RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Route for 2010 Roger Albert Clark Rally unveiled

The route for this year’s Roger Albert Clark Rally has been announced, with more stage miles and longer stages being the key features of the 26-29 November event.

The provisional route includes two 14-mile stages in Ae and two 12-miles stages in Newcastleton, which rally manager Colin Heppenstall says is in response to requests from competitors for longer stages.

“Friday evening in Dalby will be a great start to the event, but it is Sunday that will be the make or break day with 71 stage miles and four long stages. It is a long, hard day,” said Heppenstall.

“Competitors wanted longer stages and so we’ve done just that. The whole plan of the event is to give value for money. The total stage mileage is 170, which is 20 more than last year and I’m really pleased with the route we’ve put together.

“It is important to refresh the route every year and we’ve not done the Monday stages north of Kielder Water for six years,” said Heppenstall. ” I think it is going to be a very good year.”

Support events will include a night event on Friday, the Kall Kwik Clubmans Rally on Friday and Saturday, the Clubmans Rally over the Scottish stages on Sunday and the Kielder Challenge on Monday. More details of the support events will be announced in due course.

The provisional route is:

Friday 26 November

• Start – Pickering Showground 18:30
• SS 1 Showground 1 0.5m 18:35
• SS 2 Dalby 1 8.9m 19:10
• Service Pickering Showground 19:40
• SS 3 Showground 2 0.5m 20:19
• SS 4 Dalby 2 8.9m 20:55
• Service Pickering Showground 21:25

Saturday 27 November

• Restart Pickering Showground 08:30
• SS 5 Olivers Mount 1 4.1m 09:15
• SS 6 Olivers Mount 2 4.1m 09:40
• SS 7 Langdale 1 7.3m 10:35
• Service Pickering Showground 11:15
• SS 8 Olivers Mount 3 4.1m 12:35
• SS 9 Olivers Mount 4 4.1m 13:00
• SS 10 Langdale 2 7.3m 13:50
• SS 11 TBA 6.0m 16:40
• SS 12 Pundershaw 7.3m 18:55
• Service Carlisle Racecourse 20:00

Sunday 28 November

• Restart Carlisle Racecourse 07:15
• SS 13 Ae 1 14.5m 09:00
• SS 14 Twiglees 1 8.9m 09:55
• Service Heathhall 10:50
• SS 15 Heathhall 1 0.7m 11:15
• SS 16 Ae 2 14.5m 13:14
• Service Heathhall 14:10
• SS 17 Heathhall 2 0.7m 14:50
• SS 18 Twiglees 2 8.9m 15:50
• SS 19 Newcastleton 1 12.0m 17:10
• Service Carlisle Racecourse 18:00
• SS 20 Newcastleton 2 12.0m 19:10
• Service Carlisle Racecourse 20:00

Monday 29 November

• Restart Carlisle Racecourse 07:00
• SS 21 Rooken 1 8.9m 08:45
• SS 22 Highfield 1 8.9m 09:10
• Service Kielder Water 09:40
• SS 23 Rooken 2 8.9m 10:55
• SS 24 Highfield 2 8.9m 11:20
• Finish Carlisle City Centre 13:30

For more details about the Roger Albert Clark Rally, and its support rallies, please visit www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org

A bumper field of nearly 120 cars enjoyed perfect weather conditions for the 2010 ADMC Granite City Rally held in Aberdeenshire on Saturday 17th April.

John MacCrone crashing out of the Granite City Rally

Special Stage 1 (Pitfichie) was billed as a short sprint stage to open the event. Running first on the road, 2009 Scottish Junior Rally Champion  John MacCrone pushed too hard over a crest and ran wide into a deep ditch. Fortunately hundreds of spectators were on hand to quickly pull him back up onto the gravel stage. Read the rest of this entry »

Revolution Wheels supported Subaru Impreza pilot Jock Armstrong and co-driver Kirsty Riddick posted their first retirement of the season when the pair failed to finish the Jedburgh based Border Counties Rally with gearbox failure.

After winning the opening round of the Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship the pair had high hopes of a strong run through the Kielder Forests this weekend but half way through the opening test their Subaru Impreza N11 lost all drive and coasted to a halt!

Jock; we finished third in Group N here last year and so were hoping for a similar result this weekend. Whilst these are proper rally cars there are still a few standard bits and occasionally one of these breaks… that is rallying for you! The championship allows us to count our six best scores from the eight rallies so it’s not the end of the world.

Warren Mckiernan, Revolution Wheels Director; it is unfortunate for Jock and Kirsty as their stage times last year, on their first ever visit to the stages, were very competitive and I’m sure they could have placed well. Sometimes Lady Luck just is not around.

Editors Notes
The 2010 MSA Scottish Rally Championship consists of eight rallies, of which the Border Counties Rally was Round 2. Jock and Kirsty won the opening round, the Snowman Rally, in their Revolution Wheels backed Subaru Impreza N11.

Revolution Wheels manufacture all types of wheels for both historic and modern motorsport events, ranging from 10 inch all the way through the range to the new, ultra lightweight Millennium II 18 inch wheels which are suitable for everything from Production cars to Super 2000 and World Rally Cars.

For more on Revolution Wheels please visit www.revolutionwheels.com or contact the sales office on +44 1827 64111/ 54422

Revolution Wheels is set to support four cars across the two highest profile rally championships in the United Kingdom when the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship and the Dunlop/ Wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship both kick start their seasons on the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales this weekend.

Revolution Wheels will mix experience with young talent as Alistair Fisher and Max Utting join championship regular Rob Swann and Historic rallying ace David Stokes on the opening round which is based in Welshpool.

Irishman Alistair Fisher will once again team up with Rory Kennedy in a Mitsubishi Evo 9. After finishing the 2009 season in third overall, very impressive considering the talented Fisher was tackling the series for the first time; the young nephew of Irish legend Bertie will be one to watch this season.

Max Utting and Kate Blake have only one international start to their names, but after finishing seventh overall on the 2009 Pirelli International Rally the pairing have a strong background. Max will be using the ex Karl Simmons Subaru Impreza N12B and will be looking for a strong start to the season.

Rob Swann and Darren Garrod return in their Subaru Impreza, now upgraded to full N16 specification. Rob and Revolution Wheels go back many years and whilst Rob might not be the youngest member of the team he had experience of all the events to call upon.

David Stokes and Guy Weaver will also be flying the Revolution Wheels flag high in the Historic section of the rally. Dubbed the ‘fan’s favorites’ the Dunlop/ Wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship has grown in strength and prestige in recent years and after narrowly missing out on the 2009 title former Champions Stokes and Weaver will be pushing hard from the word go in their Ford Escort Mk I.

Warren Mckiernan, Revolution Wheels Director; this weekend is a big occasion for Revolution Wheels as we will be supporting four very talented drivers in four different types of car. We are delighted to support the talented youngsters that are coming up through the ranks, and in Rob and David we have two seasoned regulars who will be keen to prove that experience still counts for something!

Editors Notes
The Bulldog International Rally of North Wales in based in Welshpool, Powys and is the opening round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship and the Dunlop / Wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship

Revolution Wheels manufacture all types of wheels for both historic and modern motorsport events, ranging from 10 inch all the way through the range to the new, ultra lightweight Millennium II 18 inch wheels which are suitable for everything from Production cars to Super 2000 and World Rally Cars.

For more on Revolution Wheels please visit www.revolutionwheels.com or contact the sales office on +44 1827 64111/ 54422

African Pirelli Star Drive recipients Peter Horsey and Moses Matovu are eagerly looking forward to making their first truly international rallying appearance when the pair take to the start of the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales this coming weekend.

Mombasa born Horsey and Tanzanian based Matovu are both regulars in the Kenyan National Rally Championship and the pair have a number of appearances in the African Rally Championship to call upon but the Bulldog Rally, the opening round of the 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, will be the first time either crew has competed outside of Africa!

Peter; I’ve been told that some of the stages are the same as the ones used on Rally GB last year and so I am really looking forward to the rally, although the stages might be a bit shorter than what we are used to back home!

Moses; I have always wanted to compete in the UK and this weekend the dream becomes a reality! It will be interesting to compare our times against the best of the British but as we are only using the rally for seat time and will have no opportunity to test before hand we have no set targets for the weekend!

Peter and Moses will use a Mitsubishi Evo X for the first time as the pair gain experience of the car ahead of their six round programme in the FIA World Rally Championship.

The Bulldog International Rally of North Wales is based in Welshpool and uses some of the most famous Mid Wales stages such as Myherin, Sweet Lamb and Dyfi. The rally begins with a ceremonial start at 07:30 am. After tackling eight special stages the crews are due back at the finish at approximately 5pm

For more information on Peter please visit www.peterhorsey.com

Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship

Press release: Monday, 22 February 2010

Chris Shooter and Bev LeGood have been announced as the fourth winners of the ‘Shekhar Mehta Spirit of Rallying’ award in recognition of their performance in the 2009 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship. The award was presented at the annual HRCR awards evening on Saturday night (20 February) in Daventry.

The special ‘spirit of the championship’ award is a cast bronze Cheetah on a plinth and was given to the BHRC by Yvonne Mehta in memory of her late husband, one of the legends of rallying and a true ambassador for the sport. It is presented annually to a BHRC crew, selected by a panel of judges at the end of each season.

The Loughborough couple are regular BHRC contenders and are front-runners in class D3 with their Pinto-powered Ford Escort Mk2, which is always immaculately prepared by Chris at his Sparrow Hill Cars business.

“Chris and Bev work hard to afford their rallying and they are good people to have around the championship,” said championship co-ordinator Simon Marks. “They are proper club competitors and they will help anybody out if they can.”

Andrew Hockridge’s hopes of another strong finish across the Irish Seas was stymied by a faulty throttle body on last weekends Galway International Rally, the opening round of the 2010 Citroen Racing Trophy, but retiring whilst leading his class was small consolation for the rapid Welshman.

Hockridge and co-driver Darren Garrod were back in action in their Geoff Jones Motorsport run Citroen C2R2 Max for the first time since the Fastnet Rally in October. Despite the lengthy layoff Hockridge was fast out of the blocks, with his Signature Cheese backed Citroen topping the scoreboards even though he thought he’d been too cautious in the foggy conditions!

The positive start to the event soon disappeared though as Hockridge and Garrod came to a halt with a faulty throttle body failing to deliver fuel to the engine. Although the part was easily replaced their rally was over! The pair did return on the Sunday and were once more buoyed by their pace, regularly trading times with the top Citroen runners despite consistently catching slower cars. Hockridge took the decision not to contest the final loop in order to conserve the car.

To lead early on was fantastic, especially considering how tricky the conditions were, but when we came to a halt I was pretty frustrated! The car handled perfectly and the tyres were just awesome! Once again the organisation was great and even though we ended the rally with a DNF we still enjoyed the experience.

Pwllheli based rallying ace Andrew is set to contest this weekends Irish Tarmac Championship season opener, the Galway International Rally, in his Signature Cheese backed Citroen C2R2 Max.

The Welshman has not contested a rally since the Fastnet Rally in October and is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of his distinctive Geoff Jones Motorsport run pocket rocket. Hockridge has a strong record on the Irish lanes, having stood on the podium on four out of his last five visits and will be aiming to add to his trophy collection this weekend.

It’s been quiet a long break for me recently and so I am really looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend. I love rallying in Ireland , everyone is so friendly and the events are good fun!
My work commitments this year mean I probably won’t be able to commit to any championship campaign but I still hope to pick and mix events throughout the season.

The 2010 Galway International Rally is the opening round of the most prestigious championship in Ireland and as such has drawn a strong list of entries, including no less than fourteen registrations for the Irish Citroen Racing Trophy which boasts an on event prize fund in excess of €7000 per event!

For more information on Andrew please visit www.andrew-hockridge.co.uk
For more information on the rally and for live results visit www.galwayinternationalrally.com

The 2010 Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship gets into full swing this weekend with round one of Ireland’s premier rally series taking competitors to Oranmore, County Galway!

The Safety Direct Galway International Rally is the traditional season opener, and the event has received a top class entry with more than 100 crews set to commence battle on Galway’s challenging closed roads.

The 2010 Citroën Racing Trophy also forms part of the Citroën Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, and almost 20 crews have entered the opening round. They will be tussling for prize money totalling almost €20,000!

However, missing from the entry is last year’s Galway winner and reigning champion, Eugene Donnelly. The Maghera man, who holds a record equalling five Irish Tarmac Rally Championship titles, is struggling to put a deal together to contest this year’s series.

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do yet,” Donnelly commented. “I’m not going to Galway but I’ll take stock of things over the next couple of months and see if I can put something together for the Circuit of Ireland. I’d say it’s going to be a difficult year to get something sorted.”

With Donnelly missing from the entry, Gareth MacHale and Brian Murphy are the number one seeds in their Ford Focus WRC. Last year saw MacHale claim his maiden Tarmac Championship victory, and he will be hungry to add more wins to his tally during the 2010 season.

At number two, Tim McNulty and Paul Kiely will provide stiff opposition in their Subaru Impreza WRC, while County Cork’s Keith Cronin, who is the reigning British Rally Champion, also intends to contest this year’s Citroën sponsored series. He starts at number three in Galway, ahead of Aaron MacHale, Patrick Elliott and Kevin Barrett.

Cronin is among the leading lights in Group N, and with bonus championship points up for grabs for all non-World Rally Car entrants, the showroom category might well spring a surprise or two. Kenny McKinstry is the only driver to have sealed the overall honours in a Group N car, and that was back in 1991. Could there be a repeat performance this year?

Cronin will certainly be trying his best, along with fellow Group N contestants Alastair Fisher and Garry Jennings. Meanwhile, Craig Breen will give the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 its competitive debut on Irish soil, and the reigning Fiesta SportTrophy Ireland, UK and International champion could give the series regulars a run for their money.

The Safety Direct Galway International Rally, which also incorporates a round of the Historic Championship and Modified Challenge, gets underway this Friday evening with a ceremonial start in Oranmore. Competitors will tackle stages on Saturday and Sunday, and the winner will be crowned on Sunday afternoon. More details can be found online at www.irishtarmac.com.

2010 Safety Direct Galway International Rally – top 10 entrants

1 Gareth MacHale/Brian Murphy (Ford Focus WRC)
2 Tim McNulty/Paul Kiely (Subaru Impreza WRC)
3 Keith Cronin/Barry McNulty (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
4 Aaron MacHale/TBA (Ford Focus WRC)
5 Patrick Elliott/Paul Goodman (Subaru Impreza WRC)
6 Kevin Barrett/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC)
7 Alastair Fisher/Rory Kennedy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
8 Garry Jennings/David Moynihan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9)
9 Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts (Ford Fiesta S2000)
10 Mike Bird/Kevin Keane (Subaru Impreza WRC)

Peter Lloyd rallying has been broken into over weekend taking thousands of pounds worth of gear.

Including
40+ race suits
Peltor helmets
Seats
Escort diffs

Peter is asking if anyone is offered any rallying kit for sale, please could you contact him on 01656 724777

There is REWARD OFFERED!!

Rallies being held at Caerwent in 2010 on the Defence Training establishment are run Jointly by Forresters Car Club and South Wales Auto Club. The dates are :-

Tour of Caerwent (run under Forresters CC’s name) – Sun 28 March
Midsummer Caerwent (run under SWAC’s name) – Sun 20 June
Patriot Stages (copromoted by SWAC and Forresters) – Sun 26 September

Details of Regulations will be posted soon