Chilman & Walsh remain in control after BHRC round 2

Roger Chilman and Patrick Walsh added to their Riponian Rally win, by taking a convincing victory at the second round of the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship at the weekend, the Get Jerky Rally North Wales [25 March].

Chilman threaded his Ford Escort MKII through the slippery world-class stages to the west of the Welshpool rally base, taking the lead on the second test and would never be headed, to secure the second BHRC victory of his career.

Behind the winner, there was a tooth-and-nail battle for the remaining podium spots with Nick Elliott and Dave Price recording their best result of 2023 with second place in their FIAT 131 Abarth and BHRC returnees Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke stealing third on the final stage in their MKII.

"That start [to the season] couldn’t really be better” enthused Chilman.

“I`m delighted with that one, especially when you consider the competition around us here today and a top three would have actually been a good result. So I`m absolutely delighted to get maximum points this weekend, it’s a great start. Patrick’s been shouting at me enough today so I know it's been a good one, and he’s now actually hoarse. But the pleasing thing is our pace was good today and that’s encouraging, especially with the experience of the guys towards the front”.

And whilst Chilman claimed the spoils, he was only fastest on one of the eight stages on offer as a string of top-drawer names littered the top of the time sheets during the event. It was Elliott who took an early lead through the Dyfnant test, stopping the clocks two seconds faster than Chilman but with the remaining stages suiting the Escorts, his lack of top speed, coupled with a throttle issue meant grabbing points for the championship was the aim. His second spot also netted him the FIA Category K top score.

A sensational performance from Robert Gough saw him settle into second place after the first test and just three seconds shy after the second. But throughout the day, he and Paul Morris haemorrhaged time, firstly with a starter issue and latterly a hydraulic leak, leaving Pritchard to pounce on the final test and claim third on his first BHRC outing since claiming his third title in 2017.

Gough would have to settle for fourth whilst the ultra-consistent Richard Jordan and James Gratton Smith secured fifth in their MKII after a good day in the office. Both podium sitters in round one, Tom Walster and Adrian Hetherington couldn’t quite match the pace of the front-runners, with Walster and Chris Ridge in sixth. Hetherington and Ronan O'Neil took eighth after a late resurgence from Marty McCormack.

Making his first BHRC appearance since 2011, Richard Tuthill stamped his mark on the series in fine style with three scratch times and could have well been in line for the lead battle. But an opening stage “silly mistake” saw he and co-driver Stephane Prevot beach themselves at a chicane, leaving the Porsche 911 crew well down the order.

Another to be left thinking “what could have been” was the luckless McCormack. Retiring on the opening stage of the Riponian, he and Barney Mitchell were out for redemption but a puncture on the opener dropped them well over a minute. Fastest times over the closing two stages is an encouraging sign for the remainder of the season.

In the Category 2 fight [cars between 1968-1975], it was Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney who had full control, with an impressive lead over the chasing pack in their Porsche 911 SC. As was their pace, they were sitting fourth overall for much of the rally, before failing to emerge from the final test, handing the win to the Scottish crew of Mike Stuart and Sinclair Young in their Ford Escort MK1. Ben and Steven Smith had pushed them all the way through, taking runner up spot as Josh Carr and Richard Wardle survived a front impact to claim vital points in third.

Craig Jones and Ian Taylor were also in the mix during the day, but endured a heavy off on the fifth test.

Brynmor Pierce and Matt Baddeley embarked on their first BHRC outing and brought home the silverware, taking the Category 4 top spot in their Richard Burns-inspired Peugeot 309 GTi.

The Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship stays in Wales for round three, as the Plains Rally takes crews to Bala in May.