Friend snatches final stage BHRC win in Yorkshire
Ben Friend took his first Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship top score since 2021 at the weekend [27-28 September], taking a scintillating final stage victory in the Trackrod Historic Cup.
A breathtaking weekend in the infamous Yorkshire forests saw drama across the BHRC field, but it was Friend and co-driver Cliffy Simmons who provided the final say, taking the win in their Ford Escort MKII with a stellar time over the final Langdale test.
Friend worked his way up the leaderboard throughout the two-day event, and finished ahead of early leader and title protagonist Seb Perez in his Porsche 911, with series returnee Daniel Mennell enjoying a positive comeback in third behind the wheel of his newly rebuilt Ford Escort MKII.
The traditional blast through the darkness of Dalby Forest on Friday night threw up the first ordeal of the weekend when Adam Milner’s Escort blocked the stage after a roll, handing most of the front-runners notional times.
But it would be the first stage in the daylight which provided the biggest talking point of the weekend. The fight for the BHRC title was already heading into a critical phase and the opening Cropton test could well have been pivotal in the battle for the crown.
Adrian Hetherington failed to leave the start after his Escort broke the diff on the line. Then Perez rolled up to the finish of the stage with a very sick-sounding Porsche, unsure if he could nurse it back to service with two more stages to go. Nick Elliott [Fiat 131] lost over a minute with an unlucky off, later calling it a day with nothing left to be gained.
But the biggest shock was reserved for Mark Higgins, who emerged from the stage with a double puncture and just one spare. His rally was over and the fight for the crown being dealt a cruel blow. He did however have some consolation, wrapping up the the FIA Category K title.
“We lost the intercom in there so I was driving blind,” says Higgins. I just clipped something on the right-hand side and that was it.”
Despite his car woes, Perez still set the benchmark but lost around 30 seconds over the next two tests, meaning home hero Matthew Robinson took control. But by the end of the opening loop, Mennell took the lead with just 2.8s seconds separating the two Yorkshiremen.
Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper [Escort MKII] were third after a scratch time over Staindale and Friend was fourth but only 8.1s down on the lead with two stages remaining after service.
A bent rocker was identified in service and with Perez’s Porsche rectified, he immediately went about trying to make up for lost ground, going 11s faster than Friend in the penultimate stage.
Robinson would cruelly retire on the stop line with seized front brakes, leaving a final stage showdown between four drivers, separated by just 6.7s and headed by Mennell.
But Friend stopped the clocks 11s quicker than Mennell and whilst Perez was close behind, the Escort man did enough to snatch the victory on the final stage of the rally.
“I don’t know what to say really,” said a shocked Friend.
“Lucky to be here actually as we had a massive moment in that last stage, but that’s because we did have a really big push in there. We haven’t done a massive amount of [competitive] milage this year so we have just been trying to get back into it – it’s a nice big shock really. The car is where we want it and it's been a great job by the team; I’m well chuffed.”
Perez was delighted to have recovered to take second place which would be a vital points-scoring exercise with Higgins' demise earlier in the day. He and Gary McElhinney are in the pound seat heading into the final round of the season in November.
Equally happy was Mennell, who despite missing out on a win, enjoyed his return to competitive action after a sizeable off in Argyll during the summer. Along with co-driver John Roberts, Mennell secured the second BHRC podium of his career in third.
Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper [Escort MKII] continue to punch in consistent results to ensure they remain in the battle for the title with fourth place and just 0.8s shy of a podium. Richard Jordan/Sam Collis [Escort MKII] took fifth in only Jordan's second event of the season.
Perez’s runner-up spot handed him top Category Two [Cars registered between 1968 and 1975] points but it was a Porsche 1-2, as Ben and Steven Smith’s upgrade to a 911 proved fruitful to take second in the Category. Josh Carr/Ian Taylor [Escort MKII] took third in the category.
The Rally2 [non-Historic] title was sewn up by Steve Magson/Steve Bielby in their Vauxhall Astra RWD, taking another win and rival David Dobson failing to emerge from Friday night’s Dalby test.
The final round of the season takes crews into the forests on both sides of the England and Scotland border, with the Anglo Caledonian Rally. The two-day mammoth event in November offers two-point scoring opportunities and with up to five contenders vying for the coveted BHRC title, is likely to be a fascinating battle.
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Image courtesy of Phill Andrews: Ben Friend & Cliffy Simmons, Ford Escort MKII 2
