The classic forest stages of North Wales will be the setting for round two of the Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship during the Astra Stages on Saturday 3 April.
From the heavily over-subscribed entry, 66 historic cars are due to tackle the rally, 25 in the historic (category 1) division of the BHRC, and 41 in the post-historic (category 2) division.
With stages in the Aberhirnant, Penmachno and Clocaenog forests, the Llangollen-based rally should continue the excitement from the opening BHRC event when both categories were decided by a handful of seconds.
Historic (category 1)
The Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride will lead the historic section away, hotly chased by the similar cars of Francis Tuthill/Nick Kennedy and Geoff Stewart/Jim Kitson.
Nutt had to push very hard to fend off his rivals in the Nottinghamshire forests a month ago, and knows that his task will be no easier in North Wales. "I'm very fond of the Astra, the stages are super and I just want to enjoy a good run," he says.
However, having had a mighty battle with Steve Perez a year ago, Nutt is likely to be hard pressed this year by Tuthill and Stewart. "The competition is very fierce," reckons Tuthill, who has been busy working on his Porsche's engine since the Robin Hood.
The battle for class B4 should be just as close, especially after the Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite/Gary Titchmarsh beat the Lotus Cortina of Chris and Hilary Green by just two seconds on the Robin Hood. The Greens are determined to reverse the result this time, but the presence of the Lotus Cortina of Drexel Gillespie/Gill Cotton could make this a three-way battle.
At least five Cortina GTs will fight over class B3 spoils. The cars of round one victor Jonathan Gale, Ronnie Roughead and Keith Reed should be closely matched in the class battle. B3 will also feature the return to the championship of Bala-based Gwilym Roberts in his Mk1 Cortina after his Mk2 suffered a major shunt on the Jim Clark Memorial last summer.
Likely to upset the Mini Coopers in class B2 is the return of former BHRC champion James Stait in his MG Midget. Stait rolled out of the 2003 Astra in Penmachno, so will be aiming for a less dramatic run this year. Class B1 should be topped by the Hillman Imp of John Morris/Chris Flavell as Robin Hood class victors Gordon Cameron/Sheila Grimshaw have traded their Mini for a Volvo 122S.
Post-historic (category 2)
The Escort RS1600 of 2003 Astra winner Richard Gower and Carl Williamson will head the post-historic field away from Llangollen on Saturday morning. However, Gower will have a gaggle of similar cars snapping at his heels, notably the pair that battled furiously for the Robin Hood spoils. Second on the road is the Brace's Bread-backed Escort of David Stokes/Den Golding, while Ray Bellm/Marc Jones run third with a clear aim to repeat their Robin Hood victory.
"I love it up there," reckons Stokes of the Astra stages, even though he suffered a big accident in Penmachno back in the early 1980s. Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard will be aiming for a strong finishing after a late steering breakage on the Robin Hood, while Adrian Trickett/John Pickavance are also potential winners.
Ranged against the Escort hordes are Stuart Rolt/Kevin Devine (Porsche 911) and Dominic Frattaroli/Brynmor Pierce (Datsun 240Z). Frattaroli again showed winning pace on the Robin Hood before gearbox dramas set in, and he must surely be due a good result.
The C3 class will again be a contest between the flying Escort RS2000 of Steve Smith/John Nichol and the Saab 99 of Andrew Street/Jez Mason. Smith rolled out of the 2003 Astra after a suspension failure, so will be keen to keep things the right way up this year.
The Hillman Avenger of Philip Atkinson/Simon Coates took class C2 with a typically attacking drive on the Robin Hood, but will be chased by a gaggle of Avengers and Escorts including the Fords of John Worthing and Kevin Broadhurst and the Hillman of Tony Shields.
The Astra Stages is organised by Vauxhall Motoring Group (Wirral) and for more details about the event, please visit the website at: astrastages.co.uk
