GREHAN TAKES HISTORIC CROWN AGAINST THE ODDS IN A BORROWED CAR
Henri Grehan and Dan Petrie not only won the final round of the BHRC on the Carlisle Stages, but they also claimed the 2022 championship title after a stellar season.
The Ludlow crew went head to head with Matt Edwards and Hamish Campbell in the Fiat 131 in the deciding round in Kielder but when the Fiat stopped with an electrical gremlin, Grehan and Petrie were secure as not only historic event winners but as the new champions. Had Edwards won, Grehan needed a top-four finish among the BHRC registered crews, but with the Fiat out Grehan and Petrie were champions with two stages still to run.
However, this was far from straightforward for Grehan, as late problems with his own Escort forced him to switch to the borrowed Ford Escort Mk2 of friend and club mate Alan Walker. With minimal time in the car, Grehan took on the challenge of Kielder and drove superbly to finish half a minute clear of the rest of the field. His total time for the six stages would have put Grehan into the top six four-wheel-drive cars.
Grehan said: “We had a game plan and we stuck to it. We knew Matt was going to be quick but we wanted to be ready if he had any issue. We knew any position up to fourth was enough for the title but I didn’t want to go out thinking we’ll take fourth. We had a moment on the first corner of the first stage, which woke me up and we were OK after that. Alan Walker is a legend to lend me his car!”
That first stage in Buck Fell set the tone for the day. It was raining steadily and mist hung over the higher parts of the 8.5mile stage, which was ready to punish anyone not showing the respect that this forest complex demands.
Edwards, of course, was gutted with how things panned out. He had to win the rally to stand a chance of stealing the title at the death and was on target for victory. He built a 16-second lead over Grehan across the first three stages in a wet, slippery and menacing Kielder. However in SS4, the second run of Buck Fell, the
Fiat cut out on a downhill section and refused all attempts to get it started again until too much time had been lost. It mirrored the problem suffered by Nick Elliot in his Fiat on the previous round, the Trackrod Rally, and Edwards was left to rue missing one round and non-finishing two others.
Edwards said: ‘We were in a nice rhythm, taking no risks at all. Then in stage four, it just cut out completely and died. Twenty minutes later it started and we drove it back to service.”
Grehan was flying in the borrowed car, albeit without taking too many big risks, and he brought the car home with 32s in hand over impressive historic newcomer Tom
Walster who had Glyn Thomas on the notes. They finished a remarkable second in their first time out in an ex-Baz Jordan/ Geoff Jones Escort Mk2. The big grin at the finish told the story and Walster said: “I’ve not driven rear-wheel drive before and I’ve not been in the woods for seven years. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Making a welcome return to the BHRC for the first time since rolling out of Rally
North Wales in March,
Adrian Hetherington and Ronan O’Neill were a strong third overall. However, they lost time on the first loop of stages with a fairly serious misfire. “We changed the plugs and coil at service and that seemed to fix it,” said the Irishman.
Another driver struggling through the morning stages was Robert Gough who, with late stand-in co-driver Jack Bowen, ended the day fourth. Having battled to get the car to turn in through the morning on the wet and slippery stages, a better afternoon took them to within 19s of Hetherington, and kept them nine seconds clear of Richard Jordan and James Gratton-Smith in their Escort Mk2
Driving with an injured wrist, Jordan’s main drama was a long ditch moment early in the re-run of Buck Fell, from which he was fortunate to escape. Another highly creditable performance came from Ben Jemison and Dave Jackson, who got Jemison’s Vauxhall Chevette into the top 10 for one of its best results so far.
Apart from Edwards, other significant retirements included Steve Bannister and Callum Atkinson, who didn’t even reach the start of the first stage before their Escort expired. Barry Stevenson-Wheeler and John Pickavance were another to fall foul of a ditch in the second running of Buck Fell, but later drove their largely undamaged Escort Mk2 back to service. Out of luck were Barry Jordan and Arwel Jenkins who were out as early as the second stage with a blown engine in their Hillman Avenger.