The special award winners for the first round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship have been announced following the Red Kite Historic Stages (2 February).Graham Thatcher and Robert James posted the first retirement of the rally with gearbox problems for their Hillman Avenger on the opening stage. The last retirement was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Vince Bristow/Tim Sayer, which went off near the end of the final stage in Crychan. Both crews will receive a £100 voucher from West Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford Escort Mk1 crew Paul and Daniel May after their number came out of the hat in the draw for a third voucher.Meanwhile, Ford Escort Mk2 crew John Baker and Seyyan John will receive a cheque for £237.50 from Holton Homes after their number came out in the draw for a refund of 50% of the event entry fee.The new Kumho Clubmans Challenge was a runaway success, with 23 out of the 60 R.A.C. crews electing to contest this new Challenge for crews using no more than six tyres during the event. Significantly, the top overall finishers in the Challenge were Tim Freeman and Paul Wakely (Ford Escort Mk2) who finished a tremendous fifth overall.Category winners in the Kumho Clubmans Challenge were Simon Wallis/Graham Wride (Lotus Cortina) in Category 1, David Kirby/Chris Rixon (Ford Escort Mk1) from Category 2, Freeman/Wakely in Category 3 and Tom Coughtrie/Calvin Cooledge (Ford Escort Mk2) in Category K. Gareth Lewis won two tyres from Kumho for his Ford Escort Mk2 in the draw for Challenge contenders.The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants goes to Terry Brown for a superb second overall in his Ford Escort Mk2 on one of his favourite rallies. Terry and his younger co-driver Den Golding are both pensioners!Simon Pickering and Colin Jenkins won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a set of axle brake pads from Mintex, after an excellent run in their Ford Escort Mk1. Finally, Meirion Evans won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry can from Green Valley Industrial Supplies. His pace in his Escort Mk2 was excellent despite a couple of problems and he was fastest of all over the final 15-mile stage in Crychan.