Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship
News round-up after event two: Pirelli Historic Rally
Welcome to the second issue for 2007 of the post-event news and gossip update for the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship.
The Pirelli Historic Rally was generally well received and the event organisers clearly worked hard to make the BHRC crews very welcome. Excellent feedback from the spectators proved that the historics added greatly to the opening round of the British Rally Championship.NewsAdrian Seabridge arrived at Carlisle in his superbly refettled Sunbeam Lotus, rebuilt around a new Jim Little shell. Unfortunately, his rally was very short-lived as a piece of wood wedged against the diff and pulled a brake pipe out within the opening mile of the first stage. "I'm pleased with the car," said Adrian despite the disappointment. "It rode the bumps better on the little bit of stage we did." A day's testing is planned before the Severn Valley.Mark Creswell gave his Vauxhall Chevette HSR its rallying debut, having acquired the car from Gary Midwinter. It was the third Chevette to join the BHRC in the last nine months. Co-driven by Rachael Brockington, Creswell missed the Robin Hood after an oil leak developed, but is now hoping to do as many of the remaining championship rounds as possible.BHRC registered contenders who had entered the Astra Stages before it was cancelled each got a £12 refund at Pirelli signing on. The HRCR decided that the event championship fee paid by the Astra organisers should be spread among the BHRC contenders who lost £40 from their entry fee.Regular racer Howard Redhouse made his rallying debut on the Pirelli in a Porsche 911 from the Tuthill stable. “I did Tour Britannia and that gave me a taste for rallying,” said Redhouse. Redhouse will combine selected historic rallies with racing a Shelby GT350 Mustang and a Lotus 30 in historic events.Mark Clifford marked his 52nd birthday on Friday. The Kielder event was his first rally of the year and his first time in the region and he hadn’t driven the car since the Trackrod Rally. Clifford overcame a catalogue of dramas to finish the event, including a back injury for his co-driving son Brett after a heavy landing.Rikki Proffitt had John Roberts co-driving his Escort Mk1 for the Pirelli. As Roberts is a regular co-driver for Andy Burton in his monster Peugeot Cosworth, Proffitt was keen to point out that they would not be taking Burton-style cuts in Kielder.Geoff Crabtree and Liz Jordan contested the Pirelli in Crabtree’s Escort Mk2 to gain more experience of Kielder ahead of the Roger Albert Clark Rally in November. Crabtree has had the engine rebuilt since it blew up after the 2006 RAC Rally, but hit gearbox problems in Kielder.Hydegate Rallyesport, run by Eric ‘Wayne’ Ball, is now tending the Escorts of David Stokes and Martin Freestone from its Gloucestershire base. The team will also look after the Escort Mk2 of Gareth Lloyd during events and got all three cars home in the top 10. Apparently, WRC ('Wotton Rally Car') technology is going to be used!Lotus Cortina driver Jim Clark reckoned the Pirelli was his first event in Kielder since the 1972 RAC Rally, when he was also driving a Lotus Cortina. Unfortunately, he still didn’t get to drive on the stages after an electrical problem stopped the car at the start of the opening stage.Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes had an electrical problem in stage 2, but finally continued until breaking a halfshaft in stage 4. "We were eventually rescued by our service crew and got back to service at 1.30am on Saturday morning where we set about changing the axle so that we could restart. We were determined to do the fantastic Kielder stages," said Ken. After two and a half hours in bed, they restarted under the Super Rally regulations and finally got points for second in class.Frank Cunningham had a busy weekend as he had entered a hillclimb in his native Galway on Sunday. That meant a quick dash to the ferry, home in the early hours of Sunday and a quick change to tarmac tyres on his Escort.Clive Alcock gave his Saab 96 V4 a BHRC debut on his local event, having only previously contested the Roger Albert Clark Rally. The Swedish built Group 2 replica runs in 1975/76 works livery.Quotes of the weekend“It’s like Mull, only on gravel.” Neil Calvert’s view after watching the DVD.“I watched the DVD and it scared me to death.” Arlene Cookson, Neil’s partner and co-driver, has her own view of the Kielder stages.“All I remember is the stage around the airfield.” Dessie Nutt’s previous experience of the Pirelli Rally didn’t do him a lot of good.“I couldn’t miss Kielder. I’ve been here twice and not got through it yet.” Grant Shand before the start; this time he did finish.“It took nine hours to get here. The M25 was stopped, the M1 was stopped and the M6 was stopped.” Chris Browne and Ali Cornwell had an epic journey from Kent.“I’ve got brakes now! It’s a big improvement.” Martin Freestone reaps the benefit of entrusting his Escort to Wayne ‘Eric’ Ball.“We did the 1300 Astra Challenge and we went off into a ditch full of water. Terry lifted the car back on, single-handed.” Dave Foster recalls their only previous rally in Kielder.“I’ve never been here before and I’ve not sat in the car since the Trackrod.” Mark Clifford celebrated his 52nd birthday on Friday.“I’ve heard of it. Our secretary says it’s a nice place to walk the dogs.” Patrick Watts sums up his knowledge of Kielder.“Given that we’re near the Arctic circle, we’re doing alright.” Dick Slaughter made the long trek north from Kent.“I’m wondering where this ‘killer Kielder’ is. I’m sure I’ll find it.” Frank Cunningham prepares for his first rally in Kielder.“If there is three foot of snow, we’ll win.” Saab driver Clive Alcock hopes for a drastic change of weather.“I’m a Kielder virgin.” James Potter is another new to the challenge of Kielder.“We thought it was time to come and learn Kielder.” Nick Whale takes on the region for the first time."The last time I was here was in 1981 in an Avenger on the RAC Rally." Philip Atkinson returns to Kielder after a quarter of a century.“I’ve been parked up in these ditches a few times.” Tim Mason had been to Kielder before.“We just need some seat time. We’ve not done more than two miles in the car since the Trackrod.” Steven Smith reflects on two brief previous outings.“It was great fun. Everyone was so friendly.” Claire Mole reflects on her first BHRC outing on the Robin Hood co-driving for Steve Perez."It's not the end of the world. This is rallying, it' not life." Richard Tuthill was philosophical about losing his points from the Robin Hood."I'm back. It's bloody amazing and we had a good run." John Keatley arrives at the end of the first leg in his Porsche 911."This is just a grin from start to finish." Peter Gunson's co-driver John Birkitt has his first taste of historic rallying."We've been given a good spanking by Richard Tuthill." Steven Smith ponders stage times from the first leg."I've been underneath the car." Jimmy McRae explains muddy overalls when Michelle asks what he has been up to. "All we had was orange juice to top up the brake fluid. Not ideal."PointsProvisional BHRC overall driver points after round two:1 David Stokes 602 Nick Whale 563 Dessie Nutt 554 Patrick Watts 525 Jimmy McRae 516 Neil Calvert 507 Grant Shand 478 Terry Cree 469 Ian Rix 4310 Richard Lane 42etc.Provisional BHRC overall co-driver points after round two:1 Guy Weaver 602 Sally Wood 563 Geraldine McBride 554 Elgan Davies 525 Andy Richardson 516 Arlene Cookson 507 Richard Shores 468 Daniel Stone 439 Frank Richer 4210 Terry March 41etc.Championship DVDHummingbird Productions will again be filming all rounds of the 2007 championship to compile unrivalled reports of the events.The Robin Hood DVD was available at the Pirelli and was even shown on the big screen in the service area at Carlisle airport during Friday.More details at justrallying.co.uk or call the Hummingbird office on 01522 801854.
