‘Dad and lad bring the Payne at Brawdy’
Organiser: Pembrokeshire Motor Club When: July 8 Where: Brawdy airfield, Pembrokeshire. Championships: Gwynne Speed Rally Challenge, HRCR Stage Masters Rally Challenge, Junior Formula 1000, Pembrokeshire MC Starters: 94 Stages: 6
Gravel rally specialist Charlie Payne (Ford Fiesta WRC) proved equally adept on asphalt at Brawdy, taking a clean sweep of six fastest stage times to win by 55 seconds from Peter Smith/matt Edwards (Fiesta R5).
BTRDA regular Payne capped a rare outing on asphalt to win the Bob Shaw Memorial Stages, while his son, Elliot, scored a maiden win in the adjacent junior rally at the same venue.
On an unrelentingly baking hot day, Charlie Payne and co-driver Carl Williamson caught everyone cold on SS1: they charged into a 15s lead and consolidated top spot by taking a further 13s out of the field on SS3; this effectively sealed victory.
Runner-up Smith, co-driven by British Rally Championship leader Edwards, fought back from a slow start – sixth after SS1 – to move straight into second spot on the next test.
In an updated R5-spec Mitsubishi Mirage, Jamie Jukes/ellie Williams also had to come from behind (seventh) after a slow opening test.
But once into their stride they overhauled rivals with relentless efficiency. Eventually, they caught and demoted Mike Jewell/paul Williams (Subaru Impreza) and Nigel Gibbard/ian Taylor (Darrian T90 GTR) to fourth and fifth respectively on the penultimate stage.
Elliot Payne (Citroen C1) was dominant in the Junior Formula 1000 Championship event, beating multiple winner Ed Lewis and his Ford Fiesta by 48 seconds.
Results
1 Charlie Payne/ Carl Williamson (Ford Fiesta WRC) 53m36s; 2 Peter Smith/ Matt Edwards (Fiesta R5) +56s; 3 Jamie Jukes/ Ellie Williams (Mitsubishi Mirage R5); 4 Mike Jewell/ Paul Williams (Subaru Impreza); 5 Nigel Gibbard/ Ian Taylor (Darrian GTR); 6 Robert Tout/ Ian Meakin (Mitsubishi Lancer EX); 7 Gareth James/ Steffan Evans (Ford Escort Mk2); 8 Carl O’grady/ Dylan Bishop (Nissan Sunny F2); 9 Tony Rees/jamie Vaughan (Darrian GTR); 10 Marcus Pagett/ Rhys Stoneman (Nissan Micra).
Class winners: William Mains/aled Edwards (Vauxhall Nova), Gethin Davies/ Ben Ruff (Darrian T90), O’grady/ Bishop, Smith/ Edwards, Steffan Qualter/ Eilir John Rees (Ford Focus), Graham Hicks/ Steven Hicks (Escort Mk2), Gibbard/taylor, Ken Davies/alan Jones (Ford Cortina Mk1), James/ Evans; Elliot Payne/ Simon Rogers (Citroen C1).