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: Eryl Rees & Aneurin James
Route: 110 Miles
Maps: 135 & 146
Starters: 72
Winners: Huw Evans/Patrick Walsh (Ford Escort)
Huw Evans/Patrick Walsh repeated their success of 2002 when they won the E&M Motor Factors Night Owl Rally.
The Aberyswyth MC event, Round Five of the Welsh Road Rally Championship, used a compact 110 mile route to the south and east of the club’s home town.
The first section encircled Llanddeiniol, looping as far as Llangwyryfon; it had four intermediate time controls. Adrian Davies/Dorian Evans (Ford Escort) were fastest to the first of these, eight seconds ahead of Evans/Walsh. Davies/Evans couldn't maintain this pace, losing time at the cleanable TC at the end of the section and then, in the second half, losing a minute after a wrong slot. They finished in tenth place.
Most of the route to the second ITC was a run down the B-road to Llangwyryfon and was cleaned by most of the top runners. However it proved a disaster for Gareth 'Gog' Jones/Eurig Evans; misreading their time card, they booked in almost a minute early and then a minute late at the next ITC. With double penalties for an early arrival, they added three minutes to their total. They were the second quickest crew through the second half, dropping just nine seconds, but their earlier mistake meant that they finished in 13th place.
Evans/Walsh were quickest to the third ITC and grabbed the lead, a position they weren't to lose. Winners of the Night Owl in 2000, Aled Evans/Eyrl Evans (Ford Sierra 4x4) were now in second place, while Dennis Quinn/Pat Gadsby (Ford Escort) moved into third position. These top three standings weren't to alter for the rest of the event, only the time between the three would change.
Already out of the fray were Martyn O'Connor/Peter Collins (Vauxhall Astra GTE) who suffered a broken exhaust and Ceri Richards/Aled Jones who had damaged the steering on their Escort.
The second section snaked further south leading to the fuel halt at Tygwyn. It passed the winning driver's home and it was surprising that Evans/Walsh arrived at the fuel halt with a lead of 13 seconds. Things were closer behind them, Evans/Evans and Quinn/Gadsby were separated by two seconds.
The longer second half started near Pennant. It initially went east, before turning north via Trefenter and finishing with a run around Ystumteun.
Evans/Walsh dropped time at just one control, a section past the mast near Llanilar, where they added two seconds to their total. This meant that they finished with a victory margin of 36 seconds. Despite worrying clutch problems, Evans/Evans pulled away from Quinn/Gadsby, who were themselves slowed by a broken spring. The two crews were separated by 29 seconds at the Finish.
The Welsh Championship reached its halfway point on the Night Owl, it seemed clear that the leading contenders for the title would be Gary Jones/Andy Oakes and Gerwyn Jones/Ceri Davies. These two crews finished in fourth and fifth places respectively; Jones/Davies having been the third fastest crews over the second half.
The Semi-Expert class was won by Steve Wood/Wyn Lewis (Vauxhall Astra GTE), who put in an impressive display to finish in sixth place overall exactly five minutes ahead of their nearest class rival. Dorian Davies/Avs Conner were holding second in class at Petrol, but retired soon afterwards with a punctured petrol tank.
The leading Novice crew were Gareth Harries/Carwyn Jones (Honda Civic). They had a class lead of over two minutes at Petrol and extended this by another minute by the Finish. Wayne James/Jenny James (Peugeot 205) were the quickest Class 3 crew in the second half, but had lost over 5 minutes on the opening section and could only claim third in class.
Andy Sheppard/Justin Brookes retired after persistant electrical problems with their Vauxhall Astra. Meanwhile Dafydd 'Budgie' Williams/Dyfan Davies (Talbot Sunbeam) were excluded after being reported by the Police.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Huw Evans | Patrick Walsh | Ford Escort | 0m 55s | |
2 | Aled Evans | Eryl Evans | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 1m 31s | |
3 | Dennis Quinn | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 2m 00s | |
4 | Gary Jones | Andy Oakes | Toyota Corolla | 2m 23s | |
5 | Gerwyn Jones | Ceri Davies | Ford Escort | 2m 25s | |
6 | Steve Wood | Wyn Lewis | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2m 52s | |
7 | John Davies | Neil Bevan | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 3m 13s | |
8 | Marc James | Anthony Davies | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 3m 16s | |
9 | Jason Hardy | Alan Jôs | VW Golf | 3m 18s | |
10 | Adrian Davies | Dorian Evans | Ford Escort RS | 3m 31s | |
11 | Eilir Morris | Byron Jones | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 3m 37s | |
12 | Delfryn Owens | Jeff James | Renault Clio | 5m 16s | |
13 | Gary Robbins | Jon Stobbs | Renault 5 | 5m 38s | |
14 | Gareth 'Gog' Jones | Eurig Evans | Ford Escort | 5m 52s | |
15 | Kevin Morgan | Paul Bevan | Subaru Legacy | 5m 54s | |
16 | Kevin Jones | Dave Pitchford | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 6m 32s | |
17 | Kevin Price | Jane Price | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 6m 39s | |
18 | Aled Garner | Wyne Davies | Toyota Corolla | 7m 40s | |
19 | Arwyn Williams | Glyn Evans | Ford Exscort XR3i | 7m 52s | |
20 | Gary Jenkins | Eric Tong | Peugeot 205 GTi | 8m 58s | |
21 | Mark Daniel | Hywel Ifans | Peugeot 205 GTi | 9m 32s | |
22 | Mike James | Eurig Davies | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 10m 39s | |
23 | Aled Jones | David Jones | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 10m 41s | |
24 | Jason Jones | Elgan Davies | Ford Escort | 11m 40s | |
25 | Simon Chandler | David Manning | Ford Escort | 12m 48s | |
26 | Gareth Harries | Carwyn Jones | Honda Civic | 12m 59s | |
27 | Hefin Thomas | Paul Morris | Vauxhall Astra | 14m 00s | |
28 | Iwan Jones | Adam Stevens | Peugeot 205 GTi | 15m 59s | |
29 | Ian Orford | Peter Barnard | Mazda 323 4x4 | 16m 38s | |
30 | Wayne James | Jenny James | Peugeot 205 | 18m 57s | |
31 | Alan Hands | Melanie Hands | Vauxhall Chevette | 19m 34s | |
32 | Darren Leeson | Ian Hewlett | Ford Escort | 20m 29s | |
33 | Islwyn Watkins | Alun Probert | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 20m 47s | |
34 | Paul Davies | Geraint Wheeler | Ford Escort | 24m 00s | |
35 | Peter Smith | Pete Seabourne | Ford Escort | 25m 03s | |
36 | Geraint Jones | Don James | Ford Escort | 1F 18m 31s | |
37 | Arwel Hamer | Martyn Griffiths | Ford Escort | 1F 22m 20s | |
38 | Robert Pardoe | Delyth Brown | Toyota Corolla | 1F 26m 08s | |
39 | Roger Harris | Chris Winn | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2F 11m 19s | |
40 | Paul Williams | Amanda Macczak | Vauxhall Astra | 2F 33m 56s | |
41 | Dai Hands | Richard Davies | Honda CRX | 3F 20m 02s | |
42 | Gareth Edwards | Irfon Richards | Suzuki Swift | 3F 23m 37s | |
43 | Steve Goodwin | Andrew Singleton | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 4F 15m 52s | |
44 | Aaran Herratt | Deano Tedaldi | Vauxhall Astra | 5F 22m 24s | |
45 | Gavin Lloyd | Gavin Perry | Ford Escort | 5F 30m 33s | |
46 | Huw Morris | Laura Morris | VW Golf | 7F 25m 23s | |
47 | Van Roy Barber | Steve Major | Ford Escort RS | 8F 36m 35s | |
48 | Simon Bevan | Karen Morgan | Ford Escort XR3i | 9F 50m 06s | |
49 | Nick Giles | Glenys Giles | Vauxhall Nova | 10F 22m 20s | |
50 | Owen Edwards | Dorian Davies | Vauxhall Astra SRi | 14F 14m 52s |