Rally Archive
Classic Lanes Road Rally
Supported by Callum Hughes Machinery, Philip Paul Car Centre + Z-Tech Motorsport
Welsh Border Car Club
17th/18th August 2024
Winners: Mark 'GT' Roberts/Eifion Pughe (VW Golf GTi)
Photograph: © Joseph John Gilbertson
Organiser: Welsh Border Car Club
Date: 17th/18th August 2024
Clerk of the Course: Robi Wood + Robbie Pugh
Route: 80 Miles (Maps 125, 126 & 136)
Base: Welshpool
Starters: 50
The Classic Lanes Rally was another example of a short but demanding event, currently popular with Welsh organisers. The route was only 80 miles in length, but there was very little non-competitive mileage and there were numerous sections that were not cleanable, even by the quickest crews.
Run, as usual, in memory of Welsh Border Car Club stalwart, Gilly Wood, the event was based at the excellent Welshpool Livestock Market, an ideal out of town site with plenty of parking for competitors, marshals and competitors.
A near capacity 60 car entry was reduced to 50 starters after a number of withdrawals, one being Alwyn 'Menace' Passant who found that his Escort Harrier's brakes were not functioning when he arrived at the Start.
The organisers were faced with an issue shortly before the start when they found that overnight work was taking place on the railway crossing at Buttington; as a result the main road, part of the run out, was closed for the duration of the event. An alternate route, four miles longer, was provided to competitors on a printed map at the Start. This additional mileage was to have a dramatic affect on the rally's outcome later on.
The opening section was a short sharp introduction, using a slippery field and finishing with a run through a farmyard. There was an Intermediate Time Control after the field crossing; due to it being preceded by a long length of private land - the fields - the control was timed to the minute. Everyone dropped at least a minute here; most of the leading runners limited their loss to a single minute.
All were also late at the finish TC, with Max Hughes/Dion Lewis (Peugeot 206 GTi), who were seven seconds late, one second ahead of Rob Stephens/Will Atkins (Ford Escort). At this point pre-event favourites, Iwan Jones/Gary Evans (Ford Escort) were in third, with James Dowley/Darren Ikin (Ford Escort) in fourth. The latter crew were to retire soon afterwards with a failed gearbox.
The second section, a four minuter up and down Long Mountain, was cleaned by all but one car.
Top seeds were Aled Stephens/Clive Jones, who had won the Classic Lanes on its last running in 2019. They were in for a short rally, retiring their Vauxhall Astra on the third section when the fuel pump failed; they were in eighth place at the time.
The third section was the longest of the night; it was 15 miles long and included four ITCs. It started at Belan, south of Powis Castle, and wound its way to Rhosfawr. Two of the ITCs and the finish control were timed to the second and these controls were where all crews dropped time.
The lead up to STC3A included the use of tracks at Trefnant Hall. Jones/Evans were fastest here, dropping exactly a minute, while Stephens/Atkins were 13 seconds slower. These two crews now took first and second places, they were separated by five seconds in the overall standings. Hughes/Lewis fell to third, 11 seconds off the lead.
Jones/Evans were fastest again at STC3C, which was in the lanes between Manafon and Llanfair Caereinion. However, their lead was pegged back slightly as Stephens/Atkins, uniquely, cleaned the run to SF3. This meant that at the halfway regroup, Jones/Evans led Stephens/Atkins by ten seconds, with these two crews a minute ahead of the field, which was led by Mark 'GT' Roberts/Eifion Pughe (VW Golf GTi).
At this point Llyr Davies/Trystan Leyshon (Renault Clio) held an almost two minute lead in the Semi-Expert Class. There was much closer competition in the Novice category where the top three crews were separated by a few seconds, with Sam Keeble/Harvey Roberts (Mazda MX5) holding the advantage.
The first part of the fourth section was tight, using the twisty lanes around Moydog. Jones/Evans were the only crew to be clean at STC4, while Stephens/Atkins had a nightmare, dropping over a minute, as did Hughes/Lewis. This allowed Roberts/Pughe, who had been just nine seconds late at STC4, to move ahead of Stephens/Atkins for second place; the Golf pairing were 1m 15s behind the leaders.
The Yorkshire crew of Darren Moon/Sam Spencer retired at this point with electrical problems stopping their Escort.
The fifth section was another demanding one, this part was around Broniarth Hill, with a 'follow-the-arrows' Passage Control (PC5A) at Maesgwyn Isaf causing some problems, with a number of crews missing to find the entrance. Hugh Gallagher/Mick Gallagher (Ford Escort) made an error here, but got away with it and went on to take second place in the Semi-Expert Class. The leaders were fastest again on the section, while Roberts/Pughe were second.
Roberts/Pughe pegged the leaders back slightly on Section 6, which was in the Geuffrodd area; they were seven seconds faster than Jones/Evans, but the latter were still 1m 20s ahead. Stephens/Atkins were in third place, but they retired soon afterwards when a shaft broke on their Escort. Also out at this point were the early leaders, Hughes/Lewis.
Jamie Crump/Nathan Summers (Ford Escort) had been heading for a top six placing at the Finish, when they missed to find PC6C on this section; the resultant fail dropping them well down the field.
The seventh section near Arddleen was cleanable by the faster crews, so it left the final test to sort out the final results. It started on the Arddleen Straight, crossing a number of the tricky canal bridges, before finishing just a mile from the Finish at the Livestock Market.
Jones/Evans made the first ITC on time, while everyone else dropped time. This left a relatively easy run, with an ITC and the section finish, to complete. Unfortunately, at this point the leaders' Escort began to spluttered as the last fuel was drawn from the tank. Eventually the car ground to a halt with just two miles to go. The crew were left ruing the fact that, due to the road closure, the initial run out had been extended by four miles. Eight minutes was lost until they got a refresh of petrol and reached the section finish. This dropped them to eighth place.
This meant that Roberts/Pughe came home to give the driver his first rally win in six years and giving the navigator his maiden victory. They ended just over a minute ahead of Gareth Jones/Richard Jackson (Ford Escort), who had been quickest over the final section. Osian Davies, a former Clerk of Course of the rally, guided Sion Eifion Jones to the final podium position in their Peugeot 206 GTi.
Llyr Davies/Trystan Leyshon continued their domination of the Semi Expert Class in the second half, finishing in seventh place overall. Sam Keeble/Harvey Roberts pulled clear of the tight battle for the Novice Class win, finishing five minutes ahead of their rivals.
RESULTS
- Overall Positions
- Award Winners
- Class Positions
- Time Control Penalty Details
- Fail Penalties
- Overall Positions at MC2
- Non-Finishers
- List of Starters