CLASS ROUND-UP
An enthralling tussle for Class C honours kept onlookers guessing until the final time check.
A quintet of Ford Escorts locked out the top five, but just four seconds separated the top two as winners James Slaughter and Sarah Flynn saved their best runs until last.
Roland Brown’s Mk1 was on course for victory after a string of fastest times in the morning, but Slaughter chased hard in the afternoon to move his Escort RS1800 to within two seconds heading into the final stage.
A sterling effort was enough for Slaughter as he went six seconds quicker, sealing the class win with the sixth fastest stage time overall.
Mike English was the top MN registered competitor in class, despite suffering a snapped control arm that dropped him to fourth. “We managed to retrack it, but it’s a shame,” he said. “We’re about 60bhp down on the rolling road, so there’s more to find.” Class points leader Ryan Connolly retired with sensor problems.
In contrast, Paul Sheard’s Class B championship prospects were boosted by another victory.
Overall and MN spoils moved him 34-points clear, team-mate and circuit racer Ben Short clinching a one-two for the squad’s battlehardened Mazda MX-5S.
“That’s the first one where we’ve not had any gremlins all day,” said Sheard after a “rare” trouble-free run. He was made to fight for victory by wildcard Abi Mahmood. The Suzuki Swift Super 1600 – entered in the Junior World Rally Championship from 2006 – led the way initially, but brake and traffic problems turned the battle in Sheard’s favour.
Christopher Newton produced a star performance to win Class A in a reshelled Vauxhall Nova, finishing 18th overall ahead of a 1987 D2 class Audi quattro.
Newton’s class-winning cushion was a startling 3m41s ahead of the returning Dale Lawson, who grabbed maximum MN championship points for Class A in the less powerful MG ZR ahead of his local round at Snetterton.
“We’re always going to struggle at the power circuits,” said Lawson of the result. “We’re all trying so hard in this class.”
Overall winners Chris West and Keith Hounslow continued their domination of Class D1 with a fourth win in four events. “You think about points, but then there’s a chance to win a set of tyres from Michelin!” said co-driver Hounslow.
D2 spoils offered small consolation for John Stone and co-driver Jack Morton, left ruing the timing of merges after the pair were held up by the stalled Proton of Anthony Robinson.