The 2011 Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Rally Championship will be back in Wales on Saturday 2 April for round two, the Bulldog Historic Rally.
Once again, a superb field has been assembled for the historic rally, including the appearance of former WRC ace Francois Delecour in a Porsche 911 to celebrate the start of the Tuthill Porsche Challenge, which runs over five events within the BHRC.
With the Escort Mk2s of Julian Reynolds and Nick Elliott heading the field away in what will surely be a repeat of their mighty battle from the opening round, the scene is set for another fabulous event covering over 50 stage miles on classic Mid Wales gravel roads.Category 1Category one – for the pre ’68 cars – featured a marvellous contest on the Mid Wales Stages and ended with victory for the Lotus Cortina of Simon Wallis and Graham Wride.
Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride set the early pace until a transmission problem put their Porsche 911 out. Instead, Wallis/Wride stormed through to win and take maximum class B4 points in the Cortina. But they were not far clear of the spectacular Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite/Gill Cotton, which was consuming oil at a prodigious rate by the end of the rally. Also well in contention in what promises to be a very open season in category one were Rikki Proffitt and John Stanger-Leathes, despite a misfire on their Porsche 911. They will all be back in action in the Bulldog, while Paul Mankin and Peter Scott will be aiming to join the contest in their Lotus Cortina after spark plug dramas on the Mid Wales. Among the smaller engined cars in category one, the Sunbeam Imp of Geoff Taylor and Steve Greenhill will shine.Category 2David Stokes and Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk1) are the benchmark for category two after a fine victory on the Mid Wales, but will be chased by the similar Mk1 Escorts of Rupert Lomax/Dave Alcock, Stefaan Stouf/Joris Erard and Chris Browne/Liz Jordan. This is the home rally for defending champion co-driver Weaver, so another victory would be particularly sweet.
In class C3, for the Pinto-powered Mk1s, Welshpool-based Tim Jones and co-driver Don James scored the first strike of the season on the Mid Wales, but can expect tough opposition from Andrew Siddall/Captain Thompson and Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing. Having switched to the Pinto-powered Mk1 previously rallied by his son James, Slaughter senior took to his new mount in typically spectacular style on the Mid Wales.In class C2, for the 1600cc cars, it was Matt Fowle and Jane Edgington who took victory with Fowle’s Escort Mk1 on the season opener, despite a misfire. Rex Ireland, with last-minute stand in co-driver Vince Bristow led the chase of Fowle. Adrian Scadding should be back alongside Ireland this time and joining the battle will be the Escort Mk1 of Nick Danks/Martin Corbett.Category 3A month ago, category three victory was won, and lost, by the smallest of margins in a mighty contest of the Ford Escort Mk2s, with victory only decided on the final stage of the rally as Reynolds and Ian Oakey overhauled Elliott and Chris Brooks to win by a single second after nearly an hour of flat out rallying on. The fact that Reynolds clawed back five seconds on the last stage to win by just one second has left Elliott very determined to turn the tables on the Bulldog.
But this is not simply a two-horse race and a gaggle of very quick Escort Mk2s will be chasing Reynolds and Elliott as well as cars like the Opel Ascona of Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson. In the Escort ranks, prime contenders include Will Onions/Dave Williams, Paul Griffiths/Paul Williams, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Alan Walker/Jez Rogers. Though relatively new to the BHRC, Walker showed superb pace on the Mid Wales and could go even better on this event, run by his home motor club.
New onto the stages this weekend will be the cars in the Tuthill Porsche Challenge, for identical 3-litre 911s. This is set to grow over the coming weeks, but gets off to a good start with cars for friends and rivals John Lloyd and Andrew Barnes and a very special entry for former WRC star Francois Delecour. In class D3, for the Pinto-powered Escort Mk2s, another big contest is likely as Guy Woodcock and Hu James take on Stuart Clarke and Andy Ballantyne in another instalment of their on-going rivalry.
In class D2, a BHRC debut for the Escort Mk2 of Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer will surely set a cracking pace and humble some of the more powerful cars.The Bulldog Historic Rally is organised by Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club and starts at 7am on Saturday 2 April from Welshpool. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: bulldog-rally.co.uk
