England duo streak to convincing victory
Organiser: Cheltenham Motor Club When: September 7 Where: Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Herefordshire Stages: 18 Starters: 120.
Martyn and Dawn England scored an emphatic win in their Ford Fiesta R5, leading from the second stage and setting, in all, 11 fastest times to take victory by 1m37s ahead of Andy Fraser/alan Jones (Darrian T90 V6).
The rally’s quick-fire format of 18 short stages separated by small road sections made strong early pace essential for success. England immediately grabbed the initiative, opening a 24-second lead over Roger Moran/den Golding’s Darrian GTR+ after the first loop of six stages. The Somerset man’s Fiesta ran perfectly throughout as he continued to dominate, taking a well-deserved win on the inaugural closed-roads event.
Runner-up Fraser lay fifth early on, battling with John Indri/matthew Smalley’s Mitsubishi Mirage and Alex Allingham/ross Weir’s Ford Escort Mk2. Fraser survived having to clear a heavily misted windscreen on SS4 and inherited fourth when Indri’s clutch broke on SS7. With confidence increasing, he overhauled Allingham on SS10 and when Moran went off the road on the penultimate stage, Fraser inherited second place.
Allingham’s Escort ran faultlessly as he netted third and, despite admitting to over-exuberance on
SS6, he held Robert Hughes/sion Cunniff ’s Fiesta R5 at bay by 16.5s. Changing to supersoft tyres at second service paid dividends for Hughes. He mounted a late charge, pulling clear of fifth-placed Mark Holmes/ Mark Perryman (Fiesta R5). Jersey visitors Darryl Morris/steve Gully (Escort Mk2) rounded out the top six.
Results
1 Martyn/ Dawn England (Ford Fiesta R5) 43m39.4s; 2 Andy Fraser/alan Jones (Darrian T90 V6) +1m37s; 3 Alex Allingham/ Ross Weir (Ford Escort Mk2); 4 Robert Hughes/sion Cunniff (Fiesta R5); 5 Mark Holmes/mark Perryman (Fiesta S2000); 6 Darryl Morris/steve Gully (Escort Mk2); 7 Oliver Hopkins/aled Edwards (Mitsubishi Mirage); 8 Gary Le Coadou/ Bill Paynter (Hyundai i20 WRC); 9 Nick Beddoes/jamie Vaughan (Escort Mk2); 10 Craig Fleming/paul Rumary (Subaru Impreza). Class winners: Joe/michael Evett (MG ZR); Richard Hill/peredur Davies (Ford Fiesta R200); Morris/gully; Beddoes/vaughan; Hopkins/edwards; Hughes/ Cunniff; Mike Simpson/ Dale Gibbons (Escort Mk1 RS).