Elliott tames the Trackrod with BHRC double
Nick Elliott took his second Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship maximum points score of the season by snatching victory on the very last stage of last weekend’s Trackrod Historic Cup [24-25 September].
Elliott and co-driver Dave Price were embroiled in a battle all weekend long with BHRC returnees Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis, only for Robinson to suffer rally-ending damage on the final stage of the event, handing Elliott his second win in as many rallies and putting him at the forefront of the 2021 title chase.
The two-day event would kick off with the traditional blast through the iconic Dalby Forest on Friday night and 11 arduous miles lay ahead of the championship protagonists. The night time test is often regarded as a key stage in the event’s schedule and true to form, it laid out the landscape for the following day’s action.
Ford Escort MK2 pilot Elliott took command in the dark, stopping the clocks 10 seconds quicker than Robinson’s similar machine with 2019 British Champions Simon Webster and Jez Rogers third, just 0.1second ahead of Barry Stevenson Wheeler and John Pickavance.
Webster would get caught in the dust of an ailing Josh Browne and Jane Edgington, putting him on the back foot for the remainder of the event, sadly retiring with gearbox issues in the third test.
Robinson was a man on a mission on Saturday’s opener, taking an impressive 12 seconds back from Elliott and the rally lead. Heading into the final stage with four seconds in hand, Robinson hit a substantial rut that broke the steering, ending his rally within sight of the finish.
“It’s been an extremely hard-fought rally win has this one,” said Elliott at the finish.
“Robbo [Matt Robinson] was probably the deserved winner to be honest and we have been lucky with this. We hit that same hole on Friday night and bent the steering and then again today and we struggled through and didn’t lose too much time so [we] are a lucky winner really. I`m grateful we got to the end without too many more dramas”.
Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmons took second spot after a blistering run through the afternoon’s tests, taking two outright stage wins in their Ford Escort Mk2 and just pipping Stevenson Wheeler to the spot. Adding to their runner up spot at the Three Shires Stages, the pairing is still in the title chase as the series comes to a climax in Carlisle.
Chris Browne and Ali Cornwell-Browne were making their first BHRC outing of 2021 in Yorkshire and did so with great effect, taking the Category 2 [cars between 1968-1975] victory in their Ford Escort Mk1. Warren Philliskirk and Garry Green were their nearest challengers but finished some five minutes in arrears, also piloting an Escort Mk1.
In Category 1 [cars up to 1968], it was the sensational Bob Bean and co-driver Colin Thompson who were another crew to make it two wins from two starts, manhandling their Ford Lotus Cortina to victory in the rapid Yorkshire forests.
The third and final round of this years truncated championship will see crews head into the Kielder Forest complex for the Carlisle Stages on 23rd October.
For more information on any of the Championships promoted by the RACMRC, please visit:
www.racrmc.org
Image courtesy of Phill Andrews
