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: Alan Jones & Mike Hart
Route: 95 Miles
Maps: 137
Starters: 36
Winners: Kevin Hesketh/Andy Moss (Ford Escort)
Kevin Hesketh/Andy Moss (Ford Escort) took their maiden victory on the their home ground, the Shropshire lanes bordering Wales, on the Pacemakers Novices Rally.
The well received Knighton MC event, back a one year break, based itself at Bishop's Castle and used a 95 mile route with no petrol halt. There were six standard sections, but for the top crews the rally was decided on the 13 mile fourth section.
Hesketh/Moss were on the pace all night and duly took fastest time on the decisive section, which was in the lanes to the south-west of Clun. However the winners were only four seconds in front of the MG Maestro of Adrian Higman/Paul Middleton.
Top seeds Andy Sheppard/Patrick Walsh (Vauxhall Astra) were third; they'd lost their position as first car on the road after wrong slotting on the first section and were thus delayed by previous runners' dust on the tie decider.
Dave Stephens/Keith Jones (Ford Escort) came home fourth to complete the role of top runners, as the top four crews were three minutes clear of the rest of the field.
Fifth place and top Semi-Expert went to the Audi 80 Quattro of Steve Herbert/Nigel Roberts, who were four minutes clear of their nearest class rivals, although their car did show signs of contact with a gate post. Howard Dray/Martin Jones (Vauxhall Astra GTE), were second in class and tenth overall. Stephen Davies/Ben Innes (Ford Fiesta) would have taken the class win but picked up a fail for booking in early on the second section.
The top novices were Glyn Price/Brian Jones (Ford EScort), who finished ninth overall. They finished with the classic rear quarter damage, so familiar to Escort drivers.
Second novice were Graham Holmes/Graham Buckley (Ford Fiesta). David Allcock/Dap Jones (Ford Sierra) were third novices, like Davies/Inns they could have won their class but they missed a Passage Control and had a fail added to their penalties. Having made the journey from Lampeter, Huw James/Aneurin James were sixth overall and took the Standard Production Award in their Ford Fiesta.
Of the 36 starters, 27 made it back to the Finish. Among those that didn't were Wayne Edwards/Sharon Jarvis (Vauxhall Astra GTE) who retired on the first section after wrong slotting and getting stuck on a track. Meanwhile Geraint Mills/Ian Mills ground to a halt on the second section with a throttle sensor failure on their Corolla. Paul Barnett/Marie Powell emerged unhurt after rolling their Escort into retirement on Section Three.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Kevin Hesketh | Andy Moss | Ford Escort | 2m 04s | |
2 | Adrian Higman | Paul Middleton | MG Maestro | 2m 08s | |
3 | Andy Sheppard | Patrick Walsh | Vauxhall Astra | 2m 18s | |
4 | Dave Stephens | Keith Jones | Ford Escort | 3m 04s | |
5 | Steve Herbert | Nigel Roberts | Audi 80 Quattro | 6m 15s | |
6 | Huw James | Aneurin James | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 6m 26s | |
7 | Nick Onions | Chris Lightburn | Talbot Sunbeam | 7m 59s | |
8 | Michael Bradley | Andy Oakes | Peugeot 309 GTi | 8m 11s | |
9 | Glyn Price | Brian Jones | Ford Escort | 10m 29s | |
10 | Howard Dray | Martin Jones | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 10m 51s | |
11 | Sarah Harmer | John Harmer | MG Maestro | 14m 07s | |
12 | Martin Perris | Dean Davies | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 20m 40s | |
13 | Paul Davies | Phil Ralphs | Ford Escort | 21m 10s | |
14 | Graham Holmes | Graham Buckley | Ford Fiesta | 22m 16s | |
15 | Wayne Jones | Joanne Herbert | Ford Escort | 24m 45s | |
16 | Alen Ridge | Simon Ridge | Ford Escort | 26m 12s | |
17 | Stephen Davies | Ben Innes | Ford Fiesta | 1F 4m 59s | |
18 | David Alcock | Dap Jones | Ford Sierra | 1F 8m 18s | |
19 | Martin Phasey | Gary Gittins | Ford Escort | 1F 12m 44s | |
20 | Danny Middle | Simon McLoughlin | Toyota Corolla | 1F 13m 21s | |
21 | Richard Suff | Craig Parry | Peugeot 205 | 1F 23m 09s | |
22 | Derek Tracey | Chris Hughes | Ford Escort | 2F 20m 24s | |
23 | Rick Cipolat | Neil Rich | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2F 32m 33s | |
24 | David Hughes | Richard Schofield | Vauxhall Astra SRi | 2F 37m 08s | |
25 | Kevin Price | Adrian Batchelor | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 6F 18m 36s | |
26 | Nicholas Kennedy | Susan Acton | Peugeot 306 TD | 7F 17m 35s | |
27 | Ian Ross | Dean George | Ford Sierra | 9F 11m 08s |