PETCH WRAPS UPTHE BTRDA TITLE
On only his second rally after a twoyear ban, Paul Bird secured a brilliant win on the Woodpecker Rally, while Callum Black took maximum BTRDA points for the first time and Stephen Petch’s second was enough to secure him the BTRDA Gold Star crown with a round remaining.
Nearly every year, the Woodpecker Rally becomes the pivotal point of the BTRDA championship season and for Petch, the run-up to the event was a role reversal from 2016. Then, he needed to win to stand any chance of taking the Gold Star title from champion-elect, Charlie Payne. Now, he held the advantage and Black, as his only real challenger, would have to win to stay in contention. On a dry, warm morning, so different to 2016 which could be likened more to a monsoon, Petch led the field away from Ludlow racecourse for an opening pair of stages in Radnor Forest.
But, knowing the title was at stake he was clearly nervous and it showed in the form of two spins on SS1, Stanlo Tump, which dropped him down to seventh. Jamie Anderson, the 2015 Woodpecker winner, had no such problems and, partnered by Ella Flynn in their Mitsubishi Lancer WRC05, took the early lead. Bird was one second behind Anderson after SS1, he then went equal fastest on SS2, Cwm-y-gerwen. Black settled confidently into third, his pace boosted by a recent engine upgrade. Hugh Hunter/rob Fagg slotted their hired Fiesta RS WRC into fourth spot ahead of Luke Francis/john H Roberts (Mitsubishi Lancer E9).
At first service, Bird said he was finding a problem with dust hanging under the trees. “It makes sighting for braking a bit difficult on some corners, but it’s not too bad.”
Anderson was pleased with progress, switching back to the Lancer after two seasons in a Ford Fiesta R5 in the British Rally Championship: “It’s my first rally for two years in the car and [co-driver] Ella [Flynn’s] first for four. We’re trying to blow the cobwebs off.”
Petch, now up to sixth, hid his feelings behind a pair of luminous orange-rimmed sunglasses: “We are first on the road so we’re cleaning the stages for everyone, and we are driving on a fine layer of dust, which is making the going very slippery.” Then letting his guard drop slightly, he added: “I’m trying to keep [the nervous feeling] out of my head and concentrate on driving, but it’s always in there.” By contrast, Black looked very contented with his early pace. “The engine upgrade is awesome; it’s making a real difference,” he announced.
The second pair of stages claimed an early casualty as Anderson’s gearbox went sick during SS3 Wigmore, which forced the leader out, any repeat of his 2015 success out of the window.
Potential frontrunners Martyn and Dawn England also retired from seventh, their Fiesta R5 suffering a broken clutch. Anderson’s misfortune left Bird leading by eight seconds from Black, with Hunter and Francis tied on times for fourth. Francis remained in fifth and looked happy, later admitting he was “just out for a blast today”.
The fourth stage, Haye Park, was when fortunes suddenly begin to swing in Petch’s favour. He set fastest time and his resurgence coincided with an unexpected problem for Black. “The engine just died,” he reported at second service. “I tried three times to re-fire it but it wouldn’t go.”
Having cost Black 30s, the reluctant power unit suddenly burst into life as though nothing had happened. But the damage was done and Black dropped to third behind Hunter, with his rival for the Gold Star title only three seconds in arrears.
Second service found Petch in considerably brighter mood, but still with an air of nervousness. His sunglasses remained resolutely in place but he smiled as he reported no problems with the car. Black looked puzzled about his untimely engine glitch, Hunter beamed as he recounted how much he was enjoying the fast, flowing stages in his first outing in the WRC Fiesta, while Francis related a story of overshooting a Hairpin Right in Haye Park due to dust problems on the approach.
The final pair of stages included a sting in the tail; a 13-mile test through Radnor, made up of parts of SS1 and 2, with a completely new link section.
Bird now put pedal to metal with great purpose; he equalled the bogey time for the stage to settle the issue, eight seconds quicker, to take his first rally