Classic Ford – September 2019

Simon Webster and Jez Rogers kick up

some dust on their way to winning round 4.

BRITISH HISTORIC

RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Simon Webster tops Round 4 of the BHRC on a dusty Red Kite Stages.

Round 4: Red Kite Stages, June 23

Words and Photos Paul Lawrence

imon Webster and Jez Rogers

scored their fi rst championship

win on round four of the Fuchs

Lubricants Motorsport UK British

Historic Rally Championship on the Red

Kite Stages.

The very popular win came at the end

of a day-long contest with Steve Bennett

and Osian Owen in the forests of South

Wales. As thick dust in the morning was

replaced by heavy rain, the Red Kite

Stages drew widespread acclaim from

competitors for the quality of stages in

the Margam and Rheola complexes.

While Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver

took third overall, Stanley Orr and

Graham Henderson (Mk1 Escort) netted

another Category 2 to move to the top of

the championship standings after four of

the seven rounds.

As well as being the fourth of seven

BHRC rounds, the Red Kite Stages was

also the fourth round of BHRC2

supported by Sherwood Engines, which

puts the emphasis on the Category 1

(pre-1968) and up to 1600cc cars in the

championship, and the fourth round of

the BHRC Forest Challenge, supported

by Rally and Competition Equipment.

Webster was fl ying from the start

and took an immediate eight second

lead in SS1, Margam. Bennett had to

respond and did so a few minutes later

in SS2, Bryn, to pull the gap back to

fi ve seconds. On the fi rst Rheola stage

the times were tied, while SS4,

Glyncastle, was cancelled due to an

accident involving a non-historic car. As

rain started to fall, crews left service

for a longer Margam stage and a re-run

of Rheola, with Webster leading by just

5 seconds.

Bennett really attached the Margam

stage and turned a 5 second defi cit into

a 1 second lead. However, with the

benefi t of two fresh rear tyres that they

fi tted before the fi nal stage, Webster

went 3 seconds faster to grab victory by

just 2 seconds. “That’s just an

amazing result,” said an elated and

slightly incredulous Webster.

Never far adrift of the lead

contest, Rudi Lancaster and Guy

Weaver were a fi ne third with 9

seconds in hand over fourth placed

Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill.

Orr/Henderson took fi fth to win

Category 2 despite a major late

challenge from Josh Browne and

Jane Edgington, who pulled back

8 seconds in the last two stages

to bring the margin down to

4 seconds. Browne dominated

class D3 with fi ne pace in his

Pinto-powered Mk2 Escort.

John Perrott and Andrew Sankey took

seventh overall and second in Category

2, despite a high-speed encounter with a

dear, fi nishing ahead of Tim Freeman/

Paul Williams.

Among the classes, the big story was

in C2 as Stuart and Linda Cariss took an

unexpected victory. Losing 7 minutes

with a fi rst stage roll put them well out

of contention but their two major rivals

were out by the end of SS2 and so the

husband and wife team came through to

win. Young Rory McCann set a stunning

pace in the opening stage to be sixth

fastest in Tim Tugwell’s Avenger but was

soon sidelined by distributor problems.

Meanwhile, Philip Atkinson and Louise

Gilks should have taken the class but

were soon out with a failed head gasket.

FORTHCOMING

BHRC ROUNDS

August 17

Ulster Rally

September 27-28

Trackrod

Historic Cup

MOTORSPORT

CLASSIC FORDS FLAT-OUT ON THE STAGE, STRIP AND TRACK

S

84 September 2019

“THE VERY POPULAR WIN

CAME AT THE END OF A

DAY-LONG CONTEST”

The natural home of the classic Ford

is on the gravel and asphalt of the

nation’s forests, moorlands and

closed-off roads. But if you think this

championship is all about the

Escorts, you’d be wrong, and of

course the Blue Ovals face some stiff

competition from other marques.

The Championship attracts the usual

hardcore rally fans battling against

the changeable elements, but there

is plenty spectator space for anyone

with an interest in wailing BDAs and

sideways action. And who isn’t a fan

of that? You can watch the action at

the following rounds, or catch up

after the rallies with full coverage on

Special Stage Weekly on TV, or via

Special Stage’s Facebook page. More

details about the British Historic

Rally Championship can be found

at http://racrmc.org.

WHERE TO

WATCH

THE BHRC

In association with