Moonbeam shines dimly on Maxsport crews
Mike & Dave Pedley took top points in their smart RS2000
They say that the best events stand out even if you have a poor result on the night so it's easy to see how Telford AC's Moonbeam Rally has been a past winner of 'Best AWMMC' and 'Best ANWCC' road rally awards. This year's event wasn't kind to the Maxsport crews but the welcome from Tim Hobbs, Maurice Leech and his team were only matched by the magical atmosphere at the start at Telford Car Auctions and by the intelligent way that the South Shropshire lanes had been used. The Maxsport crews may have been down the tail end of the results but all were keen to come back next year, indeed Telford are ready to reserve places for us so keen are they to see our cars and appreciate our approach to the sport.
For a number of reasons only a modest number of historics came out and when Garry Preston/Mike Sones couldn't get their Dolomite Sprint ready in time they chose to come out in Mike's Citroen Saxo - hardly historic. Most of the other top crews were out however and the potential top historic couldn't be forecast, particularly now that Andy Nixon has a new RS2000 to replace last year's Mexico. Once out of Telford the action began, with a mix of open lanes, a few farmyards and the field whites for which this event is known.
The first casualty sadly was the new RS2000, Andy's halfshaft failing after just 15 miles leading to an early return to Yorkshire. The other crews were running well though on sections around Cressage and Wenlock Edge and at the Craven Arms petrol halt Mike and Dave Pedley's RS2000 was just a minute clear of the Saab 96V4 of Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks, with Giles Pursey/Bernard Northmore further back in the Mexico, Bernard being a late replacement for Mike Burrows who had lost his voice.
The second half took crews west of the A49 and immediately caused problems for the two leading historics. Keith and Tony had suffered from exhaust problems on the Carpetbagger and found this recurring when they beached on a hairpin into a white, removing the back box. They nursed the car to the control at the end of the white, embarrassingly manned by coordinator Stan Appleton, then proceeded slowly in a big loop to retrieve the silencer. They did so successfully but the delay meant they needed to cut several controls, nevertheless they know that finishing is critical in this championship so pressed on having fixed the exhaust properly.
Shropshire is an agricultural county and good use is made of field-whites on this event, easy to overshoot as their entrance is often just a hole in the hedge. Mike and Dave Pedley missed one of these and found themselves back on the route but further on, climbing up the slopes of the Long Mynd on a narrow white where returning against rally traffic was unthinkable. They too had a long loop to recover ground and later cut controls too.
Giles Pursey/Bernard Northmore were proceeding steadily but the pace and complexity of the route led to the need for them to cut controls too even though the car was running well. The final competitive section finished right outside the finish venue each of our crews arriving in the belief that only they had suffered a poor night and relieved to find it had been shared. The Pedleys had come out on top (with eight fails etc !) from the Saab and the Mexico. But what of Garry Preston/Mike Sones in Mike's 21st century Saxo ? Let's just say that it's as well they're longstanding friends and that Garry runs a bodyshop !
Keith Jenkins now leads the Maxsport drivers' table from Giles Pursey and Mike Pedley. Tony Brooks heads the navigators from Dave Pedley and Dave Sanderson/Bernard Northmore. Action resumes on 2 May at Llanfyllin with the Border 100 Rally where several more crews are due to open their accounts. A number of additional crews are preparing cars which will come out later in the year, including at least five crews from stage or endurance rallying.
HISTORIC RESULTS
1. Mike & Dave Pedley RS2000 8F 25m7s
2. Giles Pursey/Bernard Northmore Mexico 10F 48m25s
3. Keith Jenkins/Tony Brooks Saab 96V4 16F 21m25s
Added: 19th March 2009 [permalink]
