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RALLY NEWS NO.2 Dalby/Fire Tower/Saturday 11am
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER STAGE 1 GIVENDALE
1st (2) Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Lancer N) 12.28.6
2nd (4) Gwyndaf Evans/Huw Lewis (Lancer N) 12.34.6
3rd (3) Mark Higgins/Rory Kennedy (Impreza N) 12.40.1
4th (1) Ryan Champion/Craig Thorley (Impreza N) 12.44.2
5th (6) Phillip Morrow/Daniel Barrett (Lancer N) 12.50.8
6th (5) David Higgins/Ieuan Thomas (Impreza N) 12.52.1
7th (8) David Bogie/Rob Fagg (Lancer N) 12.54.6
8th (9) Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees (Lancer N) 13.04.0
9th (16) Danny Barry/Mark Bowens (Lancer N) 13.07.6
10th (7) Jonny Milner/Ian Windress (Lancer N) 13.17.8
Happily all the lead cars got through this opening Trackrod Rally Yorkshire stage, the event the penultimate round of the Tesco 99 British Rally Championship. Although the conditions are autumnally beautiful the drivers reported slippy damp roads.
First down the stage was last year’s winner Ryan Champion. Ryan and his co driver Craig Thorley are in a Subaru this time and Ryan said. “I feel a bit rusty, the car was drifting wide, over steering, and on the high speed stuff there was little grip”. Guy Wilks was second on the road and as can be seen above, leads the rally. Guy said “Braking on the greasy stuff was difficult. It was particularly slippy before the wood yard. It was hard to know where to commit”. Mark Higgins who currently leads the championship said. “We had an overshoot at the first junction. The car seemed to be all over the place. I had no confidence then it was like driving on ice”.
Welshman Gwyndaf Evans had a great tine but reported “third gear got so noisy I stopped using it, and yes, like everyone else, I found it difficult to judge the grip”. David Higgins is in the Autotek Impreza for this rally and he said. “Great to be back in a Subaru, but I overshot the first junction and couldn’t get reverse so that was a bad start”.
When Phillip Morrow arrived at the time control he said. “I’m happy enough with that time, I’m trying to drive with my head, think about the Evo Challenge points”. The young Ulsterman also remarked on how difficult it was to judge the grip level particularly over the high speed loose stuff.
Previous Trackrod winner Jonny Milner really wanted to have a go on his home Yorkshire rally but his time was disappointing enough, his Lancer temperature gauge reaching for the sky half way through the stage which did not help his progress. David Bogie, fresh from winning the McRae Stages last week, had a pretty good run this morning but he felt he was committed in the wrong places and said “Not a good run. Still, there’s a long way to go and I’m smiling!”
Further stories included: Sebastian Ling had 2 overshoots. Wyn Humphreys found it difficult and it was his first time on these particular Pirelli tyres. Rob Swann had intercom problems as did Nik Elsmore. Darren Gass in the front wheel drive Citroen C2R2 struggled for grip and traction, was also running out of top speed and said. “Not a stage for these cars at all”.
Young Wicklow driver Danny Barry had a couple of spins in his Lancer but still set a very respectable time. Stephen Petch crashed into the chicane and stalled his Lancer. Miles Johnston had to stop and change a puncture on the way into the stage which knocked his composure a little. He is also in an Evo 8 for the first time and found the chicanes a bit tricky. Nick Kenny’s Subaru suffered a puncture half way through the stage and he said. “We’re just having no luck at the moment”. Ballymena driver Alan Carmichael also lost time, he crashed his Lancer a couple of times and had difficulty adjusting to new brakes in the car, was locking up. Thomas Naughton, a late entry at 38 in his Lancer, overshot the first corner, wiped out a few bollards and said the marshals wouldn’t have been happy at all. Wayne Radford, also a late entry in his Lancer and running at 39, smashed through a couple of chicanes and admitted “I’m driving like a wally, still once stage down 0 to go!”
More news later. BRIAN & LIZ PATTERSON www.rallynews.net |
