Ford Parts Cheviot Rally

It was a pleasure to be up on the Otterburn ranges again and it was good news that the Cheviot was running again, after being cancelled in 2015. With the title sewn up Damian Cole & Paul Morris wheeled out the Escort MkII for a change and were not helped by the damp conditions early on. David Tinn & Giles Dykes (Satria Neo) made the most of 4WD and ran away to a 50 second lead by the end of the 2nd loop of stages. With the stages drying from there on in they extended their lead to over a minute before easing back on the final two loops to take victory by 70 seconds.

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Mewla Rally

A damp start on Epynt saw Damian Cole & Paul Morris (Fiesta WRC) take the initiative with a series of fastest stage times, over the first two loops, to take a half minute lead. Bob Fowden & Paul Wakely (Impreza WRC) were 2nd overall after a fastest stage time in the first 6 stages. Stage 7 saw Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) leap ahead in to 2nd place courtesy of their first stage win. Cole was well ahead though and 7 fastest stage times in total, saw him take a significant step towards another Asphalt championship title, winning by 43 seconds.

Tyneside Stages Rally

Strong gusting winds ravaged the Otterburn ranges as the crews took on the Tyneside Stages. Damian Cole & Paul Morris (Fiesta WRC) took the opening stage by 5 seconds and never looked back. The lead incremented out slowly as a result of 4 fastest stage times and 4 equal fastest stage times, including fastest times on the final two in drizzly conditions, to see an eventual winning margin of 22 seconds for Cole. After a recent string of bad fortune up at Otterburn, Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) were 2nd overall but they had a tough battle event long with Alex Laffey & Andrew Roughead (Fiesta R5 Evo).

Manx National Rally

As is fitting with the Isle of Man there was mixed weather for the Manx National. The opening night was dry and saw Ashley Field & Janice Moore (Darrian GTR+) take the lead after the opening pair of stages through Ramsey. The bogey was then beaten on stage 3 by the top two as Jason Pritchard & Phil Clarke (Focus WRC) looked to establish themselves. Another pair of fastest times through the final two stages saw them take the lead and open up a 46 seconds advantage over Simon Bowen & Richard Robinson (Impreza WRC S11). Field had dropped behind Pritchard on stage 4 but a 40 second loss on stage 5 saw him slip behind Bowen too.

Tour of Epynt

After a cloudy start the Tour of Epynt was played out under glorious spring sunshine, with tyre choices now all based upon how soft the crews wanted the rubber to be. The top 4 were hard to separate over the opening pair of stages with Steve Simpson & Patrick Walsh (Impreza WRC) taking the lead by 3 seconds from Damian Cole & Paul Morris (Fiesta WRC) tied with Simon Mauger & Jonathan Hawkins (Metro 4M4). The 2nd loop saw Simpson extend his lead as Cole put a few seconds between himself and Mauger. With Simpson having beat the bogey time on stage 4 he then did the same on stage 5 to extend his lead and remained untouchable for the rest of the day, to take victory.

Mewla Rally

The REIS Asphalt Championship made its 2nd visit of the season to Epynt for the Mewla Rally. The event started in atrocious conditions and it was Peter Lloyd & Carl Sorenson (Impreza WRC S12) who held an early advantage after the first loop of stages. It was a lead that would only grow and they took their 2nd win in 4 weeks over the ranges, this time against the massed ranks of the National championship runners.  It was 2nd place that was crucial for the championship. Simon Mauger & Brian Cammack (Escort MkII) had to beat Damian Cole & James Morgan (Focus WRC) and after the first loop they were ahead but as the stages dried out Cole moved past.

Rally of the Midlands

One year on from Damien Cole’s victory he was looking to make win no.2 of the season in his Focus WRC and with variable weather conditions few would bet against him. However it was the Escort MkII of Simon Mauger & Brian Cammack who defied their power and technology deficit to the WRC machinery around them to take a well deserved win. It was only by 7 seconds as late dramas saw Cole close in, co-driven by James Morgan, but Mauger held on. Completing the podium were previous winners Eian Pritchard & Steve McPhee (Impreza WRC S11) over a minute further back.

Jim Clark Rally

It was a windy affair up in the Scottish Borders this year, where David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Evo IX) took win no.3 of the season in the BRC. Overnight Adam Gould & Seb Marshall (Impreza) had kept Bogie honest, only 0.6s back, but through the first loop of stages on Saturday they haemorrhaged time due to various maladies and in the end were third over a minute back. The challenge then came from Jonny Greer & Dai Roberts (Fabia S2000) as they got to grips with their car on tarmac. Bogie’s differentials were starting to play up through the final few stages but he held on to win by 17.6s.

Tour of Epynt

Whilst the rest of the rallying world changes the Tour of Epynt once again signalled the start of the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship. The overnight rain had made the stages slippery first thing but from the 2nd loop onwards the stages were effectively dry. The 2nd loop proved key in the rally too as Steve Simpson & Aled Davies (Impreza WRC) went fastest on the first stage and held on to a 0.1 second lead after stage 2 where Peter Lloyd & Martin Henry (Impreza WRC) had been quickest. Stage 3 went to Simpson and then Lloyd stopped in stage 4, before restarting a few minutes later, eventually retiring after stage 5. From there on in Simpson went fastest on every stage and took victory by over a minute.

Cheviot & Keith Knox Stages

After an absence of two years we returned to Otterburn for the Cheviot & Keith Knox Stages. It was an excellent return even if the entries were down due to a date clash with Mull. With the championship decided long ago this rally was all about who wanted to win it and after 10 stages, (following the cancellation of SS5), John Stone & Patrick Walsh (Fabia WRC) took victory by just 3 seconds from Michael Glendinning & Alastair Roughead (Impreza). Glendinning had the lead by a second but Stone was charging back after dropping time early on. Completign the podium were John Indri & John Harland (Darrian T90 GTR) making their first visit to the ranges.