Round one: Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages RallyGareth Lloyd/Ryland James got their bid for the 2005 HRCR Classic Stage Rally Challenge off to a great start on the Alternative Sign Centre Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages this weekend (12/13 March).
With a committed performance, they kept their Escort RS2000 ahead of the RS1600 of Richard Lepley/Ian Bevan by just 11 seconds after 10 flat-out stages in the Nottinghamshire forests.
It all started with three stages in the dark of Saturday evening, and Lloyd finished the evening with a 15-second advantage over his main rival. "No dramas at all," reported James back at service. However, Lepley had struggled over the stages in Birklands and Clipstone. "I can't see in the dark," he said, "I'll have to eat more carrots!" That time dropped would be crucial to the final result, as, after another seven stages on Sunday, Lloyd had lost only 4s from his overnight margin.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but that's a really good start to the season," said Lloyd. Lepley, meanwhile, was left to rue the time lost in the dark having been fastest on six of the 10 stages. "I can see alright in the daylight," he joked at the finish.A strong run through Sunday's stages put Martin Freestone/Chris Heyes into third in their Escort RS1800, which was newly prepared just in time for the event. They finished 13 seconds up the RS1800 of Peter Slights/Joyce Champion, which was dogged by a misfire for much of the event. Finally, an earthing problem was found, and Slights started to show his class with some front-running times. Despite the frustrating problem, fourth place was a clear marker of the potential of the superbly presented car.
Ian Jones/Craig Wilkinson (RS1800) nipped into fifth at the expense of Stephen Hall/Aggie Foster, who had been third overnight in the Triumph TR7 V8. Even though they were just edged down the order on Sunday, it was still an excellent run for the car, which has been further developed over the winter. "We had a fabulous run; I'm so much happier with the car," said Hall.
Having ended Saturday in fourth place, alternator dramas putting Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing (Escort RS1800) out early on Sunday.The Opel Kadett GTE of Bryan Gill/Nigel Hutchinson was clear in class D3 until fuel pump failure 400 yards from the end of the final stage cost them a maximum and opened the way for Mark Clifford/Brett Clifford to take the class in their Escort.
