Press
release – 4 December 2013
R.A.C. Rally Championship and Roger Albert Clark Rally on film
Rally TV has announced details of DVDs covering both the 2013 Roger Albert Clark
Rally and the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
The acclaimed organisation headed by David Winstanley has captured both the
rally and the championship by using a multitude of cameras, including on-boards
in many of the leading cars. Each DVD is priced at £20 and can be ordered from
www.rallytv.co.uk.
One More Time – the 2013 Roger
Albert Clark Rally: release 20 December
The 10th running of the classic Roger
Albert Clark Rally drew the strongest entry yet with many people suggesting that
any one of the top
ten
seeded runners could take victory. But with Steve Bannister making a late entry,
the contenders would have to beat the Yorkshire legend. And how they tried!
Matthew Robinson and Jason Pritchard were the two major rivals trying to take
success away from Bannister. However one by one the challengers fell by the
wayside and it was Bannister and Kevin Rae who won the rally for the second
time. This two-hour DVD has stage-side action from six different cameras as well
as on-board footage from almost all of the front runners. In addition there is
the usual free ONBOARD DVD, and also FREE is a short documentary on David
Winstanley and Brynmor Pierce tackling the event in a Rally Prep BMW E30, which
has been called 'A Little Bit More Sideways'.
It Takes Two - 2013 West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship
The first year of the West Wales Rally
Spares RAC Championship attracted the strongest fields of historic cars ever
seen in the UK and the resultant competition was fast and furious as the
championship was won by the fastest duo currently competing in UK historic
rallying, Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke. This two-hour DVD covers the story of
the season and comes complete with a free DVD of on-board footage with action
from McCormack, Nick Elliott, Jason Pritchard, Matt Edwards and many more.
Press
release – 3 December 2013
R.A.C Rally Championship and Roger Albert Clark Rally at the NEC
Both the Roger Albert Clark Rally and the 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship will be
on show at Autosport International at the Birmingham NEC (9-12 January).
Cars from the championship and the rally will be on display as the Roger Albert
Clark Rally Motor Club takes the wraps off its 2014 programme, which has three
major elements:
- The seven-round 2014 R.A.C. Rally
Championship
- The 2014 Roger Albert Clark Rally
(28-30 November)
- The 2014 Carlisle Stages (21 June)
Organisers,
headed by Colin and Nicola Heppenstall, will be on hand to meet current and
prospective competitors. “We are keen to talk to anyone with an interest in the
championship or the rally, or both,” said Colin Heppenstall. “This is also a
chance to meet the marshals and fans who support our events.”
Heppenstall says that the show will be the platform from which to launch more
news about the 2014 championship. “We will have an announcement at the show
about some exciting plans for the Category 1 cars, as well as lots more details
about the new season.”
Championship eligibility scrutineer John Cooper will be there on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday to answer technical questions, and championship registration
will be available to visitors.
Meanwhile, the DVD of the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally will be available for
purchase from David Winstanley of Rally TV. The two-hour DVD of the rally,
titled ‘One More Time’, was filmed from six cameras and numerous on-boards and
comes with a free on-board DVD. The DVD review of the 2013 R.A.C. Rally
Championship will also be available and also includes a free on-board DVD.
The 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 2
February and more details will be available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Press release - 19th
November 2013
On-going tyre choice in R.A.C. Rally Championship
The
organisers of the 2014 R.A.C Rally Championship have confirmed that tyre choice
will remain open with DMACK, Dunlop, Kumho and Pirelli all partnering with the
championship to supply tyres.
The decision to continue a policy of allowing choice of historic specification
tyres is considered to be in the best interest of competitors, who can make
their decisions based on their own views and preferences. Allowing a free market
policy to operate also allows competitors to negotiate the best possible terms.
“I’d like to thank our tyre partners, DMACK, Dunlop (Mr Tyre), Kumho and
Pirelli, for their on-going support of the championship,” said championship
manager Colin Heppenstall. “Last year we pioneered an open choice of tyres for
historic rally cars and we believe that this is in the best interest of our
competitors and reflects the situation in period.”
While DMACK, Dunlop, Kumho and Pirelli are official championship partners, other
makes of tyre that comply with historic regulations are also permitted in the
championship.
Press
release – 21 October 2013
Over 1 million views on iRally for R.A.C. Rally and Championship
Over
a million views on iRally is the latest landmark result for the 2012 Roger
Albert Clark Rally and the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship.
More than a million views confirm the rally and the championship are easily the
most viewed historic rallying, and show the outstanding benefits of the
partnership with iRally.
Three rounds of the championship have already topped 100,000 views and with
figures to come from the final round, the Trackrod Historic Cup, the total is
still growing rapidly.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. The entire R.A.C. Rally
Championship has been available on iRally this year through the standard-setting
TV programmes produced by David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk.
“These figures show that interest in historic rallying remains at an absolute
high,” said Greg Strange of iRally. “I’m delighted with the response and
anticipate further growth when we get to next month’s Roger Albert Clark Rally.”
Championship manager Colin Heppenstall says that breaking the one million mark
is a major boost to the rally and the championship: “iRally has far exceeded our
expectations for 2013 and we look forward to the figures growing still further
in 2014. These statistics are particularly important for all our sponsors and
partners.”
For more about iRally, please visit
http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download the App
free from the App Store or Google Play
Press release – 17 October
2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV on YouTube and iRally
The
television coverage of round six of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship, the Trackrod Historic Cup, is now available on YouTube and the
iRally app.
The programme covers all the action as Matt Edwards scored a famous victory
after a fine battle with local legend Steve Bannister over the classic Yorkshire
forest stages.
The full report from the Trackrod Historic Cup can be watched on-line at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7FOzIC3FjI
In addition to the coverage on Motors TV and YouTube, the programme is available
via iRally and this platform is proving hugely popular, with hundreds of
thousands of views already this year as the entire R.A.C. Rally Championship is
covered.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. For more about iRally, please
visit http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download
the App free from the App Store or Google Play
David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk has filmed all rounds of the championship and
brings all the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car footage
and interviews.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 4pm, 14
October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship Guide available
The Championship
Guide for the 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship, which is unveiled today
(Monday 14
October), is now available for download from the championship website.
The 2014 Championship
Guide includes:
The Championship
Guide has been designed and produced to give prospective competitors
comprehensive information about the coming season and includes data aimed at
supporting competitors’ sponsorship proposals.
The Guide is now
available for download
here in pdf format and printed
copies are available
upon request.
Alternatively the
2014 Championship Guide can be read online:
Details of the 2014
championship are subject to MSA approval.
| |
 |
Crews, sponsors and organisers talk
about
the 2013 WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Click
here |
| |
|
Brief highlights of the 2013 WWRS
R.A.C. Rally Championship
Click
here
|
| |
|
http://www.rallytv.co.uk/ |
Press
release – 3pm, 14 October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship launches Clubman Challenge
An
all-new Clubman Challenge will be organised within the 2014 R.A.C. Rally
Championship, which is unveiled today (Monday 14 October) during the first
virtual championship launch in British rallying.
Running within the R.A.C. Championship
will be the R.A.C. Clubman Challenge, which is aimed at recognising the crews
competing on limited resources. At the heart of the R.A.C. Clubman Challenge
will be a six-tyre per event ruling: to be eligible for the challenge, drivers
must use no more than six tyres per rally. Any punctured tyres will count as
part of the six-tyre allocation.
The crews will compete over the same
classic stages as the main championship, with the best six scores from eight
rallies counting towards the end-of-season total. The Clubman Challenge will
run
alongside the main R.A.C. Rally Championship but will have a different scoring
system: it
will be a class and category-based challenge, allowing crews from any
of the four categories
to be the Clubman Challenge champions.
For each car competing in the R.A.C.
Clubman Challenge, six tyres will all be marked at scrutineering at each event
and only these tyres may be used during the rally. Any tyres from
a previous
event that the competitor wishes to use must be taken to scrutineering and
re-marked
as part of the set of six for that event.
The R.A.C. Rally Championship organisers
have always pledged to try and contain costs and maintain a level playing field
and the R.A.C. Clubman Challenge is a major part of that
commitment.
“We are really excited about this new
challenge as it brings a degree of rallymanship into the equation as the type of
tyres, compounds, tyre pressures and driving style will all come into
play,”
said Championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “The overall champions, who can
come
from any of the four categories, will be worthy winners as they will have
shown speed, thought
and tactical awareness throughout the season.”
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
| |
 |
Listen to
Simon Wallis introducing the new
Clubman
Challenge
Click
here |
Press release – 2pm, 14
October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship goes first
In
2014, the R.A.C. Rally Championship, which is unveiled today (Monday 14 October)
during the first virtual championship launch in British rallying, will be the
historic championship that goes first.
On the seven championship rounds, the
R.A.C. historic contenders will run first on the road in a historic permit
event, thus ensuring the very best road conditions for cars that are up to half
a century old. In keeping with tradition, the oldest cars in Category 1 will
head the way before the rest of the historics, including those running in the
new Category 4.
“We believe that running first on the road
on gravel events is essential to the on-going good
health and popularity of
historic rallying,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall.
“We have an
on-going commitment to run the historics first so that they can enjoy the best
road conditions.”
With a calendar that takes in some of the
best gravel stages in Britain, contenders in the R.A.C. Championship are in for
a fine season of gravel rallying. “We know that running order is very important
to our contenders and we are very pleased to confirm that they will go first in
2014,”
said Heppenstall.
The 2014 schedule will take R.A.C.
contenders into some of the best forest stages available, including classics
like Crychan, Pikes Peak, Hafren, Kershope, Rheola, Margam, Dalby and Cropton.
It is an unrivalled schedule in British rallying.
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
| |
|
Paul Lawrence talks about the
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship going first...
Click
here |
Press
release – 1pm, 14 October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship regional Challenges unveiled
Two
major regional Challenges will be organised within the 2014 R.A.C. Rally
Championship, which is unveiled today (Monday 14 October) during the first
virtual championship launch in British rallying.
The 2014 Championship will incorporate
individual Welsh and Northern Challenges, aimed at giving the championship as
broad an appeal as possible and ensuring that crews with limitations on time or
money, or both, can compete for prestigious end-of-season awards.
Welsh Challenge
With four first-class gravel rallies in
Wales in 2014, the R.A.C. Rally Championship will
introduce a Welsh Challenge.
Provisionally, competitors will count all
scores towards their end-of-season total. The Welsh Challenge will run alongside
the main R.A.C. Championship but will have a different scoring system: it will
be a class and category-based challenge, allowing crews from any of the four
categories to be the Welsh Challenge champions.
Points will be awarded for class position
and overall position within each category.
In addition to the overall award
there will also be category and class awards.
The championship runs concurrently
with the R.A.C. Rally Championship and competitors
can scores points in both
series. The Welsh Challenge will be contested over the spectacular
roads in
Wales, the majority of which have featured in past Lombard RAC and Wales Rally
GB events.
They include Halfway, Crychan, Route 60,
Myherin, Hafren, Pikes Peak, Tarenig, Margam and Rheola. No other championship
offers the chance to compete on these fabulous stages.
The rounds of the Welsh Challenge are:
- Sunday 2 February, Red Kite Stages (Llandovery)
- Sunday 2 March, Mid Wales Stages
(Newtown)
- Saturday 31 May, Severn Valley Stages
(Builth Wells)
- Saturday 9 August, Neath Valley
Stages (Resolven)
Northern Challenge
With three excellent gravel rallies in the
North of England in 2014, the R.A.C. Rally
Championship will introduce a
Northern Challenge.
Competitors will count all three scores
towards their end-of-season total. The Northern
Challenge will run alongside the
main R.A.C. Rally Championship but will have a different
scoring system: it will
be a class and category-based challenge, allowing crews from any of the
four
categories to be the Northern Challenge champions.
Points will be awarded for class position
and overall position within each category. In addition
to the overall award
there will also be category and class awards. The championship runs concurrently
with the R.A.C. Rally Championship and competitors can scores points in both
series.
The Northern Challenge will be contested
over fabulous stages in the North of England,
most of which have featured in
past Lombard RAC Rallies. They include: Dalby, Cropton,
Staindale, Langdale,
Hamsterley, Gale Rigg, Newcastleton and Kershope.
The rounds of the Northern Challenge are:
- Saturday 26 April, Tour of Hamsterley
(Shildon)
- Saturday 21 June, Carlisle Stages
(Carlisle)
- Saturday 27 September, Trackrod
Historic Cup (Pickering)
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
| |
|
Listen to Simon Wallis introducing the new
regional challenges
Click
here |
Press release – 12
noon, 14 October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship structure unveiled
The
structure for the 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship, which is unveiled today
(Monday 14 October), has been confirmed.
Once again, the core of the championship
will be the existing historic Categories One, Two and Three, covering cars
produced up to the end of 1981. New for 2014 will be the full introduction of
Category Four for cars produced up to the end of 1985. In addition, a separate
Category K will be home to pre ’86 cars complying to FIA Appendix K regulations.
Running in parallel to the historic cars
will be Category O, for all two-wheel drive ‘open class’
cars originally built
before the end of 1987. On at least some events, Category O cars will run
within
the concurrent modern event.
In summary, the Categories are:
- Category 1
Cars built up to December 1967, prepared to MSA historic regulations
- Category 2
Cars built up to December 1974, prepared to MSA historic regulations
- Category 3
Cars built up to December 1981, prepared to MSA historic regulations
- Category 4
Cars built up to December 1986, prepared to MSA historic regulations
- Category K
Cars built up to December 1986, prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations
- Category O
Two-wheel drive cars built up to December 1987
“One of the founding principles of the
R.A.C. Championship is to focus on cars prepared
to MSA and FIA historic
regulations,” said Championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “We are delighted to
fully embrace the new Category 4 and also offer a place for Open category cars
to come out and compete.”
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
Press release – 11am, 14
October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship: the vision
More
competitors, the finest gravel stages and a championship that responds to its
competitors are some of the key aims of the 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship,
which is unveiled today (Monday 14 October) during the first virtual
championship launch in British rallying.
In its inaugural year in 2013, the West
Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship attracted unprecedented competitor
support and consistently drew excellent entries, with quality and quantity to
match. The new championship was able to halt a significant decline in historic
entries during
2012 and return to, at least, 2011 levels.
In 2014 the Championship schedule will
include the Severn Valley Stages. The calendar will
offer crews the chance to
tackles stages that are widely regarded as the best in the country.
“Our aim is to have 45-55 stage miles per
rally, with usually a one-day format and rallies on Saturdays wherever
possible,” said Championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “In 2014 we will
not
include any asphalt rallies, but this will be very much under review for 2015.
“It is, and always will be, my aim to
provide friendly yet competitive motorsport with
transparency in the
regulations. Our eligibility scrutineer John Cooper is open and
approachable and
is always very happy to chat about issues either at events or on the phone.
John
is the first point of contact and his work is backed up by a six-man Eligibility
Working
Group.
“For 2014 we are embracing the MSA’s move
to introduce Category 4 (pre ’86) into historic
rallying and this will be
reflected in our championship regulations and classes. We have a
first class
media package, including unrivalled TV coverage, a dedicated organising team,
great events and, most of all, a sporting and friendly atmosphere.
“Throughout 2013 the number of registered
competitors grew and by mid-season a total of 83 crews had registered. Our
ambition is to take that total to more than 100 in 2014.
“2013, was an exciting year for everyone
involved in the Championship and a great deal of hard work went in making it a
success. We will build on that success to make 2014 an even better
season. So,
if you are looking for excellent competition on top quality gravel events and a
championship run for the competitors, then look no further.”
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
| |
|
Listen to an interview with
Championship Manager
Colin Heppenstall
Click
here |
| |
|
Watch a video interview with
Championship Manager
Colin Heppenstall.
Click
here
http://www.rallytv.co.uk/ |
Press release – 10am,
14 October 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship calendar unveiled
Some
of the finest gravel rallies in Britain will make up the calendar for the 2014
R.A.C. Rally Championship, which is unveiled today (Monday 14 October) during
the first virtual championship launch in British rallying.
The provisional 2014 schedule is:
- Sunday 2 February, Red Kite Stages (Llandovery)
- Sunday 2 March, Mid Wales Stages
(Newtown)
- Saturday 26 April, Tour of Hamsterley
(Shildon)
- Saturday 31 May, Severn Valley Stages
(Builth Wells)
- Saturday 21 June, Carlisle Stages
(Carlisle)
- Saturday 9 August, Neath Valley
Stages (Resolven)
- Saturday 27 September, Trackrod
Historic Cup (Pickering)
The schedule largely mirrors the 2013
calendar, but with the addition of the Severn Valley
Stages, one of the classic
Welsh gravel events. The prime motivation when compiling the
calendar was to
give competitors the chance to compete over the best quality gravel roads
available. In addition, the schedule reflects a wish from many competitors for
one-day gravel
rallies run on Saturdays.
“We’ve got a superb schedule of events,
which reflects the views and wishes of our competitors,” said Championship
manager Colin Heppenstall. “The route for the Tour of Hamsterley will have a
significantly different look for 2014 and I’m very grateful to all the event
organisers for their hard work.”
The 2014 schedule will take R.A.C.
contenders into some of the best forest stages available, including classics
like Crychan, Pikes Peak, Hafren, Kershope, Rheola, Margam, Dalby and Cropton.
It is an unrivalled schedule in British rallying.
The home for today’s virtual launch is the
championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Details of the 2014 championship are
subject to MSA approval.
Press release – 11
October 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The
television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship on
Motors TV will continue on Sunday 20 October with the report from the sixth and
final round of the season, the Trackrod Historic Cup.
Importantly, the location of Motors TV has changed and it can now be found at
channel 447.
Starting at 9pm on Motors TV, the primetime programme will cover all the action
as Matt Edwards and Elliott Edmondson scored a famous and popular victory over
the classic Yorkshire stages. Several repeat showings will include 12noon on
Monday 21 October.
After a season of mixed fortunes, the North Wales driver turned in a superb
performance with his Ford Escort Mk2 to win the Historic Cup again strong
opposition. Edwards went ahead in the stages in the darkness of Friday evening
and stayed ahead through Saturday’s stages.
In series two, the Porsche 911 of Tim Mason and Graham Wild moved ahead when
Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper suffered gearbox problems with their Escort Mk1, but
the mighty 1600cc Escort Mk1 of Vince Bristow/Tim Sayer was only a minute
behind.
The programme will cover all the action including the stages in Staindale and
Dalby in the darkness of Friday evening. David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is
filming all rounds of the championship and captures all the action from the
stages as well as the very best in-car footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season review will
mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely to air
around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to 90
hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
2nd October 2013
Championship Newsletter No.18
Welcome to championship newsletter
number 18 for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
The final round for 2013, the Trackrod
Historic Cup, proved to be another excellent event that was very well received
by all our contenders. I would like to thank Rod Parkin and all his team for
their efforts in delivering a cracking event.
I’m delighted to report that planning
for the 2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship is moving on apace and we will unveil the
2014 season during our awards night on 12 October, so watch out for press
releases and more information following that event.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
 |
Press release – 1 October 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship award winners announced
The
special award winners for the sixth round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship have been announced following the Trackrod Historic Cup
(27/28 September).
Steve Magson posted the first retirement of the rally when his Vauxhall Chevette
crashed on the opening Staindale stage. The last retirement was the BMW 2002 of
Terry Cree/Richard Shores, which went off in the final stage in Langdale. Both
crews will receive a £100 voucher from West Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford
Escort Mk2 crew James Potter/Bob Duck after their number came out of the hat in
the draw for a third voucher.
Meanwhile, Ford Escort Mk1 crew Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer will receive a
cheque for £237.50 from Holton Homes after their number came out in the draw for
a refund of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants goes to Tim
Pearcey and Neil Shanks. Their team worked into the early hours of Saturday
morning to sort out a fuel tank issue and keep the Escort Mk2 in the rally.
Tom Coughtrie and Calvin Cooledge won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is
a set of axle brake pads from Mintex, after an excellent run in their Ford
Escort Mk2. Finally, Bristow won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry
can from Green Valley Industrial Supplies. His pace in his 1600cc Escort Mk1 was
again outstanding and he finished second overall in series two.
Press release – 30 September 2013
Edwards claims final victory in 2013 WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Matt
Edwards and Elliott Edmondson ended the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship season in style with a hard fought win on the Trackrod Pre-87 and
Historic Cup (Friday/Saturday 27/28 September), beating Ford Escort Mk2 legend
Steve Bannister on his home Yorkshire stages.
The rally covered five stages on the North York moors and forests, with two
tests on Friday evening and three more on Saturday. Escort Mk2 driver Edwards
did all the hard work on Friday night's two stages in Staindale and Dalby,
opening a 30.7s overnight lead over Bannister in the Rob Smith Rallying Series
3.
"I did my homework," said Edwards. "I spent ages watching the route DVD,
studying the notes and triple-checking the light pods. We changed tyres between
the two stages too. I knew I could make a different in the dark, but I said I'd
have been happy to end the night 30 seconds behind Banner - not 30 seconds
ahead."
Bannister lost time with a stall, but admitted that he just couldn't get into
the rhythm, and was at a loss to understand why. He finished the night just 4.6s
ahead of Escort Mk1 crew Richard Hill and Pat Cooper, who were heading the
Capital Construction Series 2.
It was clear and surprisingly warm on Saturday, and with his handling now sorted
Bannister went on a charge in his favourite forests. He set fastest time on SS3,
Cropton, aided when Edwards dropped ten seconds with a half-spin. Bannister
reduced the gap again in SS4, Gale Rigg. But Edwards wasn't to be denied,
pushing hard in Langdale. While Bannister was fastest again, Edwards returned to
Pickering Showground the winner by 11.9s. For Edwards it marked a fine
turnaround from his last visit to Yorkshire, when his Escort Mk2's engine blew
on the opening stage of last year's Roger Albert Clark Rally.
"I nearly didn't come, to be honest," said Edwards. "Yorkshire hasn't been kind
to me in the past, but I knew I needed to confront my demons at some point.
Geoff Jones kindly gave me some tyres and helped me out, which is a big reason
why I could go, and it paid off. It's a rally man's ultimate ambition to beat
Banner in Yorkshire, and to be in that position is something I never thought
would be possible. I was mentally exhausted by the end of the final stage. It's
a unique experience and the highlight of my rallying career so far."
For his part, Bannister was gracious after a rare defeat: "It was much better
today," he said. "We had the odd scare here and there, but we struggled to catch
Matt. It was a really good fight for the whole event." Unfortunately, Hill's
fine efforts on Friday came to nothing when a mechanical failure put him out of
the third place he had held all event on the final stage in Langdale.
The beneficiaries of Hill's misfortune were local driver Tim Pearcey and his
Scottish co-driver Neil Shanks. They had ended Friday's leg in fifth behind
Tomas and Eurig Davies, having lost time with a fuel tank problem. "The foam
that sits at the bottom of the tank worked loose on stage one and was causing
the engine to misfire," explains Shanks. While the issue cleared for stage two,
Pearcey's team elected to change the tank overnight. They borrowed a replacement
unit, and worked until 1am to fit it. Their hard work was repaid when Pearcey
overtook Davies on SS4 to claim third. "Friday was a disaster, but we recovered
due to hard work by the team," said Pearcey. "The tank we borrowed didn't really
fit, so we had to bodge it in place a bit."
Warren Philliskirk and Nigel Hutchinson finished fifth in their Escort Mk2, with
Hutchinson admitting that Friday's night stages were a challenge. "We got caught
in Tim Pearcey's dust on the first test, which made it even harder to see," he
said. "We could do with a pair of 20-year younger eyes between us." James Potter
and Bob Duck, who were sixth of the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship to finish,
also had visibility problems in their Escort Mk2, although these were caused by
Potter forgetting to switch his spotlights on for the second stage. "It's a
shame, because we had a brand new set of spotlights and they seemed very good,"
said Potter.
There was bad luck for rising star Ben Mellors and Alex Lee, who crashed heavily
on the fourth stage, Gale Rigg, in their Pinto-powered Escort Mk2. The stage was
stopped so that medical crews could attend, and Mellors was taken to hospital
with a broken ankle. He had been released from hospital by Saturday evening.
Maximum D3 points went to the Escort Mk2 of Paul Fry and Mike Steele.
With Hill's retirement, Porsche 911 crew Tim Mason and Graham Wild claimed
honours in Series 2 for cars built between 1968 and '74, finishing just over a
minute ahead of Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer's C2 winning Ford Escort Mexico.
Mason had his own mechanical dramas on the final stage. "We lost second gear on
the final stage, but we were able to nurse it home," said Mason. Close behind
Bristow were C3 winners David Kirby and Chris Rixon (Escort Mk1) after Terry
Cree and Richard Shores crashed out in their BMW 2002.
Steve Perez and John Millington had made a steady start in their Lancia Stratos,
but jumped up to third in class on Saturday's opening stage before a mechanical
problem sidelined him on the final test. Meanwhile, in C5 it was Barry Jordan
and James Gratton-Smith who won narrowly from Chris Browne and Ali
Cornwell-Browne.
John Everard/Mark Sharpley were the top WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
registered crew to finish in the Walker Diecastings Series 1 in their beautiful
Alfa Romeo Junior GT. "We lost the starter motor early in on Saturday, so we had
to push start it a few times," said Everard. "We had no service crew so we
didn't bother fixing it. The stages were superb."
Manx driver Stephen Higgins and Richard Simpson were second registered Series 1
finishers, and won Class B1 in their Saab 96 2 Stroke. They'd had a terrible
start when the only gear they could select on the start line of stage one was
reverse. They eventually found third and limped through the stage before the
problem fixed itself near the end of the test. "It was a bad start, but a
fantastic finish," said Higgins.
Peter Egerton and Alun Cook topped the Martin Jones Transmissions Series 4 for
FIA Appendix K cars in their Escort Mk2. Tom Coughtrie and Calvin Cooledge were
second in their similar machine after another of their increasingly impressive
runs.
The Trackrod Pre 87 and Historic Cup, organised by Trackrod Motor Club, ended
the inaugural WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship in style with a compact and
well-run event. The slick organisation won praise from competitors, who also
appreciated the lack of road mileage. The event also gave crews an early chance
to sample some of the Yorkshire stages that will form a key part of the Roger
Albert Clark Rally.
Press release – 28 September 2013
Edwards takes WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship finale
Matt
Edwards and co-driver Elliott Edmondson were hugely popular winners of the final
round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Trackrod
Historic Cup (Fri/Sat 27/28 September).
After a season of mixed fortunes, the North Wales driver turned in a superb
performance in the Yorkshire forests with his Ford Escort Mk2 to win the
Historic Cup against strong opposition. Edwards went ahead in the spectacular
stages in the darkness of Friday evening and stayed ahead through Saturday’s
stages.
In series two, the Porsche 911 of Tim Mason and Graham Wild moved ahead when
Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper suffered gearbox problems with their Escort Mk1, but
the mighty 1600cc Escort Mk1 of Vince Bristow/Tim Sayer was only a minute
behind.
Series winners were:
Series 1: John Everard/Mark Sharpley (Alfa Romeo GT)
Series 2: Tim Mason/Graham Wild (Porsche 911)
Series 3: Matt Edwards/Elliott Edmondson (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 4: Peter Egerton/Alun Cook (Ford Escort Mk2)
The Trackrod Historic Cup was organised by the Trackrod Motor Club. A more
detailed event report will be circulated during Monday (30 September).
Press release – 24 September 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV on YouTube and iRally
The
television coverage of round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship, the Red Kite Stages, is now available on YouTube and the iRally
app.
The 90-minute programme covers all the action as Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke
sealed the overall title with a mighty performance on fabulous gravel stages
round the rally HQ in Llandovery.
The full report from the Red Kite Stages can be watched on-line at:
http://youtu.be/8E-5QAhQKzI
In addition to the coverage on Motors TV and YouTube, the programme is available
via iRally and this platform is proving hugely popular, with hundreds of
thousands of views already this year as the entire R.A.C. Rally Championship is
covered.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. For more about iRally, please
visit
http://www.irallylive.com/ir_home.htm, or download the App free from the App
Store or Google Play
David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the championship and
brings all the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car footage
and interviews. His coverage of the Red Kite is already receiving rave reviews.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 23 September 2013
Yorkshire date for WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
The
Trackrod Historic and Pre ’87 Cup (27/28 September) marks the final round of the
inaugural West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship and another fabulous
entry of many of the quickest drivers in historic rallying will deliver a mighty
spectacle over the famous Yorkshire stages.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. Championship,
which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations.
But, significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of
cars to join the historic fraternity.
The 2013 championship has run over six one-day gravel rallies in England,
Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic
Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K.
Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other
pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
Three weeks ago in Wales on the Red Kite Stages, the 2013 R.A.C. title was
settled by Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke after a mighty campaign in their Ford
Escort Mk2. That was their fourth win from five events and put them beyond the
reach of their rivals after a season of stunning speed in the Rob Smith Rallying
Series 3.
With McCormack electing to miss the Trackrod, Matt Edwards and Elliott Edmondson
could set the R.A.C. pace and they are certainly due some good fortune in their
Ford Escort Mk2.
Of course, there are plenty more spectacular Escort Mk2s packing out the entry,
including flying Welshman Tomas Davies and local aces Warren Philliskirk and Tim
Pearcey, along with drivers like James Potter, Will Nicholls and rallying twins
Phil and Mick Squires. The brothers recently contested their 200th rally in
their faithful Mk2 and are now building up to tackling their 10th Roger Albert
Clark Rally in the car.
The wonderful Vauxhall Chevette of Pickering’s Steve Magson and Geoff Atkinson
offers welcome variety in category three while in class D3, for the
Pinto-powered Escort Mk2s, Ben Mellors and Alex Lee are setting some stunning
stage times as they get up among the BDG-engined Escorts. Another impressive
young crew leading the chase of Mellors is Ben Friend and Jonathan Jackson in
their Escort.
In the Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74), the crew likely to set the
overall pace is Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper in their Escort Mk1, who make a
welcome return to the R.A.C. Championship after missing a couple of rounds.
Their opposition will be headed by the similar cars of Chris Browne and Ali
Cornwell-Browne and Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith. Two fabulous cars will
line up in class C4: the sensational Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez/Paul Spooner
and the mighty Porsche 911 of Yorkshireman Tim Mason and Graham Wild.
However, in terms of the title race in series two it is the BMW 2002 of Terry
Cree/Richard Shores that is currently the car to beat after a mega season,
though the 2-litre Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s of Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and
David Kirby/Chris Rixon are chasing hard. Look out, too, for young Ash Slights
in a Mk1 Escort as he has bags of talent.
In class C2, the Ford Escort Mk1s of Vince Bristow/Tim Sayer and Robin
Shuttleworth/Ron Roughead head class C2, and will run first on the road along
with the pre ’68 cars in the Walker Diecastings Series 1.
Amon the pre ’68 cars the top championship contenders are locals John Everard
and Mark Sharpley in the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Junior GT. Their rivals include
Pete Gunson/Jonny Haynes in their Lotus Cortina and the wonderful two-stroke
Saab 96 of Stephen Higgins and Richard Simpson.
The Trackrod is a fitting final round for the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship, taking contenders into stages that have a place in rallying
folklore. The sight and sound of these cars in stages like Dalby will be a
highlight of this first class rally, with some of the action taking place in
darkness on Friday evening.
The Trackrod Historic Cup is organised by the Trackrod Motor Club. For more
details about the event please visit
www.trackrodmotorclub.co.uk.
Press release – 20 September 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The
television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship on
Motors TV will continue on Monday23 September with the report from the fifth
round, the Red Kite Stages.
Importantly, the location of Motors TV has changed and it can now be found at
channel 447.
Starting at 6pm on Motors TV, the 90-minute primetime programme will cover all
the action as Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke clinched the overall title on
classic Welsh gravel stages. Several repeat showings will include 3pm on
Wednesday 25 September.
Other notable championship series winners included Terry Cree and Richard
Shores, who again topped series 2 in their BMW 2002 and Dylan Davies/Llion
Williams who claimed series 7 in their Ford Escort Mk1. However, one of the
drives of the rally came from Ben Mellors and Alex Lee who won class D3 in their
Pinto-powered Escort Mk2 and finished sixth overall in the historic rally.
The programme will cover the action on fantastic stages in the Crychan and Caio
forest complexes. David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the
championship and captures all the action from the stages as well as the very
best in-car footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 18 September 2013
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship ready for virtual launch
The
2014 R.A.C. Rally Championship will be formally unveiled on Monday 14 October
during what is thought to be the first virtual championship launch in British
rallying.
Throughout Monday 14 October, the complete plan for next year’s championship
will be revealed in a series of multi-media announcements, covering press
releases, video releases and audio clips. The home for the virtual launch will
be the championship website:
www.racrallychamp.org
Starting at 10am, a series of hourly announcements will deliver extensive
details about the 2014 championship, including the calendar, the structure, the
classes and information on a raft of new initiatives being introduced for the
second year of the championship.
Championship manager Colin Heppenstall said he was delighted with how the plans
for 2014 had come together. “We’ve got a superb schedule of events, which
reflects the views and wishes of our competitors,” said Heppenstall. “We’ve also
got some great new ideas to unveil. We are thrilled with how well the inaugural
year for the championship has gone, but we’re not resting on our laurels and
have an even better package planned for 2014.”
15th September 2013
Championship Newsletter No.17
Welcome to championship newsletter
number 17 for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate
Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke on winning the 2013 title. They are very worthy
champions and have faced tremendous opposition on the way to the title. On
behalf of the championship organising team I am very pleased to salute a fine
achievement. We look forward to presenting them, and all the other 2013 award
winners, during the awards night on Saturday 12 October.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 11 September 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship award winners announced
The
special award winners for the fifth round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship have been announced following the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 8
September).
Matt Edwards posted the first retirement of the rally when his Ford Escort Mk2
suffered clutch problems early in the opening Crychan stage. The last retirement
was the Alfa Romeo Junior GT of John Everard/Mark Sharpley, which suffered fuel
problems on the final stage in Caio. Both crews will receive a £100 voucher from
West Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford Escort Mk2 crew Ben Friend/Jonathan
Jackson after their number came out of the hat in the draw for a third voucher.
Meanwhile, Saab 96 crew Stephen Higgins and Don Bramfoot will receive a cheque
for £225 from Holton Homes after their number came out in the draw for a refund
of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants goes to
championship winners Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke. They drove another
brilliant rally to seal the title and were quick to praise the pace of their
rivals after thrilling the fans out watching the action.
Friend and Jackson also won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a set of
axle brake pads from Mintex, after a tremendous run in their Ford Escort Mk2.
Finally, Ben Mellors won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry can from
Green Valley Industrial Supplies. Mellors and co-driver Alex Lee drove a
storming rally to win class D3 in their Pinto-powered Ford Escort Mk2 and finish
a remarkable sixth overall among the more powerful BDG-powered Escorts.
Press release – 10 September 2013
Pritchard confirms second place with a positive performance
Jason
Pritchard finished second in the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship after another solid performance on the Red Kite Historic Stages
(Sunday 8 September). The 24 year old Welshman finished 42s behind eventual
winner Marty McCormack.
Pritchard also took maximum points in the FIA Appendix K category and was
delighted to finish so close to top spot in his first season in the
championship:
"Marty won the event and in doing so
has won the RAC championship. I'd like to congratulate both Marty and Phil for a
brilliant drive and challenge all year, it's been good fun racing with them
again as we did back in the early days and C2's.
"I've been delighted with every round and my overall performance in my debut
season. This was my first year competing in a rear wheel drive car and in such a
competitive Championship I really didn't think I would be in a position to
challenge but I've been close on times to Marty and Nick throughout the
Championship. The only time I've had experience in driving the car is on the
events and they have driven MK2's for a number of years so to be up there with
them is a fantastic achievement and one I'm very proud of."
The youngster from Builth Wells had a
problem free first stage and finished the stage second fastest, a great
achievement as he hadn't had any time behind the wheel of his North Road Garage
car.
Unfortunately Pritchard couldn't seem to find the same rhythm in the second
stage and kept making uncharacteristic mistakes which resulted him being untidy,
however the time wasn't too bad and he was still in second spot when arriving at
first service.
An unfortunate incident with the steering wheel resulted with Pritchard's left
hand swelling up but he still managed to navigate thestages at Red Kite in
impressive fashion:
"Stage three was very fast with lots of bumps and as we run the car on a period
suspension we had several high speed moments and ended up dropping a lot of time
to people who use modern suspension through this stage. The steering wheel was
ripped out of my hands and hurt my left hand causing it to swell up. It was
extremely painful and I struggled to move my thumb. Not good in a left hand
drive car with no power steering!"
Pritchard picked up time in Stage Four and was driving a lot quicker and
continued this form onto Stage Five finding more of a rhythm:
"Moving into Stage Six we looked at the standings going into this stage and we
still had to push because Mathew Robinson and Kevin Davies were within 20
seconds of us and you can easily see the time disappear if you back off too much
on a long stage, the heavens opened in service before the stage so it was
difficult to navigate through the slippy stage however we managed to go two
seconds quicker in these conditions to secure second overall - a result we were
all delighted with."
The performance at Red Kite contributed to a successful championship for
Pritchard who again displayed speed and composure whilst challenging the strong
field, the youngster is now looking for some support and sponsorship to be able
to compete in the RAC Rally in November:
"We are currently looking at the
Championship points to see if anyone can beat our tally as we are currently
sitting second in Championship. If I can't be beaten we will miss the final
round and put our efforts and money towards competing on the RAC rally in
November. I'm currently working on raising the money to compete on this the
biggest rally within the UK so if anyone is interested in helping me on this
please contact me or the team at MPW Sport PR.
"As always I would like to thank Viking Motorsport for once again giving me a
brilliant car to drive there we no issues at all with the car and it was a
pleasure to drive, Dale was brilliant and did a fantastic job on the notes, the
organisers deserves a special mention for a great event and of course everyone
at North Road Garage for their valued support."
Press release – 9 September 2013
McCormack and Clarke settle the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke are the inaugural West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship victors after another mighty performance on the Red Kite Historic
Stages (Sunday 8 September).
The Escort Mk2 crew led from the start to take their fourth straight victory and
seal the 2013 championship after a superb day of rallying on classic Welsh
stages. While Nick Elliott and Dave Price retired after an off, Jason Pritchard
and Dale Furniss turned in another fine performance to lead the challenge of
McCormack and take maximum points in the FIA Appendix K category.
McCormack made his intentions clear on the opening stage in Crychan by going
five seconds faster than Pritchard as Elliott dropped 10s with too soft a tyre
compound. McCormack pressed home his advantage in the following stage just
across the road in Cefn and then took his lead out to half a minute after the
fast and flowing Caio stage.
“We were straight on it this morning: there are no lie-ins with this
championship,” said McCormack. “We kept pushing because we knew Nick and Jason
would be coming hard at us.” However, Elliott, now getting into the groove, was
out on the second run through Crychan, when the car slid off the road. There was
very little damage, but their rally was over.
After a dry morning with some dust starting to kick up, heavy rain showers
arrived as crews completed the second lap of stages, but the dramatically
different grip levels did not unsettle McCormack, who kept up his pace to head
Pritchard back to Llandovery by 42s for a fine victory.
“We were a bit slow on the first run through Caio,” admitted Pritchard, after
losing 18s in eight miles. Otherwise, Pritchard kept well in touch with
McCormack despite nursing a sore hand after a recent workshop accident. “I’m
pleased to be so close in our first season in historics,” said Pritchard after
another impressive performance.
A strong and rapid rally from Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson put them up to
third overall from Kevin Davies/Dale Bowen. “It was slippery on the first couple
of stages, but we’ve had a good day,” reported Robinson. Davies, on only his
third rally of the year, was slowed in the morning by an ailing clutch which
needed pumping, but upped his pace once it was fixed. “I was pleased with our
pace in the afternoon,” he said after strong runs in Cefn and Caio.
Out on the opening stage with gearbox failure went the Escort Mk2 of Terry
Brown/Tomos Whittle and clutch dramas put Matt Edwards/Andrew Murphy out of
contention.
Probably the best performance of the rally came from Ben Mellors and Alex Lee,
who pushed their Pinto-powered Escort Mk2 into a class-winning sixth overall,
just eight seconds behind the BDG version of Tim Pearcey/Jamie Edwards. An
on-going gearbox problem hindered Pearcey on his first rally for three months,
but Mellors had a clear run to chalk up another fine result.
Packing out a quality top 10 were a trio of Escorts, all tied on time: Warren
Philliskirk/Paul Wakely, Will Nicholls/Nick Broom and James Potter/Bob Duck
ended the day level, with Philliskirk setting the better time on the opening
stage from Nicholls and Potter. The three cars were never more eight seconds
apart on any one stage and were covered by just two seconds on the first run
through the 8.5-mile Caio stage.
With another storming performance, the BMW 2002 of Terry Cree and Richard Shores
was the class of category 2, finishing half a minute clear of the Escort Mk1 of
David Kirby/Chris Rixon as Dick Slaughter and Geoff Dearing took third.
“Excellent stages,” reported Cree. “The car has been very good. The second run
through Caio was very slippery in the rain and we were half a minute slower.”
Nick Jarvis and Paul Spooner had a good rally to take class C5 from Ian Rix/Rob
Cook, while Vince Bristow and Elgan Davies topped class C2 after running first
on the road with a freshly rebuilt engine. Bristow was let down on a service
crew, so drove the van and trailer from Sussex and fettled the car himself
during the rally to make the win very well deserved. “I’m grateful to all the
people who helped in the service area,” he said after finishing clear of the
similar Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth/Ron Roughead.
Away from the Escort Mk2s in category 3, class D2 went to the Hillman Avenger of
Graham Thatcher and Robert James. “We had understeer for the first two stages
and lost a minute on the last stage with a puncture,” reported Thatcher.
In Category 1, the Singer Chamois of Chris and Jo Tooze dropped a lot of time in
the opening stage when it stopped with a chronic misfire and though they
completed the stages, they were OTL. Meanwhile, a fuel problem sidelined the
Alfa Romeo of John Everard/Mark Sharpley on the final stage so maximum category
points went to the Saab 96 of Stephen Higgins and Don Bramfoot. “It’s been a
good day with excellent stages,” said Higgins before dashing to Liverpool for
the ferry back to the Isle of Man.
In series 7, for the open category cars, Dylan Davies and Llion Williams came
out on top in their Ford Escort Mk1 despite some major issues with tyre wear.
However, they had gone into the final Caio stage trailing the Escort Mk2 of Ben
Llewellin/Chris Davies by seven seconds. Sadly, Llewellin lost a wheel in Caio
and his rally was over after another highly impressive performance.
The Red Kite Stages, organised by Amman and DMC, had been another superb event
for the R.A.C. Rally Championship, with drivers giving the event a massive vote
of approval. Superb stages, slick organisation and a friendly welcome all added
together to make this a great rally. Full results are available at
www.amcrallyresults.co.uk or on
this website by following the link below.
| Read the
results in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
The WWRS R.A.C. Championship concludes
with round six, the Trackrod Historic Cup on 28/29 September.
Press release – 8 September 2013
McCormack and Clarke win WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke are the inaugural West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship victors after another mighty performance on the Red Kite Historic
Stages (Sunday 8 September).
The Escort Mk2 crew led from the start to take their fourth straight victory and
seal the 2013 championship after a superb day of rallying on classic Welsh
stages. While Nick Elliott and Dave Price retired after an off, Jason Pritchard
and Dale Furniss turned in another fine performance to lead the challenge of
McCormack.
Other notable championship series winners included Terry Cree and Richard
Shores, who again topped series 2 in their BMW 2002 and Dylan Davies/Llion
Williams who claimed series 7 in their Ford Escort Mk1. However, one of the
drives of the rally came from Ben Mellors and Alex Lee who won class D3 in their
Pinto-powered Escort Mk2 and finished sixth overall in the historic rally.
Series winners were:
Series 1: Stephen Higgins/Don Bramfoot (Saab 96)
Series 2: Terry Cree/Richard Shores (BMW 2002)
Series 3: Marty McCormack/Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 4: Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 7: Dylan Davies/Llion Williams (Ford Escort Mk1)
The Red Kite Stages was organised by Amman and District Motor Club. A more
detailed event report will be published later today.
4 September 2013
Pritchard heads to Red Kite in form
Jason Pritchard will join another
impressive entry list for the Red Kite Stages, round five of the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship (Sunday 8 September).
Pritchard is hoping to use his home
knowledge of the stages and his current strong form to challenge for a top three
finish at the 45-mile event at Llandovery.
The
stages offer a stern challenge for the 24-year old from Builth Wells. Based in
the Crychan and Cefn region, the Red Kite promises to be another highlight of
the new championship. The rally was originally intended to be the opening round
of the championship in January, but heavy snow resulted in the rally being
cancelled.
The Welshman, who won the modern
section of the Red Kite rally in 2010, will contest the historic stages in his
North Road Garage Mk2 Escort run by Viking Motorsport, whose proprietor is
Petter Soldberg’s former co-driver Phil Mills.
Pritchard will be joined by co-driver
Dale Furness and couldn’t hide his excitement when talking about the opportunity
to test his skills in one of the most competitive championships in the UK:
“The Red Kite is based in Llandovery,
which is only half an hour from my home town in Builth so I’ve got some great
experience and memories of the stage. In 2010 I won the modern section of the
rally and I would love to try and repeat that in the historic stages.
“In my opinion the stages used at the
event are some of the best in the world and I can't wait for this event to
start, especially after the disappointment of it being postponed in January. As
it’s so close to home, a lot of my friends and family will be out watching and
it’s my aim to give them something to cheer about!”
Another strong field will be on show in
Wales and the overall title could be settled on this penultimate round of the
championship as Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke bid to secure the inaugural WWRS
R.A.C. Rally Championship title.
However victory is not guaranteed and
Pritchard is hoping to recreate the speed and control that saw him just eight
seconds away from winning round four at the Neath Valley Stages and try to go
one better this weekend:
“Every time I sit behind the wheel of
the car my confidence grows, the field on show for the Red Kite stages is
incredibly strong and it’s brilliant to be able to test my skills against some
great drivers. The work that goes into getting the car ready by the team at
Viking Motor Sport is amazing and I hope I can reward this hard work with a
strong performance.
"In every round of the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship the competition has been so close, especially
at the front of field, a tiny mistake could cost you one or two places overall.
"I’ve not sat in the car since the
finish of the last event. So I’m going to try and get a few miles in the car
before the start and be 100% ready from the word go on Sunday!”
Press release – 3 September 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship heads
for Red Kite
Another tremendous entry has been
assembled for the Red Kite Stages, round five of the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship (Sunday 8 September).
With 45 miles of prime Welsh stages in
the Crychan and Cefn region from a base in Llandovery, the Red Kite promises to
be another highlight of a fabulous debut season for the new championship. The
rally was originally intended to be the opening round of the championship in
January, but heavy snow forced the organisers to postpone the rally.
Significantly,
the overall title could be settled on this penultimate round of the championship
as Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke bid to secure the inaugural WWRS R.A.C. Rally
Championship title.
The Escort Mk2 crew can seal the crown
with another victory on the Welsh event, having scored three wins on the trot
over the last three rallies. However, if the Irishman is headed by the similar
cars of Nick Elliott or Jason Pritchard, the title will not be resolved until
the concluding Trackrod Rally at the end of September.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club
has developed the R.A.C. Championship, which focuses on historic rally cars
complying with MSA and FIA historic regulations. But, significantly, it also
opens up the chance for the next generation of cars to join the historic
fraternity.
The 2013 championship is running over
six one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship
caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars
prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the
end of 1986 as well as other pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic
regulations.
Yet another fabulous field packs out
the Rob Smith Rallying Series 3, with McCormack and Elliott at the head of the
field. However, this is certainly not just a two-way contest as both Jason
Pritchard/Dale Furniss and Matt Edwards/Andy Murphy clearly have the speed to
win overall and Pritchard was just eight seconds away from winning round four,
the Neath Valley Stages. The quality of Escort Mk2 entry goes much, much further
with crews like Terry Brown/Tomos Whittle, Kevin Davies/Dale Bowen, Matthew
Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson, Tim Pearcey/Jamie Edwards, James Potter/Bob Duck and
Warren Philliskirk/Paul Wakely making up a sensational top 10.
In class D3, the pace of young Ben
Mellors and Alex Lee has been outstanding over recent events in their
Pinto-powered Escort Mk2, while Peter Smith and Graham Wild offer strong
opposition in their Opel Kadett as bounce back from a very early retirement in
Neath. More quick class D3 Escorts are handled by Paul Fry/Mike Steele and
youngsters Ben Friend/Jonathan Jackson. In class D4 is the Sunbeam Lotus of
James Stait/Glyn Thomas, while the ever-popular Hillman Avenger of Graham
Thatcher/Rob James runs in D2.
The 2-litre Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s
of Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and David Kirby/Chris Rixon will take on the BMW
2002 of Terry Cree/Richard Shores in class C3 within the Capital Construction
Series 2 (1968-74). In class C5, the battle will be between the Ford Escort Mk1s
of Nick Jarvis/Craig Thorley and Ian Rix/Lee Carter, while Robin Shuttleworth/Ron
Roughead head class C2, and run first car on the road, in their Ford Escort Mk1.
In the Walker Diecastings Series 1 for
pre ’68 cars the top championship contenders are John Everard and Mark Sharpley
in the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Junior GT. Their rivals include Chris and Jo Tooze
(Singer Chamois) and Stephen Higgins/Don Bramfoot (Saab 96). Finally, Series 7
for open pre ’87 cars is headed by the very rapid Ford Escort Mk2 of Mark
Spencer and Steve Pugh.
The Red Kite Stages is organised by the
Amman and District Motor Club. For more details about the event please visit
www.redkitestages.co.uk.
Press release – 27 August 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The
television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship on
Motors TV will continue on Saturday 31 August with the report from the fourth
round, the Neath Valley Stages.
Importantly, the location of Motors TV has changed and it can now be found at
channel 447.
Starting at 5:20pm on Motors TV, the 90-minute primetime programme will cover
all the action as championship leaders Marty McCormack, Nick Elliott and Jason
Pritchard fought tooth and nail for overall victory in their Ford Escort Mk2s.
McCormack clinched the win by just 0.7s from Elliott on the final stage, with
Pritchard very close behind.
Other series winners were Chris Tooze/Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois), Terry
Cree/Richard Shores (BMW 2002), Steve Perez/Sasha Heriot (Datsun 260Z) and Mark
Spencer/Steve Pugh (Ford Escort Mk2). Several repeat showings will include 11am
on Monday 2 September and 4pm on Tuesday 3 September.
The programme will cover the action on fantastic stages in the Rheola and Margam
forest complexes. David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the
championship and captures all the action from the stages as well as the very
best in-car footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 16 August 2013
Classic stages in store for Red Kite
The
classic special stages in Crychan, Cefn Llwydlo and Caio are in prime condition
ahead of the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 8 September, round five of the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
“We drove the Stages on Tuesday evening and Crychan and Cefn Llwydlo have been
totally regraded and are in the best condition we have seen for years,” said
Secretary of the Meeting John Morgan. Meanwhile, the 8.5-mile Caio stage has not
been used since the Red Kite in January 2011.
Heavy snow on the original January date forced the team at Amman and District
Motor Club to postpone the 2013 event, which will now run over the same route on
Sunday 8 September. Entries are now coming in well, from both R.A.C. contenders
and crews in the concurrent modern event.
The compact rally will again be based at the Castle Hotel in Llandovery and
offers 45 miles of classic gravel stages for £450 in a route that includes 100
road miles. The first car is scheduled to leave Llandovery at 9am and return to
the finish at around 3pm. Scrutineering and documentation will be held from 1pm
to 6pm on Saturday.
Regulations and entry forms are available at
www.redkitestages.co.uk
17th August 2013
Awards Night details published
Details have now been published of the
inaugural Championship Awards Night to be held on Saturday 12th October 2013 in
the Barcelona Suite of the Casa Hotel, Chesterfield.
Tickets are now available from Nicola
Heppenstall priced £40.00 each. (Menu choice will be required by Saturday 27th
September Trackrod Weekend).
More details can be found in the letter
from Championship Secretary,
Nicola Heppenstall which can be downloaded using the link below:
| Read Nicola's
letter
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Overnight accommodation can be booked
at a special rate by contacting Casa Hotel on
01246 245999 and quoting 'R.A.C.
Championship Awards Night'.
17th August 2013
Championship Newsletter No.16
Welcome to championship newsletter number 16 for the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship.
The news update in this issue contains
information on the recent Neath Valley Stages (Saturday 10 August), Round four
of the championship. The event ran very well indeed and everyone reported
that the stages were in superb conditions. Thanks go to Den Golding and all his
team at Three Counties Car Club for all their hard work in making the event such
a success.
It was very pleasing to see four crews
make their championship debut and we were delighted to welcome Vince Bristow,
Graham Thatcher, James Stait and Andrew Clayworth to the R.A.C. Championship.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 13 August 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship award winners announced
The
special award winners for the fourth round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship have been announced following the Neath Valley Stages
(Saturday 10 August).
Jonathan Brace/Jonny Evans posted the first retirement of the rally when his
Ford Escort Mk2 suffered clutch problems at the start of the opening stage. The
last retirement was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Aziz Tejpar/Alister Crook, which
suffered a fire on the penultimate stage. Both crews will receive a £100 voucher
from West Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford Escort Mk2 crew Paul Fry/Mike Steele
after their number came out of the hat in the draw for a third voucher.
Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo GT crew John Everard and Mark Sharpley will receive a
cheque for £212.50 from Holton Homes after their number came out in the draw for
a refund of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants goes to
championship newcomers Andrew Clayworth and Jez Rogers. They stopped on SS4 to
assist Aziz Tejpar when his car caught fire and dropped a lot of time assisting
at the scene. They went on to finish well in their superb Ford Escort Mk2
RS2000.
David Kirby and Chris Rixon won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a set
of axle brake pads from Mintex, after a tremendous run in their Ford Escort Mk1.
Finally, Terry Cree won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry can from
Green Valley Industrial Supplies. Cree and co-driver Richard Shores made the
long journey from North Yorkshire worthwhile with an attacking drive to win
class C3 and finish top championship contenders in Category 2.
Press release – 12 August 2013
R.A.C. competitors applaud Neath Valley Stages
Competitors
in the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship have given unparalleled
praise for the quality of the stages used on the Neath Valley Stages
(10 August).
As crews arrived at the finish on Saturday afternoon, every one of them
commented on the stunning gravel roads in the Rheola and Margam complexes. The
compact one-day rally organised by Three Counties Car Club was round four of the
championship. Among the comments were:
“Very good stages: I’d like to go round again,” said Jimmy McRae.
“The stages were fabulous and well worth the trip,” said Yorkshireman Warren
Philliskirk.
“The stages were superb: the best I’ve done for a long time,” said Terry Cree
(BMW 2002).
“Absolutely awesome: a pleasure to be out there,” said Graham Thatcher (Hillman
Avenger).
“Absolutely brilliant stages: the whole rally has been spot on,” said John
Everard (Alfa Romeo).
“The stages were fantastic,” said historic rally winner Marty McCormack.
“Fabulous stages: so fast and flowing,” said runner-up Nick Elliott.
“Brilliant: stunning stages,” said Phil Squires (Ford Escort Mk2).
“It was brilliant: fantastic stages,” said Will Nicholls (Ford Escort Mk2).
“The nicest stages I’ve driven on,” said Nick Jarvis (Ford Escort Mk1).
The WWRS R.A.C. Championship continues with round five, the Red Kite Stages on
Sunday 8 September.
Press release – 10 August 2013
McCormack wins WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship thriller
Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke took their third win from four rallies in the Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship after a superb battle on today’s Neath
Valley Stages (Saturday 10 August).
After a fabulous day of competition, McCormack/Clarke headed the similar Ford
Escort Mk2 of Nick Elliott and Dave Price by just seven-tenths of a second after
45 flat out stage miles in the Rheola and Margam complexes.
To show just how competitive things are at the head of the championship, Jason
Pritchard/Dale Furniss and Matt Edward/Sam Collis finished within 20 seconds of
McCormack. Other notable championship series winners included Terry Cree and
Richard Shores, who topped series 2 in their BMW 2002 and Mark Spencer/Steve
Pugh who claimed series 7 in their Ford Escort Mk2.
Series winners were:
Series 1: Chris Tooze/Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois)
Series 2: Terry Cree/Richard Shores (BMW 2002)
Series 3: Marty McCormack/Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 4: Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 6: Steve Perez/Sasha Heriot (Datsun 260Z)
Series 7: Mark Spencer/Steve Pugh (Ford Escort Mk2)
The Neath Valley Stages, organised by Three Counties Car Club, drew universal
acclaim from championship contenders who praised the organisation, the format
and, most of all, the stages. Former British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae was one
of many drivers who arrived at the finish wanting to go round the stages again,
such was the quality of the gravel roads used. “The stages were fantastic,” said
McCormack with a view echoed by every finisher.
A more detailed event report will be circulated during Monday (12 August).
8th August 2013
Pritchard hopes to build on championship form
Round four of the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship (Saturday 10 August) heads to South Wales this weekend
and Jason Pritchard is hoping to build on his fine championship form from
previous rounds.
The classic Wales Rally GB stages will be the setting for the Neath Valley
Stages and Jason is currently second overall after some quick performances over
the Championship.
The young Welshman, who will be joined by Dale Furnis, in the Mk2 Escort run by
Viking Motorsport, is looking forward to being back in Wales again:
“I'm looking forward to competing in my home country again as we have some of
the best gravel roads in the World. Den Golding the event Clerk of the course
always runs a fantastic event as a competitor himself and he puts that little
bit extra in everywhere which adds up to a big difference in the end making this
I think one of the best rallies in the UK.
“The rally always brings out a large crowd with the service area in the 'old
aluminium works', there you will find not just the crews and their cars but also
various food stands, stalls, a bar and music playing all day so it’s a real fun
atmosphere.
“Looking over the safety DVD I don’t know any of the stages we are using but
they look in perfect condition, very smooth and fast - on times it looks like
you’re on tarmac and not gravel”
The field will include a number of
quality drivers, including five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae. The
historic cars will run first on the road, competing over prime gravel stages in
the Rheola and Margam forest complexes. The very compact route, based at Rheola,
covers 45 stages miles and just over 60 road miles and the forest tracks are
reported as being in prime condition. Jason will hope to start well and get to
grips with the stages and the car quickly:
“It’s been quite a while since the last
event and I really can't wait to get back in the car. Viking Motorsport have put
different suspension springs on the car to see if that will help me at all in
the slower corners because with no power steering on the car I need all the help
I can get."
“The event has drawn another top class
entry list, which is credit to the organisers. I will have to push from the word
go. I am seeded at car 3 and will be aiming to finish in the top 3; if I can
achieve that, it will be a successful day.”
8th August 2013
Red Kite Stages
Yes,
we know that you are all getting excited about the Neath Valley Stages this
coming weekend, and rightly so but we just wanted to remind you about the next
round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Red Kite
Stages.
The Organising Team of Amman & District
Motor Club Ltd. have issued this flyer to welcome you to the 12th Anniversary of
the Red Kite Stages, which will run on Sunday 8th
September 2013.
The event will consist of the Red Kite Stages &
the Red Kite Historic Stages which will run as 5th round
of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship after being postponed in January
due to the severe weather conditions.
Together with the organisers we look forward to
seeing you in Llandovery in September.
Update - 6 August 2013
Neath Valley Stages
Spectator guide updated
The final version of the spectator guide for round four of
the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Neath Valley Stages
on Saturday 10 August, has now been
published.
The Guide has been updated to include a championship preview by
Paul Lawrence and a full seeded entry list. The guide is available for download from the
championship website.With a compact route covering some of
the best gravel roads in South Wales, the Neath Valley Stages is set to be a
very popular round of the championship and with strong existing competitor
support for this well-established rally, the event organisers are hoping to
attract a total field of more than 100 cars.
The free spectator guide, which
concentrates on the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship element of the rally,
includes a profile on event joint sponsor Jonathan Brace as well as the official
spectator information.
The spectator guide is available to
read online
The spectator guide is also available
here
in Adobe PDF format
|
|
Press release – 5 August 2013
Neath Valley set for WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round four
The
classic Wales Rally GB stages of South Wales will be the setting for the Neath
Valley Stages, round four of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship (Saturday 10 August).
With 14 models of car from 11 manufacturers and a vast array of quality drivers,
including five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae, it is another superb
entry for the championship. The historic cars will run first on the road,
competing over prime gravel stages in the Rheola and Margam forest complexes.
The very compact route, based at Rheola, covers 45 stages miles and just over 60
road miles and the forest tracks are reported as being in prime condition.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. Championship,
which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA and FIA historic
regulations. But, significantly, it also opens up the chance for the next
generation of cars to join the historic fraternity.
The 2013 championship is running over six one-day gravel rallies in England,
Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic
Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K.
Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other
pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
Heading the main historic field away will be championship leaders Marty
McCormack/Phil Clarke and Nick Elliott/Dave Price in a battle of the Ford Escort
Mk2s and their respective pace in these forests will be a talking point of the
rally. Elliott has more experience than McCormack of the area, but neither crew
is on what can be described as familiar territory.
Lining up against McCormack and Elliott will be another leading contender in the
form of the Viking Motorsport prepared Ford Escort Mk2 of Jason Pritchard/Dale
Furniss, who may elect to run in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series 4 for
cars prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations. Whichever category Pritchard
enters, he will be a very big rival to McCormack and Elliott in overall terms,
having shown increasingly strong pace in recent rounds.
McCormack and Elliott head the entry for the Rob Smith Rallying Series 3, but a
gaggle of very quick Escort Mk2s will be in pursuit, including the cars of Matt
Edwards/Sam Collis, Terry Brown/Tomos Whittle, James Potter/Bob Duck, Will
Nicholls/Nick Broom, Warren Philliskirk/Paul Wakely, Peter Slights/James
Whitaker, Jimmy McRae/Pauline Gullick, Tim Freeman/tba, Phil and Mick Squires
and event co-sponsor Jonathan Brace with Jonny Evans. All of them add fantastic
quality to another very strong field for the WWRS R.A.C. Championship.
Class D4 within Series 3 promises to be very interesting with the addition of an
ex-Russell Brookes Sunbeam Lotus for Irish ace Owen Murphy and highly
experienced co-driver James O’Brien. Although lacking experience in these
forests, Murphy’s pace in Ireland suggests he could be a big contender.
Similarly mounted are former BHRC champion James Stait and Glyn Thomas on
Stait’s first outing of 2013.
A tremendous seven-strong entry for Class D3 makes it the best D3 field of the
season in British historic rallying so far and the addition of asphalt ace
Melvyn Evans in his Escort Mk2 adds further quality. Evans, who is an infrequent
competitor on gravel, will go up against championship pacesetters Ben Mellors/Alex
Lee (Escort Mk2) and the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith/Graham Wild. More rapid
Pinto-powered Escorts are entered for Paul Fry/Mike Steele, Duncan Waite/Keith
Garton and Ben Friend/Jonathan Jackson.
The Ford Escort Mk1 of Nick Jarvis/Craig Thorley should set the standard in the
Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74), where an excellent entry of 2-litre
Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s will take on the BMW 2002 of Terry Cree/Richard
Shores. The Escort pack includes the ever-spectacular Dick Slaughter/Geoff
Dearing and David Kirby/Chris Rixon.
The WWRS R.A.C. Championship has pioneered a move to allow the 1600cc cars from
Series 2 and 3 to run first on the road along with the Series 1 cars and this
trial will be repeated on the Neath Valley Stages. The Ford Escort Mk1s of Vince
Bristow/Tim Sayer and Robin Shuttleworth/Ronnie Roughead will run at the very
head of the rally with the flying Bristow set to be first on the road for his
debut rally this season in the Escort. Also running in this group will be the
Hillman Avenger of Graham Thatcher/Robert James.
In the Walker Diecastings Series 1, the Lotus Cortina of Simon Wallis/Graham
Wride will set the benchmark in an encouraging field of pre ’68 cars. In hot
pursuit will be Ian Beveridge/Paul Price (Volvo PV544) and John Everard/Mark
Sharpley in the lovely Alfa Romeo GT. Now rebuilt after rolling on the Tour of
Hamsterley, the Alfa will be a real crowd pleaser and will be chased by Les
Allfrey/Sasha Herriott (Mini Cooper), Chris and Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois) and
welcome converts Callum Barney/Ron Channon (Ford Cortina GT).
The Neath Valley Stages is organised by the Three Counties Car Club. For more
details about the event please visit
www.threecountiescarclub.co.uk.
Spectator Update Neath Valley Stages -
Saturday 10 August
RHEOLA SPECTATOR STAGE
Admission charge is £10
per car payable on the gate.
Tickets are also
available at Rally HQ. This includes a full coloured programme and a seeded
Entry List. This Ticket will allow full access to the Stage and also to Rally HQ
on Friday 9th from 12 noon and again on Saturday 10th from 07.30am.
Rheola is the only
official Spectator Stage and will be used twice during the rally. First car is
due on SS1 at approximately 10.45 and on SS4 at approximately 2.00pm.
Spectator Gate will open
at 9.00am
Food and drink will be
available at the spectator area
PLEASE FOLLOW MARSHALS’
INSTRUCTIONS
There is a strict 15mph
limit on the Forest road (imposed by Natural Resources Wales) Forestry Officers
will be in attendance throughout the day so please adhere to the limit.
This limit will also be
imposed by the Organisers at Rally HQ
Spectators are welcome
to camp overnight on Friday 9th at Rally HQ FREE OF CHARGE.
There is plenty of room for Motor-homes and Caravans on a solid concrete car
park but unfortunately no grass for tents
Alcohol is not
permitted in the Forest or at Rally HQ.
Offenders will be asked
to leave
We hope you have a
great day’s Motorsport
The Organisers
Press release – 15 July 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV on YouTube and iRally
The
television coverage of round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship, the DMACK Carlisle Stages, is now available on YouTube and the
iRally app.
The 90-minute programme covers all the action as championship leader Marty
McCormack headed Nick Elliott and Jason Pritchard in a battle of the Ford Escort
Mk2s.
The full report from the DMACK Carlisle Stages can be watched on-line at:
http://youtu.be/-D7ZO_77-eM
In addition to the coverage on Motors TV and YouTube, the programme is available
via iRally and this platform is proving hugely popular, with hundreds of
thousands of views already this year as the entire R.A.C. Rally Championship is
covered.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. For more about iRally, please
visit http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download
the App free from the App Store or Google Play
On the DMACK Carlisle Stages crews tackled top quality stages in the
Newcastleton and Kershope forest complexes. David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is
filming all rounds of the championship and brings all the action from the stages
as well as the very best in-car footage, drawing from 11 camera positions and
eight in-car cameras. The programme also takes a look at former British Rally
Champion Tapio Laukkanen competing in a DMACK-backed Escort Mk2.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Championship Preview Video
The television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship
on Motors TV will continue on Sunday 14 July with the report from the third
round, the DMACK Carlisle Stages. In the meantime watch this short preview by Mad Bob
Press release – 7 July 2013 
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship
on Motors TV will continue on Sunday 14 July with the report from the third
round, the DMACK Carlisle Stages.
Importantly, the location of Motors TV has recently changed and it can now be
found at channel 447.
Starting at 8pm on Motors TV, the 90-minute primetime programme will cover all
the action as championship leader Marty McCormack headed Nick Elliott and Jason
Pritchard in a battle of the Ford Escort Mk2s. Among several repeat showings
will be one at 10am on Monday 15 July.
The programme will cover the crews tackling top quality stages in the
Newcastleton and Kershope forest complexes. David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is
filming all rounds of the championship and will bring all the action from the
stages as well as the very best in-car footage, drawing from 11 camera positions
and eight in-car cameras. The programme will also take a look at how former
British Rally Champion Tapio Laukkanen got on in a DMACK-backed Escort Mk2.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 3 July 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship celebrates Category 1 cars
Historic
rally cars from the pre ’68 Category One will be celebrated over the next two
rounds of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Neath
Valley Stages (10 August) and the Red Kite Stages (8 September).
The idea is to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of four cars that have been the mainstay of Category One over the
years. Half a century ago, 1963 heralded the arrival of the Mini Cooper S, the
Porsche 911, the Ford Lotus Cortina and the Hillman Imp.
The two Welsh events will be ideal for
the Category One cars and the Neath Valley Stages offers the only chance of 2013
to rally in the forests made famous by Wales Rally GB. Both events promise
classic gravel stages in prime condition and, in line with tradition for these
cars on gravel rallies, Category One cars contesting these events will run first
on the road.
At a time of the season when
opportunities to contest top quality Welsh stages in a Category One car are very
limited, it is hoped that this initiative will bring out a good field of these
wonderful cars on these events. Those registered for the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship will, of course, score points in the Walker
Castings-backed Category One within the championship.
To mark the 50th anniversaries, special
awards will be presented to the best presented Mini Cooper S, Porsche 911, Ford
Lotus Cortina and Hillman Imp across the two rallies. A panel of expert judges,
including event scrutineers, will look at the cars and the four selected winners
will each receive a special 40cm x 30cm framed canvas print of their car in
action.
Press release – 3 July 2013
Carlisle Stages to return in 2014
Following
the first running of the new DMACK Carlisle Stages, plans are already under way
for the 2014 event with a provisional date set of Saturday 21 June.
This year’s event, round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship, was hailed as a great success and drew widespread praise from
competitors. Superb stages, slick and friendly organisation and a compact route
and format drew universal acclaim from competitors. The event featured 45 stage
miles and just 65 road miles, with a 10am start and the first car back at the
finish by 3pm.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the rally had a superb
start venue, rally HQ and service area at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons
Haulage Company in Longtown, five minutes from the M6 at Carlisle. Crews
reported that the stages in the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes were in
first class condition.
Even though the inaugural Carlisle Stages has only just been completed, plans
for 2014 are already being laid. “This event has got great potential and we plan
to grow it year on year,” said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “We had a couple
of regional associations observing the rally this year and we hope that they
will decide to include the Carlisle Stages in their 2014 championship
calendars.”
The 2014 event is, of course, already included in the provisional calendar for
the R.A.C. Rally Championship.
Pritchard's form continues in Carlisle
Jason
Pritchard continued his fine form as he finished an impressive third in the
historic section of the DMACK Carlisle Stages Rally (Saturday 22 June) and also
won the FIA Appendix K class in round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship.
The event took in six stages in some of
the region’s best-loved forests and Pritchard produced another solid performance
and was pleased to finish in the top three, although he did face a number of
difficulties along the way:
“The event was short and sharp and I
experienced some difficulty on the third stage whilst braking as I didn't have
the grip to stop so I had to chuck the car into the corner, luckily the rears
were still on the road so once the car fired up we were able to reverse and
continue only losing 10-15 seconds.”
The brand new rally, organised by the
Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club was won by Marty McCormack and ran across
stages in the Newcastleton and Kershope region and was adjudged a great success
as crews praised the quality of stages and slick and friendly organisation.
Pritchard was joined by Dale Furnis in
the Mk2 Escort run by Viking Motorsport and was impressed with the car:
“The car was really good and I was
very impressed, in the service all the Viking Motorsport crew had to do was fit
new tyres and fuel the car, showing again how well they build and prepare the
cars.
“As the day progressed I was on a
comfortable pace and with the weather constantly changing from sun to heavy rain
during the stages we kept it clean and finished the event third overall and won
the class to add another successful event under the team’s belt.”
The Welshman’s next event is the Neath
Valley stage which he competed on last year in a Fiesta ST:
“I’m really looking forward to the
Neath Valley stage; the event is the closest one in the UK to how they run
events in Europe with a real carnival feel which makes for a brilliant
atmosphere.
“As always I'd like to thank
everyone in Viking Motorsport, Pirelli, and North Road Garage for their
continued support.
“I'm currently contacting people
regarding future events I intend to do and working on raising the money to do
this. If anyone is interested in knowing what I'm planning to do and how I could
help you by you helping me please contact me on 07889 916 123 or contact MPW
Sport PR on 07789 722 561.
“Every little helps and with viewing
figures of over 750,000 just on iRally for the RAC Rally Championship, this
shows this is the most viewed Historic champioship with coverage on Motors TV as
well.
Photo courtesy Bob Little
Press release – 25 June 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship award winners announced
The
special award winners for the third round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship have been announced following the DMACK Carlisle Stages
(Saturday 22 June).
Matthew Robinson and Nigel Hutchinson posted the first retirement of the rally
when their Ford Escort Mk2 developed a misfire on the way to the opening stage.
The last retirement was the Ford Escort Mk1 of Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer, which
went off on the final stage. Both crews will receive a £100 voucher from West
Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford Escort Mk2 crew Ben Mellors and Alex Lee after
their number came out of the hat in the draw for a third voucher.
Meanwhile, class C3 contenders David Kirby and Chris Rixon will receive a cheque
for £225 from Holton Homes after their number came out of the draw for a refund
of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants goes to Vauxhall
Chevette driver Steve Magson who battled to the finish despite suffering with
food poisoning. His last visit to the Kershope stage ended in a roll on the 2012
Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Will Midgley and Paul Slingsby won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a
set of axle brake pads from Mintex, in their Toyota Corolla. Finally, Matt
Edwards won the ‘Hard Charger’ award of a 20-litre jerry can from Green Valley
Industrial Supplies. Despite a damaged exhaust and no service crew, Edwards and
Sam Collis battled home in a strong fourth place.
Press release – 25 June 2013
DMACK Carlisle Stages spectator guide is a hit
Spectator
response to a new initiative on the DMACK Carlisle Stages has proven to be
outstanding after the event’s free spectator guide was downloaded more than 1500
times in the run up to the rally (Saturday 22 June).
The free guide, which breaks new ground in British rallying, allowed fans to get
all the information they needed in good time ahead of the rally. The information
in the guide made it easy for spectators to plan their day and understand
exactly what the rally was about and how it would run on the day.
As a further bonus for spectators, free parking was available at two of the
event’s three special stages for the third round of the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship.
As well as details of the stages and parking areas, the spectator guide included
the event time schedule, sponsor information and the championship background.
“Spectators are an integral part of any rally and we wanted to make them feel
welcome on the DMACK Carlisle Stages,” said championship manager Colin
Heppenstall. “We hoped that by giving them good information about the rally,
they would behave responsibly. We certainly had no spectator issues on the day.”
With the response to the spectator guide far exceeding expectations, the R.A.C.
Rally Championship media team is now investigating repeating the guide for other
rounds of the championship.
Press release – 24 June 2013
McCormack takes WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round three
Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke took victory on round three of the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the DMACK Carlisle Stages (Saturday 22 June).
The brand new rally, organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, ran
across stages in the Newcastleton and Kershope region and was adjudged a great
success as crews praised the quality of stages and slick and friendly
organisation. With a very compact route and minimal stage mileage, the event was
a great addition to the championship schedule.
Overnight rain dampened down the stages, but right from the start McCormack’s
Escort Mk2 was the pacesetter, taking eight seconds out of nearest rivals Nick
Elliott/Dave Price through the opening Arthur’s Seat stage, with another eight
seconds before Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss in third.
The pattern continued over the next two stages, with McCormack exiting the
10-miler through Kershope 19 seconds up on Elliott as they headed for service.
“No problems at all, I stayed on the road and it was all good; like a Carlsberg
morning,” said McCormack. “I didn’t start to feel confident until the third
stage, as the thoughts of being in a ditch one mile in didn’t really excite me,”
Elliott added. Pritchard was still in third as they returned to service, but had
lost time with a slight off on stage three. “I lost it under braking and had the
front wheels over a ditch,” he explained.
Tapio Laukkanen/Glenn Patterson had started cautiously in the Finn’s first Ford
Escort outing for 21 years. “Stage one was a learning lesson, stage two slightly
better and then stupid mistakes through not listening and it was slippy,” he
explained after dropping from an early fourth to sixth, behind Tim Pearcey/Neil
Shanks and Matt Edwards/Sam Collis.
Pearcey rated his performance as ‘rubbish’ having tried to crash on at least two
stages. Edwards also had problems: “We hit a rock on stage one and damaged the
manifold, but had to fix it to pass the noise test leaving service and we have
no service crew,” he said.
Heavy rain played its part during the afternoon stages, a re-run of the
morning’s mileage, but made no difference to McCormack. “The whole day was
really good. I kept my head down doing what we were doing, plus I didn’t back
off in the rain,” he said after securing his win by 36 seconds. Elliott also
consolidated his hold on second: “I pushed more as I got more confident. It was
my first time on some of these stages, so very happy with second,” he concluded.
Apart from ‘a few slips and slides,’ Pritchard came through the afternoon
unscathed and also won the FIA Appendix K class in his Escort Mk2. Edwards moved
into fourth on stage four and built a cushion over Pearcey. “We had to keep
fixing the manifold all afternoon though,” added Edwards.
Steering problems started to drop Laukkanen down the order too. “I stalled at a
junction in stage five though, but it was great fun,” he said after dropping to
11th at the finish. His fall brought the Escort Mk1 of Richard Hill/Dave Robson
into the top six. “Maybe I was a bit cautious at first with my new navigator and
then lost time on stage five as I couldn’t see in the rain,” said Hill after
clinching victory in Series Two. His delay gave Rob Smith/Alun Cook an outside
chance of snatching sixth, with only five seconds between them and a 10-mile
stage to finish. “We got a rear puncture though and the car hadn’t missed a beat
all day,” said Smith who still managed to retain seventh.
Jimmy McRae and Pauline Gullick upped their pace during the afternoon and broke
into the top ten, before sealing eighth in their Escort Mk2. “I could have done
with doing the first three stages again,” said McRae. The Escorts of James
Potter/Robert Duck and Will Nicholls/Nick Broom completed the top ten, Nicholls
also taking second in Series 5 for Appendix K cars, with Steve Perez/Carl
Williamson sadly having suffered a broken diff on the Lancia Stratos the opening
stage.
Ian Beveridge/Paul Price (Volvo PV544) and Stephen Higgins/Howard Allison (Saab
96) contested Series One, with Beveridge really enjoying the stages on the way
to victory.
Class C3 in Series Two was decided on the last stage when Dick Slaughter/Tim
Sayer (Escort MK1) went off after leading all day. Terry Cree/Richard Shores
(BMW 2002) moved through to win with David Kirby/Chris Rixon (Escort Mk1) a
minute down in second. “I thought we were quicker at the start, it felt fast,”
said Kirby.
Hill/Robson led Class C5 in Series Two all day and only Nick Jarvis/Craig
Thorley survived, after Mark and Tim Tugwell rolled their Escort Mk1 out of the
rally. Class C2 went to Robin Shuttleworth and Ron Roughead (Escort Mk1 Mexico),
who ran first on the road in a trial initiative to support the 1600cc cars from
Series Two and Three.
Class D3 in Series Three featured a day-long duel between Peter Smith/Patrick
Walsh (Opel Kadett) and the Ford Escort Mk2 of Ben Mellors/Alex Lee. Mellors led
from stage three, while Smith retired on the final stage with an overheating
engine, which promoted Alan Hughes/Richard Wardle (Escort Mk2) into second.
Tim Mason and Graham Wild (Porsche 911) were never headed in Class D4, while Guy
Anderson/Kim Baker (Sunbeam Lotus) secured second from Steve Magson/Geoff
Atkinson (Vauxhall Chevette) as Magson struggled all day with food poisoning.
Simon Wallis/Graham Wride were the only Series Four starters in their BMW 325
and a broken engine mounting got them back to service after the first three
stages but no further with the engine resting on the steering rack and sump
guard.
With Dylan Davies/Llion Williams retiring their Escort Mk1 with a cracked roll
cage after the first stage, Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith topped Series Seven
in their Escort Mk2, comfortably clear of the similar car of Martyn Hawkswell/Nick
Welch.
Full results are available at
www.rallies.info
The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship continues with round four,
the Neath Valley Stages on Saturday 10 August.
Words by Peter Scherer, photo courtesy Russ Otway (www.90right.com)
Tour of Hamsterley 2013 Update
At
the DMACK Carlisle Stages we were pleased to meet with Steve Waggett, Clerk of
the Course of the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley Rally. Steve
wants to reassure every R.A.C. Championship Competitor of that event's
commitment to iron out any issues from this years event to make it bigger and
better next year. We are happy to pass on his comments.
Clicking on the image, right, will take you to his original letter.
"In
our post-event letter we promised an update as to our dealings with the Forestry
Commission and efforts in obtaining another venue to alleviate the pressure on
the Hamsterley complex.
We are pleased to report that negotiations are at an advanced stage in securing
another venue which will bring severeal miles of good competition on some
flowing, well built roads at a private venue that we unfortunately cannot name
as yet.
It is also withy pleasure that
following this year's event we have now met with representatives from the
Forestry Commission and from a high level within the organisation we have the
promise of some major road improvements in the Hamsterley Complex. Whilst of
course we cannot control the weather, these improvements will hopefully bring a
much reduced risk to cutting up and the overly slippy conditions in the woods on
28th April.
Sadly we have not yet reached any
movement on the restoration of the famous "ford" but we will keep trying.
Whilst the route planning is at an
early stage for 2014 we also promise to ensure all arrival and start controls
are positioned on, or as near to flat and level ground as possible. We will also
be aiming for no triple usage on the rally with double usage only taking place
on roads that are suitably constructed to take this and of course will seek to
keep you informed as to organisational progress by various means. Our plans are
for 45 miles of good stages with approximately 90 road miles.
Finally we hope the remainder of the
RAC Championship goes well for you and that we may have the pleasure of being
able to invite you back to County Durham for the 2014 Tour of Hamsterley. In the
meantime any other comments or queries please call Steve on 07725 201 705 or
email steve-wag@hotmail.co.uk
Regards
Steve & Derek
Clerks of the Course"
Press release – 17 June 2013
Laukkanen heads WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round three
Tapio Laukkanen, Marty McCormack and Nick Elliott make a stunning top three for
round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the DMACK
Carlisle Stages (Saturday 22 June).
An
excellent 60-car entry for the inaugural running of the event includes 50
historic cars and the addition of former British Rally Champion Laukkanen and
Glenn Patterson in a DMACK-backed Ford Escort Mk2 add further spice to the
entry. The Finnish ace will be chased away by championship leaders McCormack and
Phil Clarke, while round one winners Nick Elliott and Dave Price will run as car
three in their Ford Escort Mk2.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. Championship,
which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations.
But, significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of
cars to join the historic fraternity.
The 2013 championship is running over six one-day gravel rallies in England,
Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic
Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K.
Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other
pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
With Laukkanen, McCormack and Elliott at the head of the action, the pace in the
Rob Smith Rallying Series 3 is going to be fierce and the relative pace of these
three crews will surely be a talking point of the rally. However, this is far
from a three-way contest as a gaggle of very quick Ford Escorts will pack out
the top 10, topped by Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss, Matthew Robinson/Nigel
Hutchinson, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Matt Edwards/Sam Collis.
In class D4, variety to the Escort pack will come from two very rapid cars: the
Vauxhall Chevette of Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson and the Sunbeam Lotus of Guy
Anderson/Kim Baker. An excellent entry in class D3 is headed by the Opel Kadett
of Peter Smith/Patrick Walsh and the Escorts of Ben Mellors/Alex Lee and Paul
Fry/Mike Steele.
Making a welcome championship debut in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series 4
for cars prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations is the stunning Lancia Stratos
of Steve Perez/Carl Williamson, which should be refettled after an off on
Saturday’s Severn Valley Stages.
In the Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74), Tim Mason and Graham Wild head
the field in their Porsche 911 with the Ford Escort Mk1 of Mark and Tim Tugwell
next up from the similar car of Nick Jarvis/Craig Thorley. Dick Slaughter/Tim
Sayer head class C3 in their Escort Mk1 and face opposition from the similar
cars of Peter Egerton/Gareth Lloyd and David Kirby/Chris Rixon. Meanwhile, in a
new trial initiative from the championship, the 1600cc cars from Series 2 and 3
will run first on the road and that has put the Ford Escort Mk1 of Robin
Shuttleworth/Ronnie Roughead into the role of first car on the road.
In the Walker Diecastings Series 1 for the pre ’68 cars, Ian Beveridge and Paul
Price (Volvo PV544) should set the pace from the Saab 96 of Stephen
Higgins/Howard Allison.
The Holton Homes Series 5 is for the later generation of cars and it is the BMW
325 of Simon Wallis/Graham Wride at the head of the group from the Toyota
Corolla of Will Midgley/Paul Slingsby. Meanwhile, in Series 7 (for the open
class cars), Dylan Davies and Llion Williams will set a fierce pace in their
Escort Mk1.
Although not part of the R.A.C. Championship, the organisers are pleased to
welcome a group of competitors in modern cars to the event. The field will add
another dimension to the rally and the quality line-up is headed by Jock
Armstrong/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) and John MacCrone/Phil Pugh (Citroen
DS3).
The DMACK Carlisle Stages is organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor
Club.
Press release – 17 June 2013
750,000 views on iRally for R.A.C. Rally and Championship
Over
750,000 views on iRally is the outstanding result to date in 2013 for the 2012
Roger Albert Clark Rally and the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship.
Three-quarters of a million views confirm the rally and the championship as the
most viewed coverage of historic rallying, and show the value of the partnership
with iRally. Coverage of the opening event of the 2013 season, the Mid Wales
Stages, broke the 200,000 mark when it went live in mid-March.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. The entire R.A.C. Rally
Championship will be available on iRally this year through the standard-setting
TV programmes produced by David Winstanley of
rallytv.co.uk.
“These figures show that interest in historic rallying is running at an absolute
high,” said Greg Strange of iRally. “When we add the coverage of this weekend’s
DMACK Carlisle Stages, we will be getting close to one million views.”
Championship manager Colin Heppenstall is equally delighted with the results:
“We want to make coverage of our events as freely available to as many people as
possible. iRally is certainly delivering on that commitment.”
For more about iRally, please visit
http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download the App free from the App Store or
Google Play
Press release – 14 June 2013
Mature drivers to be celebrated on WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Drivers over the age of 55 will be celebrated with a special award in the West
Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship. The highest scoring mature driver
at the end of the season will be rewarded with a suitable trophy and prize at
the championship prize-giving in October.
The move to acknowledge the significant number of drivers over the age of 55
came after youngster Marty McCormack and 40-something Nick Elliott set the pace
over the opening two events of the season. Drivers of a relevant age will be
asked to tick a box at championship signing-on to confirm they qualify for the
award.
“Historic rallying has a very broad appeal across the age groups,” said
championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “We are very pleased to have a number of
mature drivers competing and they bring a great deal to the WWRS R.A.C. Rally
Championship, in terms of speed, experience and good humour. This award will
recognise how much we value them.”
Another award added to the end of season trophies will be for the best
performance by a non-Ford in the final championship standings. With many Ford
Escorts packing out the entry list, the ‘It’s not an Escort’ award will be
presented to the best placed car from any other manufacturer.
The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship season continues on
Saturday 22 June with round three, the DMACK Carlisle Stages.
Press release – 12 June 2013
Tapio Laukkanen to contest the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Former British Rally champion Tapio
Laukkanen will contest the DMACK Carlisle Stages,
round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship on Saturday
22 June.
Finnish ace Laukkanen, BRC champion in a VW Golf in 1999, will compete in a
full-spec historic Ford Escort Mk2 from Rally Xtreme. It will be a fully
DMACK-branded car and the entry will be used to
support the championship and to test the new specification of 13" gravel tyres
from DMACK.
Dick Cormack, DMACK managing director said: "We've
invited Tapio to the event to help support this exciting championship, to add
more value as sponsors of the DMACK Stages and
create a buzz around our local event. It's also a great opportunity for us to
test our latest specification of DMG1 historic rally tyres on stages similar to
those used on the Roger Albert Clark Rally later this year."
Laukkanen spent nearly eight seasons rallying in Britain and says that he is
keen to get back into the British forests. “It has been 20 years since I drove
an Escort,” said Laukkanen. “A Mk2 Escort was my second rally car in Finland. It
will be a lot of fun and, for sure, it will be a good laugh. I will just try and
keep good times and keep it safe. We’ll try and do as much as possible regarding
the tyres.”
The DMACK Carlisle Stages is running for the first
time this month and the event organisers from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor
Club are keen to establish the rally as a permanent fixture on the calendar.
Press release – 10 June 2013
Free access for spectators on the DMACK Carlisle
Stages
Spectators
are being welcomed to the DMACK Carlisle Stages,
round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship on Saturday
21 June, with free access to the special stages and a free spectator guide for
download from the event website.
The DMACK Carlisle Stages is running for the first time later this month and the
event organisers from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club are keen to
establish the rally as a permanent fixture on the calendar. As well as
delivering excellent value and a very friendly event for the competitors, the
rally is also set to offer spectators a first-class and free day out.
Access will be in the Kershope and Newcastleton stages to the north-west of
Carlisle, which are both run twice and spectators will have the choice of three
locations in Kershope. The first car will be in Newcastleton at 10.57am and
again at 13.43, while the Kershope stages start at 11.17 and 14.03. There will
be a gap of around an hour and a quarter between each run though a stage.
In addition, the organisers have produced a free and comprehensive spectator
guide, which can be downloaded from the event website at racrallychamp.org The
guide includes a full time schedule as well as maps showing the stages and
parking areas. There have already been over 500 copies of the guide downloaded.
“We’re trying to take a fresh approach to spectators on this event,” said rally
manager Colin Heppenstall. “We are giving them comprehensive information and
free access to the rally. All we ask in return is that spectators listen to the
marshals, park sensibly, take their litter home and respect local residents.”
With an entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles, the compact event represents very
good value for money and entries are still available. The route contains just 65
road miles, using a superb new start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons
Haulage Company in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the
M6.
Regulations and the spectator guide are available from the event website at:
www.racrallychamp.org/Carlisle_Stages/carlisle_stages_home.htm
Press release – 17 May 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship
will continue on Saturday 25 May with the report from the second round, the SG
Petch Tour of Hamsterley.
Importantly, the location of Motors TV has changed and it can now be found at
channel 447.
Starting at 11.30pm on Motors TV, the 90-minute programme will cover all the
action as Marty McCormack took a hard-earned victory in his Ford Escort Mk2.
Among several repeat showings will be 11am on Bank Holiday Monday, 27 May.
The programme will cover all the series within the new championship as more than
50 crews tackled stages in Hamsterley Forest of County Durham. David Winstanley
of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the championship and will bring all
the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 9 May 2013
Bonus for 1600cc cars on the DMACK Carlisle Stages
Crews in historic 1600cc cars will get a real bonus on the new DMACK Carlisle
Stages (Saturday 22 June) when they will run at the very head of the field. The
event is round three
of
the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
In a trial move, cars from classes C2 and D2 will join the Category 1 cars and
1400cc cars in the group that runs ahead of the rest of the entry. This group
will be followed by the main R.A.C. field and then the modern runners.
“We are running this on a trial format,” said championship manager Colin
Heppenstall. “Competitors have asked if we could consider this and we want to
encourage the 1600cc cars out. So, on the Carlisle Stages we will run all the
lower power cars first on the road and see how it works. It’s an ideal
opportunity to try it out on our own event.”
With an entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles, the compact event represents very
good value for money. The route contains just 65 road miles, using a superb new
start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown,
Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
“The stages are in very good condition,” said Heppenstall. “Kershope and
Newcastleton are currently being regraded and only four miles of our stage route
was used on the recent Pirelli Rally.”
7th May 2013
Championship Newsletter No.12
Welcome
to issue number 12 of the championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship.
The news update in this issue contains
information on the recent SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley, the upcoming DMACK
Carlisle Stages (Saturday 22 June), Red Kite Stages (Sunday 8 September), Neath
Valley Stages (10 August) and Trackrod Rally (28/29 September). Reports from the
organisers of all the forthcoming events are very positive and all promise to be
excellent rallies.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 7 May 2013
Great value entry fee for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
An entry fee of £450 for 45 stage miles on the new DMACK Carlisle Stages will
place round three of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship
(Saturday 22 June) among the best value gravel rallies of the 2013 season.
Regulations are now available from the event website at:
www.racrallychamp.org/Carlisle_Stages/competitors.htm
As well as contenders in the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship, the DMACK Carlisle
Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation for anyone
planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the route will start with
a four-mile stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat
and seven-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at
Longtown, the four stages will be repeated.
The route contains 45 stage miles and just 65 road miles, using a superb new
start venue and service area at R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company in Longtown,
Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6.
The event running order will be the same as for the recent Tour of Hamsterley,
with a first group made up of Category 1 historic cars and 1400cc cars. Next up
will be the main R.A.C. field, followed by the modern runners.
Press release – 1 May 2013
Crook readies Manta for R.A.C. Rally Championship
Nearly
20 years after he rallied an Opel Manta, Simon Crook will return to a Manta to
contest the open category of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship.
Crook, who ran his Manta in mid-90s BTRDA events with backing from Blakemans
Sausages, has recently sold his historic specification Ford Escort Mk2 and is
going back to his roots with a Manta 400 running with a Vauxhall 16-valve engine
and Ford gearbox and axle.
“I’m planning to join the R.A.C. Championship in June at the DMack Carlisle
Stages and then do all the subsequent events,” said Staffordshire-based Crook.
“In 1993 we upgraded from a Pinto-powered Escort to get 16-valve power. Our
first event was the Wyedean and we finished seventh overall,” said Crook. “But
we did find that the Manta is a lot longer than an Escort and we remodelled the
back end through a gate! I’ve got a lot of fond memories of the Manta. In 1994
there was a very fierce battle in the 2-litre class and a puncture on the last
stage of the last event, the Crystal Stages in Yorkshire, dropped us to third in
the class.”
The latest Manta has most recently been used by Alistair Cunningham from
Scotland and Crook is now looking for a co-driver as his brother Alister has
committed to sit alongside Aziz Tejpar in a Group 4 Escort Mk2 in the
championship this season.
Press release – 1 May 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship award winners announced
The special award winners for the second round of the West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship have been announced following the SG Petch Tour of
Hamsterley (Sunday 28 April).
John
Everard and Mark Sharpley took the unfortunate accolade of posting the first
retirement of the rally when they rolled their lovely Alfa Romeo Junior on the
opening stage. The last retirement was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Barry Jordan/James
Gratton-Smith, who went off on the final stage. Both crews will receive a £100
voucher from West Wales Rally Spares, as will Ford Escort Mk2 crew Mark Spencer
and Steve Pugh after their number came out of the hat in the draw for a third
voucher.
Meanwhile, class C3 winners Terry Cree and Richard Shores will receive a cheque
for nearly £250 from Holton Homes after their number came out of the draw for a
refund of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants will go to Matt
Edwards. Despite devastating first-stage retirements on his previous two events
in his Ford Escort Mk2, the North Wales driver worked tirelessly to be ready for
Hamsterley and was finally rewarded with a strong finish in ninth place. In the
midst of everything else, he also became a dad in recent weeks.
Alan Hughes and Richard Wardle won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a
set of axle brake pads from Mintex. They started as car 144 and moved up 21
places to finish second in class D3 in their Ford Escort Mk2.
Finally, Dylan Davies won the ‘Hard Charger’ award: a 20-litre jerry can from
Green Valley Industrial Supplies. On his first rally in the area, the West
Wales-based driver only knew he had moved up from the reserve list in the week
before the rally. He duly romped to sixth place among the R.A.C. contenders and
won Series Seven for open category cars.
More lessons learnt for impressive Pritchard
Jason
Pritchard experienced a mixed day of fortune at the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley
(Sunday 28 April), the second round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship but came away from the event in good spirits whilst finishing 14th
and winning the FIA Appendix K cars class.
After the postponement in North Wales
due to adverse weather conditions, 90 crews entered Sunday’s event and over 50
of them were registered for the historic championship, so the young Welshmen
knew he would be up against a competitive field.
“This was my first time competing on these
stages and only the second time out for me in the car so I’m really pleased with
the final result. My times throughout the day were good which is encouraging for
the team as we are still learning with every event we compete in.”
The 24-year-old experienced some bad
luck in the first and third stage of the event but managed to recover due to
sheer persistence and support from some helpful spectators.
Organisers reported that Pritchard
later set times that would have put the team in the running for third place
overall.
“It was incredibly slippy out there and on
the first stage we had a long straight downhill to a hairpin right and whilst
braking hard the car stalled and we ended up getting the back wheels stuck in a
ditch which was really soft so unfortunately we were stuck.
“I’m extremely grateful to the spectators
who came and eventually got us out but we took a stage maximum which dropped us
2 minutes.
“It was a shame and we managed to also get
a puncture in the third stage as well, but every incident is a learning
experience and one which will hopefully see me improve throughout the
Championship. I’ve taken a lot out of the day and really happy with my final
position, it was a fantastic event and I’d like to express my gratitude to the
organisers for putting on a great day.”
The Welshman was joined by co-driver
Dale Furnis on Sunday and will be contesting the next stage at Carlisle in the
Mk2 Escort run by Viking Motorsport.
“Viking Motorsport have done another
exceptional job and the car was such a pleasure to drive; it’s actually
gut-wrenching to see the finish line as you never want the stages to end.
“It was a great weekend and nice to see so
many spectators out on the stages and brilliant fun having my close friends and
family there cheering me on.
“The next round is Carlisle but we may try
and do a local rally in the car to gain some more seat time before the next
championship event.”
Remember, Jason is now on Twitter and
you can follow him at @JasonNRG
Image courtesy of
James Ward Chicane Media
http://chicanemedia.wordpress.com
Press release – 29 April 2013
McCormack takes WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round two
Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke swept to victory on the second round of the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, yesterday’s SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley
(Sunday 28 April).
In a renewal of their tremendous sporting rivalry with fellow Ford Escort Mk2
crew Steve Bannister and Louise Sutherland that started on last year’s Roger
Albert Clark Rally, McCormack and Clarke went 45s clear after seven tough and
slippery stages in the Co Durham forest complex. Big crowds lined the stages to
watch the spectacular action during an event that pumped an estimated
half-million pounds into the local economy.
“No real dramas,” said McCormack after taking the early championship lead with
maximum points in the Rob Smith Rallying Series Three. However, round one
winners Nick Elliott and Dave Price (Escort Mk2) had a rally to forget. “We were
caught out by a slippery corner and put it in the ditch on its side,” said
Elliott after sliding off the opening stage. Spectators finally got them out,
and they levelled times with McCormack on two stages before pulling out, too far
down to score useful points.
McCormack set a fierce pace and by the time the crews arrived at second service,
he had 32s in hand over Ryan Barrett and Barry Ferris. Barrett then went into
the final 14-mile Sharnberry stage with the aim of holding off Bannister rather
than chasing McCormack. Bannister had fought back up the order after a binding
brake caliper on the opening loop of three stages and started the final test
just five seconds down on Barrett. Unfortunately, Barrett punctured and dropped
around half a minute, which put Bannister clear into second.
Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Will Onions/Dave Williams both pushed Barrett back
to fifth on the final stage. Pearcey was a strong third, despite damaging a rear
corner on a metal gate post on SS6 and then getting a rear puncture two miles
later, but only three seconds split him from Onions, who pulled back a single
second in SS7 during 15 minutes of rallying.
Barrett was desperately unlucky to drop three two places with the final stage
puncture, while Series Seven winners Dylan Davies and Llion Williams (Ford
Escort Mk1) were sixth after losing around 20s on the last stage when they had
to stop as the damaged car of Matthew Robinson was moved. Leading the chase of
Davies in the category was the Escort Mk2 of Mark Spencer/Steve Pugh despite
being hampered by a leaking fuel pressure regulator.
Seventh overall and top of the Capital Construction Series Two were Richard Hill
and Pat Cooper (Ford Escort Mk1), despite a car not running entirely cleanly on
the first loop of stages. Hill lost his likely main challengers Chris Browne and
Ali Cornwell-Browne after they went off on SS3, Pennington. Robin Shuttleworth
and Ron Roughead were resounding winners in class C2 for the second time running
and brought their Escort Mk1 home more than a minute clear of the rest of the
class.
Terry Cree and Richard Shores claimed a final stage victory for their BMW 2002
in class C3. They clawed back 13s from Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer (Escort Mk1) to
win by just four seconds, while Iwan Rees/Aled Rees retired their Escort Mk1
when a half-shaft failed.
Victory in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series Four for FIA Appendix K cars
went to Jason Pritchard and Dale Furniss (Ford Escort Mk2). A minor off on the
opening stage cost them a maximum, but they later set times that would have put
them in the running for third place overall.
Peter Smith and Patrick Walsh won class D3 in their Opel Kadett after an
excellent run, although they were lucky to reach second service with only wheel
nut holding a rear wheel in place. They were a minute clear of the Escort Mk2 of
Alan Hughes/Richard Wardle, while Ben Mellors/Alex Lee took third in their
Escort Mk2.
Simon Wallis/Graham Wride (Lotus Cortina) romped to a dominant victory in the
Walker Diecastings Series One. However, the Lotus Cortina crew had a major scare
on the second stage when a big bump nearly sent them off. “I kept my foot in and
it jumped out the other side,” said a relieved Wallis.
The rest of the Category 1 field had a tough time, with the Alfa Romeo Junior of
John Everard/Mark Sharpley rolling out on the first stage and the Saab 96 of
Stephen Higgins/Richard Simpson retiring with a stuck throttle. The Singer
Chamois of Chris and Jo Tooze was out with gearbox dramas and a broken steering
arm sidelined the Lotus Cortina of Peter Gunson/Johnny Haynes.
Pritchard joins ‘sensational’ entry list for
Hamsterley as he aims to learn and improve in MK2
Jason Pritchard will line up alongside
a ‘sensational entry list’ for the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley (Sunday 28
April), the second round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship.
After
the postponement in North Wales due to adverse weather conditions, 90 crews have
entered Sunday’s event and just over 50 of them are registered for the historic
championship, it is going to be fiercely competitive and is one of the best
fields ever seen in the north of England.
This will be Pritchard’s first time
competing on these stages and only his second time out in an MK2 Escort. His
speed and control on the Mid Wales rally impressed as he finished 5th, and he is
aiming to continue his education in the MK2 with another solid performance in
Hamsterley:
“As this is the first time ever competing
on these stages, we’ve been very thorough in all of our preparation, the stages
are high speed and will be very different to the stages we faced in the Mid
Wales stages.
“It will only be my second time driving a
MK2 Escort so my overall goal will be to gain valuable seat time and try to
build on my speed from Round One; it’s a short sharp event and every second will
count, the field is so competitive and it really is a sensational entry list.
“I thrive on competing alongside such
quality and I know how hard and close it will be to get into the top 10 again,
you can’t afford to relax at any moment during the stages and I will be pushing
myself from the word go.”
The Welshman will be joined by
co-driver Dale Furnis on Sunday and will be contesting the stages in an Mk2
Escort run by Viking Motorsport. Pritchard said:
“The team at Viking Motorsport have done
another exceptional job in getting the car ready and I’m really looking forward
to getting back behind the wheel on Sunday, it’s been a fairly long time since
the last event due to the cancellation of the North Wales Rally because of snow.
“I’m confident we will soon pick up where
we finished off from the first round and it’s would be fantastic to be at that
speed after a couple of miles in the car, I’m raring to go and can’t wait for
Sunday!”
There will be seven 100% gravel special
stages at Sunday’s - two loops of three stages with service in between, followed
by a further visit to service in readiness for a final stage of around 13 miles
to complete the day.
Jason is also now on Twitter and you
can follow him at @JasonNRG
I
mage courtesy of
Gary Jones Photography,
www.garyjonesrallypics.co.uk/
Tour of Hamsterley Spectator Programme now
available
With only three days to go before the much anticipated Tour of Hamsterley the
organising team have released a comprehensive guide for spectators which is
available for download from the event website:
http://www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk/files/2013-ToH-Spec_Prog.pdf .
Due to the overwhelming interest in the rally, the event website has on occasion
been overwhelmed so the programme is now also available from this Championship
website by clicking below.
Download Tour of Hamsterley Spectator
Programme
here
in Adobe PDF format
|
|
Press release – 23 April 2013
McCormack ready for challenge of Hamsterley
Marty McCormack reckons he will have a big fight on his hands in the second
round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the SG Petch
Tour of Hamsterley (Sunday 28 April).
McCormack will go up against Steve Bannister and Nick Elliott and a gaggle of
other very quick drivers at the head of the historic field. With a total
historic entry of 65 cars, it is one of the best fields ever seen in the north
of England and the Irish ace says it is going to be quite a day of rallying.
“I’m under no illusions about how tough it will be,” said McCormack. “I’ve only
done one stage in Hamsterley on the Roger Albert Clark Rally and it is going to
be a tough day of rallying in there. It is going to be very competitive.”
The big talking point of the rally will be the continuation of the fabulous
contest between the Ford Escort Mk2s of McCormack and Bannister from last year’s
Roger Albert Clark Rally. However, Nick Elliott will head north as the current
championship leaders after a thrilling victory over McCormack on the
season-opening Mid Wales Stages.
However, McCormack says it would be a mistake to see this as only a three-way
contest. “If the notes work well we should be in with a chance, but you don’t
know who is going to pop out of the woodwork to challenge.”
Although Bannister has more experience in the region, he is far from a
Hamsterley expert. Meanwhile, McCormack and Elliott have only tackled the forest
complex in the dark during the Roger Albert Clark Rally, so there is every
chance of some surprises turning up.
The Tour of Hamsterley is organised by Stockton & District Motor Club in
association with Teesside Motor Sport Group. More details at:
www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk
19th April 2013
Championship Newsletter No.11
Welcome
to the eleventh championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship.
The main news for this issue is that
Rally North Wales has now been cancelled for 2013, despite major attempts by the
organising team to find a suitable date in the calendar. A statement from the
organisers follows in this newsletter. As per our championship regulations, we
will now take the best five scores from six events in calculating end of season
awards.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 19 April 2013
Stunning entry for WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round two
A truly sensational entry will line up for the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley
(Sunday 28 April), the second round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship. With Steve Bannister, Marty McCormack and Nick Elliott at the head
of the historic field, it is going to be fiercely competitive and with a total
historic entry of 65 cars, it is one of the best fields ever seen in the north
of England.
The quality of entry runs right through the field as over 50 crews from the WWRS
R.A.C. Rally Championship are joined by a strong contingent from the Motoscope
Northern Historic Rally Championship. Add in a quality 26-car field of modern
cars, and fans will be in for a superb day in the Hamsterley forest complex in
County Durham.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. championship,
which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations.
But, significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of
cars to join the historic fraternity.
The championship is running over seven one-day gravel rallies in England,
Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic
Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K.
Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other
pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
The big talking point of the rally will be the continuation of the fabulous
contest between the Ford Escort Mk2s of McCormack and Bannister from last year’s
Roger Albert Clark Rally. McCormack narrowly won that contest, but Bannister
will be determined to level the score in Hamsterley. Louise Sutherland partners
Bannister this time around. When they tackled a stage in Hamsterley on the
November event, Bannister beat McCormack by a single second, so it is going to
be very close.
However, Elliott and Dave Price will head north as the current championship
leaders after a thrilling victory over McCormack on the season-opening Mid Wales
Stages. Elliott does not know Hamsterley very well at all, but will be right in
the thick of what promises to be an epic contest. In fact, his only prior
experience of Hamsterley was in the dark and snow of the 2010 Roger Albert Clark
Rally.
Of course, this is certainly not only a three-way battle in the Rob Smith
Rallying Series 3 and it is another Northern Ireland crew of Ryan Barrett and
Barry Ferris who will be leading the chase of the top three. Add in more very
quick Escort Mk2s for Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss, Will Onions/Dave Williams,
Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson, Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks, Matt Edwards/Sam
Collis and Rob Smith/Alun Cook and the spectacle is going to be stunning. But
that’s only the top 10 crews and many more quick crews pack out the entry.
Pritchard is running his car in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series 4 for cars
prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations and his speed on the Mid Wales, first
time out in an Escort MK2, showed that he is going to be a major contender.
While the top-flight Escort Mk2s dominate Class D5, the superb Vauxhall Chevette
of Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson joins the championship to head class D4 and is
the only non-Escort in the top 30.
At the top of Class D3, the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith/Patrick Walsh will go
head to head with the Ford Escort Mk2 of Ben Mellors/Alex Lee, while crews like
Alan Hughes/Richard Wardle and Paul Fry/Mike Steele could get into the mix in
their Escort Mk2s.
In the Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74), championship newcomers Richard
Hill and Pat Cooper join the contest in their Ford Escort Mk1 and will be quick,
but they face a big challenge from the similar car of round one winners Chris
Browne and his wife Ali Cornwell-Browne. Another front-running crew joining
Class C5 are Simon Tysoe and Cliffy Simmons in their Escort Mk1 and Nick
Jarvis/Alan Carfrae will also be quick.
Meanwhile, the battle for Class C3 will be just as hard-fought. Iwan and Aled
Rees started with a maximum score on the Mid Wales in their Pinto-powered Escort
Mk1 and will go up against the similar car of Dick Slaughter as well as the
potent BMW 2002 of Terry Cree/Richard Shores. In Class C2 for the 1600cc cars,
the Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth and Ron Roughead is the car to beat.
In the Walker Diecastings Series 1 for the pre ’68 cars, the field will be
headed by the Lotus Cortina of Simon Wallis/Graham Wride and they will set a
cracking pace. Leading the chase will be the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Junior of John
Everard/Mark Sharpley and the Singer Chamois of Chris and Jo Tooze. Pete Gunson
and Jonny Haynes field their Lotus Cortina, while the wonderful Saab 96 of Steve
Higgins completes the R.A.C. field.
The Holton Homes Series 5 caters for cars built up to 1987 and is very much a
family affair in Hamsterley as the Toyota Corollas of John Midgley/Geoff Maybank
and Will Midgley/Paul Slingsby enact a father versus son battle. Meanwhile,
Series 7 for open pre ’87 cars is going to be a contest between the Ford Escort
Mk2s of Mark Spencer/Steve Pugh and Robert Cholmondeley/Dave Evans.
The Tour of Hamsterley is organised by Stockton & District Motor Club in
association with Teesside Motor Sport Group. More details at:
www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk
Press release – 13 April 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship
will continue on Friday 19 April, despite the postponement of round two, Rally
North Wales.
Although the rally was postponed due to heavy snow falls, fans of the R.A.C
Rally Championship will still be looked after with a special programme starting
at 9pm. The programme will have multiple repeat showings.
As well as taking a further look back at the spectacular opening rally of the
season, the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages, the programme will feature more
sensational in-car footage and will take a look at the rallying careers of Phil
and Mick Squires.
David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the championship and
will bring all the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car
footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
Press release – 12 April 2013
Hill enters WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Richard Hill has confirmed plans to contest selected rounds of the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship this season, starting with the Tour of
Hamsterley on 28 April.
Hill and co-driver Pat Cooper will campaign Hill’s Ford Escort Mk1 in a range of
events over the balance of the season despite a frustrating retirement on the
Mid Wales Stages due to a split oil cooler.
“I’ll try and do as many events as possible,” said Hill, who enjoyed
considerable success in four-wheel drive machinery before switching to historic
rallying. However, he admits that his plans for the season will be governed by
his fortune on each event. “At the moment, if I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have
no luck at all,” said the Derbyshire driver.
When all is going well, Hill is one of the quickest drivers in the historic
arena and his RH Motors entered Escort Mk1 should be a very strong contender for
victory in Category 2 in Hamsterley.
Hill also reports that he currently has an Escort Mk2 in build to historic
specification, and hopes to bring that car out in 2014.
Press release – Thursday 10 April 2013
Capacity entry confirmed for Tour of Hamsterley
With two and a half weeks still to go to the rally, the organisers of the SG
Petch Tour of Hamsterley, round two of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship, have received a capacity entry for the Sunday 28 April rally.
The 95 available places have been snapped up in record time and the organisers
are now considering a reserve list for any more entries. Over 60 historic cars
will pack out the entry with contenders for both the WWRS R.A.C Rally
Championship and the Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship. More than
50 R.A.C. contenders will tackle the County Durham event.
Clerk of the Course Steve Waggett commented: "We couldn’t be happier to have a
full entry over two weeks before the event itself. It’s not just a full entry
however; it is a top quality field of both modern and historic cars including
over 40 Ford Escorts, several WRC cars and a smattering of 1400s as well.
“This is a significant milestone for the rally, which the current team has been
organising for the last six years,” continued Waggett. “It is testament to the
real enthusiasm and commitment of the whole team that has kept us going through
some difficult and trying times to get to this year’s rally and run with a full
entry. The R.A.C. Championship contenders are clearly a major part in attaining
this achievement too and we are looking forward to welcoming them to County
Durham on 27/28 April for the rally."
R.A.C. Championship manager Colin Heppenstall is delighted with the response to
the championship’s first event outside Wales. “We will have over 50 registered
contenders on the Tour of Hamsterley. That’s great news for both the
championship and the rally and shows that we are achieving one of our goals of
getting people out competing.”
The Tour of Hamsterley is a round of four regional championships, and an
agreement is in place to allow crews in historic cars to score points on both
the R.A.C. and Northern championships.
The Tour of Hamsterley is organised by Stockton & District Motor Club in
association with Teesside Motor Sport Group. More details at:
www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk
Press release – 8 April 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage on YouTube
The
fabulous television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship will be available on YouTube in a move that complements the
coverage on Motors TV and on the iRally app.
The full report from the opening event, the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages can
be watched on-line at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRGhSdjrn1Y&feature=youtu.be
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
The programme covers all the action from a sensational event. With the best
entry ever seen on a historic rally in Britain, huge crowds and a fierce battle
between Nick Elliott and Marty McCormack, the opening WWRS R.A.C Rally
Championship round had all the ingredients to make must-see viewing.
The programme covers all the series within the new championship as more than 60
crews tackled classic special stages in Pikes Peak, Myherin and Hafren. David
Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the championship and will
bring all the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car footage.
6th April 2013
Championship Newsletter No.10
Welcome
to the tenth championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship.
From the outset, we wanted to make sure
we kept in regular contact with our competitors as we feel that this is a very
important element of any championship: we hope you agree! We are already
starting to think about the format of the 2014 calendar, so if you have any
thoughts, please do let us know by e-mail. We want to run a championship that
appeals to as many crews as possible and your views are very important as we
start to formulate the 2014 schedule.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – Friday 5 April 2013
Mega R.A.C. entry for Tour of Hamsterley
With three weeks to go, the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship
entry for the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley (Sunday 28 April) is already packed
with quality and quantity.
Over 50 R.A.C. contenders are expected to pack out a capacity 90-car entry for
the event and the entry list already reads like a who’s who of historic
rallying. At the head of the field will be current R.A.C. championship leader
Nick Elliott, but he faces a tremendous challenge from Steve Bannister, who can
claim greater knowledge of the Hamsterley complex than his Rallysport
Developments team mate.
With an entry due from Marty McCormack, the stage is set for a fabulous contest,
which could replay the contests of both the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally
(McCormack v Bannister) and the 2013 Mid Wales Stages (Elliott v McCormack).
However, this is far from being just a three-way battle. More very quick Ford
Escort Mk2s will be campaigned by Jason Pritchard, Will Onions, Matt Edwards,
Tim Pearcey, Paul Griffiths, Warren Philliskirk, Rob Smith, Matthew Robinson,
Jonathan Brace, Richard Lane, Peter Slights, Jason Lepley, Will Nicholls, James
Potter, Alan Walker and more. It will be the finest historic field ever seen
outside Wales and will deliver a fabulous spectacle for the fans from the
north-east.
Packing out the other categories will be front-runners like Chris Browne (Escort
Mk1), Terry Cree (BMW 2002), Dick Slaughter (Escort Mk1), Steve Magson (Vauxhall
Chevette), Peter Smith (Opel Kadett), Iwan Rees (Ford Escort Mk1) and Mark
Spencer (Ford Escort Mk2), while father and son John and Will Midgely will go
head-to-head in a pair of Toyota Corollas.
Importantly, the event has already attracted an encouraging entry of Category 1
cars. The Lotus Cortinas of Simon Wallis and Pete Gunson will go up against the
Alfa Romeo of John Everard, the Mini Cooper of Colin Forster and the Singer
Chamois of Chris Tooze.
The Tour of Hamsterley is a round of four regional championships, including the
Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship. An agreement is in place to
allow crews in historic cars to score points on both the R.A.C. and Northern
championships.
The Tour of Hamsterley is organised by Stockton & District Motor Club in
association with Teesside Motor Sport Group. More details at:
www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk
Red Kite Stages Update
Revised Date now 8th September
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has written to all registered entrants of the WWRS
R.A.C. Rally Championship to inform them that the revised date of 8th September
for the Amman & District Motor Club Red Kite Historic Stages has now been
approved by the MSA subject to RACMC members confirmation that they are happy
with the date change to allow the revised date to be back into the championship,
in accordance with Blue Book Regulation D.11.1.3. Subject to this
approval, the Red Kite Historic Stages will will run as 6th round of the WWRS
R.A.C. Rally Championship after being postponed in January due to severe weather
conditions.
The new date is the is the only
available date that the event can run which fits with the FC, land owners and
the championship.
For more information please visit the
Red Kite Historic Stages website:
http://www.redkitestages.co.uk/
Press release – 2 April 2013
Format unveiled for the DMACK Carlisle Stages
The
format of the new DMACK Carlisle Stages, round three of the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, on Saturday 22 June has been unveiled.
Details of the event are now confirmed, with a route containing 45 stage miles
and just 65 road miles. The rally will have a superb start venue, rally HQ and
service area at Longtown, just north of Carlisle, and will be one of the most
compact gravel rallies of the season.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the route will take in
eight stages in some of the region’s best-loved forests. The action starts with
a four-mile stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat
and seven-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at
Longtown, the four stages will be repeated. Chamot Hill and Arthur’s Seat have
not been used for around five years.
The event running order will be the same as for the Tour of Hamsterley, with a
first group made up of Category 1 historic cars and 1400cc cars. Next up will be
the main R.A.C. field, which will be followed by the modern runners.
The rally will be based at the premises of the R J Murray & Sons Haulage Company
in Longtown, Carlisle: just five minutes from junction 44 of the M6. The venue
will host documentation, scrutineering, service area and overnight secure
parking within a warehouse. Scrutineering will be held from afternoon to early
evening on Friday, and then the cars will go into the secure overnight park.
As well as catering for contenders in the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship, the
DMACK Carlisle Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation
for anyone planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally, which runs
across similar forest stages.
“We’re delighted with the way the DMACK Carlisle Stages is coming together,”
said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “The start venue is perfect and we are
very grateful to the team at R J Murray & Sons for their enthusiastic support
for the rally. We have a very compact route, which will start at 10am and have
the first cars back at the finish at around 3pm.”
Regulations for the event should be available before the Tour of Hamsterley (28
April), which is now round two of the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship.
More details about the DMACK Carlisle Stages can be found at:
www.racrallychamp.org/Carlisle_Stages/carlisle_stages_home.htm
2nd April 2013
Championship Newsletter No.8 update
Welcome
to the latest championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship. This newsletter is solely to bring you up to date with news
regarding Rally North Wales (Saturday 6 April).
The event organisers have just made the following announcement:
Morris Lubricants Rally North Wales Postponed Wolverhampton and South
Staffordshire Car Club Ltd, organisers of the Morris Lubricants Rally North
Wales which was scheduled to run this coming weekend on Saturday 6th and Sunday
7th April, have, after careful consideration, taken the decision to postpone the
Welshpool-based event.
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Press release – 31 March 2013
Elliott heads WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round two
Rally North Wales (Saturday 6 April) is the setting for the second round of the
West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship and it is round one winners
Nick Elliott and Dave Price who head another top quality field into the classic
stages in the Dyfi region.
The
Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the championship, which
focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations. But,
significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of cars
to join the historic fraternity.
The championship is running over seven one-day gravel rallies in England,
Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic
Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K.
Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other
pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
The R.A.C. element of Rally North Wales runs only on Saturday, with 53
competitive miles before the crews finish back in Welshpool on Saturday evening
and it is Elliott who heads the field away. Given his impressive record on this
event, the Cheltenham driver will surely be the benchmark, but he has plenty of
rivals and the possibility of snow lying on the stages could make things very
unpredictable.
Leading the formidable challenge to Elliott will be a gaggle of similar BDG-powered
Ford Escort Mk2s, notably the car of Northern Irish crew Ryan Barrett and Barry
Ferris. They finished a very strong third on the opening round and with Marty
McCormack missing Rally North Wales, Barrett will take the fight to Elliott.
However, so too will rapid crews like Jason Pritchard/Steve McPhee, Tomas
Davies/Mark Crisp, Will Onions/Dave Williams, Will Nicholls/Nick Broom, Matt
Edwards/Will Rogers and Seamus O’Connell/Paul Williams.
Away from the cars in class D5, the battle for class D3 should be between the
Opel Kadett of Peter Smith/Patrick Walsh and the Ford Pinto-powered Escort Mk2
of Ben Mellors/Alex Lee. In class D4, Barry Jordan and James Gratton-Smith field
their superb ex-factory Vauxhall Chevette, while a welcome addition to the entry
is the class D2 Ford Escort Mk2 of Grahame Standen and Bill Cook.
In Series 2 for the 1968-74 cars, the field is headed by Mid Wales winners Chris
Browne and Ali Cornwell-Browne in their Ford Escort Mk1. They will be pushing
hard to fend off the Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s of Iwan Rees/Aled Rees, Dick
Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and Mark Holmes/Tony Lindsay. In class C2, for 1600cc
cars, Robin Shuttleworth and Ron Roughead will set the standard in their Escort
Mk1.
Adding more variety to the R.A.C. Championship field is the Toyota Corolla of
John Midgley/Geoff Maybank and the Saab 96 of Stephen Higgins/Richard Simpson.
More details about the Welshpool-based event are available from
www.rallynorthwales.co.uk
Press release – Thursday 28 March 2013
Capacity entry expected for Tour of Hamsterley
The organisers of the SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley, round three of the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, are planning for a capacity entry for the
rally on Sunday 28 April.
With
exactly one month to go until the Co Durham-based rally, over 40 of the 90
available places have already been taken and the organising team expect the
entry to be full by the time entries close.
"We are very pleased with how the entry is filling up so early. The local hotels
are reporting a lot of bookings, so we are expecting a capacity entry of 90
cars,” said clerk of the course Steve Waggett. “We are also looking at trying to
extend the entry to 100 cars in case we need more places.
“Being a round of the new R.A.C. Rally Championship has given our event a real
boost and we're already working on plans to develop the rally further for 2014
and beyond,” confirmed Waggett. “This will include a couple of new stages to
reduce the time spent in service and shorten the day. However, for now it is all
systems go for this year: we have seven challenging stages, with a 14.3-mile
final stage which some competitors have said includes one of the best sections
of forest stage they have ever done.”
The Tour of Hamsterley is a round of four regional championships, including the
Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship. An agreement is already in place
to allow crews in historic cars to score points on both the R.A.C. and Northern
championships.
“We are very grateful to our principal sponsors SG Petch Garages and numerous
others including GAP Plant and Peter Stephenson of ABLE UK whose support has
been tremendous,” said Waggett. The event will include a ceremonial start in the
centre of Bishop Auckland on Sunday morning.
The Tour of Hamsterley is organised by Stockton & District Motor Club in
association with Teesside Motor Sport Group. More details at:
www.tourofhamsterley.co.uk
25 March 2013
610,000 views on iRally for R.A.C. Rally
Over 610,000 views on iRally is the outstanding result for the 2012 Roger Albert
Clark Rally and the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship.
In just six weeks, over 610,000 views confirm the rally and the championship as
easily the most viewed coverage of historic rallying, and show the value of the
partnership with iRally. The film of the 2012 rally has now attracted over
350,000
views, while the coverage of the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages has been
viewed more than 180,000 times in a week. Meanwhile, two films focusing on Marty
McCormack on the Mid Wales have attracted more than 80,000 views, taking the
overall total to more than 610,000.
The free iRally App is available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and
offers an incredibly popular rally video channel. The entire R.A.C. Rally
Championship will be available on iRally this year through the standard-setting
TV programmes produced by David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk.
“These figures are exceptional,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall.
“It is a tribute to the quality of programmes that David is producing and also
to the widespread appeal of historic rallying. iRally is allowing us to further
broaden that appeal, taking the championship to a world-wide audience, and these
statistics are excellent news for our competitors. Importantly, we are
delivering greatly increased exposure for our sponsors and partners.”
For more details about the R.A.C. Rally Championship, please visit
www.racrallychamp.org
For more about iRally, please visit
http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download the App free from the App Store or
Google Play
22 March 2013
Championship Newsletter No.8 now available
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has today issued the eighth championship newsletter
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.
In the newsletter Colin talks about the
preparation for round two of the championship,
Rally North Wales (Saturday 6 April) and the next two two northern events, the
SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley (Sunday 28 April) and the DMACK Carlisle Stages
(Saturday 22 June).
Colin also wants to let everyone know
that for Hamsterley, Carlisle, Neath Valley, the Red Kite and the Trackrod
events, the running order will run to the normal format, with Category 1 cars
first on the road followed by the rest of the R.A.C. Championship field. There
are already nearly 30 entries in for the Tour of Hamsterley, which is still
nearly six weeks away and around half of them are R.A.C. contenders. The format
is 45 stage miles for £475 and the organisers expect the entry to fill up very
quickly to the maximum of 90 cars.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 10 March 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship TV coverage continues
The
television coverage of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship will
continue on Sunday 17 March with the report from the opening event, the Rally
Marketing Mid Wales Stages.
Starting at 7.25pm on Motors TV, the 90-minute primetime programme will cover all
the action from the sensational event. With the best entry ever seen on a
historic rally in Britain, huge crowds and a fierce battle between Nick Elliott
and Marty McCormack, the opening WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship round has all the
ingredients to make must-see television.
The programme will cover all the series within the new championship as more than
60 crews tackled classic special stages in Pikes Peak, Myherin and Hafren. David
Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk is filming all rounds of the championship and will
bring all the action from the stages as well as the very best in-car footage.
Each round of the 2013 championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
9 March 2013
Championship Newsletter No.5 now available
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has today issued the fifth championship newsletter
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.
In the newsletter, Colin thanks Chris Tomley and his team at Newtown and
District AC for working so hard to run the recent Rally Marketing Mid Wales
Stages and reports that the event was successful. He says that eight months of
work by many people finally came to fruition on Sunday 3 March, and that he is
delighted by the way the event was received.
"I am delighted to report that it was a runaway success. We had a fabulous
entry, tremendous competition and wonderful stages all combined with a true
spirit of camaraderie and good humour around the championship. We could not have
wished for a better start and my congratulations go to all the series and class
winners".
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newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
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Press release – 4 March 2013
WWRS RAC Rally Championship award winners announced
The
special award winners for the opening round of the West Wales Rally Spares RAC
Rally Championship have been announced following the Rally Marketing Mid Wales
Stages (Sunday 3 March).
Jerry Bailey and Graham Lacey took the unfortunate accolade of posting the first
retirement of the rally when the head-gasket of their Ford Escort Mk2 failed and
they retired four miles in to the opening stage. The last retirement was the
Lotus Cortina of Pete Gunson/Johnny Haynes, which broke on the final stage. Both
crews will receive a £100 voucher from West Wales Rally Spares, as will Dick
Slaughter/Geoff Dearing who’s number came out of the hat in the draw for a third
voucher.
Ford Escort Mk1 crew Robin Shuttleworth and Ronnie Roughead will receive a
cheque for just under £300 from Holton Homes after their number came out of the
draw for a refund of 50% of the event entry fee.
The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from Fuchs Lubricants will go to Grant
Shand. Having retired from the event after going off on the first stage, Shand
was in the service area later in the day when Alan Walker needed a rapid gearbox
change. Not only did Shand and some of his crew from Rally Xtreme dive in to
help with the work, he also supplied a replacement clutch to get Walker back in
the rally.
Iwan and Aled Rees won the Best Improvement on Seeding, which is a set of axle
brake pads from Mintex. They started as car 151 and turned in a very impressive
performance to finish 23rd overall and win class C3 in their Ford Escort Mk1.
Finally, Ryan Barrett won the ‘Hard Charger’ award: a 20-litre jerry can from
Green Valley Industrial Supplies. On his first gravel rally for two years and on
unfamiliar stages, the Northern Irishman drove superbly to finish third overall.
Press release – 3 March 2013
Elliott takes opening WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round
Nick
Elliott and Dave Price were the big winners on the opening round of the West
Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, today’s Rally Marketing Mid-Wales
Stages (Sunday 3 March).
The Cheltenham crew took victory by just 3.7s after a glorious battle with Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke, while Ryan Barrett and Barry Ferris made it two cars
from Northern Ireland in the top three.
With records crowds of spectators packing into the stages and a real buzz around
the opening event of the R.A.C. Rally Championship season, it could not have
been a better start to the championship. A fabulous atmosphere among the crews
and fierce competition on some of the finest gravel stages in the country was a
truly winning combination.
Series winners were:
Series 1: John Everard/Mark Sharpley (Alfa Romeo Junior GT)
Series 2: Chris Browne/Ali Cornwell-Browne (Ford Escort Mk1)
Series 3: Nick Elliott/Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 4: Nev Jones/Chris Davies (Ford Escort Mk2)
Series 5: Simon Wallis/Graham Wride (BMW 325)
Series 7: Dylan Davies/Llion Williams (Ford Escort Mk1)
Championship manager Colin Heppenstall was thrilled with the opening event. “The
Mid Wales Stages has been a perfect start to the championship,” he said. “There
has been great competition, fabulous stages and lots of very happy competitors!
We’d like to say a very big thank you to Chris Tomley and the team at Newtown
and District AC for all their hard work.”
A more detailed event report will be circulated during Monday (4 March).
Press release – 1 March 2013
Experts predict surprises on WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship opener
There
will be some surprises on the opening round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C.
Rally Championship, according to a panel of industry experts, when the season
start on the Rally Marketing Mid-Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March).
Our entirely unofficial poll was conducted using votes from a mix of drivers,
championship officials, sponsors, members of the media and all-out enthusiasts.
As well as being asked to predict the event winner, our experts were asked to
highlight the drivers they expected to turn in the big surprises of the rally.
A whole range of drivers were tipped to turn in head-turning performances, with
Dylan Davies and Matt Edwards both cropping up more than once as drivers likely
to be grabbing some headlines when the rally finishes in Newtown on Sunday
afternoon.
“Dylan Davies would be my surprise package,” said BMW driver Simon Wallis, a
view shared by cameraman and TV producer David Winstanley. Edwards, meanwhile,
is tipped for good things on his first full historic rally. His entry on the
Roger Albert Clark Rally ended in a crushing first-stage retirement last
November.
“I think Matt’s pace will be very good considering his lack of rear-wheel drive
experience,” said photographer Russ Otway, a view shared by Ford Escort and
historic rallying guru Jonathan Pulleyn and championship webmaster Steve
Higgins.
Opel Kadett driver Peter Smith tipped young Ben Mellors to shine despite his
limited experience, while both Paul Dyas from Dunlop and Escort Mk2 driver Alan
Walker tipped Will Rowlands to make a big impression. “I expect Will to surprise
a few looking at some of his previous stage times,” said Walker.
Championship sponsor Gareth Lloyd says that Irishman Ryan Barrett could get
right up among the quickest drivers and journalist Carl McKellar tipped Sunbeam
Lotus driver Guy Anderson to rattle the Ford Escort pack. Winstanley also thinks
Andrew Haddon will fly. “Andrew just appears every now and again and always goes
quickly when he does!” Finally rallying enthusiast Ian Burnell says that former
Subaru Impreza driver Iwan Rees will beat his start number by a fair margin.
Whatever happens, it is going to be a fabulous battle and a glorious start to a
championship that is only going to grow in stature and popularity over the rest
of 2013 and beyond.
Press release – 28 February 2013
Pundits tip Elliott for opening R.A.C. Rally Championship spoils
The
opening round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship has drawn
what is being described as the best quality field ever assembled for a historic
stage rally in Britain on the Rally Marketing Mid-Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March).
With an incredibly strong entry, we decided to ask some expert pundits to stick
their necks out and predict the winner when the crews return to Newtown on
Sunday afternoon after 55 flat out miles in classic Welsh forest stages. When
the votes were counted, it was Nick Elliott who emerged as the tipsters
favourite, heading Marty McCormack by seven votes to three from our 15-strong
panel.
This entirely unofficial poll was conducted using votes from a mix of drivers,
championship officials, sponsors, members of the media and all-out enthusiasts.
Rob Smith, who will start as car number seven, sat on the fence and said it
would be either Elliott or McCormack.
Elliott certainly starts with better prior knowledge of the Pikes Peak, Myherin
and Hafren stages, and that carried a lot of weight with our alleged experts.
However, most agreed that McCormack, amongst many others, will make life very
tough for the Cheltenham ace.
“I'll go for Elliott, just, over McCormack because of his local knowledge,” said
journalist Carl McKellar. “It will be interesting to see how much Marty can
pressure Nick, though.” Fellow competitors Will Onions, Alan Walker and Peter
Smith all tipped Elliott, as did championship sponsor Gareth Lloyd from West
Wales Rally Spares and Escort guru Jonathan Pulleyn.
Championship website manager Steve Higgins reflected on McCormack’s win on last
November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally. “Because of his RAC win I'd love to see
Marty take a win here but, although difficult to call, I'll plump for Nick
Elliott to take the spoils.”
Rally aficionado Ian Burnell also related the event back to the Roger Albert
Clark Rally. “Overall I'm hoping for a battle of RAC 2012 proportions (Bannister
versus McCormack) with Elliott taking over the Yorkshireman's role and Marty
nicking it by five seconds.” TV filmer David Winstanley is another to pick the
Irish ace. “I think that McCormack will win, provided that he keeps it on the
road.”
However, this is not seen as purely a two-horse race. BMW pilot Simon Wallis and
photographer Russ Otway both tipped Geoff Jones, while Paul Dyas from Dunlop
named Kevin Davies as the man to beat. Jones now looks to have become an ever
stronger candidate, as his entry in Baz Jordan’s Vauxhall Chevette is reported
to be changing to Jordan’s Escort Mk2.
Whatever happens, it is going to be a fabulous battle and a glorious start to a
championship that is only going to grow in stature and popularity over the rest
of 2013 and beyond.
Press release – 26 February 2013
Sensational entry for opening Championship round
A truly sensational entry of over 60 cars has been assembled for the opening
round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Rally
Marketing Mid-Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March), with the field headed by Jimmy
McRae, Nick Elliott, Marty McCormack and Geoff Jones.
The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the championship, which
focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations. But,
significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of cars
to join the historic fraternity.
The championship will run over seven one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland
and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One,
Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes
accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre ’87 cars that
do not fully comply with historic regulations.
Colin Heppenstall, the man behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally, is the driving
force for the new series but says that it is competitor demand that has been the
catalyst for this new development.
“Competitors, many of them members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club,
came to us and asked us to put a championship together,” said Heppenstall. “We
consulted with a range of interested parties and have had excellent support from
the MSA. Cars in Categories One, Two and Three will run in full accordance with
the current MSA historic regulations.”
More than 60 crews will line up in Newtown for the first of seven rallies and
the quality of historic entry is being described as the best ever seen for a
British championship event. The final count shows over 35 BDA/BDG engined
Escorts in a field that also includes cars from Lancia, BMW, Vauxhall, Alfa
Romeo, VW, Singer, Opel and Talbot.
Heading the field will be reigning BHRC Category 3 champions Nick Elliott and
Dave Price in their Ford Escort Mk2. They have a fine record on this event and
will be the championship benchmark. However, the vast experience of the
legendary Jimmy McRae, partnered by Pauline Gullick in the JLT-backed Escort
will be another major factor and the five-time British Rally Champion is a
fabulous addition to the championship entry. However, the arrival of Marty
McCormack and Phil Clarke on the entry list has added even more spice: they took
a famous win on the Roger Albert Clark Rally last November and will fly on the
glorious Welsh stages.
In a stunning field, quick Series 3 Escort Mk2s pack out the top 20 in the hands
of drivers like Kevin Davies, Will Onions, Tim Pearcey, Thomas Davies, Ryan
Barrett, Rob Smith, Andrew Haddon, Warren Philliskirk, Will Nicholls, Matthew
Robinson, Phil Squires, Grant Shand and Alan Walker.
New to the historic arena for the event will be Jason Pritchard in a Viking
Motorsport Escort Mk2, while Matt Edwards has worked tirelessly over the winter
to get his Escort Mk2 ready after a first stage retirement on the Roger Albert
Clark Rally. Variety in Series 3 is provided by the Sunbeam Lotus of Guy
Anderson, while the presence of Welsh ace Geoff Jones in the ex-factory Vauxhall
Chevette of Baz Jordan could give the Escort pack a real scare.
Guy Woodcock heads the Pinto-powered Escorts Mk2s in Series 3, with opposition
from young Ben Mellors and Paul Fry. In the 1600 class is the Sunbeam Talbot of
Lynden Jones. More Escort Mk2s will contest Series 4 for cars running to FIA
Appendix K regulations, including the car of Neville Jones.
Among the Escort Mk1s at the head of Series 2 are the cars of Chris Browne,
Craig Salter, Ian Rix and Roger Matthews, while the Pinto-powered cars include
Dick Slaughter, Tim Jones, David Kirby and Nick Jarvis who will go up against
the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith. The Series 4 Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez is
another star car and will come to Newtown fresh from contesting the Boucles de
Spa in Belgium two weeks ago. From the 1600cc ranks come the rapid Escort Mk1s
of Matt Fowle and Robin Shuttleworth.
At the very front of the rally will be the pre ’67 cars in Series 1, with Pete
Gunson’s Lotus Cortina going up against the Singer Chamois of husband and wife
crew Chris and Jo Tooze and the lovely Alfa Romeo of John Everard.
A major feature of the new championship are the classes for other pre ’87 cars
and Series 5 is set to grow in popularity as the season develops. Simon
Wallis/Graham Wride (BMW 325) and Adrian Kermode/Maurice Beckett (VW Golf) lead
the way in Series 5, while Series 7 caters for all pre ’87 cars regardless of
specification and includes the Ford Escort of Mark Spencer, who is co-driven by
Aberystwyth rallying guru Steve Pugh.
It is a fantastic entry for the opening round of a championship that is only
going to grow in stature and popularity over the rest of 2013 and beyond.
26 February 2013
Fourth Championship Newsletter now available
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has today issued the fourth championship newsletter
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.
In the newsletter Colin says that all involved with the organisation of the
championship are delighted with the entry for the Mid Wales. To get over 60
entries for our very first event is incredible and everyone is grateful to each
and every one of those entries for supporting the championship. Competitors will
not be disappointed he says!
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 24 February 2013
WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship to feature on iRally
Following
an overwhelming response to coverage of the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally on
iRally, an agreement has been concluded for the entire West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship season to be covered on the hugely popular rallying
App.
The
two-hour film of the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally has proved to be the
most-viewed video so far this year on iRally, with over a quarter of a million
views in more than 70 countries. UK views, at 69%, account for the greatest
proportion.
The free iRally App has been a runaway success with over 575,000 users
downloading the App in the three years since it was launched. It’s available for
the iPhone, iPad and Android devices and offers an incredibly popular rally
video channel.
The agreement will make the coverage of the full championship available for free
viewing immediately following the initial screening on Motors TV. The footage
will be provided by David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk. Typically, the 90-minute
films will be available for about a week.
The first championship programme to be made available for viewing is the
hour-long season preview, which has drawn rave reviews since its first
broadcast. As well as looking ahead to the new championship, it includes some
glorious archive footage of the late, great Roger Clark in action and the
programme is now available.
“This is a very exciting development for both the rally and the championship,”
said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “iRally is clearly opening up a
major new audience for us and our TV partners and sponsors.”
Greg Strange, Editor of iRally said: “We’re very pleased to confirm plans to
cover all seven rounds of the Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship on
iRally. The response to the Roger Albert Clark Rally coverage has been
outstanding.”
Press release – 24 February 2013
WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship backs Category 1 cars
The
organisers of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship have
re-affirmed their long-term commitment to cars in the pre ’68 Category One, the
oldest cars currently active in stage rallying.
In line with tradition for these cars on gravel rallies, Category One cars
contesting the WWRS R.A.C. Championship will run first on the road to ensure
they get the best road conditions. This situation has already been confirmed for
five of the seven rounds: the Mid Wales, Tour of Hamsterley, Carlisle Stages,
Red Kite Stages and Neath Valley Stages. Discussions about the event format for
the remaining two rounds, the Rally North Wales and the Trackrod Rally are under
way.
Category One cars will continue to be very welcome within the R.A.C.
Championship in 2014 and beyond and the category will be sponsored in 2013 by
Walker Castings. Although company boss Alan Walker is an Escort Mk2 fan, he is
also very keen to see the older cars in action. “Everybody enjoys watching the
Category One cars in the forests and they provide tremendous variety,” said
Walker. “We want to see them in the R.A.C. Championship for the foreseeable
future.”
Two landmark rally cars from Category One celebrate 50th anniversaries in 2013
and both are represented on the R.A.C. Championship for the opening round, the
Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages on Sunday 3 March.
The Lotus Cortina was introduced in 1963 and entered for the opening round is
the example of Pete Gunson and Jonny Haynes. This car used to be driven by
Pete’s father ‘Pop’ and now, after an extensive rebuild, Pete will swap seats to
take over the driving. He’s kept his hand in recently with some more co-driving,
including sharing the Porsche 911 of Stephen Radcliffe on Mini Britannia.
Meanwhile, husband and wife crew Chris and Jo Tooze fly the flag for the Hillman
Imp range of cars with an entry in their 1967 Singer Chamois. The Monmouthshire
crew have been rallying for 20 years and more recently rallied a Mitsubishi Evo
9 with great success. Chris now lists restoring Hillman Imps as one of his
hobbies, so rallying one in this 50th anniversary year of the model seems
entirely appropriate.
Adding wonderful variety to the Category 1 R.A.C. field is the beautiful Alfa
Romeo Junior GT of John Everard and Mark Sharpley, which scored such a good
result on last November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Press release – 22 February 2013
Nicholls makes return in WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Former Subaru Impreza WRC driver Will Nicholls will return to rallying regularly
this season in the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, starting
on the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March).
Nicholls has been out of rallying more than two years away from the sport due to
a back injury sustained on the Abingdon Stages, but it now eager to get back
into the sport and has made the switch to historic competition.
The former BTRDA Gold Star champion will contest the R.A.C. Championship in an
ex-Peter Egerton Ford Escort Mk2, built by XS Racing, and will open his campaign
on the Mid Wales Stages. Nick Broom will again co-drive for the Isle of Wight
driver.
As well as winning the prestigious Gold Star title in 2008, Nicholls was
runner-up in 2009 and 2010. He has won the Somerset Stages three times and the
Monteburg Rally Sprint no less than five times.
“We’ve got some cobwebs to blow away,” said Nicholls, who used the Escort for
the first time on last November’s Tempest Rally. “I’ve never done the Mid Wales
and Pikes Peak is new to me: it looks a fantastic stage. We’re really looking
forward to it and we hope to sneak into the top 10, but the quality of the entry
is incredible.”
Backing for the Escort will come from Red Funnell Isle of Wight Ferries and
Kumho Tyres, two companies that have supported Nicholls for more than a decade.
Press release – 21 February 2013
Barrett commits to WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship
Northern
Irish ace Ryan Barrett is the latest front-runner to commit to the West Wales
Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship with an entry for the Rally Marketing Mid
Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March).
Omagh-based Barrett and co-driver Barry Ferris will join fellow Northern
Irishman Marty McCormack near the front of the fantastically competitive entry
and hopes to do more rounds after doing very little rallying across the last two
seasons.
In 2010, Barrett won the BHRC-counting Isle of Man Historic Rally and finished
second on the Severn Valley Stages, but was then hit by disaster when his car
was badly damaged by fire when being run on the road ahead of the start of the
2011 season. His luck didn’t improve when he went out of his home event, the
2011 Ulster Rally, with gearbox failure on the opening stage.
Now Barrett will return to the Welsh gravel stages this weekend to contest the
opening round of the R.A.C. Championship in his Ford Escort Mk2 and he says the
quality of the entry is incredible. “The entry is unreal,” said Barrett. “I’ve
just been reading about the Pikes Peak stage in Motorsport News! We’re doing 00
on a local event on Saturday just to get back into it,” said Barrett.
The stages in Mid Wales are all relatively new to him, as Barrett has only
competed on the Mid Wales once before in 2009, which ended with a broken
halfshaft.
Press release – 18 February 2013
McCormack enters WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
What
was already a stellar entry list for the opening round of the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C Rally Championship just got even better with confirmation this
evening (Monday 18 February) of an entry for Irish ace Marty McCormack for the
Mid Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March).
Partnered by Phil Clarke in his Ford Escort Mk2, McCormack will return to
historic action just over two months after an incredible victory on last
November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally.
He will be one of the leading drivers in a field that now totals 36 BDA/BDG-powered
Ford Escorts from an entry of more than 60 cars. The opening round of the new
championship has drawn the best quality field ever seen in historic rallying in
the UK.
McCormack and Clarke were the stars of the Roger Albert Clark Rally when they
scored a dramatic victory after a titanic battle with the similar car of Steve
Bannister and Kevin Rae. Although advancing his career in modern rallying
remains the first priority, McCormack had already pledged to enter a couple of
rounds of the WWRS R.A.C. Championship.
“I certainly planned to do a couple of rounds in the championship and then
definitely do the Roger Albert Clark Rally again in November,” said McCormack.
“Having Marty on the entry list really is the icing on the cake for the
championship,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “It is going to
quite a spectacle on the fabulous stages of Mid Wales.”
Press release – 13 February 2013
Geoff Jones enters WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
Geoff Jones, one of Britain’s quickest rally drivers will return to competition
on the opening round of the WWRS R.A.C. Championship when he drives an
ex-factory Vauxhall Chevette on the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages (3 March).
In 1985, Jones won the corresponding Newtown Stages in his own Chevette and 28
years on he will now take on an incredibly strong pack of Ford Escort Mk2s in
the HSR owned by Baz Jordan. The rally car preparation ace says he can’t wait to
get back into a Chevette and is due to be testing the ex-Russell Gooding car
today (13 February.
“It’s a real trip down memory lane,” said Jones. “I love an Escort, and started
rallying in one, but the chance to get back in a Chevette is a dream-come-true.
I won’t be cruising round and stages like Pike’s Peak will be a lot of fun. It
is one of my old favourite rallies. There is no pressure, but I hope to be
competitive against the Escorts.
Jones admits that he would love to do more events in the car, but has to fit his
own sport around commitments to running cars for customers. “We’ll see how we
get on, but I need to do more rallying,” said Jones.
13 February 2013
Third Championship Newsletter now available
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has recently issued the third championship newsletter
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.
In the newsletter Colin brings club members up to date with the latest news on
the championship as we head towards the new opening round, the Rally Marketing
Mid Wales Stages on Sunday 3 March. Colin announces that as of 11th February
there were 46 entries confirmed and we believe there are at least another 14 due
to get us to our ambitious target of 60 cars. We could even be over 60, but that
is the number we promised to the event organisers and we are nicely on target.
A month after the Mid Wales Stages is
the Rally North Wales (formerly the Bulldog) and Colin re-confirms that our
53-mile event will be run all on Saturday with a schedule that will get all our
crews through the final stage in daylight. More details in this newsletter.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 12 February 2013
Pritchard set for WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
Jason Pritchard will follow in his father’s footsteps next month when he
competes in the first round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally
Championship in a Ford Escort Mk2 Escort from Viking Motorsport.
The Welshman, formerly a front-runner in the British Rally Championship, is the
latest high-profile driver to confirm plans to compete in the new championship
and will follow in the wheeltracks of his father Eian, who was rallying Escorts
when Jason was growing up.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Jason. “To compete in a Mk2 Escort was an
opportunity I just couldn’t miss. It really is an iconic car and I’m bursting to
get behind the wheel and start the championship in style. After having 12 months
away from rallying, the support from my family, friends and the local community,
who are always asking me when I’m rallying again, has been incredible and I
would like to personally thank all at Viking Motorsport for the effort and
hard-work that has gone into making sure the car is in the best possible shape
it can be.”
Pritchard was twice British R2 Champion in 2008 and 2009, Citroen C2R2 Champion
in 2008, British privateer champion in 2010, and finished third overall in the
2010 British Rally Championship 2010. He finished first two-wheel drive on Wales
Rally GB in 2008 and was the Richard Burns Award winner in the same season.
Pritchard is thrilled to have the chance to compete against five-time British
Rally Champion Jimmy McRae when the championship starts on the Rally Marketing
Mid Wales Stages on Sunday 3 March.
“Jimmy is a legend and to have the chance to compete alongside him will be
amazing. I look forward to every event but coming up against Jimmy will be
special,” he said. “It will be tough and I can’t wait to get going, this is a
new car and my first time driving a rear-wheel drive car so it’s a totally
different driving style.”
Press release –10 February 2013
Superb take up for WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
The
competitor response to the opening round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C
Rally Championship has been superb, with 40 cars already entered for the Rally
Marketing Mid Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March), and at least another 20 entries due
over the next two weeks.
The entry list to date makes impressive reading, and is topped by five-time
British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and historic pacesetter Nick Elliott in Ford
Escort Mk2s. They face a gaggle of similar cars for leading historic contenders
including Will Onions, Tomas Davies, Tim Pearcey, Paul Griffiths, Alan Walker,
Rob Dennis, James Potter, Warren Philliskirk, Andrew Haddon, Will Rowlands and
Phil Squires.
Meanwhile, former British Rally Championship contender Jason Pritchard will make
his historic debut in an Escort Mk2 from Viking Motorsport and Rob Smith is
forsaking his regular Vauxhall Chevette to join the Ford Escort ranks. Due to be
announced on Wednesday (13 February) is the identity of another star driver in a
Vauxhall Chevette, who could give the Escort pack something to think about.
Adding further spice to the Category 3 field is the Sunbeam Lotus of Guy
Anderson, while Guy Woodcock, Paul Fry and John Baker (Ford Escort Mk2s) take on
the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith in class D3. In D2, the Talbot Sunbeam of Lynden
Jones is a welcome addition to the championship.
In Category 2, the Escort Mk1s of Chris Browne and Craig Salter will go up
against the stunning Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez, while class C3 is shaping up
for a great contest among Ford Escort Mk1 drivers like Dick Slaughter, Nick
Jarvis and David Kirby and the BMW 2002 of Terry Cree. In class C2, Matt Fowle
will take on the similar Escort Mk1s of Robin Shuttleworth and Stuart Cariss.
Among the early entries in other championship categories are Peter Gunson (Lotus
Cortina), Simon Wallis (BMW 325) and Mark Spencer (Ford Escort Mk2).
With nearly two weeks to go until entries close, the new championship is well on
target to hit the 60-mark for the Mid Wales Stages and could go higher as more
and more crews commit to the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.
Press release: Monday 4 February 2013
2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally on iRally
The
2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally will feature on iRally in what is hoped will be
the start of a major partnership between the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club
and the hugely popular rallying App.
The free iRally app has been a runaway success with 560,000 users downloading
the App in the three years since it was launched. It covers the iPhone, iPad and
Android devices and offers an incredibly popular video channel, where some films
can hit over a quarter of a million views.
The
initial partnership will make the coverage of the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally
available for free viewing from Monday 11 February. The footage will be provided
by David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk. Typically, films are available for about a
week.
If the user response is positive, the agreement will be rolled out to cover all
rounds of the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the first
such arrangement for a historic rally championship. Initial feedback from users
suggests that coverage of historic rallying is proving very popular.
“This is a very exciting development for both the rally and the championship,”
said rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “I am very hopeful that this will open up
a major new audience for us and our TV partners and sponsors.”
Greg Strange, Editor of iRally said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to
work with the Roger Albert Clark Rally, which this year will run for the tenth
time. The event has become a great rallying tradition, and iRally is delighted
to be showing the 2012 video this month.”
For more details about the Roger Albert Clark Rally, please visit
www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org
For more about iRally, please visit
http://bit.ly/iRallyNow, or download the App free from the App Store or
Google Play
Reporting
courtesy of Paul Lawrence,
e-mail:
paul@tfmpr.com
or Tel:
01952 510382
Press release – 30 January 2013
BMW to take on the Escorts in WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
Yorkshireman
Terry Cree is hoping to challenge the Ford Escort pack in the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C Rally Championship this season with his BMW 2002.
Cree and co-driver Richard Shores will contest the opening round of the
championship, the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages (Sunday 3 March), with a
fresh engine in the German car and Cree hopes it will help him take the fight to
the Pinto-powered Ford Escort Mk1s in class C3.
The Thirsk-based driver ran the BMW on a number of rallies in 2011, but only
tackled one event last season after an engine problem developed when his son Ben
was driving the car on the Jack Frost Stages at Croft a year ago. A fresh engine
from JC Racing in Thirsk was fitted in time for a very encouraging run on the
Trackrod Rally in late September, despite a moment with a tree and then a broken
gear lever.
“I hope to be able to scare the Escorts,” said Cree, who enjoys continued
backing from Beechwood Leisure in Thirsk. This will be the seventh season he has
been supported by the family-owned caravan dealership. “The car will be fine, so
it will be all down to the driver!”
Cree has an extensive rallying history in both front and rear-wheel drive cars
and won his class several times on the Network Q Rally of Great Britain. Before
switching to the BMW, he also rallied a Mini Cooper with considerable success in
the historic arena.
Press release – 29 January 2013
WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship TV schedule confirmed
The
2013 television schedule for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship has been confirmed, with a massive 90 hours of coverage on Motors
TV starting with a special ‘R.A.C Rally’ night on Sunday 10 February.
The evening’s rally action will start at 7.30pm with a two-hour programme
covering the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally. Then, at 9.30pm comes a 60-minute
programme previewing the 2013 R.A.C Rally Championship and taking a look back at
the sublime talent of Roger Clark.
Each round of the championship will be reported in a dedicated stand-alone
90-minute programme, while a mid-season review and a two-hour end-of-season
review will mean at least 15 hours of prime coverage. With each programme likely
to air around six times, the total exposure for the championship will be up to
90 hours.
In a real festive bonus for rally fans, the two-hour season review programme
will be screened on Christmas Day, starting at 9pm. The event reports are all
scheduled for 9pm on Saturday evenings, with the first one on Saturday 16 March
as the report of the Mid Wales Stages goes out less than two weeks after the
rally.
Support for coverage of the 2013 WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV
partners Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians,
Amigos and rallyprep.co.uk.
David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk has been appointed to film all seven rounds of
the championship and is planning to bring all the action from the stages as well
as the very best in-car footage.
The provisional TV schedule is:
Sunday 10 February at 9.30pm (season preview)
Saturday 16 March at 9pm (Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages)
Saturday 20 April at 9pm (Rally North Wales)
Saturday 25 May at 9pm (SG Petch Tour of Hamsterley)
Saturday 13 July at 9pm (DMACK Carlisle Stages)
Saturday 31 August at 9pm (Neath Valley Stages)
Saturday 19 October at 9pm (Trackrod Rally)
Monday 25 December at 9pm (season review)
The dates for coverage of the Red Kite Stages and the mid-season review will be
confirmed once the revised date for the Red Kite has been confirmed.
26 January 2013
Second Championship Newsletter now available
Championship
Manager, Colin Heppenstall has today issued the second championship newsletter
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship. In the newsletter he
talks about the disappointment over the forced postponement of the Red Kite
Stages whilst fully supporting the decision made by the event's organising team.
Colin then goes on to talk about what will become the first round of the
championship, the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages on Sunday 3 March and other
upcoming events in the Championship calendar.
| Read the
newsletter in full
here
in Adobe PDF format. |
|
Press release – 23 January 2013
Rally Prep partners with WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
Rally
Prep is delighted to announce that it has become one of the official TV partners
for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship. Rally Prep Ltd
specialises in the build and preparation of rally, race and high-performance
vehicles for road, rally and track use. The company’s services range from full
bare-shell builds to basic servicing and parts supply.
Each of the championship’s seven rounds will have a 90-minute TV production to
be aired on Motors TV, and Rally Prep is proud to become a partner to such an
exciting series.
“I have been involved with rallying all my life and am very passionate about the
historic classes,” said Neil Yates, MD of Rally Prep. “To support the superb TV
coverage of such a brilliant championship was a no-brainer. After all, being a
rally enthusiast, nothing gives me more pleasure than introducing the historic
rally world to new people. David Winstanley’s Rally TV organisation has put
together a terrific package and the R.A.C. Championship is a great platform to
showcase what rallying is all about in this country.”
“I am delighted that Rally Prep has joined as a TV partner to the R.A.C. Rally
Championship,” said Winstanley. “Although the company is new to the historic
scene the pedigree of the people is outstanding, and I know they will get a lot
from this relationship. I look forward to seeing Neil and Rally Prep customers
out on the various rounds this year.”
The first coverage of the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship will be on Sunday 10
February during a Roger Albert Clark Rally night on Motors TV. Starting at
7.30pm, the three-hour special will report the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally and
then preview the coming R.A.C Championship season.
Press release – 19 January 2013
WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship backs Red Kite postponement
The organisers of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship have
given 100% backing to the decision to postpone the Red Kite Stages due to heavy
snow. Championship manager Colin Heppenstall has pledged to work with the team
at Amman and District Motor Club over a revised date for the event.
With a foot of snow in the Welsh forests, Sunday’s rally (20 January) was
rightly postponed as the organisers put the safety of competitors, officials and
spectators first.
“We fully respect the decision made by the event organisers and appreciate the
difficult decision they had to make,” said Heppenstall. “It is a massive
disappointment that the British weather has intervened and after so much hard
work by the Red Kite team.”
Heppenstall also confirmed that the championship team will work with the
organisers over a revised date for the rally later in the year. “We are fully
behind the event and the organisers,” he said. “The next step is that we need to
speak to all registered championship contenders and the MSA about a new date.”
Red Kite Stages Announcement
Friday 18th January 18:00
The Organising Team of Amman & District
Motor Club have this afternoon taken the decision to postpone the Red Kite
Stages and Red Kite Historic Stages events due to the prevailing weather
conditions.
The organisers have posted the following
announcement on the event website:
Important Announcement for
competitors : Weather Update
After
careful consideration, discussions within the organizing team and a member of
the safety crew attempting some of the route late this afternoon and the change
in the weather not coming as predicted, we are sorry to have to announce that
the RED KITE STAGES and RED KITE HISTORIC STAGES has been postponed.
This decision has not been taken lightly, but we MUST consider the safety of ALL
competitors, marshals, and spectators alike.
By postponing this evening we are giving everyone a fair chance, as we have
competitors, officials and marshals travelling from all over the country and
further afield.
A full statement will follow in due course.
The revised date will be the 7th
September.
The organising Team
The organisers of the WWRS R.A.C Rally
Championship will be working with the event organisers to try and include the
revised date in the championship schedule
Press release – 17 January 2013
DMACK to back Carlisle Stages
Tyre
company DMACK will be the title sponsor for the new Carlisle Stages, round five
of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, on Saturday 22 June.
Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the new gravel event will
start and finish in Carlisle and take in 45 stage miles across eight stages in
some of the region’s best-loved forests.
“We are delighted to welcome DMACK as title sponsor for our new event,” said
rally manager Colin Heppenstall. “It is great to have a prominent local company
backing this new rally, which runs on classic stages in Cumbria and the Scottish
Borders.”
Alongside supplying tyres for the FIA World Rally Championship, the team at
DMACK is keen to support local motor sport and so the inaugural Carlisle Stages
is an ideal platform for the Carlisle-based company. One of the company’s
founding principles is to deliver affordable motorsport through a range of
cost-effective tyres.
The provisional route for the DMACK Carlisle Stages starts with a four-mile
stage in Chamot Hill, followed by a four-mile stage at Arthur’s Seat and
eight-mile stages in Newcastleton and Kershope. After service back at Carlisle,
the four stages will be repeated and the route will include a total of 90 road
miles.
As well as catering for contenders in the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship, the
DMACK Carlisle Stages will be open to all other cars and is ideal preparation
for anyone planning to enter the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally, which runs
across similar forest stages.
Regulations for the event should be available at Rally North Wales (6 April),
which is round three of the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship.
Press release – 16 January 2013
Perez and Amigos
back WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship
Steve
Perez and the Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beers brand have teamed up to support the
2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship. While Perez will contest
some rounds of the new championship in his glorious Lancia Stratos, the Amigos
brand is backing the championship as a TV partner.
Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beers becomes the final TV partner for the 2013 season
when the championship will enjoy superb coverage on Motors TV, starting during
the special ‘R.AC Rally Night’ on Sunday 10 February.
Meanwhile Perez, who campaigns the Stratos in the striking livery of Amigos,
plans to contest the championship and will open his account on the Mid Wales
Stages on 3 March. “I’m certainly going to do the Mid Wales and Rally North
Wales and as many other rounds as time allows,” said Perez. “The Trackrod Rally
is a great favourite of mine.”
Perez is a long time supporter of the Roger Albert Clark Rally and is one of
only four drivers to have contested all nine events since the first rally in
2004. He says that the new championship is sure to be a big hit. “If the rallies
and the championship are as well organised as the Roger Albert then they are
going to be terrific,” he said. “It's great to do some different rallies. I like
the idea that the championship is competitor-driven and on that basis I am sure
it's going to be a great success.”
Press release – 15 January 2013
R.A.C Rally Night on
Motors TV opens 2013 season
A
superb TV package will add to the ever-growing profile of the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, when the coverage starts with a special ‘R.A.C
Rally’ night on Motors TV on Sunday 10 February.
The evening’s rally action will start at 7.30pm with a 90-minute programme
covering the fabulous 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally when Marty McCormack and
Steve Bannister enacted a mighty battle for victory which was only resolved on
the final special stage. Then, at 9pm comes another 90-minute programme covering
the Red Kite Stages, the opening round of the R.A.C Rally Championship.
Support
for coverage of the 2013 R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV partners
including Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines,
Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment, Lloyd-Thomas Opticians
and rallyprep.co.uk.
“Talk about starting with a bang,” said David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk, the
organisation appointed to film all seven rounds of the championship as well as
the Roger Albert Clark Rally. “The quality of entry for the Red Kite guarantees
stunning footage and the ‘R.A.C Rally Night’ will be a real treat for fans.”
Each round of the championship will be covered in detail in a 90-minute
prime-time programme on Motors TV with multiple repeats and there will also be
an end-of-season review programme to give the championship over 50 hours of TV
coverage. The move to 90-minute programmes allows Winstanley and his team to
give good coverage to each of the seven series within the championship. In
addition to the TV coverage, each event will be featured on YouTube, with a
mini-report uploaded as soon as possible after each event.
“We are very pleased to work with
David Winstanley,” said Frederic Viger, head of programming at Motors TV.
“Historic rallying is so spectacular and has a massive following. The ratings
are very good.”
West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship
Championship
newsletter: 1/2013 – 15 January 2013
Welcome
to the first championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally
Championship. We plan to issue a newsletter after each round of the championship
to keep you up to date with everything that is going on.
It has been an incredibly busy time
getting the championship up and running and we’ve just finished four days at
Autosport International. The response to
the
championship has been overwhelming and the entry for the opening round, the Red
Kite, has far exceeded our expectations. We have over 50 contenders entered for
the Red Kite and we know of a lot more planning to join in over the course of
the season. We ended the show with 36 registrations and expect to take another
20 before the start of the Red Kite.
There are many people who have worked
hard to get us to this point, and I am grateful to them and to all the
competitors who have supported us. Also, the event organisers have backed us and
I am very pleased that we can expect to take a very good field of cars to their
events. We could not have done this without the backing of our title sponsor
West Wales Rally Spares and the other championship supporters and TV partners
who have backed the championship.
I hope to see many of you in Llandovery
over the weekend. It’s going to be a great start for the championship.
Best regards
Colin Heppenstall
Tuesday 15 January 2013
The Championship newsletter can be read
in full
here
DREAM COME TRUE FOR PRITCHARD
Jason
Pritchard will follow in his father’s footsteps on Sunday (20th January) as he
competes in the first round of the historic 2013 RAC Rally Championship in an
Mk2 Escort. With over 30 Group 4 Escort Mk2s already pledged for the new
championship this season, Pritchard is hoping the partnership is a perfect fit
for the 40-mile event at Llandovery.
The Welshman, who won the modern section of the Red Kite rally in 2010, will
contest the historic stages in an Mk2 Escort run by Viking Motorsport, whose
proprietor is Petter Soldberg’s former co-driver Phil Mills, who will be a big
help when it comes to advice.
Pritchard will be joined by co-driver Aled Davies and couldn’t hide his
excitement when talking about the opportunity to test his skills in one of the
most competitive championships in the UK: “It’s a dream come true, my Dad
rallied the same model when I was growing up and to compete in a Mk2 Escort was
an opportunity I just couldn’t miss. It really is an iconic car and I’m bursting
to get behind the wheel on Sunday and start the championship in style. After
having 12 months away from rallying, the support from my family, friends and the
local community who are always asking me when I’m rallying again has been
incredible and I would like to personally thank all at Viking Motorsport for the
effort and hard-work gone into making sure the car is in the best possible shape
it can be before Sunday.”
Five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae will contest the 2013 RAC Rally
Championship, although he won’t be at Sunday’s event, however Jason is thrilled
to have such a high-profile driver also involved in the Championship:
"Jimmy is a legend and to have
the chance to compete alongside him will be amazing, I look forward to every
event but coming up against Jimmy will be special. I hope we can start well on
Sunday. I’ve won before at the Red Kite so I know what you need to get round. It
will be tough and I can’t wait to get going, this is a new car and my first time
driving a rear wheel drive car so it’s a totally different driving style. My aim
will be to finish and build my pace through the day as I feel comfortable. It’s
the strongest entry on a UK event in recent years with Mark Higgins competing
and a number of former British Historic Champions.”
Jason is now on Twitter
and you can follow him at @JasonNRG
Please visit Jason’s new website at
www.jasonpritchard.co.uk
For more information or to arrange to
speak directly with Jason, please contact:
Matthew Williams
mpw.sportpr@gmail.com
07789 722 561
@MPWsportPR
Press release – 14 January 2013
Sensational entry for opening R.A.C Rally Championship round
A
truly sensational entry has been assembled for the opening round of the West
Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 20
January), with the field headed by Julian Reynolds, Mark Higgins and Nick
Elliott.
More than 50 registered crews will line up in Llandovery for the first of seven
rallies and the quality of historic entry is being described as the best ever
seen for a British championship event. The final count shows 29 BDA/BDG engined
Escorts in a field that also includes cars from Volvo, BMW, Hillman, Opel,
Austin, Alfa Romeo, Sunbeam and Triumph.
Heading the field away will be reigning BHRC champions Julian Reynolds and
Patrick Walsh in their Ford Escort Mk2. Reynolds has won the modern section of
the Red Kite three times and the historic section twice, but it is still
uncertain if he will be there when the rally starts at 9am on Sunday. They are
attending the MSA Night of Champions in London on Saturday night and face a race
against time to get back to West Wales.
Three-time British Rally Champion Mark Higgins and co-driver Ieuan Thomas are
second away in the main field in an Escort Mk2 from Historic Rallysport, with
the flying Nick Elliott and Dave Price next up. In a stunning entry, quick
Series 3 cars pack out the top 20 in the hands of drivers like Kevin Davies,
Will Onions, Thomas Davies, Terry Brown, Rob Smith, Alan Walker and Seamus
O’Connell.
New to the historic arena for the event will be Jason Pritchard in a Viking
Motorsport Escort Mk2, while Matt Edwards has worked non-stop for the last six
weeks to get his Escort Mk2 ready after a first stage retirement on the Roger
Albert Clark Rally. Variety in Series 3 is provided by the Sunbeam Lotus of Guy
Anderson and the Triumph TR7 V8 of Peter Jones, while Guy Woodcock heads the
Pinto-powered Escorts Mk2s in Series 3. More Escort Mk2s will contest Series 4
for cars running to FIA Appendix K regulations, including those of Barry Jordan
and Neville Jones.
Among the Escort Mk1s at the head of Series 2 is the car of Richard Hill, while
the Pinto-powered cars include Dick Slaughter, Neal James and Nick Jarvis who
will go up against the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith. From the 1600cc ranks comes
the rapid Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth.
At the very front of the rally will be the pre ’67 cars in Series 1, with Ian
Beveridge/Paul Price first away in their Volvo PV 544. Leading the chase will be
Clive King/Bob Ward (Mini Cooper) and John Everard/Mark Sharpley (Alfa Romeo).
A major feature of the new championship are the classes for other pre ’87 cars
and Series 5 is set to grow in popularity as the season develops. Simon Wallis
and Graham Wride lead the way in their BMW 325, while Series 7 caters for all
pre ’87 cars regardless of specification. Ben (son of former British champion
David) Llewellin will make his rallying debut in a Ford Escort Mk2, and will
line up against more Escorts for Mark Spencer, Roger Taylor and Robert
Cholmondeley. Expected to join the Series 7 field are the very rapid Matthew
Robinson (Escort Mk2) and Dylan Davies (Escort Mk1).
The Red Kite Stages is organised by Amman and District Motor Club. More details
are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
News from the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C
Rally Championship
Information update – 14 January 2013
Please find attached the entry lists and final instructions for the Red Kite
Stages (Sunday 20 January), the opening round of the Wales Rally Spares R.A.C
Rally Championship.
We hope that this information will be useful to you and we hope to see you
during the event. We are delighted to have over 50 championship contenders
entered for this event.
Scrutineering and documentation will be in Llandovery from 1pm to 6pm on
Saturday, with the rally starting at 9am Sunday. The first car is due back at
the finish in Llandovery at around 2.30pm. Please see the event website at
www.redkitestages.co.uk
for further details.
The running order for the event will be:
RAC series 1 cars (numbers 36-40)
Short gap
RAC series 2, 3 and 4 cars (numbers 41-83)
10-minute gap
RAC series 5, 6 and 7 cars (numbers 31-35)
Short gap
Event modern entries (numbers 1-29)
Seeded Entry List for the Red Kite
Historic Stages 2013 available
here for download in Adobe PDF format.
Seeded Entry List for the Red Kite Stages 2013 available
here for download in Adobe PDF format.
Press release – 13 January 2013
R.A.C boom time at Autosport International
It was boom time for both the Roger Albert Clark Rally and the West Wales Rally
Spares R.A.C Rally Championship during Autosport International at the Birmingham
NEC (10-13 January).
As the show entered its final couple of hours, rally and championship manager
Colin Heppenstall reflected on four days of hectic activity with unrivalled
levels of competitor and spectator interest in both the rally and the
championship. By the close of the show, 36 championship registrations had been
taken and at least another 20 are due before the start of the opening round, the
Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January.
Pride of place on the stand went to the Ford Escort Mk2 that Marty McCormack and
Phil Clarke took to a famous victory on the ninth Roger Albert Clark Rally.
McCormack was on hand to sign autographs on Saturday as hundreds of fans stopped
by the stand to chat about the sensational 2012 rally and pick up some early
information on plans for 2013.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with the response to the championship and the level of
interest,” said Heppenstall. “As well as the amazing reaction from the current
historic crews, I’m delighted with the interest from people looking to run pre
’87 cars. The championship gives these cars an opportunity to come back out and
that is going to happen: not immediately, but certainly later this year and into
2014.”
Meanwhile, the reaction to the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally remains remarkably
strong. “The feedback is that the new format was a real key to the success of
the 2012 rally,” said Heppenstall.
Details about the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally (8-10 November), the WWRS R.A.C
Rally Championship and the Carlisle Stages (22 June) were all available from
members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club.
In less than a week, the new R.A.C Rally Championship will start with 55
contenders on the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 20 January). “I’d like to thank all
the competitors for supporting the opening round and the team at Amman and
District Motor Club for their hard work in organising what is going to be a
great day’s rallying,” said Heppenstall. More details are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Volvo Amazon Stage Rally Car For Sale
Dave
Reynolds has been in touch with us to say that his Volvo Amazon is up for sale
due to changed personal circumstances. With such an exciting season ahead this
car is a professionally developed, competitive car and ready to run in BHRC
Category 1.
The car has been prepared as follows:
Flexible 1800 engine on Webers, close
ratio gearbox, Volvo LSD, minilites, alloy tank, Facet pumps, adjustable braking
ratio, central handbrake, alloy guard, F/glass bonnet & boot.
Complete with forest and tarmac tyres;
MSA Logbook and HRVIF Documentation. Ready to go.
The car has been run successfully in
the BHRC, with best results being two third places and two fourth places overall
in Category 1 so anyone out there who needs a ready-prepared car for Category 1
then this could be for you.
Dave is looking for £14,950 ovno and
for further information he can be contacted on 07952 757048.
Press release – 9 January 2013
Commercial partners unveiled for the
WWRS RAC Rally Championship
No
less than 16 commercial partners have been confirmed for the West Wales Rally
Spares RAC Rally Championship. The championship starts in just over a week on
the Red Kite Stages (20 January) and has already attracted what is being
described as the best ever historic entry for a British rally.
Alongside title sponsor West Wales Rally Spares, the championship organisers
from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club welcome DMACK, Dunlop, Kumho and
Pirelli as tyre partners for the 2013 season.
Five companies have stepped forward to support the championship by sponsoring
individual series. The backers are Walker Diecastings (Series 1 for Category 1
historic cars), Capital Construction (Series 2 for Category 2 cars), Rob Smith
Rallying (Series 3 for Category 3 cars), Martin Jones Transmissions (Series 4
for FIA Appendix K cars) and Holton Homes (Series 5 for 82-87 cars).
Already announced are £100 vouchers from WWRS for the first and last retirement
on each rally along with one for a crew drawn from a hat. Meanwhile, the Holton
Homes Clubmans Award will give one deserving crew half of their entry fee back
after each rally.
Fuchs Lubricants will supply a product award on each event for the ‘Spirit of
the Rally’ and Mintex will support the ‘Best Improvement on Seeding’ award with
a set of brake pads after each rally. The ‘Hard Charger’ award, backed by Green
Valley Industrial Supplies will present a 20-litre jerry can on each of the
seven rounds.
New end of season awards include the JT Motorsport Award for the most
entertaining driver and Weir Laundry Equipment Award for the best performance by
an under-25 driver.
The 2013 championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and
event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Press release – 7 January 2013
Five rally cars on show at Autosport
International
Five
cars representing both the Roger Albert Clark Rally and the West Wales Rally
Spares RAC Rally Championship will be on show at Autosport International at the
Birmingham NEC (10-13 January).
Pride of place will go to the Ford Escort Mk2 that Marty McCormack and Phil
Clarke took to a famous victory on the ninth Roger Albert Clark Rally. Joining
the Escort on show will be the Datsun 240Z of Robert Close, the Ford Escort Mk2
of Dave Hemingway and the Vauxhall Nova of Nigel Barrett. On an adjoining stand
will be the Alfa Romeo Sprint GT of John Everard.
Details about the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally (8-10 November), the WWRS RAC
Rally Championship and the Carlisle Stages (22 June) will all be available from
members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, headed by Colin and Nicola
Heppenstall.
Championship eligibility scrutineer John Cooper will be there on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday to answer technical questions, and championship registration
will be available to visitors.
Meanwhile, the acclaimed DVD of the 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally will be
available for purchase from David Winstanley of Rally TV. The two-hour DVD of
the rally, titled ‘Coming of Age’, was filmed from six camera and numerous
on-boards and comes with a free two-hour on-board DVD for £20.
The 2013 West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship starts on the Red Kite
Stages on Sunday 20 January and event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Press release – 7 January 2013
More awards for the WWRS RAC Rally Championship
Competitors
in the West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship will have a chance of
winning a share of a new award fund worth more than £2000 as part of the WWRS
title sponsorship package for the championship.
The championship will present three £100 vouchers per rally, meaning that 21
championship registered crews will win a voucher during the seven-event season.
WWRS vouchers will be presented to the first and last retirement on each rally,
with a third voucher to be drawn from a hat containing all other starters. Any
crew can only win one voucher during the season.
“Retiring at any point on an event is tough, but to go out on the first or last
stage seems even tougher. We hope that a £100 WWRS voucher will ease the pain a
little,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “I’m very grateful to
Gareth Lloyd and all the team at WWRS for their enthusiastic support of the
championship.”
The 2013 championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and
event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Press release – 20 December 2012
Jimmy McRae to contest the RAC Rally Championship
Jimmy McRae will contest the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship
with the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Team alongside John Lloyd in a two-car team of
Ford Escort Mk2s run by Melvyn Evans.
The five-time British Rally Champion is one of the most popular figures in
British rallying, but has not competed regularly for several seasons. Now,
everyone involved in the new championship is thrilled to have such a high
profile driver confirm plans to join the contenders. “Jimmy is an absolute
legend of British rallying and to have him competing with us is another massive
boost,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall.
“I’m just pleased that John wanted a team mate,” said McRae (69), who has been
involved with the JLT team for 17 years and is delighted to have a full season
in prospect. “I’m pleased that Jimmy will be joining the team as he is a good
guy to have around and he is the master,” said Lloyd, who was keen to contest
the RAC championship as the championship calendar includes some of his favourite
rallies.
Pauline Gullick will co-drive for McRae and Adrian Cavenagh will co-drive for
Lloyd. The team will miss the opening round, the Red Kite Stages, due to prior
commitments, and will open its campaign on the Mid Wales Stages in early March.
The 2013 championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and
event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
Press release – 15 December 2012
West Wales Rally Spares to sponsor the RAC
Rally Championship
West
Wales Rally Spares has been confirmed as the sponsor for the 2013 RAC Rally
Championship. With competitor support for the new championship already running
well above target, the Ceredigion-based company has agreed to be title sponsor
for the coming season.
West Wales Rally Spares, headed by
competitor and enthusiast Gareth Lloyd, is a renowned specialist in the supply
of parts for Mk1 and Mk2 Ford Escorts, from clubmans cars through to full to
Group 4 specification cars. In addition, WWRS is a stockist for many of the
leading brands of rally equipment and accessories and is an official Sparco
distributor.
With
over 30 Group 4 Escort Mk2s already pledged for the new championship this
season, the partnership is a perfect fit for both WWRS and the championship
organisers, the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club. Lloyd expects to contest
selected rounds of the championship in his famous ex-Roger Clark/Haynes of
Maidstone Escort Mk2, ‘OKK 380P’.
“We are very pleased to be title
sponsor for the first season of the new RAC Rally Championship,” said Lloyd.
“The ethos of the championship and its format certainly seems to have struck a
chord with competitors and we are looking forward to a great season of rallying
for crews in all levels and types of car.”
Championship manager Colin Heppenstall
was delighted to confirm the partnership. “West Wales Rally Spares is the
perfect sponsor for the RAC Rally Championship,” said Heppenstall. “Gareth and
his team understand exactly what competitors need, particularly in these
difficult financial times. WWRS is one of those specialist companies that make
rallying happen and we are very, very pleased to welcome them to the
championship.”
WWRS operates from a purpose-built
8000sq ft base in Llandysul, with a dedicated showroom. With experienced
competitors on the staff, WWRS is the perfect point of information for hundreds
of active competitors across the UK and Europe. The company can be contacted on
01559 363731 and its website is at:
www.westwalesrallyspares.co.uk
The 2013 championship starts on the Red
Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
13 December 2012
Championship Promotional Flyer
Now Available
The organisers of the 2013 RAC Rally
Championship have been bowled over by the initial response to the Championship
announcement. In order to give those of you interested in the Championship
we have put together a brief document which outlines the aims and principles
behind it's inception and organisation. This document can be downloaded in pdf format.
| |
|
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11 December 2012
Brand new event for the RAC Rally Championship
A brand new event, called the Carlisle Stages, will be part of the 2013 RAC
Rally Championship and will run on Saturday 22 June covering 45 stage miles in
the Kershope and Newcastleton forest complexes.
From a base in Carlisle, this exciting new one-day rally will give crews a rare
chance to tackle some of the most famous gravel stages in the UK during the
summer months. The Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark
Rally Motor Club and will form round five of the new championship.
The development of this all-new rally will take over the slot in the
championship calendar originally pencilled in for the Scottish Rally. When the
organisers of the Scottish were unable to accommodate the size of the entry
expected for the new championship, Colin Heppenstall brought forward existing
plans to run a one-day rally in the tremendous Scottish border forests.
In year one, the event will be a round of the RAC Rally Championship, but
Heppenstall hopes to include rounds of regional championships for 2014 and
beyond. The rally will start on Saturday morning following scrutineering and
documentation on Friday afternoon and evening.
“This is a great opportunity to get into these forests in the summer months,”
said Heppenstall, championship manager. “The Carlisle Stages will also give
crews a chance to gain experience in these forests ahead of the Roger Albert
Clark Rally in November.” As was the case for the 2012 event, the Kershope and
Newcastleton complexes will feature heavily in the Sunday leg of the 2013 Roger
Albert Clark Rally.
“I’m particularly grateful to both the Forestry Commission and the MSA for their
prompt and professional assistance in putting this new rally together,” said
Heppenstall. “I’m also very pleased that we have been able to maintain a good
geographical spread of events for the championship, with three of the seven
rallies in the northern half of England.”
The 2013 RAC Rally Championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20
January and event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
11 December 2012
All systems go for the RAC Rally
Championship
Preparations for the new-for-2013 RAC
Rally Championship are running apace in the build up to the opening event amidst
unprecedented interest from potential competitors. The latest news is that draft
championship regulations and championship registration forms are now available
to download from this new championship website.
This dedicated RAC Rally Championship
website has gone live today (Tuesday 11 December). In addition, the championship
has a Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/RACrallychamp and can be followed on Twitter at @RACRallyChamp.
Ahead of the start of the championship,
both the Roger Albert Clark Rally and the RAC Rally Championship will have a
major presence at Autosport International at the NEC Birmingham (10-13 January
2013). Rally and championship manager Colin Heppenstall will be on hand
throughout the show and championship eligibility scrutineer John Cooper will be
there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They will be delighted to meet
prospective competitors and answer questions about both the rally and the
championship. The stand number is 6814.
Heppenstall says he has been amazed at
the level of interest already received for the new championship. “I’ve been
bowled over by the response from competitors,” he said. “We’re expecting many of
the leading names in historic rallying to be on the entry list for the Red Kite
Stages, as well as crews with cars from right through the classes. The initial
response has far exceeded our targets.”
The 2013 championship starts on the Red
Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and event regulations are available from
www.redkitestages.co.uk
08 December 2012
Edwards pledges to return
Despite
a devastating first stage retirement on the Roger Albert Clark Rally, Matt
Edwards has pledged to be ready to start the opening round of the RAC Rally
Championship in January. If his plans are realised, the highly-rated North Wales
driver is expected to be a strong contender.
Edwards worked for seven months to get
his Ford Escort Mk2 ready for his debut on the Roger Albert Clark Rally in
November and was gutted to suffer an engine failure on the opening stage in
Dalby on Friday evening.
“It was the lowest of the low and it
was a very tough moment,” said Edwards. “I slept in a caravan for seven months
to get to that point. But it will take more than that to stop me. It has made
things difficult, but we’re working hard to be back out.”
Providing that the engine damage is not
too bad, Edwards and co-driver Sam Collis intend to be ready for the Red Kite
Stages on 20 January and then tackle a full season in the RAC Rally
Championship.
With a background in front-wheel drive
and four-wheel drive including finishing runner-up in this year’s BTRDA Gold
Star Championship in a Mitsubishi, Edwards is new to rallying an Escort. “It’s
just a case of me getting used to how the Escort works,” he said. “This is just
something I’ve not done at all. For anyone who has grown up around rallying,
this sort of car is where it’s at.”
08 December 2012
Rally World commits to RAC Rally
Championship
One
of the first teams to confirm plans to contest the new RAC Rally Championship is
Rally World, the Essex-based team set up by Baz Cannon. The squad will run at
least two cars and could expand to run as many as four.
Cannon has an impressive career in the
sport as a respected engineer and spent 18 years working with Gordon Spooner. He
started out running cars for Dimi Mavropoulos, and then tended Sierra Cosworths
for Mark Lovell, Escort Cosworths, Formula 2 Escorts with Gwyndaf Evans and
developed the Escort Maxi kit-car. He was heavily involved in the MG Super 1600
project and more recently worked at M Sport. One of his latest projects was to
rebuild a Ford RS200 for Stig Blomqvist to use on the Eifel Rally in Germany.
Now, his team is gearing up for an
assault on the RAC Rally Championship with a Ford Escort Mk1 for relative
newcomer Nick Jarvis and a Mk2 for UK based Kenyan, Aziz Tejpar. Jarvis was one
of the stars of the recent Roger Albert Clark Rally when he challenged for the
lead of the Open Rally despite very limited experience.
Cannon says the team could add a Datsun
240Z and a Porsche 911 to the squad as the season develops. “We’ll be doing the
whole championship, it’s really taken off,” said Cannon, who also hopes to get
his son Alex out in a historic car during 2013. Alex works alongside his father
in the business and has already shown excellent pace in front-wheel drive cars.
TV package confirmed for RAC Rally Championship
The broadcast package for the new-for-2013 Roger
Albert Clark Rally Championship has been confirmed, with David Winstanley of
rallytv.co.uk appointed to film all seven rounds of the championship.
Each round of the championship will be covered in
detail in a 90-minute programme on Motors TV with multiple repeats and there
will also be an end-of-season review programme to give the championship over 50
hours of TV coverage. Initial broadcasts are expected to run in a prime-time
slot, typically three weeks after the rally. In addition to the TV coverage,
each event will be featured on YouTube, with a mini-report uploaded as soon as
possible after each event.
The move to 90-minute programmes will allow
Winstanley and his team to give good coverage to each of the categories within
the championship and with more and more leading crews expressing their intention
to compete, there should be plenty of sensational action from inside and out of
the cars.
“We looked at all of the bids we received and David
was the obvious choice,” said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. “We know
that a lot of leading competitors supported his bid and we look forward to
working with him in 2013. In the meantime, he will also be busy filming the
Roger Albert Clark Rally later this month.”
Winstanley was pleased to be confirmed as the
broadcast partner for the new championship. “I’ve got a great team around me and
we have developed an unrivalled knowledge and rapport with the crews in historic
rallying,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started on the Roger Albert Clark Rally
Championship.”
The 2013 championship starts on the Red Kite Stages
on Sunday 20 January.
Eligibility Working Group for RAC Rally
Championship
Press release – 6 November 2012
The process for dealing with eligibility in the
new-for-2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally Championship has been unveiled as interest
in the pre ’87 championship continues to build at an unprecedented rate.
Respected and experienced MSA scrutineer John Cooper has taken the role of
Championship Eligibility Scrutineer and will be supported by an Eligibility
Working Group comprising John Hopwood, Rod Parkin, Mike Nicholson, Russ
Langthorne and Alan Walker. For specific issues, the experience and knowledge of
established marque and model experts will be sought. Meanwhile any proposals to
clarify or change existing MSA or FIA regulations will be directed to the
appropriate MSA committee.
Hopwood and Parkin need little introduction as leading names in the
implementation and development of both MSA and FIA technical regulations, while
Nicholson brings vast experience of the sport, both as a leading international
co-driver and as the long-serving head of Vauxhall Sport. Langthorne will
dovetail this role with his duties as Competitor Liaison Officer for the
championship and Walker will represent the views of active competitors.
“It will be a long hard road, but we aim to be realistic and help people to get
out and compete,” said John Cooper, who can trace his involvement in the sport
back to preparing Ford Escort rally cars when he was a lad. “We have a good
working relationship with the MSA’s Technical Department and it is my intention
to respond promptly to questions from competitors. Eligibility issues will be
considered by the Working Group and we plan to be open and keep nothing hidden.”
The championship will cater for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and
Three, complying fully with MSA historic regulations. There will be a class for
cars prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations, while additional classes will
accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986, other cars that do not fully
comply with historic regulations and an open category.
Any eligibility enquiries relating to the RAC Rally Championship should be
addressed to John Cooper via
e-mail: trenain2@tiscali.co.uk
The 2013 championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January.
West
Wales Rally Spares has confirmed renewed title sponsorship for the R.A.C. Rally
Championship in 2014 following the runaway success of the championship’s
inaugural season in 2013. 
Irish
ace Owen Murphy will mount a serious bid on the 2014 West Wales Rally Spares
R.A.C. Rally Championship in the Lotus Sunbeam he took to fifth place on the
Roger Albert Clark Rally.
The
review of the 2013 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship season will
enjoy a primetime slot on Christmas Day on Motors TV, with a two-hour programme
starting at 9pm.
Details
of the 2014 Red Kite Stages (Sunday 2 February) have been revealed by the
organising team at Amman and District Motor Club. A compact route covering 45
stage miles and just 76 road miles will conclude with a spectacular 15-mile
stage.
The
Mini and Imp Cup, which will be open to all models of the original Mini and the
Imp and its derivatives, will be contested across the seven-event season and the
best performance will be rewarded with an end-of-season trophy at the annual
championship awards ceremony.
