CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSLETTER No.4 – 2016

SOMERSET STAGES RALLY

RAVENOL BTRDA GOLD STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP

LUKE S WA‘M WELCOME IN MINEHEAD!...

For the second time this season Luke Francis/John H

Roberts have won a round of the RAVENOL BTRDA Gold

Star® Rally Championship. Their latest success came on

the Somerset Stages and, although it was a close battle

throughout the day, by the time the pair arrived back at

the finish in Minehead, their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9 was

eight seconds ahead of its nearest rival, the Fiesta of

Charlie Payne/Carl Williamson.

Luke Francis/John H Roberts –Mitsubishi EVO9 – 1

st overall

Following problems caused by the recent winter weather

in the Exmoor National Park, the organisers, Minehead

and Burnham-on-Sea Motor Clubs, were faced with major

alterations to their planned route and, indeed, the non-

availability of part of it. In the circumstances, the winners

of the Best E e t i the BT‘DA ‘all Series ust e congratulated for their perseverance in managing to

stage an event at all!

So, Francis/Roberts were quickest out of the blocks on

the first runs through Timberscombe and Croydon to

establish a lead which, although down to just three

seconds on a couple of occasions, they maintained

throughout. Pa e s ause as ot helped by a puncture

but, with a number of FTDs of his own, he was still able to

keep Francis honest. Running in 3rd

place for most of the

day, and eventually finishing in that position, were Karl

and Guy Simmons in their Impreza WRC. The thorn in

their side for the final podium spot was the new Fiesta

R5+ of Martyn and Dawn England - the Taunton husband-

and-wife team ere usi g their ho e e e t to de ut it on gravel and came away with a fine 4

th, just two seconds

ehi d the Si o s. The E gla d s rall i luded FTDs on

the first run up Porlock Toll Road and the second run

through Kennisham .Take from that what you will, but

there is obviously plenty more to come from this new

car/crew combination!

Karl and Guy Simmons - Subaru Impreza WRC – 3

rd overall

The Focus WRCs of Peter Stephenson/Giles Dykes and

Paul Benn/Richard Cooke were also a mere 2seconds

apart in 5th

and 6th

places respectively. Tom Preston/Jack

Morto ere aki g their de ut i the for er s re e tl -

acquired Skoda Fabia R5 and, spending much of the day

adjusti g to the e ar s foi les, ere ell pleased ith 7

th overall.

Amongst those heading back up the M5 with just a

solitary point for starting, for the second event running,

were Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson. Their Fiesta R5+

was 8th

after SS1 and on its way home shortly afterwards

when the propshaft let go.... Stephen Clark, son of

legendary Talbot Avenger driver Ivor who was on hand to

service, and Steve Pugh were running as high as 7th

overall at various times, but the appearance of a hole in

their Mitsu ishi La er s ell housi g ea t that there was nothing that they - or Ivor! - could do to get them to

the finish.

Three events down, five to go and Charlie Payne leads the

table, with Peter Stephenson next and Karl Simmons

third. However, as all eyes now turn to the Plains Rally,

it s Luke Fra is ith his t o a i u s ho is lurki g i the shadows!....

BTRDA PRODUCTION CUP and FIESTA ST TROPHY

RUSSELL BOOKS TOP SPOT!

Follo i g o fro his i o the Mal ol Wilso ‘all , Russ Thompson (Lancer EVO9) took another BTRDA

Production Cup® maximum in Somerset to move into the

category lead, albeit on a tie-break. For his part, co-driver

Andy Murphy is in 2nd

place, a couple of points behind the

leader. Thompson/Murphy were 8th

overall on the

Somerset Stages, one place and 25s ahead of Sasha

Kakad/James Aldridge (Lancer EVOX) who were

contesting their first BTRDA Series event of the season,

while Andy Davies/Ma Free a I preza ere t far behind either. Cameron Davies/Lee Taylor carried on

where they left off in Cumbria to take another maximum

in the Fiesta ST Trophy and, at the same time,

considerably improving their standing in the Production

Cup. George Lepley/Arwel Jenkins were runners-up in the

Fiestas, with Tim Kirvan-Rodgers/Abi Haycock third.

Ho e er, Sa Bilha /‘i hard Crozier s o siste - three starts, three finishes - sees them maintaining their

lead in the popular new series. On the down side - or

should that e the up side?!... - Roland Llewellin/ Dan

Nieroda and Aaron McClure/Alex Kihurani both rolled

their Lancers on Exmoor, at a stroke putting their plans

for the remainder of the season into the melting pot!

Cameron Davies/Lee Taylor – 1

st Fiesta ST

RAVENOL BTRDA SILVER STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP

GAVIN STAYS IN FRONT!

Gavin Edwards/Caron Tomlinson (Ford Escort MkII)

arrived in Minehead as leaders of the RAVENOL BTRDA

Silver Star® Rally Championship and, taking their first

maximum on the series on the Somerset Stages,

consolidated their position still further. Notching up Top

Ten times on both Timberscombe and the first run up

Porlock along the way, they were 12th

overall and first

two-wheel drive car home, just eclipsing the efforts of

Boyd Kershaw/Bryan Hull whose similar car was one place

and ten seconds behind them. Phil Burton/Mal Capstick

(Escort) were within touching distance by the finish, while

Jod Bo ott/Da id Millard ere t far ehi d either.

Top 3 Silver Star - Burton/ Capstick , Edwards/Tomlinson, Kershaw/Hull

Cars contesting the Fiesta ST Trophy comply with the two-

wheel drive only Silver Star regulations and, hence,

Ca ero Da ies/ Lee Ta lor s fi e ru also reaped its

rewards in this category.

Defe di g BT‘DA Histori Cup® Cha pio Paul Street s disastrous season continued - this time it was an engine

fire that brought his Escort to a halt on the eleventh of

the thirteen stages. (Thanks to Cameron Davies and

Ashley Davies who stopped to donate their fire

extinguishers otherwise the car may have been a total

loss!) Thi gs a o l get etter as the song says, but

now would be good!....

Behind Edwards in the points, Phil Burton is keeping him

ho est ith Ashle Da ies u le ished fi ishi g re ord sustaining 3

rd place. Then comes Kershaw, but those

ahead of the Fl i g Ki i ill e i dful that he has a

score in hand....

THOMAS PANELS BTRDA 1400® CHAMPIONSHIP

BRICK LAYS A FIRM FOUNDATION!...

When Freddy Brick entered the 2015 Somerset Stages co-

driving for his father Dave, he must have paid particular

attention to the notes and DVD! That particular outing

a e to a pre ature halt he their No a s gear o failed on the opening stage but, twelve months later,

Freddy returned as a driver and, with brother Toby co-

driving in their own Nova, they went on to show the rest

of the Thomas Panels BTRDA 1400 Championship®

contenders a clean pair of heels.

Freddy and Toby Brick- Vauxhall Nova – 1

st 1400

For his part, dad was to suffer cruel luck once more - he

and Keaton Williams were sidelined with mechanical

bothers on the penultimate stage, but not before his

speed over the ealier stages had raised a considerable

number of eyebrows, especially those of Somerset

aestro a d t i e for er BT‘DA Cha pio Julia Wilkes who was struggling to keep up with him!

Micras filled the next three places - Neil Andrew/Dom

Adams took the runners-up spot, while Carl Davies /

‘i hard Jo es rd place moved them into the lead of the

Cha pio ship at this stage. Charlie Barlo s first e e t of the season paid dividends with a 3

rd place finish and Bill

Paynter, also making his 2016 debut, was half-a-minute

behind in his Peugeot 106. Whilst Ilminster resident

Paynter had one of the shortest trips home, it was a

fraught day for the Riddicks, Keith and Mairi, whose 1000-

mile round trip from Castle Douglas was for nothing after

their hitherto faithful MG ZR let them down. Although

somewhat closer to home, spare a thought for Chris

Powell/Jim Lewis from Hereford whose Talbot Sunbeam

also failed to finish for the third event in a row!...

VITAL EQUIPMENT RALLY FIRST® CHAMPIONSHIP

LOCAL HERO!....

Chris Hickman (MG ZR), from Minehead, joined the ranks

of the Vital Equipment Rally First Championship for the

first time in Somerset and came away with a maximum

score. The Retallicks, Emily and Eliot, were less than half a

minute behind in their Peugeot 205 XS, with Garry Wilson

and Marti Haggett s Peugeot rd.

Series leader Do i i Hodge s good run came to an end

in Somerset - he and Stefan Arndt joined the list of

retire e ts after SS he their Mi ra s alter ator packed up and the situation at the top of the table is now

much closer. Hodge still leads, but Phil Spilsted (Micra) is

just two points adrift, one ahead of Emily Retallick and

three from Sheldon Furby (MG ZR).....

Chris Hickman – 1

st Rally First driver- MGZR

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

A full list of the Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series points can be

found in the Competitor section of www.btrdarally.com .

BTRDA RALLY CHALLENGE

NO DOUBTS FOR THOMAS!....

Notwithstanding his unfamiliarity with his new Skoda

Fa ia ‘ , Tho as Presto s th overall on the Somerset

Stages puts the Earby driver into an early lead of the

BTRDA Rally Challenge, from East Midlander George

Morrison (MG ZR). In the Co-dri ers ategor , Giles

Dykes, who was sitting alongside Peter Stephenson,

finished a couple of places ahead of Preston whose co-

driver, defending champion Jack Morton, had to be

content with second.

This ear s Challe ge, hi h ki ked off i Mi ehead, o e again features a seven-round calendar. From these, each

competitor must start at least two events on each surface

asphalt/gra el a d, i the fi al a al sis, e er o e s fi e best scores will be taken into consideration in relation to

awards. Next stop is the Isle of Man on 6/7th

May for the

Manx National Rally, the first of the asphalt rounds.

The remaining 6 rounds of the Challenge are:

6th / 7th May - Manx National Rally – Asphalt

11th June - Carlisle Stages - Gravel

9th July - Nicky Grist Stages - Gravel

7th August - Tyneside Stages - Asphalt

28th August - Mewla Rally - Asphalt

1st October - Trackrod Forest Stages - Gravel

SPRINGTIME IN SOMERSET?

Having begun in Cumbria on the Malcolm Wilson Rally,

the focus of attention for the MAXXIS MSA English Rally

Championship moved several hundred miles south for the

second round.

In the hotly contested E5 class Gavin Edwards / Caron

Tomlinson (Escort Mk2) took an early lead and despite

the best efforts of Boyd Kershaw / Bryan Hull also in an

Escort Mk2, they maintained the upper hand, eventually

finishing 10sec ahead and an excellent 12th

overall. In

class E2 the pre event favourites Dave Brick / Keaton

Williams (Vauxhall Nova) had built up a substantial lead

but they unfortunately retired on the very last stage with

a mechanical problem. However, it was not all bad news

for the Bri k fa il as so s Fredd a d To also i a Vauxhall Nova inherited the class win. James Hutchings/

James Hood (Vauxhall Nova) again took the maximum

points in class E3 ahead of Tim and Kit Leigh (Fiesta

R200), whilst Chris Hickman / Glyn Thomas (MG ZR) were

first in class E1 for standard cars up to 1400cc thanks to

some impressive times on the tarmac Porlock stages.

However, the closest battle again came in class E4 where

there were 7 identical Fiesta STs in competition. This

contest was again won by Cameron Davies/Lee Taylor

ahead of George Lepley/Arwel Jenkins. 68 drivers have

scored points so far and, from them, class wins on the

Somerset Stages see James Hutchings (Vauxhall Nova)

and Cameron Davies (Ford Fiesta ST) tying for the lead at

the top of the table. The Ford Escorts of Boyd Kershaw

and Gavin Edwards are joint 3rd, ith George Leple s

Fiesta in close attendance. From the 1400 class, Freddy

Bri k s No a is urre tl th. Meanwhile Cameron Davies

and Freddy Brick are tied at the head of the Junior Drivers

table. A full list of the MAXXIS MSA English Rally

Championship points are published on the Championship

website Competitors section (www.englishrally.co.uk).

James Hutchings – Vauxhall Nova- joint leader MSA English Championship

The next event - the Carlisle Stages in early June - sees all

the contenders migrating north to take up the challenge

of the stages in the western side of Kielder Forest.

MINTEX / QUESTMEAD BONUS SCHEME

The winners of the Mintex Awards on the Somerset

Stages Rally, each of whom receive a FREE set of

competition brake pads from Questmead Ltd, were: -

Best Improvement on Start Number in Gold Star /Silver

Star: Guy Butler Ford Focus (B10)

Best Improvement on Start Number in 1400/Rally First:

Bill Paynter Peugeot 106 (1400C)

Steve or Alan Brown from Questmead can be found in the

Service Area at most events. To claim your reward, please

contact them in advance on 01706 363939.

HYUNDAI GENPOWER Awards 2016

Hyundai Genpower are offering £300 worth of vouchers

for Hyundai generators or pressure washers on each

event. At the Somerset Stages Rally it was for

competitors in the Thomas Panels 1400 Championship

and the winners are:- Freddy Brick £150, Neil Andrew

£100 and Carl Davies £50. On the Plains Rally it will be

the turn of competitors in the Vital equipment BTRDA

Rally First classes.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Plains Rally – 14th

May

Round 4 of the RAVENOL BTRDA Rally Series, the Plains

Rally is once again based at Welshpool and includes some

of the best Welsh forest stages including Gartheiniog and

Dyfi . 120 confirmed entries and a further 25 yet to be

paid have been received already. The maximum entry is

150 so do ’t waste a y ore ti e if you want an entry!!

www.plainsrally.co.uk

DMACK Carlisle Stages - 11th

June

The event will offer 43 stage miles in the Kershope and

Newcastleton complexes of Kielder forest including two

stages of more than 13 miles in length. Rally HQ and

service area will be based at H&H Auctions in Carlisle,

close to junction 43 of the M6. Regulations are now

available and entries are open. For details go to

http://racrally.org/dmack-tyres-carlisle-stages/index

Nicky Grist Rally - 9th

July

Also part of the BRC, the Nicky Grist Rally will be very

popular again this year. The BTRDA event will be as usual,

based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells and

consist of the usual excellent gravel stages of around 45

miles in total. The Rally Guide has been published and

Regulations will be available on 14th

May.

www.nickygriststages.co.uk has all the details.

ON EVENT FUEL:

Vital Equipment are the official fuel supplier to the

Championship. They will be at all the events and provide a

consistent quality MSA compliant Super Unleaded fuel

and an FIA spec Carless turbo fuel. They ensure fuel is

dispensed to competitors under strictly controlled and

safe conditions. We strongly emphasise the convenience,

safety and organisational benefits that using this Vital

Equipment facility brings to competitors. To order your

fuel please use the on-line order facility listed in the

Competitors section of the BTRDA Rally Series website.

NB: The deadline for orders is 7 days before the event.

MOTORS TV-Freeview Channel 240 or Sky 447/Virgin 545

The TV programmes of the RAVENOL BTRDA Rally Series

will be first broadcast on Motors TV on the Friday evening

after the event and will then be repeated several times

over the following days. There will be additional items

from the RAVENOL BTRDA Rally Series included in the

fortnightly Special Stage Extra programmes. Soon after

they will be available to view via www.btrdarally.com

Special Stage still want you to submit any event

information via their Driver Information page but you

need to send them the info within 48 hours.

EVENTS AND CONTACTS

14th May PLAINS RALLY Chris Kettle

entries@plainsrally.co.uk , Tel: 01606 44007

11th June CARLISLE STAGES RALLY Kate Hinchliffe

entries.carlislestages@gmail.com Tel: 01484 318689

7th July NICKY GRIST STAGES RALLY Neil Cross

entries@nickygriststages.co.uk , Tel: 07767 770862

*7th

August TYNESIDE STAGES Maurice Mabon

maurice@mabonm.freeserve.co.uk

3rd September WOODPECKER STAGES Roger Allan

entries@woodpecker-rally.co.uk , Tel: 01905 424987

1st

October TRACKROD FOREST STAGES Nicola Sanderson

trackrod.rally@gmail.com , Tel: 01937 583615

*6th November MEM MALTON FOREST RALLY http://www.maltonmc.co.uk/maltonforestrally.html

* ADDITIONAL MAXXIS MSA ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

CHAMPIONSHIP COORDINATORS TEAM

Howard Wilcock:

howard@btrdarally.com

Tel: 0115 966 5176

Mobile: 07769 676533

Norman Robertson:

norman@btrdarally.com

Tel: 0161 748 5399

Mobile: 07762 557285

Gill Cotton:

gill@btrdarally.com

Tel: 01305 813394

Mobile: 07980 810730

CHAMPIONSHIP ELIGIBILITY SCRUTINEERS

John Cooper:

Email: jccmstech@gmail.com

Tel: 01208 863406

Mobile: 07702 240970

Dave Newton:

Email: daveynewton@msn.com

Tel: 01633 672494

Mobile: 07814 595132

Geoff Doe:

Email: geoff@doemotorsport.com

Tel: 01270 780356

Mobile: 07808 129663

The photographs in our Newsletters and on our websites are courtesy of Ralliphotos Wales. Contact ralliphotoswales@yahoo.co.uk