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RALLY
NEWS NO.7
Hexham service/Saturday 4.45
UNOFFICIAL LEADERBOARD AFTER SS11 Chirdonhead (last stage)
1ST (11) Tapio Laukkanen/Miikka Antilla (Impreza WRC) 1.38.24.3
2nd (8) Jonny Milner/Nicky Beech (Corolla WRC) 1.38.33.6
3rd (1) Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas (Clio) 1.39.31.4
4th (2) Gwyndaf Evans/Howard Davies (MG) 1.41.34.0
5th (23) Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson (Corsa) 1.44.38.7
6th (41) James Thompson/Plug Pulleyn (Lancer) 1.45.23.8
7th (4) Simon Hughes/Calvin Cooledge (Clio)1.45.26.7
8th (25) Mirco Baldacci/Giovanni Bernacchini (Punto) 1.45.34.8
9th (31) Dougie Hall/Steve Egglestone (Lancer) 1.45.48.9
10th (9) Jari-Matti Latvalla/Carl Williamson (Focus WRC) 1.45.56.4
Just outside the leaderboard: Steve Petch brought his Hyundai into 11th.
Austin MacHale in the Subaru 12th. Paul Bird (Accent) 13th: Neil Buckley,
group N winner, and 14th overall in his Lancer. Mats Andersson was 15th in his
Proton.
There was a massive race to the end of this Pirelli International Rally -
Tapio Laukkanen scored fastest times on the last 2 stages to cement victory
for the former British Champion. Current Champion Jonny Milner was a
fine 2nd, Mark Higgins 3rd and winner of the Super 1600 category. Last
minute dramas included Guy Wilks crashing his Puma out of the lead, almost
within sight of the finish of the final stage. Tapio Laukkanen commented at
the finish. "We were flat out on both the final stages, I hit a big stone
which blocked the exhaust and we lost some top speed. I enjoyed today, but not
last night in the fog. Of course I would like to do the rest of the
Pirelli championship, but it is not yet decided". Jonny Milner,
current British Champion, and 2nd here last year said. "I'm
disappointed to be runner up again, we were more or less level pegging with
Tapio, and we both had to squeeze past Guy Wilks' car, it was 4th gear stuff
in and out of the ditch, but it was a good rally". Mark Higgins,
also a former British Champion, was delighted to have won the Super 1600
category and said "We went a lot quicker on the last 2 stages than our
first time over, all the loose gravel had been cleaned from the top of the
stage".
Gwyndaf Evans pushed very hard over the last few stages, but had to be content
with 2nd in the Super 1600s with his MG. Kris Meeke, 3rd Super 1600 with the
Opel Corsa, commented "The rally got better and better for us, I would
love another day's stages, they are fantastic roads. We broke a rear shock
absorber just 1km into the stage before the end, the shock absorber was
slapping about, a real wrecking match. Otherwise OK". Just some
other points of interest include: Finnish driver Jari Matti Latvala finishing
10th after early delays. The M-Sport mechanics changed the gearbox on the
Focus well within the allotted time at penultimate service. Jari Matti
commenting "We finish rally, that's the main thing, good
experience". Italian driver Mirco Baldacci who brought his Fiat
Punto into 8th overall and 5th in Super 1600, said "Very happy to finish
the rally and some good times here today, good testing also for Acropolis
Rally".
In the Peugeot 206 Super Cup part of the rally, with 2 stages
remaining, Shaun Gallagher had just moved into the lead, by 2.6s from Jack
Ingleby. Chris Moore had slipped to 3rd. The Spanish crew of Joan Roca/Dani
Guirro were 4th, the ultra competitive Roca lost a few valuable seconds at a
chicane, which has been set up completely differently to what he is used to
back home. Gallagher commented before going into the final tests "It's
good crack when it is so close, but I didn't think it would be as hard.
I'm fed up with 2nd places, she's coming back 1st or not at all!"
In the Ford Ka Rally Championship John Moffatt leads by quite a good margin
over Ian Forgan, with Scott Vogl 3rd. Championship leader Jonny Wigmore is
down in 9th place, but if he can hold that position may just retain his points
lead. The VW Polo's were being led by Clive Wheeler with 2 stages to go
from Finnish driver Jari Laaksa by almost a minute. Only seconds
separated the 2 earlier but Laaksa has had some gearbox troubles. Many
thanks to all who helped us on the rally. BRIAN AND LIZ PATTERSON
LATE
NEWS
Chris Moore
has won today's Peugeot 206 Supercup (Gateshead Rally) from Shaun Gallagher by
2.9 seconds, Gallagher loosing out on the final stage after encountering heavy
rain. Jack Ingleby takes 3rd while Spanish driver Joan Roca is 4th.
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