MASTER MCCORMACK
FORD ESCORT MK2 MAN CLAIMS R.A.C. RALLY TRIUMPH
After four days, 30 special stages and nearly 300 competitive miles, Marty Mccormack and Barney Mitchell emerged victorious after the huge challenge presented by the 12th Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Mccormack’s second win on the event came after Jason Pritchard and Phil Clarke retired on Sunday afternoon with a failed halfshaft. When Pritchard went out at the start of the first Twiglees stage, Mccormack was chasing hard in a bid to claw back a 45-second deficit. “It’s been a long event and it has been absolutely brilliant,” said Mccormack. It was a bitter disappointment for Pritchard who did not put a wheel wrong in nearly three days. Joining Mccormack on the overall podium were Matthew Robinson/sam Collis and early leaders Roger Chilman and Bryan Thomas. While established drivers took the big prizes, a pack of younger drivers made their mark with some outstanding performances. Ultimately, Ben Friend and Adam Milner went unrewarded, but Josh Browne drove way beyond his experience to claim a top 10 finish.
Friday
It was the day the Roger Albert Clark Rally made its debut in Wales and the fans came out in good numbers, starting the other side of the border at Shelsley Walsh for a run up and down the famous hill.
However, that was just an aperitif before 14 miles in a wet and slippery Radnor and it was Chilman who grabbed the rally by the throat to go a whopping 18s better than anyone else.
But it so nearly went wrong on the finish line at Perez’s Bend. Chilman got through the flying finish and then slid off. Luckily some spectators got him on and he took the lead over Pritchard.
Two stages on the Epynt gravel, with a couple of miles of asphalt added in, gave Pritchard the chance to claw it back and when the re-run of Radnor was cancelled due to marshalling issues, it was Pritchard who took a nine-second lead to Carlisle.
Rudi Lancaster and Steve Bennett both had strong days in Wales to take P3 and P4 while Mccormack and Robinson sat menacingly a few seconds back, content with their pace after running one and two on the road through the Radnor slime.
Far less happy was a tightlipped Steve Bannister who was down in 10th after his first foray into Wales for a quarter of a century. A 1m30s gap to Pritchard left him plenty to do as he headed for more familiar ground.
Saturday
After relocating to Carlisle, Saturday was a long tough day with stages in Northumberland, concluding double runs at Ogre Hill and Harwood in the dark.
Incredibly, as the leading crews arrived back in Carlisle at the end of the leg, the gap between Pritchard and Mccormack was unchanged at 43s. However, behind the top two, much had altered and the gaps were starting to grow after more than 90 stage miles.
Pritchard was wheel-perfect through the day. “We’re just keeping it neat and tidy and we’re only half way there,” he said at the end of the day. Up to third was Robinson, but he’d dropped some time in the second Harwood. “I’m a bit rubbish in the dark,” he said with a grin.
Chilman, tackling these stages for the first time, turned in a good day to hold fourth. “We found a pace we’re happy with,” he stated. When Bennett rolled out of the rally on Whitehill 2, a slightly happier Bannister moved up to fifth. “Those lads at the front are going too quick for an old man,” he said. Ben Friend, Alan Walker and Simon Webster all had good days to pack out the top 10, while Lancaster dropped to ninth after a tough day that included ’diff and gearbox changes.
Sunday
The action moved across the Scottish border for another long, tough day on Sunday with many crews reporting that the Twiglees stage was the best of the rally. Before that were double runs at a pair of stages in the Greskine and Ae region and it was here that Bannister had a quick roll. The car ended back on its wheels with minimum delay, but he dropped some time while regaining his composure.
Mccormack set off in pursuit of Pritchard but made little in-roads as the Welshman continued his superb performance.
However, the start of the first Twiglees stage was as far as Pritchard would go. Mccormack saw his rival parked up, but took no joy. “I’m gutted for him. He’s driven very well,” said the Northern Irishman.
That left Mccormack with a lead of over two minutes for the final day, but it was much closer for what became the contest for second. During Sunday, Chilman took more than a minute out of Robinson to end the leg only 14s down.
“We’ve had a good afternoon and we’re keeping the pressure on,” said Chilman after a day in stages that were new to him. Bent steering cost Robinson some time as the crews tackled icy patches on some of the higher ground.
Walker was having the drive of his life and closed in on Bannister’s fourth place for a while, but then had dramas of
his own when a starter motor failed and melted some wiring. Northern Irishman Adrian Hetherington, running a historic-specification car for the first time, had taken a while to find his pace but jumped ahead of the consistently quick Simon Webster for sixth place going into the final day.
On a day that shook-up the leader board, Friend lost his giant-killing top six place when he slid off an icy Greskine. The car was undamaged and later rejoined, but the prospect of an outstanding result for the Pintopowered car was dashed. Meanwhile, Lancaster rolled out of the rally in Greskine 2 as Paul Griffiths/iwan Jones and Stuart Egglestone/brian Hodgson consolidated top 10 places. Another mighty performance came to an end in Twiglees 2 when Milner, battling head-gasket issues, slid his 1600cc Escort out the rally. morning,” said Mccormack after winning the rally for a second time.
Robinson attacked the Kielder stages to make certain of second, and Chilman was equally delighted with third place on his first attempt at the event and his first time over many of the northern stages. “It could not have gone any better for us,” said Chilman.
Sadly, Bannister took a stage maximum in Newcastleton when he slid off, so Walker and John Conner moved up to a fantastic fourth overall in what he described as the best rally of his life.
Webster and Jez Rogers moved up to a fine fifth while Bannister dropped to sixth, just clear of Griffiths.
Egglestone had a cracking run to a class D3 winning eighth overall from Josh Browne, who was one of the stars of the event on only his seventh ever rally. Finally, despite losing seven minutes to a puncture, Barry Stevenson-wheeler and John Pickavance rounded out the top 10 after Hetherington slid off in the final Falstone stage.