Newby leads before Phoenix ends in flames
Organiser: Eastwood & DMC When: August 5 Where: Fulbeck Airfield, Lincolnshire Championship: Roadrunner/ Phoenix Awards ANEMM, Alexander Calder Financial Stages: two completed Starters 69.
Arron Newby and Sam Bailey’s Subaru Impreza had been quickest on both of the stages run at Fulbeck, before a stubble field caught fire and the rally was abandoned ( see rally news).
“It was hard to see on the first stage for lying dust on the hard, dry surface,” said Newby, despite taking a three-second lead over Martin Farrar/andy Ward’s Impreza.
Gary Wayne/neal Bloor’s Impreza was seven seconds down in their Impreza, but one up on Dave Welch/steve Mcnulty’s similar car that dropped a cylinder when the coil pack failed.
Newby managed to improve his time on stage two by eight seconds, to increase his lead over Farrar to 13s, while Welch took third from Wayne, as Sean/max Bailey and Mick Pickles/richard Copsey consolidated fifth and sixth in an all-impreza top six.
Some cars had managed to get to the end of stage three, with Newby home and dry with a further increased lead after Farrar spun, collected a front puncture and broke a driveshaft after hitting an edge of broken concrete.
A provisional result was given after two stages, but with insufficient mileage to be a declared result.