SMITH’S HOME WIN
LOCAL LE MANS VICTOR TAKES MN CADWELL GLORY
Guy Smith grabbed a lastgasp Cadwell Stages victory to deny reigning champion Chris West his first win of the season, aided by an inspired spectacle of family tactics.
A tale of two tyre choices proved the decisive factor in the afternoon’s stages, as 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Smith entered the final two stages of eight playing catch-up. Father Peter Smith then handed over a fresh set of Pirelli tyres to help his son’s pursuit of West, a choice that would spur him to victory on his first visit to Cadwell Park.
A two-horse battle was set from the outset, the lead gap never surpassing 10 seconds across the eight special stages.
West’s title defence had begun with uncertainty at Oulton Park, bedding in a new engine – which eventually ran poorly – in his Peugeot 306 Maxi. The champion vowed to “come back 110 per cent ready” at Cadwell, and his aggressive attacking style early on in slippery conditions hinted at a return to form.
He started best of all, Guy Smith leading the Ford Fiesta charge in a learning state of mind. “This is the first time I’ve ever driven at Cadwell Park,” he said, enjoying more rally outings after previous success at Donington and Croft. “It’s seat-of-the-pants stuff !”
West’s tail-happy style caught him out on the opening stage with a small mistake, but a more costly error would put pay to one of his main championship rivals, John Stone. The first car on the road, Stone’s Ford Fiesta RS WRC got out of shape and collected the barriers, rear-wheel hub damage putting a potential favourite out before stage two with no spares available.
Stone’s demise made West consider a conservative approach with championship points on his mind, and it told as two stage victories elevated Smith into the rally lead. “My confidence has grown,” said Smith. “I spent time watching onboard clips on Youtube to get an idea of it, but it’s totally different when you go out there for the first time.”
Tentative thoughts soon became a distant memory for West when he bolted on fresh Michelin rubber for stages five and six. The switch paid dividends; the Peugeot went seven seconds quicker to move ahead, extending his lead cushion to six seconds with another fastest time on the sixth stage.
A retort was needed, and the Smiths fought fire with fire.
Father Peter – running in a solid third place throughout the day – sacrificed his set of new Pirellis to allow for Smith Jr to try and undo the damage with two stages in darkness to go.
No stranger to racing through the night, Smith Jr and co-driver Patrick Walsh – who sat alongside Steve Simpson at Oulton Park – put the pressure on and were aided by a West stall at the top of the Mountain to move within two seconds with one stage remaining.
A turnaround loomed, and was completed when Smith went 11 seconds quicker to seal victory over a gallant West and co-driver Keith Hounslow, who returned after back pains forced him out at Oulton. “The car was about 75 per cent today,” West admitted. “He drove well. To be battling those Fords in this little car, and with teething troubles – I can be happy with that.”
On a weekend when Ott Tanak missed out on victory in Rally Australia, the Fiesta he once steered into a Mexican lake rounded out the podium at Cadwell thanks to Smith Sr, albeit 1m 35s adrift.
“I donated Guy my tyres to give him a shot,” he added. “It’s been steady after I had no left-front shock.”
His podium place was briefly under threat from the Proton Satria S2500 Millington pairing of Wesley Simpson and Joe Ford. Simpson moved to within striking distance with a rapid stage four time, but would be penalised three minutes for receiving outside interference in parc ferme.
Colin Gemmell’s Ford Escort Mk2 moved into a lofty fourth place, but a sluggish penultimate stage dropped him to sixth. The Escort RS2500 of Stephen Tilburn took advantage to finish fourth overall, pipping John Griffiths’ Subaru Impreza.
Behind sixth-placed Gemmell was the rapid Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Mike Taylor, which consistently sat inside the top 10 all afternoon. Tom Blackwood and Gordon Winning climbed the order to eighth by the day’s conclusion, Ciro Carannante bringing his Porsche Cayman home ninth on a day where brother Toni Carannante crashed his Subaru Impreza.
BRDC and Motorsport UK board director Nick Whale enjoyed a strong showing in his eye-catching BMW M3 with its mid-’90s Williams Formula 1-themed livery, rounding out the top 10 finishers.