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: Peter Zjalic & Kevin Price
Route: 145 Miles
Maps: 124 125 135 & 136
Starters: 74
Winners: Garry Preston/Mike Sones (Mini 1275 GT)
The Rali Bro Dyfi threw up a surprise result as the Mini l275GT of Garry Preston/Mike Sones took victory ahead of many leading Championship contenders. All bar two crews picked at least one fail during the night, one code board in particular proved difficult to locate.
The Dovey Valley MC organised event was the first round of the North Western, Welsh and West Midlands Road Rally Championship and attracted an entry of 74 crews, including all major title contenders. The rally used a 140 mile route, starting and finishing in Machynlleth.
Garry Preston and Mike Sones were a late entry for the Bro Dyfi but a consistent and accurate pace saw them emerge as the rally leaders on the last section. Their Mini vanquishing more exotic machinery.
The only other crew to finish clear of any fails were another last minute partnership, they were Russell Carson-Brown/Andy Oakes. They had put their Escort RS2000 into a five minute lead at the halfway point, but then dropped nine minutes after an off on the section through Geoff Jones' farm and ended up a minute behind the winners.
Ian Lloyd/Adrian Smart led the field going into the final section but a missed code board cost them dearly, the resultant fail dropped them to twelfth at the Finish.
The fastest crew of the night were Gerwyn Jones/Ceri Davies, they finished the rally with eleven minutes fewer time penalties than the winners, but critically they were one of the crews that missed RCl3. They were classified in third place.
Richie Lewis made a return to road rallying at the wheel of a hired Subaru Impreza, partnered by the experienced Phil Clarke, he finished fourth. They suffered from their low seeding, being delayed after catching slower cars and then queuing at controls.
Huw Evans/Patrick Walsh were looking for their fourth straight win on the rally, however they suffered gearbox problems and also missed two code boards to finish well down the order.
Two former Welsh Champions, Dennis Quinn and Pat Gadsby, paired up together for the first time, but they had a disappointing event. Slowed initally by a HT lead problem, they actually got the code board at RC13, but then got a wrong approach at the tricky PC14 that followed.
Gareth 'Gog' Jones/Carl Williamson were the fastest crew over the first short section through the rhododendron bushes at Dinas Maddwy, but then had the throttle stick open on the run down to Lake Vyrnwy. As a result, they hit a bridge and broke a wheel. They attempted to continue but decided it was too dangerous with the engine stuck at 5000 rpm.
Carl Hawkins/Iain Tullie retired their Nova on the lanes near Dyfriant Forest after a knuckle joint broke. Their problems delayed a number of other crews, these included Grant Parker/Owen Dodd, who were already struggling with wiper failure and throttle response problems.
The Semi-Expert class was won by the Suzuki Swift of Wayne Edwards/Sharon Jarvis, who came home in seventeenth place overall. There were just five starters in the Novice class and Steve Coates/Jon Richardson in their Rover 214 were the only finishers.
Nick Bloxham/Martyn Allen (Peugeot 205 GTi) were caught out by a patch of snow on the run down to Lake Vyrnwy. They hit a wall, the damage putting them out of the event. Dave Watts/Peter Watts, in another 205, were also victims of the same trickey spot. Paul Davies/Phil Ralphs (Ford Escort) got slightly further before hitting a wall on the side of Lake Vyrnwy.
Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford (Toyota Corolla), despite missing RC13, were in eighth place at the fuel halt, but then withdrew after they realised that they booked out of Petrol ten minutes early.
Daniel Sharpe/Allen Hart and Ian Jones/Peter Tomlinson were excluded after the marshal that they had supplied failed to attend their designated controls.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Garry Preston | Mike Sones | Mini 1275 GT | 14m 31s | |
2 | Russell carson-Brown | Andy Oakes | Ford Escort RS2000 | 15m 35s | |
3 | Gerwyn Jones | Ceri Davies | Ford Escort | 1F 3m 02s | |
4 | Richie Lewis | Phil Clarke | Subaru Impreza | 1F 5m 42s | |
5 | Dewi John | Michael Evans | Peugeot 205 GTi | 1F 7m 01s | |
6 | Dylan Parry | Dylan Evans | Ford Escort | 1F 7m 14s | |
7 | John Davies | Neil Bevan | Vauxhall Nova | 1F 9m 04s | |
8 | Elfyn Richards | Darren Garrod | VW Golf GTi | 1F 9m 16s | |
9 | Andy Sheppard | Justin Brooks | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 1F 11m 10s | |
10 | Jason Hardy | Alan Jones | VW Golf | 1F 11m 55s | |
11 | Ian 'Dude' Roberts | Ian Furniss | VW Golf GTi | 1F 12m 10s | |
12 | Ian Lloyd | Adrian Smart | Toyota Corolla | 1F 12m 36s | |
13 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 1F 13m 17s | |
14 | Marc James | Anthony Davies | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 1F 14m 10s | |
15 | Hefin George | Dilwyn John | VW Golf GTi | 1F 14m 15s | |
16 | Jim Paterson | Paul Edwards | Subaru Turbo Coupe | 1F 14m 39s | |
17 | Wayne Edwards | Sharon Jarvis | Suzuki Swift | 1F 15m 39s | |
18 | Richard Tuckey | Steve Herbert | Peugeot 106 | 1F 16m 45s | |
19 | Lee Heywood | Mark Hamilton | Peugeot 205 GTi | 1F 16m 59s | |
20 | Steve Wynn | Chris Wynn | Ford Escort | 1F 17m 30s | |
21 | Alyson Acreman | Byron Jones | Honda Civic | 1F 17m 57s | |
22 | Dave Jones | Baz Green | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 1F 17m 57s | |
23 | Delwyn Price | Steve Price | Ford EScort | 1F 18m 27s | |
24 | Ian Orford | Peter Barnard | Mazda 323 | 1F 18m 45s | |
25 | Iwan Williams | Gwion Pryderi | Fordc Escort | 1F 23m 01s | |
26 | Dennis Quinn | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 1F 23m 59s | |
27 | Grant Parker | Owen Dodd | Toyota Corolla | 1F 24m 50s | |
28 | Andrew Matthews | Colin Jones | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 1F 35m 17s | |
29 | Huw Evans | Patrick Walsh | Ford Escort | 2F 5m 34s | |
30 | Huw Myfyr Jones | Carwyn Evans | VW Golf | 2F 6m 50s | |
31 | Glyn Price | Huw Jones | Ford Escort | 2F 9m 47s | |
32 | Andrew Davies | Shaun O'Gorman | Peugeot 205 | 2F 12m 11s | |
33 | Mal Acott | Nigel Roberts | Ford Escort | 2F 19m 05s | |
34 | Gareth Jones | Iwan Jones | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2F 20m 25s | |
35 | Stephen Wood | Iestyn Leyshon | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2F 23m 39s | |
36 | Gwyndaf Evans | Paul Roberts | Subaru Impreza | 2F 26m 43s | |
37 | Islwyn Watkins | Alun Probert | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 2F 30m 38s | |
38 | Gethin Lewis | Gwawr Hughes | Ford Escort | 3F 26m 56s | |
39 | Garry Jenkins | Eric Tong | Peugeot 205 GTi | 3F 32m 05s | |
40 | Steve Coates | Jon Richardson | Rover 214 | 3F 35m 29s | |
41 | Peter Cave | Glenn Latham | Nissan Micra | 3F 40m 54s | |
42 | Roger Powley | Jon Smith | Toyota Corolla | 4F 18m 04s | |
43 | Andy Groom | Carl Darby | Toyota Corolla | 5F 34m 53s | |
44 | Merfyn Williams | Derwyn Roberts | Vauxhall Astra | 6F 20m 29s | |
45 | Tony Watkin | Medwyn Evans | Vauxhall Nova | 21F 44m 34s | |
46 | Douglas Bowkett | Raymond Davies | Peugeot 309 GTi | 32F 1h 41m 01s | |
47 | Brian Thomas | Huw Mathias | Ford Fiesta | 33F 30m 28s |