Cambrian Rally

The climax of the BTRDA 2014 championship saw Steve Perez (Focus WRC) and Paul Bird (Focus WRC) co head-to-head to decide who would be champion. The scenario was simple, win the rally and you will be champion and after the 1st stage Perez, co-driven by Paul Spooner, was fastest through the stage. Bird, co-driven by Aled Davies, had gone off and dropped a minute to his rival. Stage 2 saw a twist as Dave Weston & Kirsty Riddick (Impreza WRC) went fastest to take the lead from Perez. It was then the Bird onslaught started as he went fastest on 5 of the remaining 6 stages, with Weston taking the only other one, but it was not enough as Bird ended up 12 seconds behind Perez. The pair tied on points but Perez was champion, whilst Weston showed a statement of intent as he took a maiden BTRDA win by 20 seconds.

Trackrod Rally

It was a tight battle at the top. Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) only set one fastest stage time on the first stage but they held on to take victory from Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC) by 3.4 seconds. Bird went fastest on the final 3 stages but it proved not be enough, so the title fight is set up superbly for the final round in 3 weeks time. David Weston & Kirsty Riddick (Imprzea WRC) completed the podium just over 20 seconds further back, after setting the fastest time through the 2nd stage of the rally. Ignoring the 1400’s the first crew home in the 2WD rally, aka Silver Star, were Martyn Hawkswell & Benjamin Cohen (Escort MkII).

Woodpecker Rally

Every now and again the Woodpecker is not blighted by dust and 2014 was one of those occasions as a damp evening ensured the dust would not be an issue. The rally would see a tustle between Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) against Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC). Early on Perez had issues with his Focus and safe in the knowledge he already had 2 victories this season he played it safe to take 2nd behind Bird rather than push and lose any championship points. With 2 rounds to go it is all still to play for between the rivals and friends. Luke Francis & John Roberts (Evo IX) were almost a minute off the pace of Bird to complete the podium in what was another great display in a former group N car.

Nicky Grist Stages

A return to UK rallying for us after 6 weeks away and we witnessed a superb battle between Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC) and Dave Weston jnr & Kirsty Riddick (Impreza WRC). Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) and Weston were joint fastest through stage 1 before Weston took the lead on stage 2 despite Bird going fastest. Weston took stage 3 before Perez & Bird tied on stage 4 leaving Weston ahead by 5 seconds from Bird and a further 6 to Perez. Bird & Perez tied once more on stage 5 before a fastest time for Bird on stage 6 saw him take the lead by two seconds ahead of Weston. Weston took stage 7 by a single second before Bird sealed the win with fastest time on the final stage by 3 seconds. Perez ended up 3rd a further 16 seconds behind Weston.

Plains Rally

Barely a cloud in the sky and glorious sunshine bathed North Mid Wales for the Plains Rally. At the top of the time sheets and winners for the 2nd year in a row were Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC). The expected pressure from David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Focus WRC) along with Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) never really materialised as Bogie suffered multiple punctures in the 2nd half of the rally and retired whilst Perez appeared to have drive issues as he crabbed past us half a minute down, on the penultimate stage. Instead it was a superb drive from Dave Weston & Dave Robson (Impreza WRC) which kept Thorburn honest, just 8 seconds ahead along with Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) who were only another 11 seconds back.

Somerset Stages Rally

An unusually chilly Exmoor greeted the crews for this years Somerset Stages and they held their fair share of drama too. Out after stage 1 were David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Focus WRC) and on stage 10 championship and rally leaders Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC) were forced to retire. This left Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) in the lead on his BTRDA return but all eyes were on Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) close behind. On the final stage they were just 4 seconds behind Perez and they duly went 4 seconds faster but they needed 1 more second to take the win. When there is a tie overall then the count back goes to stage 1 where Perez went 5 seconds faster than Petch. Making the long journey South worthwhile Dave Weston Jnr & Kirsty Riddick (Impreza WRC) completed the podium some 28 seconds behind the top two.

Malcolm Wilson Rally

Back to the Lakes for what turned out to be a historic day which saw Paul Bird, co-driven by Aled Davies (Focus WRC), take his 4th win on this event and equal the all time record of wins set by Bill Dobie. He set out in determined form and went fastest through the first 4 stages. David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Focus WRC) were just under 20 seconds back at first service but a puncture on stage 5 saw them drop back before a rear differential problem saw them slip back further to 4th overall. Instead it was fellow Scots Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) who took the fight to Bird. They had been suffering through the first half of the rally with their own mechanical gremlins but once they were fixed at service Thorburn went fastest on all of the final 4 stages, closing in from 38 to 15 seconds behind Bird by the end of the event.

Wyedean Forest Rally

After a wet Winter and windy week which saw many trees fall in the Forest of Dean, it was a minor miracle that the event ran all 7 stages as planned. One thing was for certain, with no previous winners of the rally starting the event there would be a new name on the winners list. With a dominant 7 fastest stage times from a possible 7, David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Focus WRC) won by just over a minute from Paul Bird & Aled Davies (Focus WRC). Making a fine start in the B13 class and taking 3rd overall were Luke Francis & John Roberts (Evo IX) two a half minutes behind Bogie.

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.

Trackrod Rally

Welsh eyes were smiling as Osian Pryce & Dale Furniss (DS3 R3T) took back to back wins after their maiden BRC win on the Ulster Rally in August. This one was a different affair as they were in a fierce battle all event long and only beat Jukka Korhonen & Marko Salminen (DS3 R3T) by just under 10 seconds. Korhonen was by no means secure in 2nd as Alastair Fisher & Gordon Noble (DS3 R3T) were only 3 seconds back after some stunning stage times early on the Saturday. In the Rally Two category Daniel McKenna & Arthur Kierans (Fiesta) took victory by just under two seconds. Jon Armstrong & Karl Atkinson (Fiesta) just edged out Steve Rokland & James Aldridge (Fiesta) by just 0.1s on the final stage. In the R1 category Ban & Jason Mckay (Twingo) took the honours as the only finishers.