DAVIES PROVES UNBEATABLE

Tony Davies and Ellie Williams’s Darrian once again staked it’s claim for the Heart of England title on the Harlech Stages at Llanbedr.

Davies managed to pull out a four second gap on fellow title challengers Andrew Turner/Ross Green on the opening stage, but they also had two more seconds in hand over fellow Escort crew Stefan Morris/Jack Bowen in third.

Behind them Ian Barclay/Charlotte McGlashan’s Mitsubishi E9 was comfortable in fourth, before 10 second gaps between Joe Piggott/John Fellowes’ Saxo and Jason/Ceri Evans’ Peugeot 205 Gti.

Evans had an overheating problem though, “we didn’t put the fan on though, so our fault,” said Evans.

Turner managed to pull a second back on Davies’ lead on SS2, but from thereon it continued to grow.

Davies took the win by 29 seconds, “we didn’t have a single problem, but there was no more time in me or the car to catch the Darrian,” said Turner.

Although Morris held onto third overall and in Class C, he struggled for pace too. “I just had no answer to them. We ran with a suspension set up far too soft and played around to make sure we salvaged a result. We made it worse, so I really need to learn an airfield set-up,” he admitted.

Barclay was a fairly solitary fourth all day on his way to the Class E win, but behind him there were plenty of dramas.

Piggott was fifth after stage one and managed to consolidate his place on SS2. “Then we missed the split on SS3, so missed one lap,” he explained.

Evans then moved up to fifth and held station until the final stage. “Then the ignition module failed. It had played up at the start of stage five and then just left us stranded, so we just managed to struggle home to a maximum,” he explained.

So Ade Walk/Raj Kainth finally sealed fifth in their Class A Ford Ka, believed to be Ade’s first HOE Class win for over 30 years!

Following Piggott’s demise, Gary/Yvonne Powell’s Saxo topped Class B in fifth, followed by Kay Thompson/Reece Brookes’ Class A Nissan Micra.

Owen Cule/Matt Walk’s Mini Cup spec car was next home, taking second in Class B, while Piggott managed to recover to seal ninth and third in Class, after demoting Jack Taylor/Jon Shepherd’s Mini on stage four.

Massie Piggott/Julian Monkley’s Class C Escort G3 had a troublefree run to 11th, followed by George Clarke/Stephen Moyses’s Class T Mini.

The Evans’ were finally classified 13th and were the only Club Classic entry, while Andy Brinkley/Helena Mayall’s BMW spent all day, recovering from a mistake on SS1.

“We did an extra lap, so that was four. Then we did the correct three laps on SS2 and were slower, so I don’t understand,” said Brinkley.

Final classified finishers were Tony North/James Hood, whose Class E Impreza suffered two excursions, having been 10th on stage one.

The Championship is back in action again this weekend, with the penultimate round on the Challenger Stages at Bovingdon.

Published by Peter Scherer for AWMMC Heart of England Rally Championship, October 15th 2024.