Rally Yorkshire

Another good day up in North Yorkshire saw an exciting finale to both the BTRDA and BHRC seasons. With the title decided in the BTRDA it was a fight between 2017 Gold Star Champions Stephen Petch & Michael Wilkinson (Fiesta WRC), Charlie Payne & Carl Williamson (Fiesta WRC) and Hugh Hunter & Rob Fagg (Fiesta WRC). In the BHRC it was a straight fight between Jason Pritchard & Phil Clarke (Escort MkII) against Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Escort MkII) for the title, with local ace Steve Bannister & Callum Atkinson (Escort MkII) sure to be in the mix too.

Rally Isle of Man

A trying weekend on the Isle of Man for competitors and especially the organisers saw a thrilling finale to the BRC season. The rally was split into two legs and Keith Cronin, co-driven by Mikie Galvin in his Fiesta R5, won the opening leg by 18.5 seconds. Matt Edwards & Darren Garrod (Fiesta R5) took 2nd place and were now out of the title battle but a 3rd place saw Fredrik Ahlin & Torstein Eriksen (Fabia R5) keep the championship lead. Cronin needed a carbon copy result in the 2nd leg to be champion. It was a little closer than planned but Cronin got a repeat result to take the title, his 4th in the BRC, by 1 point. The gap to Edwards was just 0.1s with Ahlin almost 25 seconds back in 3rd, having lost that time and more after a costly off on the Friday night.

Harry Flatters Rally

Damian Cole & Paul Morris (Fiesta WRC) took a dominant win on the Harry Flatters. Setting fastest times on all 5 stages they took victory by over a minute from the hard charging Tomas Davies & Wyn Thomas (Fiesta R5). Down on power compared to the WRC machinery this was a good effort, plus Davies finished over a minute ahead of Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh, who were debuting their own Fiesta R5. Huw Reed & Anthony Hackett (Darrian T90 GTR) were the first 2WD crew home and a respectable 4th overall.

Rally North Wales

Once again Rally North Wales saw wet weather start the day before it was all change in the afternoon. Fastest times on all six stages saw Osian Pryce & Dale Furniss (Fiesta R5) take victory by over a minute. Euan Thorburn & Paul Beaton (Fiesta R5) were 2nd fastest on all the stages to secure 2nd place with Dylan Davies & Llion Williams (Impreza) just over 50 seconds further back, completing the podium. Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Escort MkII) dominated the historic part of the rally taking 6th overall in the process.

Red Kite Stages

A damp and dreary Epynt Military Ranges saw Dylan Davies & Llion Williams (Impreza) take victory by 24 seconds on the Red Kite Stages. Four fastest stage times and one joint fastest stage time during the six stages was more than enough for Davies. Martyn & Dawn England (Fiesta R5+) were 2nd overall but had a tight battle with Richard Hill & Steffan Evans (Evo IX), with just one second separating them before the last stage. England went fastest by a single second from Hill to double his advantage.

Trackrod Forest Stages

Once again the Trackrod provided us with fair weather and a good days rallying. The Historic rally opened up on Friday night with Steve Bannister & Callum Atkinson (Escort MkII) dominating the first stage and easing to victory by over two minutes from Steve Bennett & Paul Spooner (Escort MkII). Mark & Ed Bentley (Escort MkII) took 3rd place by just 0.3 seconds from Adam Milner & Roy Jarvis (Escort MkI). Jason Pritchard & Phil Clarke guided their Escort MkII safely home to 5th place securing the BHRC title for the 2nd year running. In the BTRDA section of the rally 2016 Gold Star champions Charlie Payne & Carl Williamson (Fiesta) finished the season in fine style, with victory by almost 23 seconds.

Rally Isle of Man

The 2016 Rally Isle of Man saw the return of the BRC to the Island and whilst the championship had been decided there was the prospect of Elfyn Evans & Craig Parry (Fiesta R5) coming up against their stiffest competition of the season. Craig Breen & Scott Martin (DS3 R5) were the number one seeds but there rally was over on stage 3 so it was Mark Higgins & Darren Garrod (Fiesta R5) who would take the battle to Evans. Evans took the lead from stage 2 and held it until Friday night when Higgins made a fight back. With 6 stages ahead Higgins held the lead but Evans caught Higgins with two stages to go. The pair swapped fastest times on the final two stages but Evans held on to take victory by 5.9 seconds.

Red Dragon Rally

Hostile weather at Walters was not what we would have expected in August for the return of the Red Dragon rally, but it provided an added challenge to the crews. It was a sprint rally at just 36 miles and it was Martyn & Dawn England (Fiesta R5+) who took victory by over a minute from Dylan Davies & Dale Bowen (Impreza). Only a second separated England & Davies on stage 1 but England pulled clear from there on, setting fastest time on all 5 stages. Andy Davies & Max Freeman (Impreza) completed the podium just 2 seconds behind after they were equal on time after 4 stages.

Harry Flatters Rally

A pleasant day up on the ranges saw drama at the top of the field, on the Harry Flatters. It all started on stage 1 when Damian Cole & Craig Drew (Fiesta WRC) dropped the best part of a minute, when they were well up on the field as they passed our location. A few changes at service followed but at the lunch break they were outside the top 3 and 31 seconds down on leaders Andy Fraser & Michael Calvert (Darrian T90 V6). With 25 seconds chipped off on stage 3 and another 16 seconds on stage 4, Cole was in the lead for the final stage. He duly set fastest time to win by 29 seconds but there was drama behind.

Rally North Wales

A wet day greeted the crews for Rally North Wales, which saw Jason Pritchard & Phil Clarke (Escort MkII) do battle with Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Escort MkII). The final results will show that each crew took 3 fastest stage times but it was Pritchard who took the opening stage and made the critical time gains. Elliott lost 16 seconds through the opening stage and managed to claw the gap back to 8 seconds going in to the final run through Gathieniog. Needing a second a mile to win Elliott could not match Pritchard who instead extended his winning margin out to 21 seconds. Behind the top two was arguable the remarkable result of the rally as Matt Edwards & Will Rogers took the Pete Smith Kadette GTE to 3rd overall, almost two minutes behind Pritchard but 45 seconds ahead of 4th place.