RallyRoots Rally Results Service - Telford Winter Stages 2001

Telford Winter Stages 2001

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Telford Auto Club

17th February 2001

Clerk of the Course: Ray Lloyd

Stages: 12 (50 Stage Miles)

Venue: Sweet Lamb

Starters: 55

Winners: Martin Sansom/Phil Wells (Peugeot 106 Maxi)

Martin Sansom/Phil Wells threw down the gauntlet to their Formula Rally rivals by taking victory on Telford AC’s Advanced Windows Winter Stage.

Winners: Martin Sansom/Phil Wells (Peugeot 106 Maxi)

Sansom was having his first competitive outing in the Peugeot 106 Kit Car which was part of his prize for winning the 2000 Peugeot Challenge and, despite using the event as a testing exercise, he came home narrowly ahead of the Escort Cosworth of Mick Gilman/Jason Dolman.

The rally was Telford AC’s first stage event for almost eight years and was based entirely within the Sweet Lamb Testing Complex. Artic conditions greeted competitors as they embarked on the event’s twelve stages, however this was replaced by bright sunshine before the frost returned for the final two stages at dusk.

Sansom and Gilman were in a class of their own by the Finish, being just twelve seconds apart but a minute and a half clear of the rest of the field.

However at the halfway point Telford's Andrew Kenny seemed to have the rally sewn up. By that point he had pushed his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo3 into a fifteen second lead. Unfortunately for him his event came to an end on SS7 when a pin in the gear linkage broke and left him stranded in neutral.

A couple of pre-event favourites had short rallies - the Sierra Cosworth of Trevor Yoxall/Keith Wain suffered a severe misfire due to engine management problems on the first three stages, before the turbo blew on the run out to SS4. Similarly Will Onions/Chris Lightburn failed to make first service as a drive shaft broke on their Opel Manta.

Darren Edwards/Dawn Price had a short but eventful rally in their Sunbeam, having the throttle stick open on SS1, picking up a puncture on SS2, before blowing the engine on SS3.

Esmond Haslett/Eamon Minnagh had a miserable day as their Escort RS1800 suffered with a misfire from the start line of SS1. They were unable to cure the problem and withdrew after SS4. One stage earlier Phil McConnell/Charles McCanney with when the alternator failed on their Escort. Also out on that test were Matt Thorne/Chris Burridge who slid their Escort into a ditch.

SS6 saw the demise of two Novas. That of Phil Kendall/Neil Thomas succumbing to a failed engine, while Gavin Higgott/Chrisopher Evans rolled their Nova, an incident that caused the stage to be stopped.

Stephen Southall/Mark Price took their Mark Two Escort to third place at the Finish after a steady run which saw them pull themselves up from an initial sixth place.

The rally saw a number of Peugeot 106 crews out testing in preparation for the following month’s Rally of Wales and the fastest two of these took fourth and fifth places; Dave Nutt/Simon Ashton leading home Paul Alexander/Mike Panes. Nutt/Ashton having their first outing together, while Alexander had benefited from one-to-one tuition with David Higgins in the days prior to the event.

Sixth Placed: Geraint Mills/Johnny 'Tad' Evans (Ford Sapphire Cosworth)

Geraint Mills/Johnny 'Tad' Evans ended a 28 month drought by actually finishing a rally; they achieved this by taking their newly acquired Sierra Sapphire Cosworth to a class win and sixth overall. Also in a new car were Chris Earles/Iain Scott, who took their Escort RS to seventh overall.

One place further back was Chris Earles/Iain Scott who took the Class Three win in their Escort RS2000.

Event sponsors, Martin Kenny/Jim Kenny, took their Escort to ninth place at the Finish, having survied a slight off on the tarmac section of SS3.

Steve Aram/Paul Aram won the small car class in their Nissan Micra. They had had to change the distributor at the first service halt, which came after three stages. They then survived at two wheel 'moment' on SS8 to win the category by just over two minutes.

OVERALL RESULTS