CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSLETTER No.7 – 2015 NICKY GRIST STAGES REIS - RAVENOL BTRDA GOLD STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP BIRD & DAVIES SAMPLE VICTORY AGAIN!... Having suffered a rather lean time of late, in REIS - RAVENOL BTRDA Gold Star® Rally Championship terms, Paul Bird/Aled Daǀies ďid to ǁiŶ it is firŵly ďaĐk oŶ traĐk after their second consecutive victory on the sixth round, the Nicky Grist Stages. Their Ford Focus WRC arrived back at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground, in Builth Wells, fourteen seconds in front of Dave Weston/Kirsty Riddick whose Impreza WRC also took the runner-up spot for the second year running. Paul Bird/Aled Davies - Ford Focus WRC – 1 st overall Euan Thorburn, Nicky Grist winner in 2013 on his way to the Gold Star title that year, was 3 rd with Richard Cooke reading the notes in his Focus WRC, and all three crews were less than half a minute apart. The Fiestas of Charlie Payne/Carl Williamson and Stephen Petch/Ian Windress took 4 th & 5 th , having been joint leaders after the opening stage, a three-mile blast through Monument. Payne was out in front on his own after SS2, Route 60, before Bird took command for the remainder of the day. Following their Carlisle Stages disappointment, Jamie Anderson/Jon Scott had a scare when their Lancer WRC blew a diff. during a test the day before the Nicky Grist. Much midnight oil had been burnt before they were able to take the start, and FTD on SS2, by one second from Bird, proved that all was well once again. Having missed much of the season so far, David Wright/Michael Wilkinson were 7 th in their Focus, while other Gold Star interest in the Top Ten came from Bob Ceen/Andy Bull (Impreza WRC) and Dylan Davies/Llion Williams whose B13 Impreza recorded its sixth consecutive finish. So, with three rounds to go, Dave aŶd Kirstys lead is such that, even if they failed to score on the Woodpecker they would still be leading at the end of the day. Dave Weston/Kirsty Riddick – 2 nd overall and Gold Star Series Leaders However, Paul Bird is now up to 4 th place but must now come up with the goods on each occasion. Likewise, Euan Thorburn is still in with a shout of a second Gold Star title, but the margin for error is already virtually zilch - a very tall order, but not one that the Duns driver will shy away from! There is now something of a mid-season break until the circus reconvenes in Ludlow on 5 th September. Paul Bird & Aled Davies came out on top last time and a similar result would be good - for them, at least!... Euan Thorburn/Richard Cooke – Focus WRC – 3 rd overall
Transcript
CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSLETTER No.7 – 2015
NICKY GRIST STAGES
REIS - RAVENOL BTRDA GOLD STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP
BIRD & DAVIES SAMPLE VICTORY AGAIN!...
Having suffered a rather lean time of late, in REIS -
Paul Bird/Aled Da ies id to i it is fir ly a k o tra k after their second consecutive victory on the sixth round,
the Nicky Grist Stages. Their Ford Focus WRC arrived back
at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground, in Builth
Wells, fourteen seconds in front of Dave Weston/Kirsty
Riddick whose Impreza WRC also took the runner-up spot
for the second year running.
Paul Bird/Aled Davies - Ford Focus WRC – 1
st overall
Euan Thorburn, Nicky Grist winner in 2013 on his way to
the Gold Star title that year, was 3rd
with Richard Cooke
reading the notes in his Focus WRC, and all three crews
were less than half a minute apart. The Fiestas of Charlie
Payne/Carl Williamson and Stephen Petch/Ian Windress
took 4th
& 5th
, having been joint leaders after the opening
stage, a three-mile blast through Monument. Payne was
out in front on his own after SS2, Route 60, before Bird
took command for the remainder of the day.
Following their Carlisle Stages disappointment, Jamie
Anderson/Jon Scott had a scare when their Lancer WRC
blew a diff. during a test the day before the Nicky Grist.
Much midnight oil had been burnt before they were able
to take the start, and FTD on SS2, by one second from Bird,
proved that all was well once again. Having missed much
of the season so far, David Wright/Michael Wilkinson were
7th
in their Focus, while other Gold Star interest in the
Top Ten came from Bob Ceen/Andy Bull (Impreza
WRC) and Dylan Davies/Llion Williams whose B13
Impreza recorded its sixth consecutive finish. So, with
three rounds to go, Dave a d Kirsty s lead is such that,
even if they failed to score on the Woodpecker they
would still be leading at the end of the day.
Dave Weston/Kirsty Riddick – 2nd
overall and Gold Star Series Leaders
However, Paul Bird is now up to 4th
place but must
now come up with the goods on each occasion.
Likewise, Euan Thorburn is still in with a shout of a
second Gold Star title, but the margin for error is
already virtually zilch - a very tall order, but not one
that the Duns driver will shy away from! There is now
something of a mid-season break until the circus
reconvenes in Ludlow on 5th
September. Paul Bird &
Aled Davies came out on top last time and a similar
result would be good - for them, at least!...
Euan Thorburn/Richard Cooke – Focus WRC – 3
rd overall
HYUNDAI GENPOWER BTRDA PRODUCTION CUP
NAUGHTON GETS THE NOD!
The merry-go-round of maximum points scorers in the
Hyundai Genpower BTRDA Production Cup® continues
and, having missed the Carlisle Stages, Tom
Naughton/Andi Mort showed no signs of any lack of match
fit ess to take their se o d i of the seaso , ele e seconds ahead of Pat Naylor/Ian Lawrence who,
themselves, were 19s and one place in front of series
leaders Russ Thompson/Andy Murphy.
Winners last time out, Roland Llewellin/Jamie Edwards,
were on course to join those who have scored two
maximums - after six of the eight stages, they were two
seconds in front of Naughton/Mort but then, whilst
attempting to maintain station, rolled their Lancer EVO9
on the second run through Halfway.....
Tom Naughton/Andi Mort – Class N4 and Production Cup winners
Having similarly upended their car on the Carlisle Stages,
Aaron McClure/Elliott Edmondson appeared at the start of
the Nicky Grist with their Lancer fully restored to the
shape the Mitsubishi designers had originally intended.
Understandably not wishing to repeat the episode, they
started slowly but, as the event progressed, were in the
mix, only for a loud bang on the start-line of the final stage
to signal a broken driveshaft. They limped through to the
finish as best they could, but two minutes had been lost to
the leaders - nuff said!
In the battle for the Production Cup, Thompson/Murphy,
who have yet to miss an event, are two points ahead of
Naylor/Lawrence, who have, with Naughton/Mort lurking
in 3rd. There s ple ty of ileage still to o e fro this
particular facet of the BTRDA Rally Series before mid-
October!
The recipients of the vouchers to be exchanged for
Hyundai Genpower products on the Nicky Grist Stages
are Tom Naughton £150; Patrick Naylor £100; Russ
Thompson £50.
REIS-RAVENOL BTRDA SILVER STAR® CHAMPIONSHIP
BACK TO BLACK!....
Callum Black made it three wins from three starts in
the REIS - RAVENOL BTRDA Silver Star® Rally
Championship. In spite of the recurrence of a throttle
problem which caused an early exit from the Manx
National Rally in May, Black kept his head to take his
Citroen DS3 R3 Max to a Top 20 finish on the Nicky
Grist Stages. On the day, Richard Sykes/Emma
Morrison were next, in another DS3, with the Escort of
Boyd Kershaw/Bryan Hull in close attendance in third.
O erall, it s ‘hys Yates/Phil Hall s Fiesta that leads the ra e to su eed Matthe ‘o i so as Cha pio . It s also just taken its fourth consecutive maximum in Class
B10, and will take some beating there as well! Jon
Ballinger/Mike Wilding (Opel Manta) are in touch
while erstwhile leaders, Jake Scannell/Adrian Stevens,
retired their Mazda RX7 on the final stage and have
dropped to 3rd
in the table.
With six events run, dropped scores now come into
play a d, if it as t serious efore, it ertai ly is o !
Callum Black – Citroen DS3 – Silver Star winner
KICK START BTRDA 1400 CHAMPIONSHIP
SLIGHTS IN HAND!...
Having finished second once and third twice so far, Ash
Slights/Alex Lee at last took their first victory of the
season in the Kick Start BTRDA 1400 Championship.
Their Toyota Yaris showed a clean pair of heels to the
Proton Satria of Championship leaders Ryan Weston/
Mark M Cullo h a d Da e & Freddy Bri k s No a. Keith & Mairi Riddick (MG ZR) maintain their runners-up spot in
the table with fourth place on the day.
Behind the Top Three, Kieran Darrington/Pam Hilton are
next - their Corsa returned to Builth Wells to keep its
unbeaten finishing record intact - unfortunately for them
ho e er, apart fro the Bri ks early ath i So erset, each of the three cars ahead of them has an equally
impressive run of form!
Da e Be ett/Alistair M Neil s Corsa su u ed to driveshaft failure in Crychan but, in spite of two
retirements and a non-start on the Plains, they are still in
with a chance of success due, in no small part, to the
maximums they gained on both the Wyedean & Somerset
Stages. See above re dropped scores!...
Ash Slights/Alex Lee – Toyota Yaris – 1
st 1400
VITAL EQUIPMENT RALLY FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP
NICK S CA‘ TAKES MAXIMUM POINTS!....
Having finished second no less than three times already,
reigning Rally First Champions, Nick Carr/Joe Sturdy finally
went one better on the Nicky Grist. Their 1.4 VW Lupo
finished marginally ahead of the 1.6 Polo of Matthew
Thompson/Charlotte Banner who, having registered two
consecutive DNFs, will have been mightily pleased just to
reach the finish in Builth! Also in a Polo, Morgan Handford
completed the VW podium and it was left to the Micras of
Dominic Hodge/Stefan Arndt and Sam Bilham to break the
monopoly.
Next up were Chris Wheeler/Yan Griffiths in their Fiesta
MS1 which maintains its overall Championship lead, albeit
with Carr/Sturdy and Mick Quinn/Neill Carman (Micra)
paying rather too close attention to it presently!
Coming on the back of two maximum points scores,
Neil A dre /Do Ada s retire e t, he their Lupo cried enough on the penultimate stage, must have
been particularly hard to swallow. Similarly, it was
double disappointment for Jon Ambler/Chris Sharpe-
Si pkiss as their Seat Arosa s e gi e failure o SS signalled their second consecutive DNF.
Nick Carr/Joe Sturdy – VW Polo – 1
st Rally First
AND THE WINNERS ARE!....
Although e re ot yet half ay through July, e
already have the first winners of the 2015 REIS
RAVENOL BTRDA RALLY SERIES! Having taken
maximum scores on each of the first six rounds to put
themselves in an unassailable position with three
events still to go, we are delighted to announce that
KEITH & MAIRI RIDDICK are the MG ZR Rally Challenge
Champions. 36 Drivers & Co-drivers have scored points
ut the ‘iddi ks speed a d o siste y ha e combined to their advantage. Congratulations from all
at the BTRDA!
Perhaps this is an opportune moment to remind everyone
that the Dinner & Awards Presentation for the 2015 REIS
RAVENOL BTRDA Rally Series will take place at the Ramada
Penns Hall Hotel, Sutton Coldfield, on Saturday 9th
January
2016. Further details will be available later in the year, but
e o k o ho the first re to appear i the 5 ‘oll of Ho our ill e!...
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
All the championship points following the Nicky Grist
Stages are published on the BTRDA Rally Series Rally
website > www.btrdarally.com
BTRDA RALLY CHALLENGE
The current BTRDA Rally Challenge points after the Nicky
Grist Stages and the Tyneside Stages (Otterburn) can be
viewed in the Bulletins & Newsletter section at:
www.btrdarally.com/Bulletins.asp
The next round of the BTRDA Rally Challenge is the Mewla
on 30th
August (Epynt).
MSA ENGLISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
The MSA English Rally Championship will resume on the
Woodpecker Stages. It is a competitors best 5 scores that
count in the MSA English Rally Championship, so with 3
rounds still remaining all the overall and class titles are still
wide open. A full list of all the 2015 MSA English Rally
Championship points can be found at
www.englishrally.co.uk
Ryan Weston/Mark McCulloch –MSA English Championship leaders
All photographs courtesy of ralliphotoswales
MINTEX / QUESTMEAD BONUS SCHEME
The winners of the Mintex Awards on the Nicky Grist
Stages, each of whom receive a set of FREE
competition brake pads from Questmead Ltd, were:-
Best Improvement on Start Number in Gold Star /Silver
Star: Jason Gardner – Ford Escort (H2)
Best Improvement on Start Number in 1400/Rally First:
James Williams – Ford KA (1400S)
Steve Brown or Alan Brown from Questmead can be
found in the Service Area at most events. To claim
your reward we advise that you contact them in
advance to arrange the required product. They can be
contacted on 01706 860088.
RAVENOL SUPPORT
The best new driver in 2015 REIS-RAVENOL BTRDA
Rally Series will receive a voucher for £1,500 of
RAVENOL products plus a Ravenol Trophy. This is
to encourage new competitors into the BTRDA
Rally Series and is for drivers in their first season.
The driver with the highest points score in each of
the BTRDA Rally Series classes at the end of the
season will receive a voucher for £500 of Ravenol
products (subject to starting 4 events).
There is a 20% discount on all RAVENOL
competition lubricants for all registered BTRDA
Rally Series competitors. www.ravenol.co.uk
VITAL EQUIPMENT – FUEL
Vital Equipment will be at all the BTRDA Rally series
e e ts i ludi g the Woodpe ker Stages ut do t leave ordering your fuel until the last minute or you
