ROAD RALLY ROUND UP
The infamous Carpetbagger Rally was revived after a seven-year break as the Bagger 17, and was won by the narrowest of margins with John Davies/aled Richards beating Richard James/michael Gilbey by just one second.
The maze of West Country lanes once again proved a demanding territory, and one particular section caused problems for most crews. James/gilbey missed a PC, picking up a five-minute penalty, but cleaned the following time control, while Davies/ Richards found the correct route but dropped seven minutes. The Astra crew spent the rest of the night clawing back the deficit and gained the lead at the final control of the night. These two crews were well clear of the rest of the field as Dan Willan/ Richard Crozier took third, 11 minutes behind.
It was a tough night with just 25 of the original 48 starters making the Finish. Amongst the retirees were Guy Woodcock/paul Bosdet, they were going well until the rear brakes failed on their Ford Escort.
Richard Hemmingway/sam Collis won the Ryemoor Trophy Rally, which opened this year’s northern rally season. They took the lead shortly after the petrol halt and, despite a hiccough on the last section, which cost them two minutes, came home 14 seconds ahead of Stan Featherstone/ Sasha Heriot.
Bagger 17 Organiser: Vintage & Classic Rally Register Date: January 21/22 Where: Somerset/ Dorset Championships: None Route: 150 Miles Starters: 48. 1 John Davies/aled Richards (Vauxhall Astra) 27m26s; 2 Richard James/ Michael Gilbey (MG ZR) +01s; 3 Dan Willan/ Richard Crozier (Rover 200); 4 Mark Lennox/ Ian Beamond (Ford Escort RS); 5 Martin Betts/ Richard Hage (Proton Satria); 6 Phil Harris/ Ross Whittock (Daihatsu Sirion); 7 Nic Morris/ Martin Phasey (Escort); 8 Lucas Redwood/ Rob Newall (Escort); 9 Mike East/ Paul Taylor (Rover 200); 10 Steve Brew/ Brian Cammack (Ford Puma). Class winners: Pat Thomas/ Mark Butler (Escort). Ryemoor Trophy Rally
Organiser: Malton Motor Club Date: January 21/22 Where: Yorkshire Championships: ANNC, EMAMC & ANEMMC Route: 135 Miles
Starters: 31. 1 Richard Hemmingway/ Sam Collis (Proton Satria GTI) 21m24s; 2 Stan Featherstone/ Sasha Heriot (Peugeot 205 GTI) +14s; 3 Adrian Green/ Ian Gibbins (Satria); 4 Bevan Blacker/ Niall Frost (Peugeot 106); 5 Phil Burton/ Mike Petch (Satria); 6 Richard Hunter/ Gary Evans (Ford Escort); 7 Adam Campbell/ Simon Taylor (205); 8 Pete Tyson/ Neil Harrison (Mini Cooper S); 9 Chris Faulkner/trevor Faulkner (Ford Focus); 10 Martin Payne/ Sarah Lindsey Payne (Daewoo Lanos).
Class winners: Campbell/taylor; Danny Sadler/ Aldis Blacker (Citroen Saxo VTR).