Round nine: Minilite Historic Somerset Stages
Steven Smith and John Nichols won the Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship in a thrilling final round. In a borrowed Escort Mk1, they beatDavid Stokes and Ian Oakey by a single point after round nine, the Minilite Historic Somerset Stages on Saturday (29 October). Historic (category 1)A strong historic entry was led away by Stuart Rolt/Richard Pomfret (Porsche 911) and they duly set a cracking pace. Unfortunately, the 911 slid off the road on the first forest stage at Knowle and they collected a maximum, which put them out of the running. A series of very quick stage times followed, but their result was wrecked.
Instead, it was Paul Kynaston/Gary Bulley who led early on in their Sunbeam Tiger. Not registered for BHRC points, this was their first outing of the season on their local event, but it ended in disaster with major engine dramas on the final stage.
For Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies, it proved to be an excellent day, with the Tiger storming the Porlock toll road and getting quicker and quicker in the woods to claim historic category victory. "I'm flabbergasted!" said Watts, when he realised they had won. "We pushed very hard on the last stage," he said, not knowing that Kynaston was out.
An incredible second overall in the historics went to the Ford Cortina GT of Jonathan and Graham Gale. Not only did they win B3 by a country mile, they even finished ahead of the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride. "It’s been good fun," reported Gale junior after a mighty drive. Their only problem had been losing the handbrake late in the final stage in Croydon.
"We've had a very quiet day," admitted Nutt after a muted performance on an event that he had not particularly enjoyed. Hugh Currell/Mike Gamblin won B4 in their Lotus Cortina after the similar car of Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson retired with falling oil pressure on the third Porlock stage.
Matt and Dood Pearce completed a great season with another class B2 victory in their Mini Cooper S. However, a front puncture three miles from the end of the final stage cost them time. "We drove out, but I think it's nuked the diff," admitted Matt.
Leading the chase of the Pearces in B2 were Dave Foster and Terry March in their Cooper S, with Mike Barratt/Michelle Calvert third. In B1, the Saab 96 of Nick Pinkett/Julian Lucking won the class after the similar car of James Valentine/Caroline Lodge went out with fuel problems.Post-historic (category 2)It was all change in C5, with the arrival of Smith/Nichols in the Escort Mk1 of Chris Browne. It would be a straight fight between Smith and Stokes, with the winner taking the overall BHRC title.
On the first two runs at the asphalt Porlock toll road, Smith/Nichols went ahead by a second on each run. The lead grew to four seconds after the first forest stage in Knowle, but Stokes pulled back nine seconds in the two stages in Croydon forest as Smith stalled twice at hairpins.
At main service, Stokes led by five seconds, but Smith pulled out all the stops on the next two runs at Porlock to go back ahead by seven seconds. "I set about Porlock with a bit of a mission," reported Smith. Stokes, meanwhile, caught a Porsche on his second run and lost a few seconds. "I got by on the wrong side on a left hand bend, but it cost us some time," he said.
But worse was to come for Stokes in the next forest stage, back in Knowle. "I lost it about 100 yards before a corner. It was a big happening and I didn't think we were going to finish," he admitted. Somehow, the car avoided the trees but stalled and they lost eight seconds to Smith. Now the gap was 15s, but Stokes pulled back a second on the mile-long Whits stage.
So, going into the final long forest stage in Croydon, Smith/Nichols led by 14s. "I reckoned two seconds a mile was enough, but I promptly threw it into the bushes!" With a monster moment, Smith just avoided the trees and burst through a patch of bracken to rejoin the road, having only lost a few seconds.
Things were far worse for Stokes/Oakey, however. "We hit a 'Petter Solberg' type of rock. It flattened the manifold and kinked the propshaft," explained Stokes, who could only limp slowly out of the stage to make certain of finishing. Smith/Nichols had won the rally and the championship! "To come out on top by one point on the last stage of the season…" said an unbelieving Smith.
Slightly overshadowed by the tremendous battle at the head of the event, third overall in post-historic was the C2 Escort Mexico of Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes after a fabulous drive. "It's been brilliant – we've had a great day," said Forster after one of the drives of the rally.
Another fine performance came from Bob Gibbons/Stuart Cardell, who won C3 in their Escort RS2000, while C4 was decided by a single second as Paul Drinkall/Roy Brown beat Peter Lythell/Gill Cotton by the smallest of margins in a battle of the Porsche 911s.
