BHRC round one

Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship

 Report, round one: Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages Rally

The 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship got off to a magnificent start on the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages over the weekend (8/9 March).

A mighty 90-car field, big crowds, two former World Champions and a tie for victory at the head of category 3 made it a memorable event. Ultimately, it took a tie-break to confirm Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper as winners over Martin McCormack/Liam Moynihan. Meanwhile, a performance that matched the Escort pace assured Steven Smith/John Nichols category 2 victory and Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies romped to category 1 honours.Category 1The anticipated Sunbeam Tiger battle at the head of category 1 never really materialised as Watts/Davies pulled out a commanding 46s lead during the three stages on Saturday evening. Paul Kynaston/Gary Bulley lost time through a wrong tyre choice and the driver being rusty, and completed a troubled weekend by retiring on Sunday after over-revving the engine.

For Watts it was a welcome result after finishing an engine rebuild on Friday evening. "It means I don’t have to take the engine out again; I'm fed up with doing that," said Watts at the finish.

The battle for second in category 1 was only resolved on the final stage when a big push from Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride took their Porsche 911 ahead of the flying Lotus Cortina of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson. "I had to extract several digits," admitted Nutt, having gone into Birklands one second behind. For Bean it was a fine way to celebrate his 70th birthday. "I'm quite happy with the class B4 win; the car has been perfect," said the veteran.Class B2 was a two-way contest and it was the MG Midget of James Stait/Gill Cotton that took a clear win after the Mini Cooper of Terry Cree/Richard Shores lost time when a front hub split on the first stage. Stait had a scare when the gearbox drain pull fell out and they lost most of the oil after stage six, but they managed to fix the problem.

In B1, the Singer Chamois of Gary and Jane Edgington topped an excellent entry and survived a clash with a log pile to come home clear a class winner. Category 2With two former World Champions in category 2, there was a lot to play for and it was Smith/Nichols who emerged for victory after a masterful performance. They were on it from the start and had a 19s lead at the end of Saturday evening, and that had grown to over half a minute by the end of the rally. The margin could have been bigger still, as they lost first gear over the last two stages and dropped more than 10s. Into the final stage, they were ahead of the category 3 Escorts, but then lost time getting the car out of the slow corners. "I'm quite proud of that result; apart form first gear, everything else worked fine," said Smith.

Mark Solloway/Den Golding were running second, despite a puncture in Clipstone South, until a broken halfshaft on the final stage put them out of a big battle with Bjorn Waldegard/Peter Martin in the VK Lancia Stratos. The Swedish legend claimed C5 spoils after a mighty run, which gave the Stratos its best result to date.

Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp were right in contention in their Porsche 911RS and had the honour of finishing between Waldegard and Stig Blomqvist/Pauline Gullick (Escort Mk1) in the final category standings. Out on Saturday night with a misfire went the Escort Mk1 of David Stokes/Guy Weaver.

Class C3 is shaping up for a cracking season and it was BHRC newcomers Tim Jones/Don James who took victory in their Escort Mk1, keeping clear of series returnees James and David Young (Escort Mk1). Neal James/Kevin Jones were third and could have been closer had they not dropped time with a misfire on Saturday evening.

Vincent Bristow/Dean Mitchell (Escort Mk1) blitzed class C2 with a typically attacking performance.Category 3For Hill/Cooper, even getting to the start was an achievement after major engine dramas in the run up to the rally. However, it was Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey who returned to service on Saturday evening with a 5s lead over Hill. Sadly, that was about as far as Reynolds went as the gearbox on his Escort Mk2 jammed in reverse gear as they tried to re-start on Sunday morning and their rally was over.

Now it was Hill/Cooper battling with McCormack/Moynihan and there was nothing in it, with Hill taking a 2s lead into the final stage. That was gone by the end of the Birklands stage, but Hill got the verdict having been faster on stage one. "Martin's a quick lad," said Hill after a storming drive. "It sure doesn't get any closer than that," countered McCormack, who was getting used to a fresh car.

Almost matching the pace of Hill and McCormack were Darren Moon and John McNichol, who had a mighty run in their Escort to be just 7s down at the finish and really establish themselves as BHRC contenders. Peter Slights and Joyce Champion were fourth, while another highly notable performance netted fifth for Simon Tysoe/Rob Dyson, their best result to date.

Jimmy McRae and Andy Richardson used the event as a shakedown for the new Porsche 911RS from Prepfab and set a series of fastest stage times to show the car's pace. Unfortunately, road penalties cost them any chance of a good result and then fuel problems on the final stage stopped the car.

In D3, Richard Lane/Frank Richer had a superb run to win, although their task was eased when rivals Will Onion/Tim Hobbs had to stop and change a puncture in Clipstone North. Arwel Evans/Arwel Jenkins took second in D3 on a return to the BHRC in Evans' Escort RS2000.