Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship Report, round two: Pirelli Historic Rally
It was a day of drama and surprises and survival in Kielder Forest on Saturday (26 April) for the second round of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic rally Championship, the Pirelli Historic Rally.
Will Onions and Dave Williams took their maiden victory in category three, after Bulldog Rally winner Nick Elliott rolled his Escort on the third stage. In category two Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne (Porsche 911) were the surprise winners after the top three all went off on the final stage in Bewshaugh. Meanwhile, Graham Waite and Gill Cotton (Volvo Amazon) regained the lead in category one on the last stage, after Jonathan Gale’s Sunbeam Tiger seemed set for victory.Category 1Gale and James Whitaker were hoping for a repeat of their Bulldog victory and made a late tyre change before embarking on the first loop of two stages. They lost out to Waite/ Cotton through the 11.6-mile Roughside stage, but turned the deficit into a 9.2s advantage by the time they arrived back at Carlisle racecourse for service. “We went for harder tyres and they were almost shredded. It was a good choice though and I drove conservatively. It was narrow, fast and easy to get dragged into the ditches,” said Gale.
Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) was the first casualty. “It was a square right and I got into a tank slapper, nearly going off the edge and rolling. Then I caught a tree stump and bent a TCA and got a rear puncture which left it crabbing left through the second stage,” said Dessie.
Waite had been delayed in Nutt’s dust and was still a comfortable second, from Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport). Nutt arrived at service in fifth behind Philip and Barbara Smith’s Porsche, having lost over five minutes. Nick Pinkett/Jonathan Lodge (Saab 96 V4) also had an off in stage one. “We were 10 miles in and had fuel a problem. I reached down for the second fuel pump switch and went off,” said Pinkett. He kept going but Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell had gone out with a rod through their Lotus Cortina’s block and Mike Barratt/Joanne Watson joined them after they went into a ditch when the Sunbeam Stiletto jumped out of gear.
Gale had managed to build his lead to 14.9s over the next two stages, but his struggle for grip proved decisive. “We hit the logs at the flying finish on stage three and I drove as hard as I could on the last one. I was on the limit and couldn’t do any more,” he explained. But it was still not enough as Waite sailed through the final Bewshaugh stage to claim victory by 11.8s.
“I was nearly dragged into a ditch on the third stage too as I was occasionally a bit too fast into some of the corners,” said the victorious Waite. Smith was 'driving to survive' in third and took class B5, while Nutt managed to claw back to fourth overall after Taylor had a puncture on the last stage. “There was nothing I could do really, but push on in case anyone had a problem,” said Nutt. “I went into a ditch on stage three and then on the last we had a puncture, stopped to change it and then my navigator had to chase the wheel as it rolled away,” Taylor added. Pinkett’s Saab completed the finishers.Category 2Having missed out on their anticipated duel on the Bulldog Rally due to an early retirement, David Stokes and Guy Weaver (Escort Mk1) gained the upperhand on rivals Jeremy Easson and Alun Cook from the start.
After the opener in Roughside Stokes had pulled out a 5.9s lead, only to be matched by Easson on the next two runs. It was up to seven seconds on the penultimate stage before Kielder’s reputation came to the fore in a big way. The 12.2 miles Bewshaugh stage turned the leader board upside down by not only claiming Stokes and Easson in ditches, but Tim Mason/Graham Wild (Porsche 911) too. Mason had survived an earlier scare too when he came across a deer on stage. “It didn’t seem to know where it was going either,” he said.
With the top three all out, it was a surprise victory for Smith/Langthorne Porsche 911. “That’s my first win since I came back into rallying and we didn’t have a problem all day,” he said. Andrew Siddall and Colin Thompson were just as surprised to find themselves in third and winners of class C3. “I think I was probably about 5mph too slow into every corner and just trying to stay on. But we had a scare too up a firebreak on the last stage,” said Siddall.
Chris Brown/Liz Jordan had a trouble free run in their Escort Mk1, delighted with third overall and class C5 honours. Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer (Escort Mk1) dominated class C2; “We had problems and vibration on the last stage though,” said Bristow. Nigel Godden/Ian Orford (Escort Mk1) managed to have three offs on the second stage but still held onto second in class, with Gary Orton/Mike Morgan third after an early roll.Drew Wylie and Neil Ewing collected second in C3 once the driver had woken up, but they had a determined James Slaughter/Phil Peak (Escort Mk1) chasing them at the finish after a first stage ditch excursion. Chris Nixon and Baz Green were second in C5 in their Escort Mk1.Category 3Fresh from their Bulldog Rally victory Nick Elliott and Dave Price were determined to make the finish in Carlisle, after being stranded in the forest for six hours after retiring on last year's events.
It all started s well with Elliott’s Escort Mk2 3.4s up on Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey at service, after the first two stages. “I didn’t expect to be at the front, as I had kept it fairly straight as it was so slippery,” said Elliott. “I lost a couple of seconds on stage two when I stalled under braking,” Reynolds replied.
Although Onions and Williams were third, they had clutch problems, while youngsters Ryan Barrett/Kevin Bowcott and Connor Corkill/Rob Fagg were also in contention. Barrett changed a gearbox in service after it kept jumping out and Corkill ripped his exhaust off on logs on the opening run. But Darren Moon and Chris Parsons didn’t even make service, after their Escort had terminal clutch problems after only one stage.
Elliott’s rally ended dramatically on the first stage after service, when he clipped a log pile and rolled. Reynolds became the new leader, but with two stages remaining Onions shot ahead to secure his maiden victory. “No dramas at all,” concluded Onions. “I was a bit annoyed not to win but second is Ok,” added Reynolds.
Both Barrett and Corkill became victims of the last stage too. Corkill retired with gearbox problems and Barrett dropped to 12th with a puncture. Class D3 winners Richard Lane and Frank Richer finally secured third in category three in their Escort MK2. “It was some skill and a lot of luck,” said Lane.
Gareth Lloyd and Ryland James were disappointed to be pipped by Lane, after starting the stage almost five seconds ahead. “We just lost time in the dust,” said Lloyd. Phil Squires/Kevin Owens and Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks (Escort Mk2) completed the top six, while in the classes Pat Anderson/Rob Brook (Talbot Sunbeam) went unopposed in D2, while Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston and Baz Jordan/Jonathan Gratton-Smith (Escort Mk2s) were both well adrift of Lane in taking second and third in D3.
Rob Smith/Shaun O’Gorman recovered from a broken wheel on the first stage, after clipping a rock, to take their Vauxhall Chevette to victory in D4, with Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson (Opel Ascona) struggling to the end after cutting out on the final stages.
