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.

Advertisement

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.

Woodpecker Rally

The Woody didn’t fail to deliver as the last stage saw Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) go fastest and turn a 4 second deficit into a 2 second victory. They had been playing catch up all day after Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) took an early lead and only lost the lead during the final stage. Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) were only 4 seconds further back as they pushed on the final pair of stages, over unfamiliar stages. Group N was tight too as Luke Francis & John Roberts (Evo IX) were tied with Jamie Anderson & Ella Flynn (Evo IX) going into the final stage but a push in the first two miles saw them 3 seconds ahead at our point and they kept this to the end to grab 4th overall too.

Nicky Grist Stages

On a truly scorching weekend the record books will show a comfortable victory for Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) on the Nicky Grist Stages. Coming in to stage 4 of 7 Elfyn Evans & Daniel Barritt (Fiesta R5) held a comfortable lead  before they pulled the car over with an alternator fault, towards the end of the stage. On the same stage Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) rolled out of the event but Thorburn had moved ahead and into 2nd overall on the previous stage. Charlie Payne & Carl Williamson (Focus WRC) finished 2nd overall after being off the pace of Thorburn mid event and completing the podium with a superb drive were Sebastian Ling & Aled Rees (Evo IX) who just held off Alex Allingham & Chris Williams (Impreza) in the battle for group N honours too.

Dukeries Rally

After a mad dash back home we made it back in time for the Dukeries rally which we only missed in 2012 due to a clash with the Severn Valley. With a smaller than normal entry and championship leader Connor McCloskey absent, it was imperative that the rest of the title protagonists made their mark. Charlie Payne & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) were fastest through the first 4 stages before an almost very costly half spin at our corner on stage 5, saw them lose half of the advantage they had built up. David Wright & Michael Wilkinson (Evo IX) took the stage and moved into 2nd place ahead of Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) in the process. Petch, through the afternoon, swapped fastest stage times with Payne as Wright faded away nursing the car home to 12th overall. Ultimately Payne had enough in hand to win by 17 seconds from Petch. Kevin Rowledge & Andrew Bargery (Impreza WRC) were over a minute further back in 3rd overall.

Plains Rally

A superb day and a close battle at the top saw the 2013 Plains Rally go the way of Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC). The winning margin was only 3 seconds from Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) with Charlie Payne & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) a further 10 seconds back. McCloskey was the fastest out of the blocks and took the opening stage by 7 seconds from Payne. He then backed this up on stage 2 before Payne went fastest time on SS3 to maintain the gap. Thorburn then took his first stage win after service to close in but it was on Gartheiniog where he took a staggering 16 seconds out of McCloskey to take the lead by 7 seconds. On the final stage Stephen Petch & Ian Windress (Focus WRC) were fastest with McCloskey taking 4 seconds out of Thorburn to make it a close finish.

Somerset Stages Rally

The first really warm weekend of Spring saw a welcome return to the Somerset Stages. The top two dominated the event and in the end Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan took their Impreza WRC to victory over the Focus WRC of Charlie Payne & Paul Spooner by just 13 seconds. Despite their lack of experience on this rally they were best of 2 minutes ahead of the final podium place as Kevin Rowledge & Andrew Bargery (Impreza WRC) took a fine 3rd overall, their first together in the BTRDA. They just edged out top group N finishers Patrick Naylor & Ian Lawrence (Evo IX) on the final stage of the event.

Malcolm Wilson Rally

Another long day up in the Lakes following the Malcolm Wilson Rally, (with camera issues for the 2nd year running too!). With a stunning WR car entry, dominated by Fords, it was difficult to pick a winner. In the end it was Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) who came out victorious after a superb pair of stage times through Grizedale. Paul Bird & Carl Williamson had led up to the end of stage 3 in their considerably newer Focus WRC, but Grizedale was their undoing and whilst they went fastest through the final two stage, the damage had been done. Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC) completed the podium after losing 3rd place on stage 3 to Hugh Hunter & Andy Marchbank (Focus WRC). Hunter then duly retired before stage 4 and WRC Crew Mark Cronje & Robin Houghton (Fiesta WRC) briefly held 3rd before McCloskey regained it after the pair of Grizedale stages.

Wyedean Forest Rally

Well there was no ice to contend with this year on the Wyedean, instead we got mud and lot’s of it for our 30th time on this event. Going into the final stage the top 4, (a Welshman, Scotsman, Englishman and Irishman), were separated by just 11 seconds going into the final stage. Sadly Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Focus WRC) were first to fall. They did not make it through stage 7 and dropped from 2nd place overall. Hugh Hunter & Andy Marchbank (Focus WRC) were leading going into the final stage but came out of it 10 seconds behind the eventual winners, some ten seconds down. This left David Wright & Michael Wilkinson (Evo IX), who was 3rd, battling for the lead with Connor McCloskey & Francis Regan (Impreza WRC).