Historic Rally triumph for Matt Edwards
THREE-TIME British Rally champion Matt Edwards stormed to a second Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship win in a row on Saturday [21 May], taking his FIAT 131 Abarth to a convincing Plains Rally victory.
Colwyn Bay-based Edwards and co-driver Hamish Campbell sealed their second maximum points score from two starts in spectacular fashion, taking fastest time on every stage to finish an impressive one minute and three seconds ahead of their nearest rivals Henri Grehan and Dan Petrie. Hugh Hunter and Rob Fagg snatched the final podium spot from Robert Gough in the very last test.
Ten stages and over 40 *
miles of North Wales forests were on offer and the super-fast and little used tests would challenge the bravery of a bumper list of BHRC crews who headed to Bala for the third round of the series.
The opening Aberhirnant stage was fast; too fast in fact as many crews beat the
Bogey Time but nevertheless that gave Edwards a slender one second advantage over teammate Nick Elliott who had swapped his Ford Escort MKII for the second RSD Developments FIAT. The day was shaping up to be an interesting battle too, with the Italian brand moving into territory long belonging to the Fords.
Sadly, Elliott and co-driver Peredur Davies’ engine cried enough on the way to the third test and despite Grehan’s best efforts, Edwards had a 21 second cushion heading into the halfway service. With the FIAT set up to his liking, none of his rivals had an answer to Edwards’ pace and he settled into the perfect rhythm through the afternoon to take a stellar second win of the season.
“It has been really nice to have that sort of run in the car today,” said a delighted Edwards.
“We have been looking for that sort of result all along really.
“We have won a couple [of rallies] already this year but we have always had a few gremlins so it’s a huge credit to the team and of course Hamish who was great on the notes all day.
“Taking fastest time on every stage is a really nice bonus too, it’s all coming together now.”
With June’s Red Kite Stages now cancelled, the BHRC will now take a summer break before resuming in September at the Woodpecker Rally in Ludlow, Shropshire.
For more information on any of the Championships promoted by the RACMRC, please visit: www.racrmc.org
Top Three Provisional Points After Round 3 Plains Rally
Henri Grehan 71 Matt Edwards 63 Nick Elliott56