Grizedale Stages

An excellent rally, in superb wintry conditions, saw a close result in what was a memorable Grizedale Stages. The first pair of stages saw David Wright & Steve Pugh (Focus WRC) set the fastest times to lead 5 seconds from Steve Petch & Michael Wilkinson (Fiesta R5) with Ollie Mellors & Ian Windress (Satria Neo) a further second back. Petch dropped back through Grizedale South 1 as Mellors went fastest to close in on Wright by 2 seconds. Stage 4 saw the lead change when Wright spun dropping 22 seconds to Mellors.

Wales Rally GB

An extreme few days on a wet and windy Wales Rally GB saw Sébastien Ogier & Julien Ingrassia (Polo WRC) master the mud to take the lead on stage 1, which they held to the finish. A total of 9 fastest stage times over the first two days helped Ogier to build up a lead over Kris Meeke & Paul Nagle (DS3 WRC) and then on the 3rd day Ogier managed the gap to take back-to-back victories on the event. Meeke had been close on the 1st day but slipped back on day 2, still managing to hold Andreas Mikkelsen & Ola Fløene (Polo WRC) at bay. With 2nd in the manufacturers battle Citroën’s main aim, Meeke delivered and surely deserves another year with the French marque. Mikkelsen kept a firm grip on the final podium spot to come home 3rd.

Neil Howard Stages

Our first trip to Oulton Park, for a rally, saw Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) take back-to-back victories on the event. It had not started well though as stage 1 saw Steve Simpson languishing down the bottom end of the top ten as Neil Simpson & Elliott Edmondson (Fabia R5) took the early lead. Kevin Procter & Derrick Fawcett (Impreza WRC) were 2nd and moved ahead after stage 2, holding it until stage 5 when Neil Simpson regained the lead. A burst radiator saw Neil Simpson retire on stage 6 so Procter moved to the top of the standings with Steve Simpson closing in. Stage 8 proved pivotal as Procter lost 9 seconds to Steve Simpson, ultimately finishing 11 seconds adrift of the 2014 winner as Steve Simpson took victory.

Malton Forest Rally

Glorious sunshine greeted the crews to the North Yorkshire stage through the early morning mist/fog which had started the day. Charlie Payne & Carl Williamson (Fiesta) took an early lead with a time 7 seconds faster than their nearest rivals, through the opening stage. It was a good job as Langdale saw several crews beat the bogey, on both runs, and 7 seconds dropped on Staindale 2 almost saw victory slip away. Stephen Petch & Michael Wilkinson (Fiesta R5) were only 2 seconds behind with Peter Stephenson & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) a further 10 seconds down, completing the podium. Steve Bannister & Dave Robson (Escort MkII) were the first 2WD crew home in 6th overall.