Hirst and Dear take Wyedean win and with it the Welsh Rally Championship
Organiser: Forest of Dean Motor Club When: November 9 Where: Forest of Dean, Gloucs Championships: Motorsport UK English Rally Championship; Motorsport UK Welsh Rally Championship; Welsh Historic Rally Championship; HRCR Stage Masters Rally Challenge; ANWCC Forest Rally; WAMC Junior Challenge Stages: 6 Starters: 84
Following a controlled drive and the retirement of their main title rival, Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear won the Wyedean Stages Rally and with it claimed the Motorsport UK Welsh Rally Championship.
As crews made their way to the first of three morning stages in the Forest of Dean the heavens opened, making the stages very slippery. Despite this, Nick Elliott/dave Price were fastest in their Ford Escort Mk2 on the first test.
They dropped to third on the next stage following visibility issues, as Ian Bainbridge/jamie Edwards were easily fastest on stage two before beaching their Skoda Fabia R5 on the third test at Mailscot, putting them out of contention.
Hirst/dear completed the morning as leaders and, with the championship in mind, a conservative approach was planned for the afternoon’s repeat stages. “I backed off in the afternoon with a healthy lead but seemed to go better,” said the delighted Mitsubishi driver as he celebrated his event and championship win.
His job was made easier as title rival Russ Thompson’s chances of winning the Welsh crown went up in smoke on the opening stage as the engine on his Mitsubishi Lancer E9 let go.
John Caine/andrew Sankey held second in their Subaru Impreza before a final stage maximum dropped them down the order and Elliott retired following a puncture. After a “scrappy morning”, the afternoon went well for Alex Allingham/ross Weir who took the runner-up spot in their Escort Mk2 despite intercom problems. Fastest time on the final stage helped Tom Llewellin/peredur Davies to fight back to third after a first-stage spin in their Escort Mk2 and later bending a wheel.
On only their second event in two years, Mark Griffiths/matt Rogers suffered a couple of early spins before getting “back into the swing of things in the afternoon”, moving up to fourth place at the finish. They came ahead of fellow Escort crews Ben Friend/cliff Simmons, who lost time after hitting a stage four rock, and Tim Freeman/ Paul Williams who completed the final stage with no brakes.
A determined final stage resulted in a class win and 10th place for Mike Simpson/dale Gibbons as they overtook rivals Andrew Stokes/guy Weaver in a similar Escort Mk1, Stokes claiming he had slowed too much on the test after surviving a moment on SS5.
On a rare outing, Andy Burnell/ Emma Morrison were clear winners in their 1600cc class in their Skoda Felicia S1600, and they were followed home by 1400cc winners Steve Black/paul Morris in their Suzuki Swift, this result enabling Black to win the Motorsport UK English Rally Championship.
Results
1 Matthew Hirst/ Declan Dear (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 45m58s;
2 Alex Allingham/ross Weir (Ford Escort Mk2) +1m02s; 3 Tom Llewellin/peredur Wyn Davies (Escort Mk2); 4 Mark Griffiths/matt Rogers (Escort Mk2); 5 Ben Friend/cliff Simmons (Escort Mk2); 6 Tim Freeman/paul Williams (Escort RS 1800); 7 Jason Gardner/ Mike Jode (Escort Mk2); 8 Richard Ceen/hamish Campbell (Ford Fiesta R5); 9 Jonathan Brace/paul Spooner (Escort Mk2); 10 Mike Simpson/dale Gibbons (Ford Escort Mk1).
Class winners: Luke Watts/colin Jenkins (Toyota Yaris); James/ Kelly Dunkley (Vauxhall Corsa); Steve Black/paul Morris (Suzuki Swift); Andy Burnell/emma Morrison (Skoda Felicia S1600); Simon/ Alex Stanbury (MG ZR); Griffiths/rogers; Andrew/jaime-lee Fox (BMW 325i); Paul Bonas/craig Cameron (Subaru Impreza); Ceen/ Campbell; Rob/ashley Aslett (Impreza); Bob Gibbons/jon Harris (Ford Cortina GT); Simpson/gibbons; Friend/simmons.
Keeping it flat
Des Campbell’s class 3 winning-run and 11th overall in his self-prepared 1600cc Peugeot 206 was quite extraordinary given the changeable conditions on the rally. When asked what his secret was, he said: “Whether it was ice or mud, if I felt the car wriggle, I didn’t lift – I just kept it flat!” Alongside Craig Forsyth, they finished ahead of Andrew Turner/richard Winstanley aboard their Honda Civic.
Lack of teeth
Class 6 winners Kev Dunn/ Gary White were lucky to finish after their Honda Civic broke a tooth off first gear on the Friday. “I was trying not to use it all day Saturday,” said Dunn. “It was clattering away like crazy, but we finished.” Martin Page/ Michael Anderson took second in class in their Mini Cooper S.
Free from mum
With mum Louise in London for the weekend, there was no “parental constraint” on Gina Walker’s pace as she sped to victory in the 1400cc class 1 in a borrowed Vauxhall Astra. “I’m loving it,” she said. “We were off into a banking on Fogo but reversed out OK, and we had one big moment in Abbey St Bathans in the mud!”
No time to stop
James Thomson/sean Douglas thought they were out when smoke appeared from under the bonnet of their Vauxhall Nova. “We didn’t have time to stop as we were due at a control, so we got our time then stopped to have a look,” said Thomson. “But it was just the oil cap which had come off.”
Flight delayed
At 1400hrs on Friday, Donnie Macdonald landed at Edinburgh Airport with just an hour to spare before the rally started. “I had been in Rome for the Celtic v Lazio game,” he explained. “My return flight was delayed and then it sat on the Tarmac for a further hour-anda-half. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night.” He dropped way down the leaderboard when his Mitsubishi Lancer E9’s clutch slave cylinder failed and eventually finished 46th.
Missing specs
Leading Historic runner and class 5 winner Steve Bannister almost threw away any chance of victory before the start of the rally, after leaving the service area without his glasses! A quick call to the service crew arranged a rendezvous where they were handed over.