Round three: Matador Welsh RallyGareth Lloyd and Den Golding completely dominated round three of the 2006 HRCR Classic Stage Rally Challenge during the Matador Welsh Rally (29/30 April) over Epynt.With Lloyd's regular co-driver Ryland James away helping to organise a marathon event in South America, Golding was drafted in to the West Wales Rally Spares Escort Mk2 and they duly turned in a stunning performance. While winning the classic category by a substantial margin, they also had a tremendous battle with the post-historic category Escort Mk1 of Mark Solloway/Kevin Lewis. With a huge attack over Sunday's stages, Lloyd finished just 1.4s adrift of Solloway after more than 100 stage miles on the demanding asphalt roads.
Right from the start, it was clear that Lloyd/Golding would dominate the classics and they ended the rally almost five minutes clear. "A brilliant rally," reported Lloyd at the finish. "Den has been fantastic on the notes and we've just been trying to have a run with the post-historics," he added.With Terry Brown/Kevin Evans retiring their Escort Mk2 with oil pressure worries on Sunday, it was Steven Hall and Aggie Foster who took classic runner-up spoils in their Triumph TR7V8. Rallying for the first time in almost a year, they took a few stages to settle back in but were able to up their pace on Sunday. "We're just getting into the swing of it and it's ended," joked Hall at the end of the final stage.
Another casualty on Sunday was the Escort Mk2 of James Potter/Bob Stokoe after mechanical dramas. This was their first taste of Epynt and a steady approach looked set to bring a good haul of championship points. Instead, third classic was a fine result for Epynt newcomer Arwel Evans (Escort RS2000), partnered by Paul Wakely, on only his fourth ever rally. "To finish where we have on my fourth rally is brilliant," said the increasingly impressive Evans.The Escort Mk2s of Ian Rix/Daniel Stone, Richard Lane/Frank Richer and Chris Shooter/Bev Le Good completed the classic top six. "This is a very specialised place," admitted gravel expert Lane after battling with flu on his first experience of Epynt, while Shooter was elated to finish after hitting the passenger door on Saturday. "Excellent – bit slow, but absolutely brilliant," he reported.
Neither D2 runner finished, with an electrical problem stopping the Toyota Corolla of David and Tony Cobb and alternator failure halting the Talbot Sunbeam of Dave Waples/Sheila Harvey. However, Waples/Harvey sorted their problems overnight and completed Sunday's Trophy rally despite losing the rear window from the Sunbeam without even noticing!
