Wyedean Stages

A dedicated bunch of competitors turned out for the Wyedean Stages and provided a day of ups, downs and close finishes. The rally was hanging by a thread for a long time due to protracted negotiations with Forestry England and it was only due to the tenacious determination of a dedicated group of organisers that meant the event ran. In order to make it a little easier to manage the route consisted of seven special stages, three run twice and one three times in a tight cloverleaf route with minimal road mileage.

There was still all to play for in the championship and the seven championship crews entered were in for a day of intermittent showers and roads that even seasoned locals found to be extremely slippery, likening them to ice in places.

Top contenders Jonathan Brace and Paul Spooner were out of the blocks first but within a couple of miles they made contact with a fence which bent the steering and also knocked confidence. They repaired the car at service after stage three and returned to the stages with a determination to settle back into a good rhythm. It started well but a missed gear and the subsequent over revving led to an engine issue and clouds of smoke spelling instant retirement, the Brace’s Bread Mk1 Escort has been a fine sight on the stages this year and this was its first retirement.

Mike Simpson and Dale Gibbons were out in the ex-Brace Mk2 Escort and were looking to gain more experience of the car. They had a ding dong battle with Andy Stokes and Johnny ‘Tad’ Evans all day long, equal on time on the first stage and behind until the penultimate stage where they grabbed enough time back to leave a small cushion. Stokes and Evans tried their best on the last stage but lost out by just two seconds in the end. It was still a great result as their Mk1 Escort is in a lower cc class.

A great battle has been had all year between the pinto Escorts of Neal James and David Lloyd Roberts and with their respective co-drivers, Kevin Jones and Gerallt Davies, this rally was no different. James and Jones took the advantage on the first stage but lost time on the second handing the class lead to Lloyd Roberts and Davies. Thereafter the crews traded seconds all day and even equalled their times on two stages. James had however extended a 16 second lead by the time they all reached the start of the final stage and it all nearly went wrong for James as Lloyd Roberts stormed through the stage to lose out by a mere two seconds.

Also out for a crack at the Dean stages was Ron Morgan with Marc Clatworthy, this time in a hired Mierion Evans Mk2 Escort as Ron’s usual mount was on its way to New Zealand for the Silver Fern Rally. We wish him every success when he gets there, it will be a fantastic adventure. Back to the rally in hand though and Ron and Marc kept it very much on the right track to finish a creditable 34^th overall.

Last but not least were the intrepid Mini crew of Andy Jarman and Adrian Lloyd who were late to the championship on the Woodpecker Stages and were unfortunately denied a finish after time consuming error. This time they were having a great time despite losing bits and pieces off the car, slipping and sliding around the treacherous stages to record a well deserved finish.

All this meant that the overall category awards for the championship were now decided with Neal James and his co-driver Kevin Jones taking Category D, Andy Stokes claimed Category C best driver and Paul Spooner cleaned up the co-drivers award. Category B for Cat. 1 cars was won by Bob Gibbons and Jon Harris in the lovely Cortina.