OFF ROADHI-Q MSA BRITISH OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP
It was always going to be tough for Richard Kershaw to win his fourth MSA British Off Road Championship on the trot, but it wasn't until half way through the last event of the year that it was put beyond his reach. It didn't start well for the triple champion in Radnor Forest in April – transmission problems left him on the sidelines, whilst reigning All Wheel Drive Club champion, Keith Lewis took the victory. It was business as usual for Kershaw at round two in Shropshire on a course where he always thrives, but Lewis held on to second to keep the pressure on. In a last lap thriller in Scotland, Lewis stole round three from an incandescent Kershaw, but Kershaw bounced back to take victory from Lewis in Yorkshire a month later.
So with two wins a piece and their worst score to be dropped, Kershaw needed to come second at the final round to draw for the championship. If he wanted his crown back, though, no less than outright victory would do. Adding to the pressure Lewis had already elected to miss the final round due to a long-standing commitment overseas! In the end Kershaw endured one of his worst weekends ever – gearbox woes, multiple propshaft failure and the bonnet hitting navigator Graham Broadbent on the head in Service, all contributed to the championship going to the husband and wife team from South Wales, Keith and Sally Lewis.
CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Keith Lewis 332pts2. Richard Kershaw 313pts3. Alec Lofthouse 308pts4. Ryan Cooke 280pts5. James Webb 271pts6. Simon Haycock 264pts
Championship Co-ordinator Henry Webster:“It’s been a fantastic year. Once more thechampionship has gone right down to the wire andits nice to have a new name on the trophy, to remindpeople that Richard is not invincible! There are greatplans for next year - but I can't announce much untilthe New Year!"
HILL CLIMBNICHOLSON MCLAREN MSA BRITISH HILL CLIMB CHAMPIONSHIPMartin Groves took his first British Hill Climb title after a year in which Gould cars filled nine out of the top ten championship placings. In a dominant performance at the wheel of a new Gould GR55B with Nicholson McLaren V8 power, Groves won 24 out of the 34 rounds in a gruelling schedule that, as well as the English hill climbs, traversed the British Isles from Doune up in Scotland, to the road courses at Craigantlet over in Ulster and south to the Channel Islands.
After clinching the title at Craigantlet in August, Groves concentrated on record-breaking, resetting the outright Shelsley Walsh mark for the second time this year and adding both the Gurston Down and Doune records to his CV. With the majority of the top drivers at the wheel of new 2005 Goulds, it was actually a Judd-powered Pilbeam in the hands of the ebullient Willem Toet that ran the champion closest.
The B.A.R Honda F1 aerodynamics boss won five rounds in a car renowned for phenomenal traction off the startline. He was harried all year by 1997 champion Roger Moran's Gould GR61X with the final outcome decided only at Doune's championship finale. Fourth overall by a single point, Guernseyman Mike Dean was several times denied a first-ever British win by Groves, as was sixth placed Simon Durling, with both drivers behind the wheel of new Gould-NMEs. But it was Moran's son Scott that hit top form towards the end of the season, bagging two round wins at Prescott and finishing a best ever fifth overall in the series.
CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Martin Groves 282pts2. Willem Toet 205pts3. Roger Moran 194pts4. Mike Dean 193pts5. Scott Moran 159pts6. Simon Durling 144pts7. Paul Ranson 126pts8. Chris Merrick 95pts
2005 Hill Climb Champion Martin Groves:“It's been a good atmosphere at top level this year butcompetition was stiff all season. A lot of us had the newGoulds, so I didn't have the advantage that perhapsAdam (Fleetwood) had last year.”
Championship Co-ordinator Tony Fletcher:“It's been a good, competitive championship this year.I'm delighted to say that Nicholson McLaren Engines,who have backed the series for the last two years, willbe continuing their support in 2006.”
