The clubmans section of the Cotswold Historic Rally had a bumper 26 car entry, of which 10 were HRCR Beginners Championship contenders.

The Batchelor’s TR4 got off to a flying start, dropping only 5 seconds across the first regularity. Other beginner crews started well with only a few seconds being dropped by Dick and Harry Baines (8) The Dixons (11) and the Sleemans (14). The Baines’ agile and hard driven Mini was quick on the first 2 tests, edging ahead of the Batchelors subsequent good performances on Regularities 2 & 3 pushed them up into second place overall.

Dave and Jackie Batchelor got off to a flying start in their Triumph TR4.  6th Overall.  Photo by Harry Jaggard.

Meanwhile, it was nip and tuck behind them as the Batchelors picked up a costly 1 minute penalty for missing a route check on Regularity 2. The Sleeman’s in their Fiat capitalised on this, moving up to second beginner. They were swiftly leap frogged by Wilcock’s little Volvo, Georgina was in the groove on regs 2, 3 & 4 dropping only 29 seconds across the 3 of them, as they seized the second beginner spot.

Toby and Alison Sleeman managed 10th overall in their Fiat 124 Spider.  Photo by Harry Jaggard.

First timers Mason and Lillington were now finding their feet in the MGB with tidy regs pushing them up into fourth.

Attrition was much lower on this event but sadly, Ian and Alistair Blakemore, on their maiden outing, retired their Mini after test 4 with a coil issue. 2 cars suffered non-functioning trip meters. The Lancia of Dixon/Poulter and the Chamois of Woodcroft/Webster, leaving both navigators undertaking “A” level maths (and a lot of guesswork) for several hours. Both crews persevered to the finish, picking up championship points along the way. Kerry and Doyle’s TR3’s first event was an enjoyable learning curve almost as steep as the surrounding Cotswold hills.

A level maths going on in in the Singer Chamois Coupe of Mark Woodcroft and Alison Webster.  Photo by Harry Jaggard.

After the fifth test there was just over a minute between our top 4 crews, but the Baines’ were building a cushion ahead of the other 3 and sitting second overall in the clubmans class behind first time competitor Ollie Burton. Burton and Pettit stumbled on regularity 5, gifting the lead to the little red mini which, once seized, would hold until the end of the event.

As the day progressed Mike and Liz Dixon in their MGB GT maintained consistent form, while many fumbled with regularity 5, they dropped only 8 seconds lifting them into the top 10 and fifth beginner. As others tired, they flourished dropping only 12 seconds across the 6 controls on Regularity 6. After the earlier hiccup the Batchelors regained their form climbing back up to a well-deserved second place beginner.

Mike and Liz Dixon in their MGB GT maintained their consistent form and finished 8th overall.

Back in Cirencester Dick and Harry Baines had cruised to victory in the clubmans event. Their only glitch through the day was encountering a gaggle of trotting horses costing 80 seconds. They had over 3 minutes in hand over our second-place beginners, Dave and Jackie Batchelor. It was a competitive battle behind, with Mason and Lillington a further 30 seconds adrift, with the Dixon’s the Sleemans and the Wilcocks all chasing hard, within a minute of each other.

Dick and Harry Baines in their Austin Mini Cooper S took the win by 35 seconds on the 2026 Cotswold Historic. Photo by Harry Jaggard.

The championship is tight at the top with a maximum of 180 points still on the table, only 5 points separate the Batchelors from the Dixons with Woodcroft and Webster still well in touch.

By Martyn Craske