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Moonbeam Rally 2002
Sponsored by Telford Motor Auctions
Telford Auto Club
11th/12th March 2000
Clerk of the Course: Chris Wilson
Route: 140 Miles
Maps: 126 127 & 137
Starters: 72
Winners: Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton (Ford Escort)
Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton took an emphatic win on the Moonbeam Road Rally, coming home three minutes clear of the field.
Winners: Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton (Ford Escort)
Photograph: M&H Photography
Telford AC attracted 72 starters to the 140 mile event, which was made up of just two sections split by the petrol halt. The route took crews into the lanes between Shrewsbury and Craven Arms, with the last section being over Long Mountain south-east of Welshpool which hasn't been used by a major rally for somewhile.
Morris/Middleton were using the fourth different engine in four events on the Moonbeam. The 1600 unit they’d fitted certainly seemed the right choice as the Knighton MC pairing extended a 30 second lead at the half way halt to almost three minutes at the end.
The Escort was followed home by a brace of Imprezas, that of G&P Memorial Rally winners Stuart Newby/Paul Holmberg in second, with Jonathan Bossen/Scott Layton third. The latter pairing ruing a decision to go back and search for a missing PC which cost them two minutes and the runner up spot.
John Leckie/John Madoc-Jones and Brynli Thomas/Roger Evans had held second and third places at Petrol but both picked up fails for Passage Control infringements later in the event and dropped well down the order at the Finish.
Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford lost six minutes after wrong slotting and becoming stuck on the first section, however a storming drive in the latter sections saw them rise from 23rd place at Petrol to seventh at the end. Howard Price/Carl Williamson retired their Corolla with gearbox problems, while Phil Turner/Owen Dodd had the fan belt break on their Golf. Kevin Ikin/Martin Saunders could only manage 14th place after being delayed by two punctures.
Adrian Higman/Cyril Jones would have made it into the top four but a puncture cost them four minutes and dropped them to ninth. Richard Roe/Gareth Price were planning to debut their new Celica GT4, however an engine problem manifested itself after the car had completed scrutineering and they were forced to withdraw even before the start proper.
Shaun Hardy/Paul Edwards had a disappointing run, losing time when a fuel pipe broke on their Manta and then delayed further when a faulty temperature guage raised fears of overheating problems.
Simon Cottrell/Marcus Whatmough withdrew their Subaru Impreza after suffering a puncture and then drowning out.
Clare Evans/Allen Hart picked up two punctures simultaneously, they changed these and then picked up a third a short while afterwards. They attempted to drive on the puncture but were forced to stop just two miles short of the Finish. Clare's father Derwyn, who was being partnered by Dave Evison, had a catalogue of problems with his Nova which meant that he couldn't finish higher than twenty-first.
Clive Baty/Dave Lambourne caused a stir at the Start by turning up in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo3 which had previously been used on the Network Q Rally. They ran without a restrictor fitted on the turbo, making it probably one of the most powerful cars to compete on a road rally since the pre-1988 Targa Timing days. However they could only finish thirty-fifth after picking up two fails along the way.
Neal Arden/Giles Corbett were expected to go well on home ground, however the choice of larger and stickier tyres probably contributed to a halfshaft failure on their Escort.
Martin Lloyd/Steve Herbert had led the Semi-Expert class at the halfway point, but a roll, which severely damaged their Escort, put them out of the event. The class win was then taken by Andy Roberts/Stuart Frost in another Impreza. The Novice award went to Telford AC’s Neil Tomkins/Neil Rich.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 4m 21s | |
| 2 | Stuart Newby | Paul Holmberg | Subaru Impreza | 7m 08s | |
| 3 | Jonathan Bossen | Scot Layton | Subaru Impreza | 8m 02s | |
| 4 | Michael Pedley | David Pedley | Ford Escort DB4 | 9m 29s | |
| 5 | Nick Bloxham | Martyn Allen | Peugeot 205 GTi | 9m 35s | |
| 6 | Iain Scott | Jez Harris | Toyota Corolla | 11m 46s | |
| 7 | Gary Jones | Dave Pitchford | Toyota Corolla | 12m 15s | |
| 8 | Dave Jones | Baz Green | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 13m 04s | |
| 9 | Adrian Higman | Gareth Price | VW Golf | 13m 45s | |
| 10 | Andy Roberts | Stuart Frost | Subaru Impreza | 14m 26s | |
| 11 | Jamie Turner | Owen Turner | Rover Metro GTi | 14m 46s | |
| 12 | Glyn Price | Huw JOnes | Ford Escort RS2000 | 15m 11s | |
| 13 | Kevin Ikin | Martin Saunders | Ford Escort RS2000 | 17m 43s | |
| 14 | David Cox | Darren Garrod | Peugeot 205 GTi | 19m 35s | |
| 15 | Lee Bartlett | Richard Edwards | Peugeot 309 GTi | 20m 38s | |
| 16 | Jim Paterson | Adrian Smart | Subaru 4x4 Turbo Coupe | 21m 01s | |
| 17 | Grant Parker | Ian Cooke | Toyota Corolla | 22m 37s | |
| 18 | Steve Wynn | Chris Wynn | Ford Escort | 23m 44s | |
| 19 | Trevor Pritchard | Paul Hughes | MG Maestro | 29m 56s | |
| 20 | Neil Tomkins | Neil Rich | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 32m 45s | |
| 21 | Derwyn Evans | Dave Evison | Vauxhall Nova | 34m 34s | |
| 22 | Delwyn Price | Steve Price | Ford Escort | 35m 52s | |
| 23 | John Morris | Paul Price | Peugeot 309 GTi | 39m 30s | |
| 24 | Rick Cipolat | Neil Payne | Mazda 323 | 40m 00s | |
| 25 | Pete Cotton | Mike Hart | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 46m 08s | |
| 26 | Tony Watkins | Medwyn Evans | Vauxhall Nova | 49m 05s | |
| 27 | Brynli Thomas | Roger Evans | Ford Escort RS2000 | 1F 08m 34s | |
| 28 | John Leckie | Jon Madoc-Jones | Subaru Legacy Estate | 1F 12m 25s | |
| 29 | Chris Leach | Jolyon Robinson | Peugeot 205 | 1F 19m 34s | |
| 30 | Baron Glaze | Pete Davies | Ford Escort | 1F 21m 18s | |
| 31 | John Bray | Steve Wood | Subaru Legacy Turbo | 1F 22m 44s | |
| 32 | Gavin Richards | Dafydd Roberts | Vauxhall Nova SR | 1F 38m 48s | |
| 33 | Derek Tracey | Chris Hughes | Ford Capri | 1F 45m 13s | |
| 34 | Peter Gill | Tim Gill | Peugeot 205 | 1F 45m 34s | |
| 35 | Clive Baty | Phil Sant | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo3 | 2F 11m 54s | |
| 36 | Adrian Hadgson | Chris Lightburn | Renault 18 | 2F 16m 59s | |
| 37 | Ian Jones | Peter Tomlinson | VW Golf GTi | 2F 26m 11s | |
| 38 | Shaun Hardy | Paul Edwards | Opel Manta | 2F 42m 47s | |
| 39 | Stephen Prince | Colin Cresswell | Austin Mini | 2F 62m 09s | |
| 40 | Wayne Elliott | Nigel Nelson | Toyota Celica GT4 | 3F 19m 36s | |
| 41 | Dawn Watkin | Dan Coxhead | Vauxhall Nova | 3F 52m 57s | |
| 42 | Terence Mickelthwaite | Malcolm Jones | VW Golf | 4F 52m 47s | |
| 43 | Martin Cooke | John Pritchard | Vauxhall Astra SRi | 4F 55m 31s | |
| 44 | Christopher Day | Richard Chalmers | Mini Cooper S | 8F 14m 13s | |
| 45 | Keith Groom | Carl Darby | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 8F 48m 01s | |
| 46 | Martin Preece | Jeffrey Cottle | Vauxhall Nova | 8F 56m 52s | |
| 47 | Andrew Evans | Robert Newell | Rover Metro | 8F 80m 18s | |
| 48 | Richard Jordan | Robert Bemand | Ford Escort | 13F 32m 07s | |
| 49 | Bob Ward | Jonty Bloxham | Ford Escort | 17F 64m 05s | |
| 50 | Jed Tedstone | Ian Matthews | Peugeot 205 GTi | 22F 24m 05s |