John Hardman led the field away and he started to stamp his authority by taking a 1 second lead on the first stage in rather damp conditions. In drying conditions he pulled away from the pack to extend his lead to almost 30 seconds by stage 9. Steve Raines proved that the Chevette is a rally car and not a surfboard as he attempted to take the water splash flat. The car aquaplaned off the surface of the water and threw the car onto some tyres. The resultant time loss could not be clawed back during the day, and his championship aspirations began to expire. The water splash turned out to be the thorn in the backside again with competitors being caught out without WD40. Peter Lloyd drove a V4 metro until he got back to service to change his plugs.
An early retirement was Vic Hodgson in his Saab. The extra power he has squeezed out of the engine. Over the summer got the better hand as he slither through a sheep feeder at the end of SS2. The resultant off caused permanent damage to his radiator. Compared to recent events, competitors were fairly well behaved with no major moments being reported. Damp Conditions were making the track slippery and for once the Ranges was earning some respect. Brian Roberts left his respect behind in service and was the first casualty of the downhill section inverting his Escort on the approach to the 90's.
Digital printing split Timers were used for the first time on our events, and these proved to be all excellent investment. Timekeeping errors were drastically reduced with no query's being made. They will certainly be used on our event in future. The most amusing incident of the day was the appearance of an American Tourist at the start of SS6. He was trying to get to Caernarfon (so he said, I think he was after a bit of nookie in the trees) and had somehow got tangled with competitors as they made their way along the public road from the finish of 5 to the start of 6. He was in the forest unable to get out and had to be escorted through the stage before being sent on his way. He told me he liked his motorsport but not that close. Have a nice day.
The event turned out to be another John Hardman benefit although he had to ease up towards the end as his demon 8 speed splitter gearbox almost lived up to its name (it was splitting away from the engine and the rest of the car). He was chased all the way by Rob Morse from Pembroke who headed gaggle of local regulars. Peter Lloyd after his initial burst seemed to slow down and the addition of 16 seconds penalty for 4WD did not explain his low position.
Steve Raines as not able to recover from his aquatic activity on the first stage and had to give second best in the Championship to Pete Hallows in his Mk III Escort rear wheel drive Escort.
The most Impressive arrangements on the day were results crew, who were brilliant. They also did the Farrington results and their programme was so good. It's another telephone number in the black book to be dialled when the next event is put on. Coloured classes, instant read outs and a nice bunch of lads to boot; it could not have been better.
Edwyn Evans
Photo's Alan Jones
A Competitors eye view
So, the 22nd of September arrived and the 30 miles to the Ranges were embarked
upon. On the journey up we all pondered on the past results with the
Championship in mind. 2 seconds and a fifth, was it going to be enough? We
doubted it, Pete Hallows was lurking in 7th spot but with only two scores
counting, so he was the man to beat. The questions for the day were:
Can we beat him?
How deep will the water be?
Will it rain?
God knows what the answers will be.
We decided to go like we normally do and if it all gelled on the day then
great, if it didn't, well never mind, we shall have an enjoyable day. The usual
joyful banter and general piss taking preceded the first stage but once the
first flag drooped, the business started. John Hardman set his usual customary
pace, putting the 260bhp of Cosworth power to good effect and setting fastest
time by 2 seconds from the Metro of Peter Lloyd. Rob Morse, Pete Hallows and
John Jones were in close contention and everyone else it seemed apart from us.
We followed the pattern set by Pete Hallows to attack the water, unfortunately
it didn't work for us and an 18 seconds (minimum) were lost. Needless to say,
making a mistake like this so early on caused me to receive a severe bollocking
from Steve G. So, all to play for and nothing to loose saw 2nd fastest on Stage
2 and a misfire for the last half mile on stage 3(that water again) as we
fought back to first service. Tyres seemed to be the hottest bone of
contention, Pete Hallows having difficulty in deciding what to use. We decided
on removal of the front Dunlop's replacing them with TB15's. 20's would have
been nice, but we did not have any. Stage 4 saw us approaching the water with
some respect and having no problems we set a reasonable time. John Hardman and
Dave Roberts were doing their usual disappearing act into the distance, and our
overall position was improving stage by stage. Half distance saw John Hardman
and Dave Roberts with a lead of 22 seconds, which on the Ranges is equivalent
to about half all hour on any other rally. At this point a meteoric battle was
developing between Pete Hallows and John James. We had elevated ourselves to
one of the also ran positions. Stage turnaround happened and we all set off yet
again and as always the Ranges look totally different than they did in the
morning, with the bottle of unfamiliar drivers being tested in the last mile.
To echo the words of many, the Ranges are great but always treat them with
respect. I for one will second that. The afternoon stages flowed with no
problems ending with John Hardman taking his third Ranges win in a row, and
Dave Roberts full house, taking all four rounds to win the co-driver title. The
dice between John Jones and Pete Hallows ended in John's favour but only being
decided on the last stage. Us, well we climbed to 6th overall in the end and
quite pleased to beat Peter Lloyd in his Metro. However, it was his first visit
and he did have a problem on two afternoon stages, but we still beat him.
Finally, the championship and all the questions had been answered.
Yes, it did rain
Yes the water was deep
And no we didn't beat Pete Hallows.
I would like to congratulate Pete on his championship win. He won it with some
excellent driving and a very reliable car. I would like to congratulate John
Hardman in showing us all how to consistently win over the Ranges, and I would
like to thank Bala & DMC and every other Motor Club involved with putting
this year's championship together. It has certainly, from my point of view been
a most enjoyable series of events and finally the competitors. Pete Hallows,
John Jones, Pat Jeffs, Iwan Roberts and everyone else who supplied the humour,
competition and atmosphere that is the hallmark of the Ranges competition.
I look forward to seeing everyone in 91 but it won't be as a competitor.
(Shame, shame - Ed) It has come time to review the pension book and hopefully I
will. sell the Chevette in the not too distant future.
Steve Raines