BRC / RD3 / JIM CLARK RALLY 2024
05/07/2024WORDS BY ANDY COOK | PHOTOGRAPY BY ANDREW SCOTT & BRC
Returning to the Asphalt for the third round of the 2024 Motorsport UK, Probite British Rally Championship, the Beatson’s Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally (May 24/25) would provide 87 competitive stage miles, over 14 stages and across two days.
From the Scottish border town of Duns, Berwickshire, the Jim Clark Rally has been a mainstay in the British Rally Championship since it first joined the series in the late nineteen nineties. It has always delivered ample drama and has proved to be a challenge for the competitors time and time again, this year was no exception.
First run in 1970 and named after the 1963 & 65 Formula One champion, it has some familiar names in its history books, Roger Clark (72, 73 & 74), Ari Vatanen (76), Russell Brooks (77) and Gwyndaf Evans (2010) have all raised the trophy during their careers. Andrew Nesbit would hold the record at three wins throughout the early noughties, but current BRC contender Keith Cronin, with two victories to his name (2012 – Citroen DS3 R3T & 2022 – VW Polo GTi R5) would be looking to get his BRC campaign back on track and match Nesbit’s record this year.
Last year, Irishman Cronin was prevented from achieving his third Jim Clark win, when M-Sports factory driver Adrien Fourmaux (who went on to win the title) blitzed the competition on the opening night of the rally. This time around, Cronin would again face some stiff competition from a driver who holds international experience, this came in the form of a previous European Rally Champion, and the BRC leader coming into the event, Chris Ingram.
BRC1
Last time out on the gravel at the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages, Welshman Osian Pryce emerged from the foggy Welsh forest to secure his first win of the year, Mr Consistant, William Creighton picked up his consecutive P2 on the podium, whilst Chris Ingram struggled to get to grips with the loose stuff, but still managed a P3 and to hold on to the lead of the driver’s standings.
LEG 1
The first leg of the rally on the Friday evening covered forty miles over six stages (three of repeated) and would end late under the cover of darkness. It had been raining during the day and so the surface was already damp and greasy which added to the challenge.
This year would see the welcomed return of one of the event’s most iconic stages to its schedule which would kick the proceedings off. At less than two miles in length, the fan’s favourite Langton Mill stage where the famous water splash would greet the crews, signalled the start of another intense battle out on the stages.
Photo: Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani | Source: British Rally Championship
Chris Ingram with Co-Driver Alex Kihurani beside him absolutely loved the opening Langton Test “What an epic little stage, loved it, it’s a bit wild but yeah we’re in the groove now”, they would stop the clocks the quickest in their Melvyn Evans Motorsport prepared Castrol backed VW Polo GTi R5 car, 3.2 seconds quicker than the next BRC1 crew of James Williams & Ross Whittock in their Orange Amplifiers Hynduai i20 N Rally2. On a high off the back of his double Asphalt Championship win on the Manx, Williams would begin the rally a bit flustered following a re-fuelling issue before the stage.
“That’s not an ideal start to our rally, we started way too far back, we had problems before we started. It was lethal in there, just glad I put on a cross tyre combination because we at least had some grip, Elliott Payne had spun in the water splash and I nearly wiped him out.”
James Williams
Just 0.1 second off of Wiliams was Will Creighton & Laim Regan who would be the third fastest BRC1 crews in their M-Sport run Ford Fiesta Rally2. Having picked up their consecutive second place on the podium last time out on the Severn Valley Stages, could the Jim Clark see the Irish pair maintain their run, or even go one better?
Welshman Meirion Evans with Jonathan Jackon alongside him in the MEM Castrol Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 would begin their event in P4 and were 1.2 ahead of Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin who rounded out the top 5 BRC1 crews having had what the Irishman described as a cautious start in their Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Despite it being only a short test at under two miles, this popular watering hole would cause havoc for our Round 2 winners, Osian Pryce & Rhodri Evans whose Ford Fiesta Rally2 took a rather large gulp of water. Although Pryce would complete the stage, he would lose some 13 seconds and end up right down the leaderboard which was a far from ideal start to his event.
“Disaster, I get no luck on this rally, we were on the wrong tyres and the thing nearly drowned in the water. We’ll try and rescue what we can and keep going”
Osian Pryce
Photos: Osian Pryce & Rhodri Evans | Elliot Payne & Patrick Walsh | Source: British Rally Championship
Elliot Payne & Patrick Walsh would also fall victim to the Langton Mill ford, the pair would, however, take advantage of Stephen Petch’s misfortune (who had an altercation with a bridge and subsequently caused the stage stoppage) to take a stage maximum.
Up next, the formidable Abbey St Bathans test would give the crews a little over 10 miles to get settled in, it was a tricky stage with the beginning fairly dry and the later parts wet, this added to the lottery when it came to tyre choice for that opening loop.
Ingram thought that the stage was “probably one of the trickiest of the year” but he was glad to get through it. He also knew that he’d had put in a decent run, and it showed in the times as he was again the fastest, this time it was a bigger margin of 7.8 seconds over Cronin.
Photos: Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani | William Creighton & Liam Regan | By Andrew Scott
Creighton believed that he “left too much in there” and thought that he was slowing too much for the bad places “It was OK, we had a clean run, we don’t want to do anything too stupid”; a previous Junior World Rally Champ, the young Irish lad was a further 8 seconds down on his fellow countryman Cronin, who now trailed rally leaders Ingram & Kihurani by 13.4 seconds.
Behind Creighton, Pryce was on a rescue mission, the Fiesta had spluttered its way out of the opening stage and the 2022 British Rally Champ had just about got it running again properly on the road sections to SS2. Setting the fourth fastest time through Abbey, it was just a case of “damage limitation” now, as they moved back up into 4th in the BRC1 field ahead of local boy Garry Pearson.
Although Pearson lived just a stone’s throw away from the stages, he hadn’t tackled the Abbey St Bathans stage in this direction before, in fact, last year his Jim Clark ended prematurely on this very stage with an off. This year he was determined to get a result on the board, “Very enjoyable, incredible stage and it’s really good fun”, the Scotsman commented at the stage end.
Photos: Garry Pearson & Dan Barritt | James Williams & Russ Whittock | By Andrew Scott
The Abbey stage, as with the opening stage, would continue to deliver the drama, James Williams again playing his part in providing it when he lost time with a puncture. Meanwhile, Evans spun and Neil Roskell had a bit of a squeaky bum moment on a fast downhill section, he explained: “I had a major moment as you come down near the woods, I was in the trees and took a chunk out of the wheel, I’ve changed it now so onwards and upwards but It’s got the heart going”
Photos: Niel Roskell & Dai Roberts | Max McRae & Cameron Fair | Meirion Evans & Jonathan Jackson | By Andrew Scott
A young Max McRae was also not finding it easy on this opening leg of the rally in the damp, his M-Sport run Ford Fiesta Rally2 car was wearing a set of cut slicks “It’s hard to judge the grip and under braking, I don’t have much confidence, it is what it is!” and he would also be facing the darkness for the second loop, which would be a whole new experience for him.
The third stage in the opening loop through Blackadder delivered Ingram a hattrick of stage wins, bumping his lead over Cronin to 20 seconds heading into the first service stop; the gap between Cronin in P2 and Creighton in third was a tad closer at 6.3 seconds.
Photos: Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani | Osian Pryce & Rhodri Evans | Source: British Rally Championship
The repeated loop would last late into the night with some crews finishing the final stage of the leg past the stroke of midnight. The ford in the second pass of Langton would again flood the engine of Pryce’s Fiesta, this time around the Welshman would not get it going again and would retire from the rally there and then, taking on a new meaning to “taking an early bath”.
The rally would continue to test James Williams, arriving at the ford only to find a stricken Pryce in the way, this coupled with a puncture on SS2 would, however, not be the end of his woes and Williams would then end his evening with an off in the final stage of the night but somehow still had a bit of fighting talk left.
“So far this rally’s just not working out for me, but we’re still here. I dunno, just lots of crazy stuff happening, I almost hit Osian in the water splash and Elliot the time before, It’s tough but we gotta keep fighting, it’s a long day tomorrow, so watch out we’re coming for you.”
James Williams
Photos: James Williams & Russ Whittock | By Andrew Scott
The general consensus from the crews was one of enjoyment from the night pass of Abbey, although cautious remained the approach across the board. Cronin had clearly been feeding on a diet of carrots in the run-up to the event and appeared to come into his own in the darkness. Securing his first stage win by a whopping 14 seconds over Ingram and slashing the gap down to a more respectable 9 seconds heading into the last stage of the night, it was an impressive performance by the four-time former British Rally Champ.
“It was actually an enjoyable stage, I’ve always liked it over the years and in the dark, it was trickier than other years with the wet and the weather.” “I was just trying to not to make any mistakes but Chris is a long way up the road”
Keith Cronin
Photos: Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin | By Andrew Scott
Cronin & Co-Driver Mikie Galvin followed that up in the very next test, taking their second stage win in SS6 Blackadder 2 by a gnats whisker of just 0.4 seconds. The pair would end the opening leg of the rally trailing rally leaders Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani by 8.6 seconds, which wasn’t an unreasonable target to chase down the next day.
Photos: Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani | Wiliam Creighton & Liam Regan | By Andrew Scott
William Creighton & Laim Regan continued to hold P3 for the overnight halt but the gap had increased to more than half a minute “You feel like you’re going faster because of the dark, but realistically you are not, it was safe but fun”. There was, however, also a decent gap between him and Gary Pearson & Dan Barritt who were holding P4 in the BRC1 field.
Rounding out the top 4 BRC1 crews, Meiron Evans & Jonathan Jackson in their Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 and would also make a few mistakes themselves. After a spin on the first pass of Abbey, they then missed a chicane in the darkness of the second pass which cost them some time, approx 20 seconds was the deficit to his next BRC1 target, Pearson in front.
| POS | BRC1 LEADERBOARD | LEG 1 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 C.INGRAM / A.KIHURANI | 33:55.9 |
| 2 | #2 K.CRONIN / M.GALVIN | 34:04.5 |
| 3 | #5 W.CREIGHTON / L.REGAN | 34:36.3 |
| 4 | #9 G.PEARSON / D.BARRITT | 35:01.8 |
| 5 | #6 M.EVANS / J.JACKSON | 35:22.1 |
LEG 2
With a full day comprising of 47 miles over a further 8 stages, the overnight rally leaders Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani would exit the rally early on in the second stage of the morning (SS8 Edrom). Ingram attributed a wrong tyre choice and reported that they overheated, resulting in understeer and just a couple of bends before the end of the stage he lost control of the car on a lefthander and hit a rather large tree. Although the crew were OK, the VW Polo GTi R5 car had suffered significant damage to the front left corner and Igram was found parked up at the end of the stage looking rather dejected.
Photos: Chris Ingram & Alex Kihurani | By Andrew Scott
The demise of Ingram handed the lead of the rally over to Irishman Kieth Cornin who now had a lead of 37 seconds over William Creighton to protect. Over the morning loop, James Wiliams would retire his Hyundai i20 N Rally2 after the opening stage of the day with failed power steering and Meirion Evans would also retire the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 with a failed power steering pump, which promoted Max McRae up into fourth behind Garry Pearson, who rounded out the BRC1 podium positions with just four stages remaining.
Photos: James Williams & Ross Whittock | Meirion Evans & Jonathan Jackson | By Andrew Scott
Rally leader Cronin was under no illusion that his 33-second lead over Creighton could easily be lost on these tricky stages “There are four stages left to go and these conditions are still really tricky, any bit of damp or mud can pull you out and there’s still a long way to go”, for now all he could do was just manage his position and keep it on the road. Creighton meanwhile, was getting a little bit frustrated “It’s difficult, you get frustrated because you’re coming off too much, it’s just so slippy and it’s hard to trust it” but remained on course for another podium and the gap to Pearson behind was decent enough not to worry about.
Photos: Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin | William Creighton & Liam Regan | By Andrew Scott
Pearson’s morning was ok, but the local Scotsman did admit that perhaps he had gone for a too-harder tyre for the loop which wasn’t the ideal choice in hindsight. McRae was still getting used to the ever-changing grip levels and also had a bit of an overshoot in the final stage of the loop (SS10 Fogo), but generally, the young whipper snapper was happy with his pace which was coming with every stage.
Photos: Garry Pearson & Dan Barritt | Max McRae & Cameron Fair | Niel Roskell & Dai Roberts | By Andrew Scott
Despite hitting a bail on the first stage of the day, Neil Roskell alongside Dai Roberts were making steady progress in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 “It’s absolutely fantastic, we are flying, the times aren’t showing it”. Smiling with every stage completed, Roskell said, “I just got to knuckle down as there’s a few dropping out in front of us”, he would round out the top 5 BRC1 crews after the morning loop.
Cronin and Galvin were edging closer to that all-important first victory of the season, “It’s all about management now but that’s easier said than done” but Creighton & Regan had managed to close the gap down by around 10 seconds through stages 11-13. Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin would enter the final stage of the event in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 with a 25-second lead over William Creighton & Liam Regan and would see the job through to finally secure their first Motorsport UK Probite British Rally Championship win of the year.
Photo: Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin | By Andrew Scott
“The first two rounds didn’t go our way unfortunately, but championships are long. This gives us a fighting chance again, we needed this win but it’s still a long championship.” “I didn’t think it would be possible after the first loop as we had a wrong tyre call, but we went on a wet for the last loop yesterday and we seemed to make real good time; it didn’t feel like I did anything extra special but everything was working OK in the car. Obviously, with Chris, he went off this morning on the second stage so it left us with a lead that we just had to manage”
Keith Cronin
The final margin over second place was a shade over 19 seconds in the end, William Creighton alongside Liam Regan in their M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 would once again settle for the bridesmaid honours, their third second-place finish in a row.
Photo: Wiliam Creighton & Liam Regan | By Andrew Scott
“It’s been a tricky weekend, these stages are unique and even though it’s dry today, we’ve been complaining all day, it has been a lot of fun as well.” “Liam did an excellent time on the notes and we have no time to rest now as we are straight to Sardinia tomorrow”
William Creighton
However, Mr Consistants (Creighton) efforts would earn him the lead of the BRC drivers standings (57 points), leading Chris Ingram (43) by 14 points with Cronin moving up into third (36).
Rounding out the BRC1 podium was local hero, Garry Pearson, guided by the experience of Dan Barritt calling the notes in their M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2. This, his home event didn’t go well for him last season, but the Scot had returned and made amends this time around with a podium finish.
Photos: Garry Pearson & Dan Barritt | By Andrew Scott
“Absolutely delighted, thanks to everyone that’s made it possible, it’s been a really challenging weekend, credit to the guys in front it was really difficult. Delighted to be on the podium, we would never have thought that before the weekend so what a result”, “It’s picking up and hopefully take that onto the Grampian”
Garry Pearson
A slightly surprised Max McRae with Cameron Fair secured the fourth spot in their M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally 2, despite experiencing these challenging stages in the dark for the first time on the opening leg of the rally the pair had scored a decent result on the Jim Clark.
“That’s good news to me (4th), I didn’t know where we were sitting, it’s been a good weekend. We struggled a bit last night with the feeling in the car and the first time on night stages, but the pace built really quickly today and got better and better with each stage”
Max McRae
Photos: Max McRae & Cameron Fair | Kyle White & Emily Easton-Page | By Andrew Scott
Rounding out the top 5 of the BRC1 crews was another young man who also had fought hard for the result, Kyle White always seems to have an eventful time in his Hyundai i20 R5 and the Jim Clark Rally was no different. The morning loop ended for White with a bit of a squeaky bum moment in the Fogo stage “5th gear coming through and just lost the back end, how I got stopped I don’t know, I hope there are videos of it!” the ever comical Irishman said. Alongside Emily Easton-Page for the first time in the Co-Driver seat, their afternoon was also plagued with issues, a suspect iffy diff in the repeated run of Edrom, White then arrived at the final stop line of the event yet again with a bit of a story to tell.
“I’ve got a proper story to tell, we broke down in the last stage, I don’t know what happened the car stopped and the exhaust temperatures went up 1000 degrees, I stopped in stage and just did a reset and it went again. Then when we got to the end of the stage the ball joint boot fell off, so I had to tighten that” “Wow, how I am here I don’t know but I am”
Kyle White
FINAL RESULTS
| POS | BRC1 LEADERBOARD | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #2 K.CRONIN / M.GALVIN | 1:14:59.8 |
| 2 | #5 W.CREIGHTON / L.REGAN | 1:15:18.9 |
| 3 | #9 G.PEARSON / D.BARRITT | 1:16:34.8 |
| 4 | #14 M.MCRAE / C.FAIR | 1:18:06.6 |
| 5 | #34 K.WHITE / E.EASTON-PAGE | 1:20:37.1 |
Photo: BRC1 Podium | Source: British Rally Championship
JUNIOR
Last time out at the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages, Scotsman Robert Proudlock would secure his maiden Junior British Rally Championship victory on the gravel of Mid-Wales and would arrive at the Jim Clark leading Kalum Graffin in the standings.
The regular JBRC contenders would also be joined in Duns by a new kid on the block, Ryan Machugh. The young Irish lad has been a bit of a tarmac terrorist back home in Ireland and would be making his first JBRC appearance in his Ford Fiesta Rally4 and indeed outside of his homeland, hoping to give the regulars a run for their money.
LEG 1
Photos: Kyle McBride & Darragh Mullen | By Andrew Scott
Although the opening stage through Langton Mill would be cancelled before the Junior crews had got a run at it, Severn Valley runner-up Kyle Mcbride would be the quickest off the mark in his Peugeot 208 Rally4 the very next test. McBridge alongside Darragh Mullen got his Jim Clark off to a flying start on the Abbey St Bathans test, posting a time that was 7.5 seconds quicker than Ryan Machugh, who had drafted in some experience in Arthur Kierans to call the notes.
“Clean run, just very very steady and cautious to be honest with you but the cars working well, and the tyres working just OK”
Kyle McBride
Local(ish) lad Robert Proudlock would be some 30-odd seconds off the pace over that Abbey test but would hold the third spot ahead of Kalum Graffin, with Casey Jay Coleman rounding out the top five Juniors on their first competitive stage of the event. Unfortunately, Welshman Ioan Lloyd would suffer a puncture which would put him on the backfoot from the beginning.
“Such a tricky stage, these boys are taking massive cuts, its like thick porridge in places”
Robert Proudlock
Photo: Robert Proudlock & Steven Bowen | By Andrew Scott
MacHugh would return fire in Blackadder pipping McBride by 1.1 seconds but the night stages were coming after service and they would provide a challenge and a half for the youngsters.
Back out after the first service MacHugh secured his second stage win in through Langton Mill and followed that up in the repeated pass of the Abbey St Bathans tests to catch and pass McBride for the lead of the rally. Alas, his efforts were all undone in the final night stage of the opening day when he overshot a chicane and ended up in a field in Blackadder2.
Photo: | Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans | By Andrew Scott
“We went into a field in there, we overshot the chicane and had to go into a field and we were stuck” “We had a real good stage on the one before that, we were 15 quicker on it. Disappointing but we are really lucky to be here, It’s a long day tomorrow”
Ryan MacHugh
Like many, McBride had struggled to get the right tyre choice for the loop and had a few moments himself, but the 2022 British Academy Rally Championship winner would hold an 11.5-second lead heading into the second leg of the rally.
“I’m happy to get to the end of day one, I got caught out in that loop with my tyres, I went with the slick tyres on and that wasn’t ideal”, “We had a few moments like, so just happy to get through and we’ll reset tomorrow, its all to play for”
Kyle McBride
Casey Jay-Coleman would round out the top three Juniors at the end of the opening leg, best of the rest at more than a minute off the pace of the two front runners.
| POS | LEADERBOARD | LEG 1 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #54 K.MCBRIDE / D.MULLEN | 38:07.7 |
| 2 | #35 R.MACHUGH / A.KIERANS | 38:19.2 |
| 3 | #55 C.J.COLEMAN / L.MOORE | 39:36.9 |
LEG 2
With eight stages ahead of them, the two-way battle for the win would resume the next morning between Kyle McBride and Ryan MacHugh. Birthday boy MacHugh had some ground to make up following his minor excursion into a field the evening before and McBride had to continue to be one step ahead of him.
Photo: Kyle McBride & Darragh Mullen | Source: British Rally Championship
McBrides morning began well with a stage win in the Langton test, adding a further 2.4 seconds to his lead but MacHugh took that and some out of him in the very next test, Edrom, reducing the gap down to 8.8, it was Game On! Although the pair of them didn’t really have the best of runs in Edrom, MacHugh lost time at the beginning of the stage due to another competitor dumping a load of oil down on the road and McBride lost his time following a spin.
Photo: Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans | Kyle McBride & Darragh Mullen | By Andrew Scott
The Juniors lost a stage in Ayton but were able to get back at each other’s throats in SS10 Fogo, the last stage of the morning loop. McBride was “happy” and back at the top of the timing sheets beating MacHugh by 1.2 to end the morning loop with a 15.1-second lead. “It is always good racing, but we just need to keep our nose clean” McBride commented at the end of the loop.
Photo: Casey Jay Coleman & Lorcan Moore | Robert Proudlock & Steven Brown | By Andrew Scott
Meanwhile, Kalum Grafffin was plodding along and was gifted P3 when Casey Jay-Colman retired his Peugeot Rally4 in Fogo and Robert Proudlock also had a troubled morning, Proudlock explains: “We got through Langton OK but through the bad crests in Endrom we came over the last one and hit the slippy stuff and just couldn’t get it slowed down enough so we got stuck in there and had to miss SS8 and straight into Fogo”. This dropped the Scotsman down to the bottom of the leaderboard. Elsewhere Ioan Lloyd had set about salvaging what he could of his event, benefiting from both the loss of Colman and Proudlock’s antics, the Welshman found himself holding P4 at the end of the morning loop.
Photo: Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans | By Andrew Scott
With just four stages remaining, MacHugh continued to apply the pressure on McBride, by taking stage wins in SS11 Langton Mill 4 and SS12 Edrom 2, the new commer had reduced the gap a wee bit down to 7.6 seconds heading into the penultimate stage of the rally. However, Kyle McBride and Co-Driver Darragh Mullen would shut them down in those final two tests and stamp their authority over rally. Signing off the day with the final two stage wins, the pair would take to the top step of the Motorsport UK Probite Junior British Rally Championship podium for their first time this season.
Photo: Kyle McBride & Darragh Mullen | By Andrew Scott
“It’s good to have a good race between two Donegal men and I’m happy to get the win. Everything worked well, it’s good to get a clean event”
Kyle McBride
Bringing their Peugeot 208 Rally 4 home over 10 seconds sooner than runners-up Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans who secured an excellent podium in their Ford Fiesta Rally4 at their first outing in the British Rally Championship, at the same time, had also made a bit of a statement for others to sit up and take note of. Kalum Graffin alongside Mark McGeehan would round out that all-Irish Junior podium in their Peugeot 208 Rally4, never really being able to match the times of the two pace setters in front.
Photo: Ryan MacHugh & Arthur Kierans | Kalum Graffin & Mark McGeehan | By Andrew Scott
Ioan Lloyd proved that you simply must keep going even if your rally doesn’t begin in the way you want it to. The young Welshman could have easily packed up and gone home early after the opening leg of the rally, but his persistence would see him bring home some valuable points for P4 ahead of Robert Proudlock who rounded out the field in fifth. After a disappointing second day of his Jim Clark, it was just a case of getting it home and using the rest of the millage to learn the car from then on. The only saving grace for Proudlock is that he leaves Duns leading the Junior standings, just 6 points separate him and Kyle McBride in second, with Kalum Graffin rounding out the top three; however, both McBride and Graffin have both used their Joker up, so Proudlock also has this reserved in his back pocket.
| POS | FINAL RESULTS | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #54 K.MCBRIDE / D.MULLEN | 1:22:23.4 |
| 2 | #35 R.MACHIGH / A.KIERANS | 1:22:34.1 |
| 3 | #57 K.GRAFFIN / M.MCGEEHAN | 1:26:22.6 |
| 4 | #53 I.LLOYD / G.JONES | 1:28:01.7 |
| 5 | #56 R.PROUDLOCK / S.BROWN | 1:33:47.9 |
Photo: JBRC Podium | Source: British Rally Championship
OPEN
Last time out on the gravel, John Ritoul was the loan BRC Open title competitor to make an appearance and sensibly played his Joker Card, walking away from Mid Wales with a healthy points haul of 31 to lead the Open Standings. For Round 3, he would not only be joined by the returning Asphalt regulars Hugh Brunton, Hugh Hunter, John Morrison and Roger Henderson but also Callum Black who decided to make the switch from BRC1 to the Open Title this time around. Black along with Scottish Rally Championship regular Michal Binnie and local Dun’s boy Dale Robertson would all be hoping to get in amongst the regulars and upset them if they could.
Photo: Callum Black & Jack Morton | By Andrew Scott
Right from the get-go Black meant business; posting the second fastest time overall in the Ford Fiesta Rally2, Black & Morton would therefore take up the lead of the open field ahead of Hugh Brunton & Drew Sturrock in the Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo. In a league of their own, Black & Morton would dominate the Open field getting the better of the likes of both Brunton and Binnie at every throw of the dice over the opening night of the rally. The pair would end leg 1 with a sizable and healthy lead of nearly 1 minute 40 seconds over Michael Binnie & Claire Mole, with Dale Robertson & Douglas Redpath rounding out the top three of the Open crews.
“We had a slight excursion into a field (in SS2 Abbey St Bathans), I don’t know how much we dropped, not a lot but enough to just knock our confidence, we were lucky that it was just a field”
Callum Black
Photos: Michael Binnie & Clairr Mole | Dale Robertson & Douglas Redpath | Hugh Brunton & Drew Sturrrock | By Andrew Scott
The next day and throughout the morning loop, Black & Morton continued to run away with the lead of the Open rally field, despite a tyre choice that he’d never used before which Black described as being “sketchy” when on the wet, the rally was already looking like a done deal.
Hugh Hunter alongside Rob Fagg would unfortunately retire from the rally on the second stage of the morning (SS8 Edrom 1); a water hose on their Ford Fiesta Rally2 car prematurely ended their fight with Hugh Brunton & Drew Sturrock for the fourth spot. Over the morning loop, Brunton & Sturrock did manage to catch and overhaul Dale Robertson & Douglas Redpath for P3, but there was still over 24 seconds to Binnie & Mole ahead of them in second.
Photos: Hugh Brunton & Drew Sturrrock | Michael Binnie & Claire Mole | Dale Robertson & Douglas Redpath | Hugh Brunton & Drew Sturrrock | By Andrew Scott
The Gap to Black & Morton up front was unobtainium for Binnie & Mole, so it was just a case of holding position and making it to the end of the rally. Sadly for Brunton & Sturrock that would not be the case for them, as they were forced to retire their Skoda Fabia Rally2 EVO on SS12 Edrom 2, due to steering failure. The demise of Brunton handed the final podium place straight back to Robertson & Redpath who were only too happy to accept it.
Over the final loop of four, Black appeared to be enjoying this rally far more compared to his last outing on the Asphalt at the Manx, where he retired from the rally. He was comfortable in the car, the tyres were working well and so were some new dampers that the Fiesta was wearing. Black and Morton were putting in some good times and were indeed rewarded for their efforts with the Motorsport UK Probite British Rally Championship Open victory.
Photo: Callum Black & Jack Morton | By Andrew Scott
The pair had dominated the Open field right from the off on the previous night and were untouchable out on the stages for their competition. They had also played their Joker at the Jim Clark, which slotted them right into P2 in the Open standings, 10 points behind the leader John Ritoul who finished fourth. This result will give Black & Morton the platform to go on and perhaps fight for the overall Open Championship title?
Photos: Michael Binnie & Clairr Mole | Dale Robertson & Douglas Redpath | By Andrew Scott
The skirmish for the runners-up spot would take a twist in the final stage of the event, Binnie and Mole would enter that final 7 miles of Fogo with what seemed like second place all sewn up. However, Binnie would run into trouble losing several minutes, Robertson & Redpath would therefore pass them in the stage to steal P2 away from underneath them at the final hurdle.
| POS | FINAL OPEN RESULTS | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #8 C.BLACK / J.MORTON | 1:15:47.8 |
| 2 | #19 D.ROBERTSON / D.REDPATH | 1:19:39.5 |
| 3 | #18 M.BINNIE / C.MOLE | 1:20:25.3 |
NATIONAL
The National Cup would initially see a two-way fight begin between a pair of MKII Ford Escorts driven by round one winner Darren Atkinson and Mathew Dance; although that initial battle was kinda short-lived with one of them going on to dominate the rally.
Atkinson & Co-Driver Harry Stubbs drew first blood on their first competitive test through SS2 Abbey St Bathans, beginning their Jim Clark with a 2.5-second advantage over National Cup newcomers Gerry Fitzelle & Philip Sandham. Mathew Dance & Jason Davies who were somewhat caught napping a little, were some 19-odd seconds off the pace of Atkinson in third.
Photos: Darren Atkinson & Harry Stubbs | Gerry Fitzelle & Philip Sandham | Mathew Dance & Jason Davies | By Andrew Scott
Fear not, Dance was on the pace in the very next test “Blackadder” but alas Atkinson was still quicker, extending his lead of the National Cup field to a little over 12 seconds over Fitzelle after the first loop. Dance would move into P2 in SS4 Langton Mill and would finally get the better of Atkinson on the final night stage of the opening leg, the repeated pass of Blackadder to end the opening day of the rally trailing Atkinson by 13.5 seconds. Meanwhile, Gerry Fitzelle & Philip Sandham would unfortunately exit the rally in the second pass of Abbey St Bathans (SS5) putting an end to their promising early pace.
The next morning, Darren Atkinson appeared much happier to be in the daylight, obtaining a full house of National Cup stage wins over the morning loop to boost his lead over Mathew Dance by a whopping 50 seconds. Behind those two old Escorts was the more modern machinery of Nathan Bolton & Phil Kenny in the Mitsubishi EVO IX, who rounded out the top 3 of the National crews.
Photos: Darren Atkinson & Harry Stubbs | Mathew Dance & Jason Davies | Nathan Bolton & Phil Kenny | By Andrew Scot
With a further four stages over the final loop of the rally, there wasn’t any way of stopping leaders Darren Atkinson and Harry Stubbs, the pair would dominate the National Cup field with a further four stage wins to seal the deal and take to the top step of the Motorsport UK Probite British Rally Championship National Cup podium for their second time this season.
“It has been a tough weekend for everybody” “We’ve pulled it off today ain’t we?”
Darren Atkinson
Photos: Darren Atkinson & Harry Stubbs | Mathew Dance & Jason Davies | By Andrew Scott
The winning margin over runners-up Mathew Dance & Jason Davies was a significant one minute and twenty-one seconds; sadly the man from Lancashire can’t be tempted out and onto the loose stuff but can clearly do the business on the tarmac having won both of the Asphalt rounds to date, which sees him leave Duns the leader of the standings.
| POS | FINAL NATIONAL RESULTS | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #30 D.ATKINSON / H.STUBBS | 1:23:30.8 |
| 2 | #64 M.DANCE / J.DAVIES | 1:24:52.3 |
| 3 | #49 N.BOLTON / P.KENNY | 1:29:08.6 |
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POS | BRC1 DRIVERS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | WILLIAM CREIGHTON | 57 |
| 2 | CHRIS INGRAM | 43 (J) |
| 3 | KEITH CRONIN | 36 |
| 4 | GARRY PEARSON | 30 |
| 5 | OSIAN PRYCE | 28 |
| POS | JBRC DRIVERS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROBERT PROUDLOCK | 56 |
| 2 | KYLE MCBRIDE | 50 (J) |
| 3 | KALUM GRAFFIN | 48 (J) |
| 4 | CASEY JAY COLEMAN | 31 (J) |
| 5 | RYAN MACHUGH | 19 |
| POS | OPEN DRIVERS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JOHN RINTOUL | 41 (J) |
| 2 | CALLUM BLACK | 31 (J) |
| 3 | HUGH BRUNTON | 27 (J) |
| POS | NATIONAL DRIVERS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DARREN ATKINSON | 52 |
| 2 | MATHEW DANCE | 35 |
| 3 | WILLIAM MAINS | 34 |
NEXT TIME
The Motorsport UK Probite British Rally Championship has reached its midpoint in the season and will not resume until August 9th in Scotland, where the series will return to the gravel at the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally. Based from Aberdeen, the event will see an increase to its format this year, expanding to a two-day event.
