Rally round-up (From Free Press Series)

Rally round-up

AFTER the third round of the Fiat Stilo Cup Abergavenny crew Chris Davies and Nathan Parry have opened up a clear lead in the championship.

On the Scottish Rally last weekend the duo finished twenty third overall and first in the Stilo Cup. They have a 25-point lead over their nearest rivals.

Reliability and consistency has paid off as they are the only crew to finish in every round so far. They also lead the British Rally Championship formulae 2000 category by 15 points.

Despite using a new control tyre that took a little time to get used to, the crew set the fastest Stilo time on the first stage and, in spite of almost rolling the car when they clipped a bank on a later stage, the rest of the rally was fairly uneventful.

Paul Tod and Iestyn ap Dafydd had a fraught event. They lost a lot of time when the car became stuck in second gear and, although with the gearbox sorted they set several fastest Stilo times on later stages, it was too late to make an impact on the final results.

They currently are fourth in The Stilo Cup and fourth in the Formula 2000 Championship.

Damian Cole and Phil Clarke had power steering problems and several punctures on the rough Scottish stages, but managed to finish 17th overall and seventh in class in their Subaru Impreza WRC.

Dorian Rees and Patrick Walsh started the event in a hired car after the damage caused to their car on the Mutiny rally could not be fixed in time.

They were rewarded on their long trip north by 15th overall and third in the production class. They once more collected maximum points in The Prodrive Cup and now lead that category by 14 points.

Robert Gough and Ian Allsop were leading the Production class and tenth overall after the first stage on Friday night but rolled out of the event next day on stage four.

Although extensive damage was caused to the car, the crew were unhurt. The British Rally Championship stays in Scotland for The Jim Clark Rally the first weekend in July.

Next weekend sees the Garth Stages Tour of Caerwent take place. Unfortunately no spectators are allowed at this venue.

Scottish Rally Result: 1, Jonny Milner / Nicky Beech, Subaru Impreza WRC, 1hr 15min 48.7sec; 2, David Higgins / Craig Thorley, Hyundai Accent, WRC 1hr 15min 58sec; 3, Barry Johnson / Stewart Merry, Subaru Impreza WRC, 1he 19min 56.5sec.