THE VERY LATEST FROM THE MN CIRCUIT RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Dominant display for championship leader. by Dan mason

Chris West has made a habit of winning the Snetterton Stages in recent years, but his third consecutive victory in the event last Saturday was arguably his most dominant display yet.

The reigning MN Circuit Rally champion completed a perfect weekend with a whitewash of the day’s eight stages in Norfolk, finishing 45 seconds clear of nearest rival Mark Kelly.

West and Kelly made up just a few of the regular frontrunners to make the trip to Snetterton, John Stone opting instead to head further north to participate in Sunday’s Jack Frost Stages Rally at Croft.

Despite absentees, runner-up Kelly admitted afterwards that even the best opposition on hand would have struggled to beat West’s ever-improving Peugeot 306 Maxi on the day.

Progress was clear to see in the final results when compared to West and co-driver Keith Hounslow’s first Snetterton triumph two years ago; the pair completed the rally almost three-and-a-half minutes quicker than they did in 2017.

“I don’t think we could have beaten them today, even without our troubles,” said Kelly, who spent the majority of the day recovering from an incident-strewn opening stage he later described as “shocking”.

Cars travelled the wrong way around the traditional 300 circuit in the morning stages and the greasy surface caught out several drivers on the opening run, including Kelly on two occasions.

The rear end of his Ford Escort Mk2 kicked out too ambitiously accelerating out of Riches and spat him into the barriers, the damage merely cosmetic in comparison to the time lost. “The track conditions felt weird there, because normally I’d catch those sort of slides,” he said, as a second moment later in the stage left him a disheartening 21s adrift of his target man West.

West took an eight-second lead into stage two ahead of fellow Smith and Jones engine customer Nigel Mummery (Ford Focus WRC). The Peugeot man then quickly extended that cushion to 18s with a rapid second run.

The trend was set, and it would continue throughout the day as West and Hounslow ticked off the stage wins one by one. Their only scare came in the afternoon when Hounslow clocked rattling noises in the 306 on stage five. It was a driveshaft related problem, but the troublesome bolts were swiftly tightened.

It took Kelly just two stages to jump from fifth back to second place, although he was left with a 37-second deficit to West after stage four.

A change to the circuit’s usual direction for the afternoon loop made Kelly much more comfortable, he was now feeling the added grip from years of rubber left on the traditional racing line through the faster sections.

Over the final four stages, the Escort surrendered just eight seconds to West, unlucky not to steal a stage win when baulked behind Steve Finch’s Fiesta R5. The real damage had been done in the morning however, and West was able to see out a third win of the season with the aid of Hounslow’s reassuring advice.

“I’m really pleased for all of us, it’s a big team effort,” said West. “Keith keeps me right and knows when I should be going for it. I still think there’s more to come, I don’t want to stop until I’ve proved this is one of the best cars in the country.”

Hounslow’s calmness was in stark contrast: “Sometimes I’ll say ‘we can take it a bit easier now’, but then he gets the red mist!”

Mummery’s Focus retired on stage four with its power steering locking, leaving a tense duel for the final podium spot between Steve Tilburn and Finch.

Now “getting the most” out of his Escort, Tilburn benefited from following West to gain vital seconds, usurping Finch on stage six to deny the latter a debut podium in an R5 he bought the week prior.

Joshua and Tamsyn Davey returned in their Darrian T90 for the first time since Knockhill last season, finishing fifth ahead of Anthony Robinson’s Proton Satria Millington.

Pete Rayner’s Escort was next up ahead of Ciro Carannante’s Porsche Cayman, the top 10 completed by Robin Adams’ Escort RS and the flying BMW Compact of Mike Bayliss.

Leaving with an 83-point championship lead, West’s title defence was boosted by Mike Taylor’s consistent run coming to an abrupt end. Taylor’s Talbot Sunbeam Lotus suffered persistent throttle problems throughout the morning, sticking open on the third stage and spitting him through the wooden paddock fencing.

Former British GT racer Nigel Greensall made his debut in a rallyprepared Toyota GT86, finishing seventh in Class C and 22nd overall.