CLASS ROUND-UP

The ping-pong battle for Production Cup titles swayed back in Russ Thompson/andy Murphy’s favour, the 2016 champions taking a second triumph.

Naylor, the 2015 and 2017 champion, finished higher up in the overall championship in third, but Thompson’s four class wins to Taylor’s three was the decider.

Barry Jordan’s second place on the Cambrian proved to be the deciding factor in the Historic Cup, with Ernie Graham taking the title. Graham and co-driver Robin Kellard scored five wins to Jordan’s three, but Jordan did take the H1/ H2 category in his Hillman Avenger, which arguably shouldn’t have challenged Graham’s mighty Escort anyway. Jordan did bring out his Fiat 131 Abarth for one round, and was fifth in the H3 category on the Plains.

The difference of two points allowed the flamboyant Dave Brick and co-driver Toby Brick to take the 1400 Championship, and the class 1400S win with it. Brick’s better score in Carlisle by four points over second place man Chris Powell and Jim Lewis’s Talbot Sunbeam helped to establish Brick’s title. It was the Ludlow driver’s first win in the series, the reliability of his Vauxhall Nova usually costing him ground but it was meant to be in 2018.

It was a Rallyme Toyota Corolla dogfight on the Trackrod to decide the outcome of the Rally First series, with Matthew Baddeley emerging ahead with victory as team-mate Guy Butler crashed out. It was the Rallyme team’s send off as John Goff closes the team down having competed since the 1980s.

A knackered gearbox ruled Ewan Tindall/ Paul Hudson out of an impressive year of battling for the ST Trophy. It was his first year rallying in the forests having graduated from the Junior 1000 Championship. James Giddings/sion Cunniff ended the year with a win in Tindall’s absence, their third maximum score of the season.