HUGHES JONES EXTENDS UNBEATEN RUN ON THE JJ BROWN

It may have been a new year, but the results remained the same as Arwel Hughes Jones and Dylan John Williams took another convincing win, this time on the JJ Brown Memorial Rally.

The Ford Escort pair finished with a winning margin of almost a minute and a half, but this hid the fact that they had struggled all night with a slipping clutch. “We stopped to bleed it a couple of times and that was just about enough to keep going,” reported Hughes Jones.

The only crew within spitting distance of the winners were runners up Carwyn Evans and Aled Pennant. The rest of the field was at least five minutes off the lead.

The challenging route initially ran south from Caernarfon to Porthmadog and then back, with most of the second half being on Anglesey.

Stephen Kerr and Huw Manion had a character-building event when, after being delayed by other cars on the opening sections, they had an alternator cable break just before petrol. With this repaired, they recovered to seventh place.

There was a close battle for Semi-Expert honours; Gethin Jones/Lewis Griffiths edging out Phillip Roberts/Tom Parkes by just one second.

The win means that Hughes Jones has now been unbeaten for over three years, having won seven rallies in a row.

Results

JJ Brown Memorial Rally

Organiser: Caernarvonshire & Anglesey Motor Club When: January 7-8 Where: North-West Wales Route: 105 miles

Starters: 75.

1 Arwel Hughes Jones/Dylan John Williams (Ford Escort) 6m28s; 2 Carwyn Evans/Aled Pennant (Ford Escort) +1m26s; 3 Emyr Jones/ Aron Jones (Ford Escort); 4 Dewi Jones/Iwan Jones (Mazda MX-5); 5 Dafydd Davies/Llion Williams (Peugeot 205); 6 Meilir Llwyd Huws/ Guto Sion Williams (Mazda MX-5); 7 Stephen Kerr/Huw Manion (Ford Escort); 8 Deion Atkinson/Aron Jones (BMW 318 Compact); 9 Merfyn Williams/Derwyn Roberts (Ford Fiesta ST); 10 Gareth Edwards/Dylan Jones (Ford Escort). Class winners: Gethin Jones/Lewis Griffiths (Mazda MX-5); Tomos Roberts/Sion Bowness (Citroen Saxo).