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E Roberts (Ffestiniog) Memorial Rali Meirion 2002

Sponsored by John Roberts (Ffestiniog) Ltd

Harlech & District Motor Club

14th/15th September 2002

Clerk of the Course: Chris Evans

Route: 120 Miles

Maps: 123 & 124

Starters: 68

Winners: Haydn Davies/Owen Dodd (Subaru Impreza)

Harlech & MC dropped the title Rali Bro Cader for the 2002 event, the route used for the rally had moved further north in previous years and no longer used the roads around Cader Idris. For the 2002 event the title of Rali Meirion was resurrected and was fully declared as the E Roberts (Festiniog) Memorial Rali Meirion, in memory of a great club patron who died earlier in the year.

Winners: Haydn Davies/Owen Dodd (Subaru Impreza)

The event attracted 68 competitors to the start at the Leisure Centre in Porthmadog. They were to tackle a 120 mile route, which started with a regularity around Rhyd, before zig zagging down Map 124 via Llanwuchllyn, Trawsfynydd and the Dolgellau Maze. Crews then moved back to the North, finishing the rally over the tight stone lined lanes of the Lleyn Peninsula.

The rally turned into a tight battle between the Escort of Steven Roberts/Darren Garrod and the Subaru Impreza of Haydn Davies/Owen Dodd. Entering the last section Roberts/Garrod were just a few seconds ahead, however with less than two miles to go they misjudged a 90 right and crashed heavily into a wall. This allowed Davies/Owen to finish, taking the victory over two minutes ahead of the field.

Howard Price/Carl Williamson took the runner up spot to put themselves in a very strong position in the Welsh Championship with just two rounds remaining. Their campaign being aided by the fact that their main rivals for the title, Huw Evans/Patrick Walsh, failed to complete the rally.

Evans/Walsh had suffered fuel feed problems on their Escort during the opening sections and had stopped in a neutral section to affect repairs. This process had included re-jetting the carbs and had pushed them close to their maximum lateness. They resumed but then slid off the road on a hairpin junction in the Dolgellau maze. By the time they’d recovered the road, they were OTL.

The 1300cc Class of the Welsh Championship was decided on the Meirion, Steve Rogers/Ian Cooke clinching the title by bringing their VW Polo into fifteenth place.

The first regularity section was eventually cancelled after a heavy accident involving the Escort of Iwan Williams/Gwion Pryderi. This had a fortunate affect for two crews who had problems on that section. Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford had lost twelve minutes with a mystery electrical problem, the problem disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and never occurred again. After the opening section was scrubbed they found that they had finished third. Equally lucky were Carl Hawkins/Iain Tullie who had gone off the road and lost two minutes early on, with those penalties removed they were classified fourth.

Stuart Newby/Paul Holmberg finished fifth to maintain their challenge for the North Western title, Newby now lay fourth in the drivers' table, while Holmberg maintained his lead in the navigators' series, although Carl Williamson had closed the gap with his second place finish. The drivers' table was led by Simon Cottrell, who partnered by Marcus Watmough, brought his Subaru Impreza into eighth place on the Meirion.

Long time leaders: Steven Roberts/Darren Garrod (Ford Escort)

Elfyn Richards/Carwyn Evans managed to finish sixth despite having to nurse their VW Golf to the finish after an engine mounting broke. Jason Hardy/Alan Jôs missed out on a top placed finish after losing eight minutes at one point when the coil lead came loose on their VW Golf; they eventually finished thirteenth. Mark Whitford/Michael Ogram made the journey from North Yorkshire and finished in twelfth place despite damaging the front of the car when they hit a steel gatepost - the gatepost remained undamaged.

Top seeds Gerallt Davies/Michael Evans made the Finish although the clutch failed on their Escort on the final section, however they were then excluded for baulking after complaints from several of their fellow competitors.

Gerwyn Jones/Ceri Davies entered the Meirion chasing Welsh Championship points but failed to make the Finish after the fuel pump failed on their Escort. Tudor Morris/Gerallt Davies posted yet another retirement, they damaged their Escort's exhaust manifold on a section through a quarry near to the driver's home.

The Semi-Expert class was won by the last minute pairing of Dave Edwards/Cyril Jones, who took their Ford Escort to eighteenth overall. Four places further back were Dafydd Edwards/Clive Bayley, who won the Novice Class.

OVERALL RESULTS