HARDY LEFT TO FRET AFTER TYRE STACK WOE
The season-long Class A battle between the Nissan Micra crews led by James Hardy and Kay Thompson was hit by drama late on at Cadwell Park.
Hardy – the favourite for the title – suffered a big blow when he hit a tyre stack on the seventh stage that put him out of the rally, allowing his main rival Thompson to claim a first win of the season. The points accumulated would not be enough to usurp Hardy however, the blip being his one dropped score of the season after four victories.
Alex Cannon was absent having already put Class B out of reach, leaving his most persistent rival Ben Wilkinson to dominate the class in his Peugeot 106 Maxi. Despite his own brush with the scenery late on, Wilkinson came home with a margin of over two minutes in hand over the
106 of Bryan Cherrett.
Josh Payton’s impressive run to fifth overall was a highlight of the rally, and he also finished over two minutes clear of his nearest Class C rival Phil House, in a sister Ford Escort Mk2. The latter’s runner-up spot – by just 30s – was however enough on dropped score calculations to wrap up the class title. Only Ken Sturdy’s
Talbot Avenger in fifth spot separated nine otherwise rampant Escorts at the head of the class.
Class D was in the hands of overall winner Barry Morris from the start, although second in class was enough for the flying Martin Hodgson to confirm third place in the overall combined championship standings in his Escort. Steve and Jack Tilburn chased hard in third place.
The usually unflappable Fiestas were defeated in the Cadwell forests by their Darrian competition, but secondplaced John Griffiths could celebrate a first Class E triumph ahead of the class champion, Neil Roskell.