MELLORS LANDS WOODPECKER WIN
Spoils went to Fia-homologated R5 car but it was the runner-up who was the talking point. By Ian Harden
There were a number of firsts at this year’s Woodpecker Rally, with Ollie Mellors and co-driver Ian Windress scoring their maiden win on the event in their first major outing in the newly-homologated Proton Iriz R5.
But the pairing’s superb performance was trumped by newly-crowned BTRDA Silver Star champions George Lepley and Tom Woodburn. In their first-ever rally in a four-wheel-drive machine, the youngsters set a phenomenal pace in a hired Mitsubishi Lancer E10, taking second overall and their first BTRDA Gold Star maximum points haul.
With both the Gold and Silver Star titles already decided, the Woodpecker – so often the place where BTRDA titles have been won and lost – could easily have fizzled out into a dead rubber.
But from the opening stage, Black Pool Gate, it was clear that a lot of personal pride was at stake for championship contenders and non-regulars alike.
Consequently, Mellors/windress and Stephen Petch/michael Wilkinson (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) went for it straightaway, setting identical times to lead jointly, four seconds ahead of Sam Bilham/patrick Walsh’s Ford Fiesta R5. Lepley was four seconds behind in fourth and just two seconds further back, Ian Bainbridge’s decision to replace his Subaru Impreza WRC with a Skoda Fabia R5 immediately bore fruit.
But it was not all plain sailing for the leading crews as any hopes Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear had of scoring points in
either the BTRDA or Motorsport UK Welsh National Forest
Championship evaporated when they rolled their Lancer E9.
After a long road section to SS2, Rhiw Lawr, crews had an equally long wait while the organisers cleared a stage blockage caused when a Rally First competitor rolled, fortunately without injury. But once the 10.9-mile test started the pace at the front was as hot as on the opener. Mellors put pedal to metal with purpose and opened a 14-second lead over Petch and at service at Ludlow Racecourse he beamed. “We are really happy with the car. The power is unbelievable and the handling is very good,” he said. In contrast to his usual determined demeanour, Petch leaned easily against his Fiesta WRC. “The brakes went off in the last stage, but we sort-of expected it as it was very fast in there,” he explained.
Bilham’s strong run ended abruptly when he slid his Fiesta off the road and into retirement, promoting Lepley to third. Bainbridge moved up to fourth, but was working to overcome startline problems as he continued to get used to his new mount. “We stalled a couple of times; it’s a steep learning curve,” he said.
Patrick Naylor/ian Lawrence (Lancer E9) held fifth and, for once, there was a gap to their nearest rivals in the perennially tight battle for BTRDA Production Cup honours; Russ Thompson/andy Murphy and Scott Faulkner/gareth Parry were ninth and 10th respectively in their Lancer E9s. “It’s all going to plan, but we need to push [in the next loop] to win Group N and equal Scott [Faulkner] on points,” Naylor announced.
The second loop consisted of two cla Woodpecker stages; Hopton and Haye Park. Early morning overcast skies g way to sunshine and, on drying track the pace lifted. Mellors’ Iriz ran perfe through both tests, enabling him to increase his lead to 23s at the end of th loop. But it was not without drama, as explained at second service. “We pus our luck in Haye Park,” he said, “we g airborne over a flat-out jump when w should have been braking. We got it stopped but it was a close call.”
Behind the leader, it was all change as Lepley, having spent the morning learning the strengths of his four-wh drive car, upped his pace to set equal fastest time with Mellors on both stag He was helped when Petch fitted med compound tyres instead of soft. This proved a bad choice and although it co minimal time, around five seconds per stage, it was enough to cede secon place to Lepley.
Nevertheless, Petch admitted to enjoying his run through the 8.7 mile of Haye Park. “That was a proper stage, really nice and flowing,” he sai
Bainbridge maintained a pace to consolidate fourth, and was two secon off setting equal fastest time through Having got more used to the Fabia’s st start procedure he had largely elimin the stalling problem that had blighted opening loop. At second service he sm broadly and announced that his day w getting better all the time.
Naylor continued to top the Product Cup time charts in fifth overall, as a b for sixth place raged between the Lan E9s of Richard Sykes/simon Taylor, Thompson/murphy and Faulkner/