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Night Owl Rally 1998
Sponsored by Packaging Plus
Aberystwyth & District Motor Club
25th/26th April 1998
Clerk of the Course: Wyn Jones & John Whitehurst
Route: 130 Miles
Maps: 135
Starters: 75
Winners: Huw James/Patrick Walsh (Vauxhall Cavalier)
Having retired while leading the Greenleaves Rally earlier in the month, the Aberystwyth pairing of Huw James/Patrick Walsh made amends by taking victory on their club's home event, the Night Owl Rally. They led from Start to Finish.
The rally was Round Four of the Welsh Road Rally Championship and attracted a full entry of 75 starters. The compact route never strayed far from its base at the Welsh seaside town and saw a remarkable 71 crews make it to the petrol halt, while 59 of these went on to complete the course.
From the off there was little doubt as to the outcome of the rally. James/Walsh set a blistering pace from the start. They took the tight second section by the impressive margin of over a minute from their nearest rivals, and went on to dominate the event by being the quickest crew throughout the night. They eventually took victory by just over two minutes.
In contrast there was a titanic battle for second place, with six crews being within 18 seconds of each other at the end. Dennis Quinn/Andrew Thomson, having contended all night with electrical problems, took the runner up spot to consolidate their hold on the Welsh Championship. Gethin Lewis/Aled Jones were third, adding to their ever increasing list of notable results.
Meanwhile Nigel Lloyd/Owen Dodd and Graham Evans/Ian Mills tied on 3m 06s, the matter being resolved in the former crew's favour on the furtherest clean principle. Toby Adams/Pat Gadsby were just two seconds further back in their Mark 1 Escort.
Other crews weren't so fortunate. Gareth Lloyd/Dorian Evans withdrew at Petrol after their Escort showed worrying signs of failing oil pressure. Once again Peter Zjalic/Richard Preece looked to be in a strong position at the halfway point, they were in second place, 1m 08s behind James/Walsh. However they lost almost 25 minutes on the penultimate section; they picked up a puncture and went off the road. Cyril Crook/Chris Ware finished 20th after being delayed by a time consuming puncture and Pete Cotton/Dave Pitchford were slowed once again by steering problems on their Escort.
The Semi-Expert Class award went to the Nova of Casso Davies/Mark Howells, while the leading Novices were Ian McKenzie/Wyn Lewis in their Fiat Uno Turbo; both crews having led their classes from before the Petrol halt.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Huw James | Patrick Walsh | Ford Escort | 0m 47s | |
| 2 | Dennis Quinn | Andrew Thomson | Ford Escort | 2m 53s | |
| 3 | Gethin Lewis | Aled Jones | Ford Escort RS | 2m 57s | |
| 4 | Nigel Lloyd | Owen Dodd | Ford Escort | 3m 06s | |
| 5 | Graham Evans | Ian Mills | Toyota Corolla | 3m 06s | |
| 6 | Toby Adam | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 3m 08s | |
| 7 | Neredith Roberts | Mark Lloyd | Vauxhall Cavalier | 3m 11s | |
| 8 | Adrian Davies | Marc Jones | Ford Escort | 3m 19s | |
| 9 | John Edwards | Deian Rees | Ford Escort | 3m 54s | |
| 10 | Kev Nunns | Neil Spiers | Toyota Corolla | 4m 08s | |
| 11 | Arwyn Thomas | Gareth Price | Ford Escort | 7m 45s | |
| 12 | Geraint Davies | Sarah Gluyas | Toyota Corolla | 9m 29s | |
| 13 | Martyn Evans | Ceri Davies | Nissan Micra | 9m 52s | |
| 14 | Nick Evans | Alan Hands | Ford Escort | 11m 33s | |
| 15 | Ian McKenzie | Wyn Lewis | Fiat Uno Turbo | 13m 49s | |
| 16 | Emyr Morgan | Carwyn Lloyd | Ford Sierra Sapphire | 15m 45s | |
| 17 | Damian Cole | Byron Jones | Peugeot 205 | 16m 13s | |
| 18 | Cyril Crook | Chris Ware | Talbot Sunbeam | 18m 11s | |
| 19 | Eirwyn Davies | Brian Jenkins | Ford Escort | 21m 01s | |
| 20 | Meirion Evans | Hefin Owens | Ford Escort | 21m 11s | |
| 21 | Casso Davies | Mark Howells | Vauxhall Nova | 22m 36s | |
| 22 | Geraint Hughes | Glyn Evans | MG Maestro | 26m 29s | |
| 23 | Peter Zjalic | Richard Preece | Toyota Corolla | 26m 35s | |
| 24 | Karl Hancocks | Steve Durbin | Ford Escort | 30m 08s | |
| 25 | Dorian 'Chubb' Davies | Stephanie Lomax | Ford Fiesta | 34m 30s | |
| 26 | Robert Rees | Ann Rees | Ford Escort | 36m 42s | |
| 27 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 1F 6m 47s | |
| 28 | Dave Boucher | Jon Stobbs | Ford Escort | 9m 17s | |
| 29 | Kevin 'Steaky' Morgan | Rob Duke | Ford Escort Van | 1F 9m 52s | |
| 30 | Roddy Daniels | Anthony Evans | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 1F 16m 48s | |
| 31 | Hefin George | Daniel Thomas | Mazda 323 Turbo | 1F 18m 26s | |
| 32 | Alan Thomas | Tony Davies | Ford Escort | 1F 21m 18s | |
| 33 | Alan Davies | John Evans | Opel Ascona | 1F 21m 55s | |
| 34 | Ryan Leary | Debra Joseph | Ford Fiesta | 1F 28m 27s | |
| 35 | Pete Cotton | Dave Pitchford | Ford Escort | 1F 31m 04s | |
| 36 | Aled James | Philip Griffiths | Ford Escort | 1F 31m 19s | |
| 37 | Robert Price | Rhys Davies | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 1F 31m 52s | |
| 38 | Iwan Williams | Matthew Picton | Ford Escort | 1F 44m 04s | |
| 39 | Gareth Jones | Matthew Warner | Ford Escort | 2F 25m 21s | |
| 40 | Simon Chandler | Darren Manning | Ford Escort | 2F 29m 03s | |
| 41 | Robert Fern | Hefyn Thomas | Toyota Corolla | 2F 37m 24s | |
| 42 | Alan Jones | Barry Davies | Ford Escort | 2F 47m 48s | |
| 43 | Bernie Harrison | John Rees | Ford Escort XR3i | 3F 12m 27s | |
| 44 | Huw 'Joe 90' Jones | G Edwards | Volvo 440 Turbo | 3F 28m 34s | |
| 45 | Philip Jones | A Morgan | Vauxhall Nova | 4F 41m 43s | |
| 46 | C J Gibbons | Merlin Whiteland | Volvo 240 GLT | 15 32m 45s | |
| 47 | David Rhys Jones | Gwilym Hughes | Ford Escort | 5F 35m 39s | |
| 48 | Jeremy Davies | Meredith Davies | Ford Escort | 8F 46m 13s | |
| 49 | Nick Giles | James Martin | Ford Sierra | 6F 30m 19s | |
| 50 | Jason Harries | Geraint Mayes | Ford Escort | 6F 39m 27s | |
| 51 | Selwin Jones | Sean Crowley | Ford Escort | 7F 24m 39s | |
| 52 | Jim Paterson | David Martin Jones | Talbot Sunbeam | 12F 33m 01s | |
| 53 | Michael Rowlands | R Jones | Ford Escort XR3i | 18F 47m 19s |