Unrelated Kevin and Ian Jones took their first-ever rally victory after 30 years of competing, clinching the win after a very close battle with a number of crews, the top ten overall actually covered by less than one minute. Second spot went to late entrants Meirion Roberts and Lowri Davies in the Volvo-engined Escort whilst third fell to Chris Phillips and sister Sarah Hughes in their 106 GTI.
However, it was late entrants Gavin Edwards and Mike Hughes who looked set to take the honours, their Escort winning every one of the first seven stages. They were ten seconds ahead of Jones/Jones, but it was within sight of the ninth stage that stones hit the crank sensor sending belts all over the place and instant retirement. Edwards was fresh from his first rally win last month whilst Hughes felt his maiden win was so close.
Escorts dominated the leader board, Roberts/Davies taking the over two-litre class ahead of Gary Thomas/Dale Furniss in their Gartrac example, whilst the Lancer of Myfyr Owen/Richard Bestwick was not far behind.
The two-litre class was taken by the overall winners, so the class awrd went to Richard Lewis/Emma Davies in fourth spot. Second award went to the Mk1 Escort crew of Dave Lewis/Steve Southall whilst third went to Matt Edwards/Caron Jones testing the Fiesta.
Phillips/Hughes were clear winners of the 1600cc class, previous event winners Geoff McQuilling/Rob Hopewell not quite on the pace in their Civic, whilst third went to the 106 of Huw MacKinnon/Llion Williams, returning after a damaging off last time at the venue.
The 1400cc class saw regular winners Gareth Roberts/Ian Lloyd take fourth overall on the first stage, but their 106 broke a driveshaft shortly afterwards and they retired. Geraint Williams/Steve Jones then took the lead in their Corsa, finishing ahead of Richard Thomas/Chris Evans (205) with Aled Loveluck/Siôned Evans third in their 998cc Micra.
The Formula 1000 championship contenders were headed home by Simon Povey/Paul Griffiths Daihatsu which held off the Micras of Steve Johnson/Dave Barrett and Matt Davies/Matt Gregory. Len Jones/Robert Evans took the road rally car class.
Results:
1, Kevin Jones/Ian Jones (2.0 Ford Escort RS Mk2) 20m 14s
2, Meirion Roberts/Lowri Davies (2.5 Ford Escort Mk2) 20m 21s
3, Chris Phillips/Sarah Hughes (1.6 Peugeot 106 GTI) 20m 24s
4, Richard Lewis/Emma Davies (2.0 Ford Escort Mk2) 20m 28s
5, Gary Thomas/Dale Furniss (2.2 Ford Escort G3) 20m 31s
6, Myfyr Owen/Richard Bestwick (2.0t Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII) 20m 37s
7, Geoff McQuilling/Rob Hopewell (1.6 Honda Civic VTI) 20m 42s
8, Andrew Williams/Brian Hardman (2.0t Subaru Impreza) 20m 43s
9, Dave Lewis/Steve Southall (2.0 Ford Escort Mk1) 21m 07s
10, Len Jones/Robert Evans (2.0 Ford Escort Mk2) 21m 08s.Class winners:
Simon povey/Paul Griffiths (1.0 Daihatsu Charade)
Geraint Williams/Steve Jones (1.4 Vauxhall Corsa)
Phillips/Hughes
Jones/Jones
Roberts/Davies
Jones/Evans.Snippets:
Guy Woodcock drove his Escort Mk2 on course car duties as a test session for next weekend's Manx Historic Rally, with strict instructions not to damage the car. He was relieved to finish without a scratch and reported that the handling was now fantastic!
Another driver testing for the Manx was Matt Edwards, having never driven competitively on sealed-surface stages before. His Fiesta was co-driven by youngster Caron Jones, who had been the successful bidder at the previous weekend's auction in aid of the Welsh Air Ambulance. They finished eleventh overall, having lost time failing to handbrake the hairpins.
Stage 5 saw the Nissan Micra K10 of newcomers Daryl Hagan/Neil Brown take a multiple roll into retirement, the driver requiring hospital treatment as a precautionary measure. The following stage was cancelled due to the delay.
Shafts were a problem, causing the retirement of three crews – the Escort of Jonathan Whalley/Peter Dennis completed the eighth stage with one-wheel-drive, the shaft having sheared cleanly within the diff. Gareth Roberts/Ian Lloyd (106) and Conrad Law/Chris Walton (Starlet) retired for similar reasons.
Aled Loveluck was a last minute entry in his Nissan Micra, having just completed the cycle ride from Holyhead to Cardiff in aid of the Welsh Air Ambulance and Spinal Injury Research. On four wheels he gained a class award, Siôned Evans co-driving.
Report by Dave Thomas, 11 Maes Canol, Llandudno Junction, LL31 9UX. (07788 995345)