BHRC / RD3 / RALLYNUTS SEVERN VALLEY STAGES 2024

25/04/2024 Off By Andrew Scott

WORDS BY ANDREW SCOTT | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW SCOTT, ANDY COOK, AND NIGEL PRATT

For the third round of the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship, we travel 43 miles due south (on the A483) from Welshpool (RD2 Rally North Wales), to Builth Wells showground for the fiftieth running of the Severn Valley “Rallynuts” Stages.

Into their seventh year of sponsoring the Midland Manner Motorclub run event, a bumper entry would greet the Crews in Builth, with Rallynuts featuring on the Probite British Rally Championship roster for the first time along with three other major championships and perhaps the strongest loose surface entry list the UK had seen for a very long time. In BHRC terms, this was the first time since 2017 that it would form a round of the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship

2017 Winners Nick Elliot and Dave Price were back, after taking their first win since 2021 at an attritional Rally North Wales last time out. This time replacing their Ford Escort Mk2 with the now familiar RSD developments Fiat 131 a firm fan favorite for sure. Strong competition would come from BHRC regulars Seb Perez in the Porsche 911, Adrian Hetherington, Dan Mennell, Rudi Lancaster, and Richard Hill (all Escort) as well as newly registered (to the BHRC) and “Tony Pond” tash-wearing, Mark Higgins making his second appearence in David Appleby’s Triumph TR7. Cat 2 sees a welcome return for both Jeremy Easson and Josh Carr after cost and work pressures forced the latter to miss the last round.

There were however some notable absentees. Although not registered for the Championship with the ineligible Grp A Mitsubishi Gallant, George Lepley was absent with a case of self-described “Man Flu”. Also missing were championship registered crews, David Crossen’s car not yet repaired after its Rally North Wales roll, round one winner Matthew Robinson whose car broke on a test in the run-up to the event, Ben Friend taking time out due to the imminent arrival of his first child with partner Abi Haycock. All of us at Xlerate wish Abi and Ben all the best for the arrival of their newborn.

The Rally would start on a sunny Friday evening with a ceremonial start and autograph session for the top 43 competitors at the Metropole hotel in Llandrindod Wells, Including BHRC regulars, Elliot, Mennell, Perez, and the returning former British Rally Champion, Mark Higgins who would all take to the ramp in the iconic location, evoking memories of Severn Valley stages past.

PHOTO: BY ANDREW SCOTT

LEG 1 | STAGES 1 – 4

Saturday dawned to a completely different picture weather-wise, thick Fog was to make conditions tough on the fast, flowing roads of mid-wales. Facing Seven stages and an extended 63 competitive stage miles to the North West of Llandrindod Wells, all in the Myherin, Hafren, and Sarnau forests we were set for what promised to be a tough days rallying where those with the required level of commitment in the difficult conditions would be rewarded handsomely.

PHOTO: BY ANDREW SCOTT

The first stage of the day was a four-mile thrill-a-minute ride through the notoriously fast and dangerous Sarnau forest to the south of Bwlch-y-sarnau village. Slightly shortened from last year’s test and with an average speed of approaching 60mph for the top crews – it included 2 flat out mile long blasts, the second, across the top of a deep valley with perilous drops and fresh air corners greeting the crews emerging from a fast blast amongst the trees. Luckily, the fog to be seen later in Hafren and Myherin was hanging at a distance for SS1 and the crews had a “relatively” clear and dry view for the first stage of the day.

Following their Rally North Wales win the combination of Elliot/ Price were quick straight out of the box, dominating with a time seven seconds quicker than second-place Perez/ McElhinney in their Cat 2 Porsche 911. Behind Elliot However, times were expectedly close given the fast and flowing nature of the stage. One second behind Perez was the Higgins/ Pugh TR7 and with Seven seconds splitting Perez in second and James Lepley in ninth, it was all to play for as the crews headed for the fog.

PHOTO: NICK ELLIOTT & DAVE PRICE | BY ANDREW SCOTT

SS2 was the 3.74 miles of Tarennig, a little-used section of the Myherin complex at the Sweetlamb end of the forest, including a section not used since rally GB in 2018. It was here that the fog really started to bite, with visibility little more than a few metres at times, drivers commented that fog on the higher, open parts of the stage made it very challenging and therefore difficult to apply serious commitment.

Seb Perez and Gary McElhinney were to set the fastest time through SS2 with a time of four minutes and three seconds, 4 seconds quicker than Mark Higgins with the top 6 this time being split by a total of 14 seconds, a much greater spread across the top 6 than SS1, Elliot/Price apart of course, after their rapid run through Sarnau. This was perhaps by no coincidence as Nick and Gary were not to see the end of SS2, managing to Beach their Fiat 131 early on in the stage, hence the tighter spread of the top 6 times.

Behind Higgins in second on SS2 Was the Mennell/ Wise combination – recovering after an overshoot on SS1, three seconds behind Higgins and seven seconds off Perez, with Paul Thompson, Michael McDaid, and young James Lepley making up the top six, despite suffering some ignition problems in his Escort. Conditions were playing their part in a rather mixed-up order, however, as Adrian Hetherington and Dan Petrie finished a surprising seventh fourteen seconds off the fastest time.

“oh god, very difficult, very difficult those 2 stages. The fog’s challenging and then you are into fast stuff and good vision, then the next thing fog again.”
Adrian Hetherington – SS3

SS2 finished mid-forest before a “road section” through the wind farms to the start of SS3 (Myherin). Starting among the turbines and using the more widely used sections of Myherin, this was the first longer test of the day, measuring in at nearly ten miles (9.85m) and looping from the windfarms, via spectator section at the arch and finishing back amongst the windfarms. Drivers commented on the slippery nature of the stages and were frustrated by the logs placed on the inside of corners stopping them from cutting and taking the quick lines that they would normally take.

“I’m enjoying the slippy stages, it’s a bit greasy out there, its all the logs and rocks on the inside of the corners. You can’t really commit to where you want to go. They’ve ruined a cracking stage doing that”.
Richard Hill

With No Nick Elliot, and the aforementioned non-competing crews, it should have been a fairly “clear” run for championship contenders Perez and Hetherington to make hey while the… well you get the idea. Perez described conditions as “Hot and Foggy” at the end of SS3 and Rudi Lancaster commented:

“Obviously everybody is going to say the same, a bit of clear, a bit of really thick mist and everything today has been really greasy, more than you would expect.”
Rudi Lancaster

However, it was another mixed run for Adrian and Dan, as they yet again finished the stage outside the top six, in seventh, with a time seventeen seconds slower than the fastest runners who for a second time in three stages were the Perez/ McElhinney combination. Certainly not a Clear and sunny run for the Irishman, as he struggled slightly in the difficult conditions.

PHOTOS: SEB PEREZ & GARY MCELHINNEY | RUDI LANCASTER & GUY WEAVER | BY ANDY COOK | MARK HIGGINS & PHIL PUGH | BY ANDREW SCOTT

At the top of the order, a pattern was emerging, as Higgins/ Pugh again finished second on SS3 despite some brake issues. Their time was only three seconds slower than the Porsche and cemented second overall after three stages, a total of eight seconds off the lead.

“its not been Bad, really really tricky, I’m sure they are all saying the same, it’s really treacherous in there, unfortunately, we lost the brakes and had to pump the pedal for the last 3 miles, so that was a bit disconcerting. We had a good rhythm but once we lost the brakes we lost all confidence really. Hopefully, we will get through the next one”
Mark Higgins

After three stages Perez/ McElhinney lead from Higgins/ Pugh. Third overall was Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper “enjoying the slippy stages” in their Escort Mk2. Given the close nature of the times so far they had jumped from sixth after to third place as they recorded their first top three time of the day, five seconds behind Perez but crucially seven and ten seconds faster than McDaid and Mennell respectively, as the variance of times increased on this longer, still foggy, test. The remainder of the top six made of Mennell, McDaid, and Hetherington in respective order.

PHOTOS: ADRIAN HETHERINGTON & DANIEL PETRIE | RICHARD HILL & PATRICK COOPER | DANIEL MENNELL & RICHARD WISE | BY ANDREW SCOTT

The last stage of the loop, SS4 was a run through Hafren. Starting at the North end of the forest and finishing in the sweetlamb bowl, including a the water splash and jump. Seb Perez and Mark Higgins were again to set the fastest times through this eleven-mile stage, the longest of the morning, four seconds separating the eclectic (non-escort) pair at the top of the times yet again.

This time however, Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver set an impressive twelve minutes thirty-eight seconds, only 6 seconds behind leaders Perez and McElhinney which bagged them their first top three time of the day. Going slightly under the radar overall, it was Rudi’s third top-six time of the event, However, the loss of around forty seconds on SS2 meant that overall he sat in eighth place, just over a minute off leader Perez. Setting equal time with Lancaster/ Weaver on SS4 were the Hetherington and Petrie pair, setting the scene for what would be a much better afternoon once the fog cleared.

As the crews returned to Builth Wells for service, Perez led overall with a total time of thirty-two minutes and two seconds, twelve seconds ahead of the Higgins/ Pugh pair and thirty seconds ahead of Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper, maintaining third place after matching the Hetherington/ Lancaster time within one second on SS4.

LEADERBOARD AFTER SS4

POS	LEADERBOARD	CAT / CLASS	TIME
1	#36 SEB PEREZ / GARY MCELHINNEY	C5	00:32:02
2	#37 MARK HIGGINS / PHIL PUGH	G2	00:32:15
3	#56 RICHARD HILL / PATRICK COOPER	D5	00:32:33
4	#40 DANIEL MENNELL / RICHARD WISE	D5	00:32:43
5	#39 ADRIAN HETHERINGTON / DANIEL PETRIE	D5	00:32:43

1	#36 SEB PEREZ / GARY MCELHINNEY	C5	00:32:02
2	#85 JEREMY EASSON / MIKE REYNOLDS	C5	00:35:03
3	#89 ANDREW STOKES / JONNY TAD EVANS	C5	00:35:46

In Cat 2, there was no competition for the Porsche of Perez. With Rally North Wales challenger Ben Smith absent (as a result of racing a Ford Ka at Silverstone) in his Amigos-sponsored Mk1 escort and with Perez having set three out of four fastest overall times, Seb led Cat 2 by three minutes from the mk1 Escorts of Jeremy Easson.

PHOTO: JEREMY EASSON & MIKE REYNOLDS | BY ANDY COOK

The Story of the opening loop, behind Perez that is, was one of consistency for Easson as he finished in the top 3 on each of the first 4 stages. Stokes and Jonny Tad Evans were a further forty-four seconds behind but with only 12 seconds separating Stokes in third, Matt Brown in fourth, Tim Pearcy in fifth and Josh Carr in sixth, we were all set for a hard-fought third-place battle as the crews headed back out for the remaining 3, longer afternoon stages.

PHOTOS: ANDREW STOKES & JONNY TAD EVANS | MATT BOWN & TOM JORDAN | BY ANDREW SCOTT | TIM PEARCEY & STEVE PUGH | BY ANDY COOK

LEG 2 | STAGES 5 – 7

The afternoon Loop would cover the same set of stages as the morning, however, this time run as 3 stages rather than 4. SS6 Myherin being a combination of the Tarennig and Myherin tests ran separately in the morning, the road section between the 2 being part of the stage for the afternoon.

First up was SS5 Sarnau, which ran in the same configuration as the morning, this time in slightly better conditions, as the earlier hanging fog, although not affecting Visibility on the stage, had completely cleared. All drivers favoring the drier conditions of the afternoon, after the early morning dew had lead to a slippery morning run. James Lepley said that it was “a lot gripper than this morning, and a lot more fun” and Rudi Lancaster felt the same, “a great little stage, its dried up a little”.

Proving this, the fastest through was Hetherington and Petrie, better conditions contributing to their significantly faster (nine seconds) time this time round. Adrian stated that it was the “Brilliant stage, the best stage of the rally” at the stage end and appeared surprised at the time gained on his competition.

As a result, the duo made significant progress up the leaderboard, leapfrogging a surprised Dan Mennell into fourth who stated “A 14!! (time, seconds), we better take the choke off” after hearing Hetherington’s time. Mennell’s seventh-place time was a full twelve seconds slower and combined with the chunk of time gained by Hetherington, meant he was now in striking distance of third place only two seconds behind current incumbent Richard Hill.

PHOTO: ADRIAN HETHERINGTON & DANIEL PETRIE | BY ANDREW SCOTT

Second and Third fastest through were the predictable duo of Perez, and Higgins, having sorted his brake problems in service. Seb extended his lead over Mark by a further three seconds as Richard Hill continued his good form with fourth overall, all be it losing eight seconds to Hetherington.

Now, it was onto SS6 and the longest test of the Rally, Myherin Main at a full 15.82 miles, with fog having cleared, the crews had a much more enjoyable run through this classic stage. Full of fast, flowing undulating roads between the wind turbines, its what everyone had been looking forward to. One driver who laid down a marker was (unsurprisingly) our leader Perez setting a blistering Seventeen Minutes eleven seconds. This was an impressive seventeen seconds faster than our second-place crew, Adrian Hetherington/ Dan Petrie. The pair much more at home in the clear conditions than in the morning fog as they cemented third place taking a full seventeen seconds out of Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper who were now in a close fight for fourth with Dan Mennell. Mennell just three seconds back in fifth place overall after taking ten seconds out of Richard in SS6.

PHOTO: RICHARD HILL & PATRICK COOPER | BY ANDREW SCOTT

Therefore as we went into the final stage, SS7 the leaderboard was headed by the impressive Perez by thirty-six seconds from Higgins in the TR7, followed by the aforementioned trio of Hetherington, Hill, Mennell, and Rudi Lancaster completing the top six.

PHOTOS: SEB PEREZ & GARY MCELHINNEY | PHOTO: MARK HIGGINS & PHIL PUGH | DANIEL MENNELL & RICHARD WISE | BY ANDY COOK

SS7, Hafren was not quite a repeat of the morning test, registering at 13.34 miles compared to the morning run of 11.22, the route taking a longer loop at the start of the stage and running in the reverse direction between Junctions three and two on the morning run.

With Perez having pretty much guaranteed victory on SS6, we saw Mark Higgins take his first fastest stage time of the day, and the first fastest time for the TR7 in the BHRC, reducing Perez’s overall lead by eight seconds at the finish, not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things. However it was much tighter behind, but despite finishing third on stage Mennell was unable to pip Hill for fourth as five of of our top six, including Perez, set times within three seconds of each other on this eleven mile stage. These included Mennell and Hetherington (15:03), Lancaster, and Hill (15:05). Therefore, the order would remain unchanged at the finish, Hetherington finishing third after his afternoon charge, and Richard Hill holding off Dan Mennell by two seconds to take fourth.

A welcome change at the top of the Fuchs lubricants British Historic Rally Championship – 2 non-Escorts in the top 2 positions and with Perez taking the overall Rally win (in a Cat 2 car) this left the rest of the Category 2 field to battle amongst themselves.

PHOTOS: SEB PEREZ & GARY MCELHINNEY | BY ANDREW SCOTT | MARK HIGGINS & PHIL PUGH | BY NIGEL PRATT (BLACK MOUNTAINS MEDIA)

Jeremy Easson would continue his fine morning form finishing every stage in the top 3 all be it six minutes behind Perez at the finish. Finishing thirty-four seconds behind Easson, the afternoon was also good for Josh Carr, who seized the initiative in the battle for third, the returning duo both making the podium.

The afternoon had started with Tim Pearcy setting the second fasted time (in Cat 2) on SS5 Sarnau, three seconds quicker than both Easson and Carr, moving him up to fourth overall, behind Andrew Stokes who retained third place, and ahead of Matt Brown who lost twelve seconds to the Charging Pearcy/ Pugh combination. At this point only Seven Seconds now splitting Stokes in third and Carr in fifth.

PHOTOS: TIM PEARCEY & STEVE PUGH | BY ANDY COOK | MATT BOWN & TOM JORDAN | BY ANDREW SCOTT

The longest stage of the event, SS6, 15.82 miles through Myherin main, saw Carr and Owen make their move. The 2023 Category 2 Champions set a time thirteen seconds faster than Pearcy/ Pugh and over thirty seconds faster than current third-place man Andrew Stokes. As a result, this catapulted Carr and Owen up to third overall, and that’s how it stayed to the end. Carr consolidated his third place on SS7 by setting the second fastest Category 2 time, all be it fifty-two seconds behind Perez and twenty-one seconds faster than the consistent Easson who continued his morning form, setting top 3 times on each of the afternoon stages.

PHOTO: JEREMY EASSON & MIKE REYNOLDS | JOSH CARR & OSIAN OWEN | BY ANDREW SCOTT

FINAL RESULTS

POS	LEADERBOARD	CAT / CLASS	TIME
1	#36 SEB PEREZ / GARY MCELHINNEY	C5	01:08:35
2	#37 MARK HIGGINS / PHIL PUGH	G2	01:09:04
3	#39 ADRIAN HETHERINGTON / DANIEL PETRIE	D5	01:09:31
4	#56 RICHARD HILL / PATRICK COOPER	D5	01:09:47
5	#40 DANIEL MENNELL / RICHARD WISE	D5	01:09:49

1	##36 SEB PEREZ / GARY MCELHINNEY	C5	01:08:35
2	#85 JEREMY EASSON / MIKE REYNOLDS	C5	01:14:42
3	#228 JOSH CARR / OSIAN OWEN	C3	01:15:17

In the fight for championship victory, Seb Perez’s win moves him up from ninth to fourth, despite missing the opening round, and with the absence of Riponian winner Matthew Robinson and the retirement of Championship leader Nick Elliot, Adrian Hetherington moves to the top of the standings, fourteen points ahead of Both Elliot and Hill on fifty-six points. In Category two, by way of scoring on every round, Tim Pearcy’s fourth place means that he heads the championship by two points from Perez and Carr on fourty and thirty four points respectivly, despite both missing a round.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

POS	OVERALL	POINTS
1	ADRIAN HETHERINGTON	67
2	NICK ELLIOTT	56
3	RICHARD HILL	56
4	SEB PEREZ	55
5	DANIEL MENNELL	50

POS	CAT2	POINTS
1	TIM PEARCEY	42
2	SEB PEREZ	40
3	JOSH CARR	34

POS	CAT3	POINTS
1	ADRIAN HETHERINGTON	52
2	RICHARD HILL	44
3	DANIEL MENNELL	36

POS	CAT4	POINTS
1	GEORGE LEPLEY	20
2	BAZ JORDAN	18
3	CHRISTINE ROBINSON	16

POS	FIA	POINTS
1	STEVE WARD	52
2	NICK ELLIOT	40
3	MARK HIGGINS	20

NEXT TIME

The Championship now moves onto Tarmac for a mid-season triple header starting in the Isle of Man on the second weekend of May, and subsequent trips to Argyll in Western Scotland and Epynt in Mid-Wales In June and July respectively.

The 2-day Manx rally providing a doubleheader with crews able to score championship points both days. Often a marmite surface for BHRC crews. Xlerate doesn’t expect Matthew Robinson to be out, but with Manx local Mark Higgins and championship contenders Elliot, Hetherington, Hill, Lancaster, and Perez already registered (as of W/E 19/04) the Manx is shaping up to be another closely fought battle in what is proving to be a very open and competitive season in the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship.