BTRDA Border Counties Rally Roundup

FUCHS LUBRICANTS BTRDA BRONZE STAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Pete Gorst/Mark Twiname had a superb run through the stages on the Border Counties in their Vauxhall Nova to comfortably win the FUCHS LUBRICANTS BTRDA Bronze Star Championship category on the day, only for the car’s fuel pump to fail on the way into the finish. The TV cameras caught a very emotional – not to mention knackered! – Pete pushing the car across the line to take his and Mark’s second consecutive maximum score in the 1400s.

Lewis Hooper’s Rally First Nissan Micra was next – again! That’s one 1st and two 2nd places so far – no wonder he leads the Bronze Star category at this stage!... Paddy & Tom Homan’s Ford Puma was next with Alfie Hammond/Peter Williams’ 1400C Micra taking top class points and 4th in the category. Richard Garnett/Stefan Arndt (Micra) did more than enough to keep themselves in the lead of Class 1400C while, having a day to forget, Edward James/Charlie Mason (Micra Kit Car) will, hopefully, take some consolation in that the points they did manage to amass keep them in runners-up spot in the overall Bronze Star points table…

Dale Glover/Sean Ward’s second attempt to put their Alfasud TI in among the points scorers this season ended in disappointment when its suspension failed on the penultimate stage. Third time lucky?... From the above it goes without saying – but we will anyway! – that Lewis Hooper remains unbeaten in the MRF Tyres BTRDA Rally First Cup. Three maximums on the board already and, thus, anyone with designs on denying him overall glory better look lively – and, more importantly, soon!...

MRF TYRES BTRDA GOLD STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP

Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh became the third different crew to win a round of the 2022 MRF Tyres BTRDA Rally Series when their Fiesta Rally2 led the field back into Jedburgh for the finish of the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally. In BTRDA Gold Star® Championship terms, they were 17s and 18s respectively in front of the Fiestas of Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson and Perry Gardener/Jack Bowen who now top the points table. So, with two points separating the top three drivers, from the BTRDA’s point of view there’s plenty of mileage – both actual and print! – left to cover before this one shows any signs of reaching its conclusion…

For the first half of the rally, however, it was Tom Llewellin/Ross Whittock who were showing everyone else a clean pair of heels as the pair experienced their first taste of competition in a Fiesta Rally2. Fastest on two stages and second, by a second, on a third saw them leading the event as it headed for the fourth one in Craik. Sliding off into a ditch, in full view of the assembled ranks of photographers, signalled the end of what, up to that point, had been a very promising day! Nevertheless, if it wasn’t before, the opposition is certainly taking notice now.

Gold Star leaders when they arrived in the Scottish Borders, Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Fiesta R5) had what, by their standards, were mixed fortunes. They limped through the first two stages with only front wheel drive, with a hand brake release issue, putting them in 18th place and over a minute off the lead. Hirst commented ”It was still the fastest front wheel drive car I have ever driven” However fastest or equal fastest on the final three stages times brought them back into contention and take away 24 valuable championship points. To use an old Fleet Street adage, this one ‘will run and run’ between now and the end of October.

Russ Thompson/Steve Link took a second consecutive maximum in Class B13, bringing their Lancer EVO9 home to a Top Six finish, closely followed by the similar car of Richard Hill/Pat Cooper. These two crews, who are seasoned B13 campaigners, have made it three out of three when it comes to finishes so far this season, whereas class ‘newbies’ Pat Naylor/Ian Lawrence scored nil points on the Rallynuts Stages but were back in harness in Scotland. Darren Craig/Harry Stubbs’ consistency ensures that Lancers occupy the first four places in the table prior to next month’s Kielder Forest Rally.

Ian Joel/Graeme Wood’s season is in dire need of a reboot as, most unusually, their Escort Cosworth let them down for the second event in a row – the gearbox being cited as the culprit on this occasion.

Also gracing the List of Retirements on the Border Counties was the Fiesta Rally2 of Trevor Gamble/Phil Kenny that stopped in the penultimate stage of the day.

MRF TYRES BTRDA SILVER STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP

In a situation similar to that experienced in Gold Star, Rob Wright/Mark Fisher became the third beneficiaries of maximum MRF Tyres BTRDA Silver Star® Championship points this season by bringing their Escort into top two-wheel drive spot on the Border Counties. After an off-day on the Rallynuts Stages, this result sees both members of the Cumbrian crew restored to full speed and leading their respective categories.

Second place on the day went to Tony Simpson/Ian Bevan whose Fiesta, unsurprisingly, racked up maximum BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup points in the process. Third-placed Nick Dobson (Escort) was unceremoniously ousted from top Silver Star spot but is only a couple of points off the lead and has plenty of scope to reverse the situation once more in the next few months.

Having left the scene of the Rallynuts Stages early with just three wheels on their wagon, Andy Davison/Tom Murphy returned in the hope of regaining some of the lost ground. However, the best laid plans etc!... With just one stage to go, their Talbot Sunbeam VXR was lying in 16th place, almost within touching distance of the Silver Star leaders, but then a stage maximum in Riccarton saw them lose more than 12 minutes, eventually emerging in 54th place. Onwards and upwards, chaps!...

Thanks to their efforts on the first two rounds of the series, Grant Inglis/Gavin Chisholm’s retirement from the Border Counties did not affect their position at the head of the BTRDA Historic Cup. Their Escort left the road in Lime Kiln Edge and took no further part in the proceedings, leaving Ernie & Patricia Lee (BMW325i) and Kris Hopkins (Triumph TR7V8) to clean up in their respective categories. Having missed the previous round, Alex Waterman/ Glyn Thomas returned to the fray in their Datsun 1600 SSS but, unfortunately, the outing proved to be pointless – literally! The car stopped down a bank in Craik, leaving the crew to mull over what had happened during their very long journey home to the south of England!

Continuing something of a trend, Simpson/Bevan were the third crew to take top marks in the BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup, from Jonathan Jones/Jez Rogers and, while Yaniv Bar/Osian Owen could only manage third place this time, it was sufficient to retain their overall lead. Billy Grew/Simon Rogers were next which proved to be more than enough to maintain their advantage in the BTRDA Rallye R2 Junior Cup and, breaking the Fiesta monopoly, Lucy Wigley/Emma Cooper’s Citroen C2 also made it two finishes from two starts.

Photo: Paddy & Tom Homan’s Ford Puma, courtesy of Kevin Money.