Northern Stage Rally Championship

Bulletin 3 – April 2007

Well it was a busy weekend – the Wold Construction North Humberside Forest Rally on Saturday and the Legend Electric SMC Stages at Weeton on Sunday. It’s not ideal having two events like this but with the selection of dates available this year that’s what we had to go with. I don’t think it caused too many problems with one being a forest round and one being a tarmacadam multi-use round.

The North Humberside moved its start from Hull to Whitby to respond to complaints over the long run out to the stages and back. This made for a compact event with just 4 long stages in the North Yorkshire forests – two in Langdale and one each in Dalby & Cropton. Highest ANCC finishers were Keith Turner & Steve Ward in 14^th overall, picking up the pots for best championship crew and 92 points in the process. It was the rapid Proton Satria crew of Chris Peart & Gordon Blyth that claimed the highest points though with 112 for the highest placed 1600cc crew, followed by Alan Richardson / Christopher Rowe who collected 102 points for 6^th 1400cc finisher – and Alan told me he was retiring! The event wasn’t so good though for others with 6 crews retiring. The Forest Challenge now looks like this – Chris & Gordon lead with Jonathan Bean & Ian Vickers in second and Graham Haigh & John Birkitt in third.

The SMC Stages saw an even higher rate of attrition with eight of the 13 contender crews failing to complete the course. Top of the pile were Brett Mitton & Alan Bouch, the Cumbrian pair taking second in the 2-litre class and 8^th overall in their Mark II Escort (108 points). Next up was Paul Atkinson (100 points) who took his Nova to 3^rd in the 1400cc class, and then Tracey Taylor-West (81 points).

With three tarmacadam events now completed Alistair Hutchinson / St John Dykes (Clio) lead the challenge by 37 points from John Deegan / Chris Smith with Steve Crowther third driver and Alan Bouch third navigator. In the Multi-Use Challenge it’s Brett & Alan that lead from Paul Atkinson / Tracey Taylor-West and then Alistair Hutchinson / St John Dykes.

Next up is the Bloodhound Stages at Swinderby and then there’s a few weeks gap until the Dukeries Rally in June. Where is the year going? (And I haven’t even been out competing yet!!)

Next Events

Nunns Mitsubishi Bloodhound Stages, Sunday 29^th April – http://website.lineone.net/~lincolnmotorsport

Regs are now out for this multi-use / tarmacadam event at ex RAF Swinderby, between Lincoln & Newark. There will be 65 stage miles for £170. Event contact is John Popplewell, 07836 314266, john@johnpop1.wanadoo.co.uk

If it’s a decent day I hope to bring the kids down to Swinderby for the Bloodhound – you have been warned!

Mike