KELLYWINSAS WESTISCHAMPION

Lukebarry

Despiteclashingwithrival,westisnewchampion.by C

hris West made Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship history on the Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages, but it was Mark Kelly with the biggest smile on his face after nine special stages.

Kelly powered his Ford Escort Mk2 to a five-second victory over the similar car of Ian Woodhouse, setting a scorching time through the penultimate test to go seven seconds quicker than anybody else.

“We’re delighted with that,” beamed Kelly at the finish after his second victory following his Brands Hatch win in January. And he had every right to be. Conditions had begun dry but with every counting stage the roads were getting wetter and more difficult.

As Woodhouse acknowledged: “Kelly’s very good in the wet.” And so it proved, but both men suffered issues.

Kelly’s Escort developed a paddleshift problem on the opening test which lost him a few seconds, before he then got stuck behind the Mitsubishi Lancer of Tony Clements on the fifth stage.

Woodhouse was struggling with traffic too. Peter Stephenson stalled his ex-juha Kankkunen Impreza WRC on the narrowest part of both the opening two stages, blocking the road entirely on the second. Woodhouse’s Escort was caught behind on both occasions and was left so furious he lodged a complaint with the stewards.

His appeal proved unsuccessful, and left him just a couple of seconds ahead of Kelly when he felt he should have had at least a 10-second cushion.

Woodhouse began his charge in the afternoon, eking out a 5s lead over Kelly only for him to drop seven on the penultimate test. Any thoughts of a final stage fightback were dashed when he was delayed briefly by the Escort of Colin Gemmell, feeling “pretty gutted” to lose out to Kelly after such a close battle.

Staying out of trouble was the Millington Proton Satria of Graeme Bell. Despite entering the event “just for the laugh,” Bell was never outside the top five all day and kept his nose clean to record a well-earned podium finish.

But while the unregistered Bell stayed out of trouble, the championship-chasing West was doing anything but.

Despite “driving at 75 per cent”, the Peugeot driver had opened up a 13-second lead courtesy of four consecutive stage wins in the morning, but saw that gap eroded down to seven when his powersteering failed on stage five.

Stage six would turn the event on its head. John Stone got “caught out” through a tight square right and slid into a tyre-cushioned barrier, with West approaching just behind and making exactly the same mistake; except his tyrecushioned barrier was Stone’s Fiesta.

The damage caused was too great for Stone to continue, but West managed to stay in contention despite bending a steering arm, breaking a wheel and feeling “a vibration”.

By now though he was down to fourth, but he only needed fifth to secure the title. With that in mind he took it steady through the next few stages, but drama was about to strike again.

That vibration happened to be a failing driveshaft, which he was worried about before the event, and a boost in engine revs through a puddle managed to break the component completely half-way through the final test.

“I didn’t think we were going to finish to be honest, but we’ve got the championship and that’s what we came here to do,” was his final assessment of an eventful day.

Overhauling the limping West in the final stage was a delighted Ian

Class winners: David Mcmullan/ Marc Melhuish (Vauxhall Nova), Paul Sheard/ Bruce Lindsay (Mazda MX-5), Walker/ Boyes, Kelly/ Baker, Bell/ Radford.

Bainbridge, who was making his debut in a freshly-built Subaru Impreza. Bainbridge came into the day hoping for a top 10 finish, but wildly exceeded his expectations in fourth overall.

Behind West’s fifth was the Talbot Sunbeam of Mike Taylor. That position had belonged to the Escort of Stephen Beck before he too lost control in the increasingly wet conditions.

Taylor, who stayed out of trouble, offered his own explanation as to why so many others were making mistakes: “Where it’s difficult is the changes between the stages.

“If you’re coming up somewhere and going left, then the next stage you’re going right, there’s mud and dirt everywhere on the line with barriers looming.”

Dane Walker got the better of Toni Carannante’s Subaru Impreza to finish seventh in his Escort, Tom Blackwood tying on overall time ahead with Carannante in ninth. Colin Gemmell finished 10th.

There would be no repeat podium for Peter Swift in the ex-ott Tanak Fiesta WRC after he completed an extra lap of the second stage, while John Griffiths’ strong early run to eighth ended early with turbo woes in his Subaru.