Preview: Pirelli Historic Rally
Press release: Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Round three of the 2012 Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship takes crews north to the unique challenge of Kielder forest for the Pirelli Historic Rally on Saturday (28 April).
For joint championship leaders Julian Reynolds and Nick Elliott, the vast expanses of the Kielder complex offer the chance to bag another maximum score, but both drivers have suffered mix fortunes in this event in recent seasons.
Category One
Another encouraging entry for Category One will be headed away by Rikki Proffitt and Phill Harrison (Porsche 911) and they will surely set the pace despite the handicap of running first on the road over stages that are notoriously loose.
Proffitt showed again on the Bulldog Rally that he is well on form in the Porsche and with the Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite absent after its roll on the Bulldog, Proffitt looks very strong.
However, local ace Paul Mankin will be a contender in his Lotus Cortina and his win on the Mid Wales showed that when the car is running properly he can be right up there. Peter Scott will co-drive for the North-Eastern driver. Meanwhile, Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) will want to continue with the good gravel pace they had on the Bulldog and Terry Brown, who is starting to get to grips with his Porsche, has local co-driver John Stanger-Leathes to guide him through Kielder.
All the way from Devon will go Peter Stimson and Mark Butler for a Kielder debut in their Ford Anglia, while Derek Boyd and Stephen McAuley add to the strength of the Porsche 911 entry.
Making a welcome foray into Kielder is a pair of Imps: the Sunbeam Imp Sport of Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill and the Singer Chamois of Nigel and Henry Webster.
Category Two
The clear favourite for Category Two is the Escort Mk1 of Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh and it will take a problem like a puncture to slow their charge at the head of the category. Although this is far from home ground for Reynolds, he will fly over the flowing Kielder stages as he bids to win the overall BHRC title.
Leading the chase of Reynolds will be defending champions David Stokes and Guy Weaver as well as Rupert Lomax/David Alcock and Ernie Graham/Will Graham in their Escort Mk1s. But Reynolds has the upper hand just now and will be determined to bag a third maximum score on the bounce.
Making a welcome return to the BHRC will be Tim Mason and Graham Wild in their Porsche 911 and they have good experience of these stages, while Andrew Siddall and Carl Williamson are getting up to speed well since their move to Class C5 in their Escort Mk1.
Class C3 is currently the preserve of the evergreen Dick Slaughter, who is co-driven by Tim Sayer in his Escort Mk1 and makes the long haul north from Kent. Class rivals for Slaughter include two more Escort Mk1s Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay and Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston, while class variety is provided by the hard charging Saab 94 of Ceiriog Hughes and Cliffy Simmons.
Category Three
While Reynolds chases maximum points in Category Two, Nick Elliott and Dave Price have the same ambition in Category Three with their Escort Mk2. Kielder has not always been kind to Elliott, but he has the pace to take top BHRC points. However, the pursuing pack is strong and two rapid Welsh crews will offer the big threat to the Cheltenham driver.
While top seed and Escort Mk2 legend Steve Bannister is not currently BHRC registered, both Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss and Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies could take points away from Elliott. Neither crew has much experience of Kielder but they do have bags of natural pace. Also making a rare foray to Kielder are Jonathan Brace and Tim Samuel and they have shown strong pace over the opening two BHRC events of the season.
Warren Philliskirk and Matt Whattam are going strong in their first BHRC season and will be strong contenders in a Class D5 entry that is packed with quality. More quick Escort Mk2s are entered for Richard Lane/Frank Richer, Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson, Tim Freeman/Paul Barden and Simon Crook/Alistair Crook.
Another welcome return to the BHRC comes from Steve Magson and Geoff Atkinson who will field Magson's Vauxhall Chevette HSR for the first time and have the similar car of Tony Thompson/Paul Hudson and the Sunbeam Lotus of James Stait/Marcus Cartwright as Class D4 opposition. Meanwhile, Chris Shooter and Bev LeGood are the top BHRC crew in Class D3 in their Escort Mk2.
The Pirelli Historic Rally is organised by the Cumberland Sporting Car Club and for more details about the event, please visit the website at: www.pirelliinternationalrally.co.uk
Added: 24th April 2012 [permalink]
Preview: Bulldog Historic Rally
Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship
Rayner/DearPress release: Tuesday, 20 March 2012
The battle for the 2012 Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship continues on classic Welsh gravel stages like Dyfi and Gartheiniog on the Bulldog Historic Rally (Saturday 24 March).
A field of 65 cars will line-up in Welshpool for round two of the championship and tremendous battles are set to rage across all three categories and within the classes.
Category One
The contest in Category One is sure to be one of the big stories of the 2012 BHRC season after a mighty battle on the opening round, the Mid Wales Historic Stages, three weeks ago. With at least six potential category winners, it was Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell who came out on top in their Lotus Cortina.
However, Rikki Proffitt and Phill Harrison set the early pace in their Porsche 911, only to suffer dramas when a front brake calliper failed. The North Wales crew will be going all out for victory on their home event of the season.
Well in contention were Simon Wallis and Graham Wride, once they had fixed a carburettor problem with their Lotus Cortina, while Graham Waite and Gill Cotton were as quick as ever until retiring the spectacular Volvo Amazon in the Myherin stage.
Other contenders include the trio of Porsche 911s in the hands of Terry Brown/John Stanger-Leathes, Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride and Derek Boyd/Peter Scott. Brown had a run of problems last time out, but should be very strong this time around, while the flying Ford Anglia of Peter Stimson/Mark Butler will be chasing the more powerful cars and setting the Class B3 pace against the Ford Cortina GT of Callum Barney/Ron Channon.
A welcome addition to the Category One entry will be two cars in Class B1. Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport) will go up against championship newcomers Nigel and Henry Webster (Singer Chamois) in a battle of the 1-litre cars.
Category Two
The week leading up to the opening rally of the season was pretty stressful for Julian Reynolds with a rush to get his Escort Mk1 ready. But the hard work paid off as Julian and Patrick Walsh won Category Two in style to get their title bid off to a perfect start. Reynolds will be aiming to build on that result on the Bulldog and, if he has a clear run, he will be very tough to beat.
Leading the chase of Reynolds will be current champions David Stokes and Guy Weaver, and Stokes is aiming to up his pace after a measured start on the Mid Wales. Packing out Class C5, and aiming to challenge Stokes, will be Rupert Lomax/David Alcock and father and son crew Ernie and Will Graham, all in rapid Ford Escort Mk1s. Building their pace as they acclimatise to BDA power in their Escort will be Andrew Siddall and Carl Williamson, while Peter Smith and Paul Wakely join the C5 pack after missing the opening round.
Among the Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s, Dick Slaughter and Tim Sayer scored a commanding Class C3 victory last time out. Trying to topple the ever-sideways Slaughter will be more Escorts in the hands of Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay and Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston. Class C3 also offers variety as, along with the Escort of Ian Drummond/Hu Kent, it also includes the Porsche 914 of Richard Morgan/Keith Fellowes and the Saab 96 of Hugh and Debby Myers.
In Class C2, the battle will be between the Escort Mk1s of Matt Fowle/Jane Edgington and Nick Danks/Martin Corbett.
Category Three
A stunning field will contest Category Three, with no less than 22 BDG-powered Escort Mk2s in Class D5. Top of the pack is Nick Elliott, winner of the 2011 Bulldog, and co-driver Dave Price and they will surely be the marker on stages they know and like. But a gaggle of rapid crews will ensure that Elliott has to be on the attack from the word go.
Will Onions/Dave Williams, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Alan Walker/Andrew Sankey are running close behind Elliott and will be key rivals, along with the Vauxhall Chevette of Rob Smith/Shaun O'Gorman, which is due a clear run after a troubled time on the Mid Wales.
However, the Mid Wales also showed that several relative newcomers to the BHRC are in the mix for the Category Three glory. Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss showed tremendous pace first time out and, with a more suitable seeding for the Bulldog, should be strong contenders along with Will Rowlands/Rich Jones who are long overdue some good fortune to go with their obvious pace. Another rapid Welsh crew in the hunt for Category Three are Tomas and Eurig Davies.
Provided the car is ready in time, the Sunbeam Lotus of James Stait/Marcus Cartwright has Class D4 to itself and provides variety from the Escort ranks.
Class D3, from a championship contenders' point of view, should be the domain of Shawn Rayner and Declan Dear after a mighty run on the Mid Wales. Sadly a puncture cost them a strong result, but they clearly have the pace. Chasing in Class D3 will be Chris Shooter/Bev LeGood and Rex Ireland/Adrian Scadding in two more Pinto-powered Escort Mk2s.
The Bulldog Historic Rally is organised by Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club and starts at 7am on Saturday 24 March from Welshpool. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: www.bulldog-rally.co.uk
Added: 20th March 2012 [permalink]
Preview: Mid Wales Historic Stages
Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally ChampionshipPress release: Tuesday, 28 February 2012
The 2012 Kololi Beach Club MSA British Historic Rally Championship will get off to a stunning start on the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Historic Stages on Sunday (4 March).
A field of over 65 cars, taking in many of the fastest crews in historic rallying, will tackle five classic Mid Wales gravel stages and the action will be intense from the start, as the season opens with two assaults on the sensational climb of Pike's Peak.
Category One
Leading the field away will be a very strong Category One entry, with at least six potential category winners making this more open than ever before. Pride of place as first car on the road goes to the Lotus Cortina of Simon Wallis/Graham Wride, but the Bridgnorth driver faces a gaggle of rivals headed by the Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite/Gill Cotton. What Waite lacks in power with the Volvo he makes up with commitment and the Amazon is always one of the most spectacular cars.
Four rapid Porsche 911s pack out Category One and it is the car of Terry Brown/Michael Gilbey that will head them away from Newtown on Sunday morning. This will be Brown's first BHRC run with his latest toy and he'll need to push hard to fend off the similar cars of Rikki Proffitt/Phill Harrison and Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride.
Another rapid Lotus Cortina is that of Paul Mankin/Desmond Bell, while a real darkhorse could be the Ford Anglia of Peter Stimpson/Mark Butler. If all goes well for the Devon crew, they plan to be chasing the Porsches and Lotus Cortinas.
Category Two
The big shake up for Category Two is the arrival of Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh in a Ford Escort Mk1. Having won the 2011 Mid Wales in his Escort Mk2, Reynolds has switched to Category One this time around in a bid to win the overall BHRC title. The car will probably only be completed just in time for the rally and Reynolds will have no chance to test it, but his pace is such that he will still be tough to beat in Category One.
The crew taking the fight to Reynolds will be defending BHRC champions David Stokes and Guy Weaver in their Escort Mk1, but they will also have their hands full of two more Escort Mk1s from Rupert Lomax/David Alcock and father and son crew Ernie and Will Graham. New to class C5 after stepping up the power ranks will be Andrew Siddall/Carl Williamson and their progression to BDA power leaves the way open in class C3 for the Pinto-powered cars.
Sure to set the C3 pace will be the Escort Mk1 of Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer, with series returnees Neal James and Kevin Jones leading the chase. More rapid Escorts in class C3 include those of Tim Phelps/Russell Joseph, Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston and Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay.
Category Three
A fabulous field for Category Three should deliver an epic contest as Nick Elliott and Dave Price head the pack in their Escort Mk2. The Cheltenham crew missed victory a year ago by just one second, so will want to make amends this time around.
Taking the fight to Elliott will be a gaggle of very quick Mk2 Escorts in the hands of Paul Griffiths/tba, Will Onions/Dave Williams, Alan Walker/Andrew Sankey and Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks. Onions will be making his debut with a fresh Mk2 to replace the car destroyed last August in Ulster, while Walker has Sankey alongside for the first time.
The field is packed with rapid Escort Mk2s in Class D5, including the cars of Nick Woodman/Chris Parsons, Simon Webster/Pete Cotton and BHRC newcomers Kevin Davies/Dale Furniss. Ulster winners Tomas and Eurig Davies will be quick, as will Warren Philliskirk/Matt Whattam and a real dark horse is Escort legend Richard Gough, who makes his BHRC debut with Robin Kellard on the notes.
In Class D3 for the Pinto-powered cars, Richard Lane and Ben Friend will start as favourites from Shawn Rayner and Declan Dear, while in Class D4 the rare Mazda RX7 of Jake Scannell/Adrian Stevens goes up against the Sunbeam Lotus of James Stait/Marcus Cartwright.
Appendix K Class
New for 2012 in the BHRC is a category for cars running to FIA Appendix K regulations. More cars are likely to join the division as the season develops, and the early pacesetter will be the Vauxhall Chevette of Rob Smith/Shaun O'Gorman. Also in the category for the season opener is the Escort Mk2 of Jonathan Brace/Tim Samuel.
The Rally Marketing Mid Wales Historic Stages is organised by Newtown and District Automobile Club Ltd. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: www.MidWalesStages.co.uk
Added: 28th February 2012 [permalink]
