Unless otherwise clearly indicated, results on this site have been declared final and are therefore not subject to query or protest
Clerk of the Course: Graham Evans & Mark Hill
Route: 120 Miles
Maps: 136 & 137
Starters: 54
Winners: Graham Evans/Ian Mills (Toyota Corolla)
Graham Evans/Ian Mills used their extensive local knowledge to good affect to take victory on their home club's Holrus Road Rally. The Newtown & District AC event was the final round of both the Welsh and West Midlands Championships and took crews through 110 miles of slippery lanes in Mid-Wales.
The organisers had done well to find a challenging route after their available territory had been severely restricted by two national events, the RAC Rally and the Le JOG, running in close proximity. With a 'pre-plot' format they kept the pressure on crews by using a large number of controls on the rally's six sections.
Cyril Crook/Chris Ware were expected to put in a strong performance but their largely unsuccessful season came to a miserable close when their Sunbeam ground to a halt with clutch failure after only a few miles. They were joined on the retirement list by Geraint Davies/Sarah Gluyas who slid their Corolla off the road and into some soft ground near the start of the second section.
Meanwhile engine maladies accounted for the Renault of John Jones/Chris Rowlands, the Sunbeam of Phil Turner/Neil Spiers and the Escort of Huw Evans/Patrick Walsh. More dramatically Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton had to abandon their Escort when a loose fuel line caused a fire in the engine compartment.
Evans/Mills had to struggle after their Corolla lost its spotlights after just four miles, however this didn't prevent them from taking their second win of the year with almost a two minute victory margin at the end. The result secured for them the Standard Production Award within the Welsh Championship. Their only challengers, Peter Zjalic/Richard Preece, picked up a fail and a puncture and thus could only manage a 15th place finish..
The only crew to match the winners' pace was the Escort of Des Phasey/Maurice Leach. They had shared the lead at the petrol halt with Evans/Mills, but then suffered an off in the second half which dropped them five minutes; they eventually finished sixth
Pete Cotton/Dave Pitchford came home second with Dennis Quinn/Andrew Thomson in third. This result was enough to assure Thomson of the West Midlands navigator's crown, but Quinn had needed to be one place higher to prevent Baron Glaze from taking the Welsh and West Midlands driver's title double. Glaze and navigator Pete Davies had a disappointing event after initially being delayed by Cyril Crook's stricken Sunbeam and then picking up three fails after missing to get signatures for three code boards.
The battle for the Semi-Expert class award was a Telford AC affair with the Nova of Chris Painter/Steve Quine finally beating the Escort of Jon Ross/Dave Stocking. In the Novice class Neil and Ian Matthews took victory by a comfortable margin in their Nova. They had been chased hard in the early stages by Kevin Andrews/Nigel Hall, however the latter crew fell back in the second half and had to be content with the runners up award. Of the 54 starters, 38 made it to the finish at Llandinam.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Graham Evans | Ian Mills | Toyota Corolla | 1m 12s | |
2 | Pete Cotton | Dave Pitchford | Ford Escort | 2m 53s | |
3 | Dennis Quinn | Andrew Thomson | Ford Escort | 3m 01s | |
4 | Andy Sheppard | Mike Hart | Toyota Corolla | 4m 13s | |
5 | Richie Lewis | Phil Clarke | Toyota Corolla | 4m 17s | |
6 | Des Phasey | Maurice Leach | Ford Escort | 7m 36s | |
7 | Mal Acott | John Youd | Toyota Corolla | 8m 50s | |
8 | Richard 'Tyson' Morris | Owen Dodd | Talbot Samba | 11m 29s | |
9 | Chris Wilson | Roger Fildes | Vauxhall Astra | 11m 59s | |
10 | Neil Griffiths | Carl Williamson | Ford Escort | 14m 09s | |
11 | Chris Painter | Steve Quine | Vauxhall Nova | 14m 40s | |
12 | Jon Ross | Dave Stocking | Ford Escort | 17m 39s | |
13 | Robert Thomas | Iestyn Leyshon | Ford Escort | 17m 45s | |
14 | Neil Matthews | Stan Matthews | Vauxhall Nova | 20m 59s | |
15 | Peter Zjalic | Richard Preece | Toyota Corolla | 1F 19m 23s | |
16 | Dave Painter | Chris Lightburn | Opel Manta | 1F 24m 07s | |
17 | Steve Warrington | Paul Entwhistle | Ford Sierra | 1F 48m 27s | |
18 | Jon Stobbs | Stephanie Lomax | Alfa Romeo 33 | 2F 16m 43s | |
19 | Glyn Price | Nigel Roberts | Ford Escort | 2F 19m 09s | |
20 | Adrian Higman | Cyril Jones | Talbot Sunbeam | 2F 27m 52s | |
21 | Tony Watkin | Medwyn Evans | Mini 1275GT | 2F 49m 40s | |
22 | Baron Glaze | Pete Davies | Ford Escort | 3F 7m 03s | |
23 | Michael Pedley | David Pedley | Hillman Avenger | 3F 12m 56s | |
24 | Simon Price | Alan Lovett | Ford Escort | 3F 16m 54s | |
25 | Wyn Owens | Hefin Owens | Ford Escort | 3F 23m 12s | |
26 | Trevor Pritchard | Paul Hughes | Vauxhall Carlton | 4F 27m 14s | |
27 | Neil Arden | Paul Stocking | Ford Escort | 4F 36m 42s | |
28 | Kev Andrews | Nigel Hall | Ford Escort | 4F 48m 42s | |
29 | Roger Harries | Beth Evans | Vauxhall Astra | 5F 29m 14s | |
30 | Martin Bradley | Andy Oakes | Ford Escort | 6F 37m 35s | |
31 | Tim Elvins | Jim Quinn | Ford Escort | 7F 39m 24s | |
32 | Gareth Davies | Andy Hutchings | Vauxhall Chevette | 7F 55m 35s | |
33 | Alan Thompson | Neil Boyd | Toyota Corolla | 8F 22m 22s | |
34 | Duncan Edwards | Matthew Preece | Ford Escort | 9F 61m 16s | |
35 | Alan Ridge | Simon Ridge | Ford Escort | 11F 47m 42s | |
36 | Neil Stubbs | Brian Stubbs | Ford Escort | 18F 59m 58s | |
37 | Oliver Davies | Andrew Rousell | Peugeot 205 GTi | 31F 41m 00s | |
38 | Paul Benton | Matthew Warner | Vauxhall Astra | 32F 63m 10s |