NEW BY WIN SAT LEISURE
Organiser: Club Rally Sport West When: January 27/28 Where: Brean Leisure Park, Burnham-on-sea Championships: ASWMC; AWMMC Starters: 71 Stages: 12 Six stage wins in succession on the opening day of the Brean Stages Rally sealed victory for Arron Newby/ Andrew Leech (Subaru Impreza), ahead of Jim Munden/ Nick Eccles (Impreza) and Thomas Cooper/ Ian Davis (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) in third. Steady rain on day one made the stage surface extremely slippery, but Newby set a storming early pace and his cause was aided by rivals having problems. Steve and Yvonne Furzeland went wrong at a stage split on SS1 incurring a stage maximum, while Josh Payton/marcus Mizen (Ford Escort Mk2) collided with a tyre wall and then spun. By halfway Newby led by 42s from Cooper, with Phil Turner/simon Anthony (Lancer E9) in third.
Day two was drier, making correct tyre choice critical. Running new Pirelli wets, Newby set a consistent series of secondfastest times to seal the event.
Munden’s newly fitted sequential gearbox proved crucial in claiming second place, despite trying to start SS6 in neutral.
Cooper finished third, using the same set of wets throughout and swapping them from front to rear in his first event outside Pembrey.
Furzeland fought back hard to finish fourth: having lost over two minutes driving an extra lap on Saturday he matched Newby’s six wins from six stages record on Sunday. After Turner’s differential broke on SS8, causing his retirement, Richard Barrow/ Andrew Richards claimed fifth and spent the rally getting used to their new Impreza’s extra speed and grip. WRC and international co-driver Dai Roberts continued his impressive form in the driver’s seat, setting second-fastest time to Newby on one stage, in his frontwheel-drive Peugeot 205. He retired after being baulked by another competitor, and with fears for the head gasket.
Results
1 Arron Newby/andrew Leech (Subaru Impreza) 1h03m15s; 2 Jim Munden/ Nick Eccles (Impreza) +1m11s; 3 Thomas Cooper/ Ian Davis (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); 4 Steve Furzeland/yvonne Furzeland (Impreza S12 WRC); 5 Richard Barrow/andrew Richards (Impreza); 6 Josh Payton/ Marcus Mizen (Ford Escort Mk2); 7 Kev Carr/ Chris Pippen (Escort Mk2); 8 Rick Bliss/jamie Vaughan (Honda Civic); 9 Stuart Bliss/ Richard Marsh (Civic); 10 Mark Rowlands/ Richard Mason (Escort Mk2). Class winners: Paul Davis/ Keith Richings (Vauxhall Corsa); Bliss/ Vaughan; Payton/ Mizen; Carr/ Pippen; Newby/ Leech.