to date. With the live action due over the weekend we concentrated on the show today, (along with the auction rooms). A great choice of cars on speed street with the star car being a Michael Schumacher Benetton, whilst in the rally hall the rare sight of a Ford Escort RS1700 was a great vehicle to see. Once again Race Retro had plenty on offer with the bike hall focusing on Norton and other British Marques. Plenty more to follow so roll on the live stage and the legend that is Ari Vatenan. back behind the wheel of a Ford Escort MkII and a Peugeot 205 T16.

Wyedean Forest Rally

The 40th Wyedean started in murky conditions on the Blaize Bailey stage for the 1400 crews but by the time the main field arrived conditions had improved. Charlie Payne & Carl Williamson (Fiesta) set the early pace on the short opener before Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC) got into their stride of the remaining 3 morning stages with a series of fastest times. Going in to service Bird held a 21 second lead over David Weston & Kirsty Riddick (Impreza WRC) with Payne 3rd. Bird and Weston then swapped times over the next two stages before Weston lost time compared to Bird through the Serridge stage. Hugh Hunter & Andy Marchbank (Impreza WRC) were fastest as they climbed to 3rd overall. The final stage saw Bird seal victory with Weston over half a minute back in 2nd and Hunter a solid 3rd on his return to the gravel stages.

Red Kite Stages

The gravel rallying season got underway in snowy conditions on the Red Kite Stages and with conditions getting better as the early crews scrubbed the snow off the stages, it was David Stokes & Guy Weaver (Escort MkI) were early leaders. With stage 2 cancelled and another fastest stage time on stage 3 Stokes now had a 12 second lead at service from 2014 winner Richard Hill & Iwan Jones (Escort MkII). The afternoon would prove to be different as the snow had largely gone. Jason Pritchard & Phil Clarke (Escort MkII) were fastest on stage 4 to close in on the top 3, as Terry Brown & Den Golding (Escort MkII) jumped up to 2nd overall, just 7 seconds behind Stokes.