CLASS ROUND-UP
Once again, there was a good battle for the 1400cc honours between Chris Powell/jim Lewis in their Talbot Sunbeam and Dave and Toby Brick. Driving his son’s Vauxhall Corsa rather than his own Nova, Brick held the lead at service, despite going off briefly on SS3. Powell, meanwhile, felt his performance had been “rubbish” over the first three tests and promised to attack the afternoon’s stages. Despite catching a car on the Gwidyr test, Powell managed to overtake his rival, finishing just over seven seconds ahead of Brick, who had a “scrappy afternoon”, which included a puncture on stage four.
Over the early stages, Bobby Mitchell/shannon Turnbull opened up a lead of almost seven seconds to top class N3 ahead of fellow Ford Fiesta ST crew Zak Hughes/tom Wood, who had backed off on the rougher sections of Elsi. Over the afternoon’s stages, Hughes was happier with his driving and he went on to win the category for the second year running, as Mitchell unfortunately suffered two punctures and dropped to second. Third went to Will Corry/ Brynmor Pierce, who also suffered a puncture during the day.
On his first outing in his new Fiesta R2, Perry Gardener, partnered by Keaton Williams, eased himself into left-hand drive with a sensible pace early on, before speeding up as the day progressed. Despite a lack of tyres, the pair went on to win the R2 category, overtaking Ed Fossey/will Rutherford, the latter crew adopting a steadier approach over the rougher sections, before finishing second on their first gravel outing in their Peugeot 208 R2. Tommi Meadows/ Emma Morrison were pleased to pull back to third in their Fiesta after suffering a puncture.
Last year’s R2 winner George Lepley swapped to a Hillman Avenger for this event, and he and Arwel Jenkins adapted well to the slippery conditions to win the historic category. On his first Escort Mk2 drive Hugh Hunter, with Rob Fagg co-driving, took class H3 honours, despite spinning on the same hairpin on both runs of Alwen.
Former Trial 2 world champion Iwan Roberts Jr swapped to four wheels for the day, sharing a Ford Escort G3 with Steve Griffith and, despite early brake issues and losing sixth gear, the pair took class B11, as Damian Pratts/ Jonny Tad Evans overcame a stage three puncture in their Escort Mk2 to overhaul Owen Mcmackin/ Lee Taylor’s similar car to win class B12.