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Preston Rally 2002
Sponsored by Preston Garage Ltd of Writtle, Chelmsford
Chelmsford Motor Club
7th/8th December 2002
Clerk of the Course: Adrian Gladwin
Route: 123 Miles
Map: 143, 144, 154 & 155
Starters: 50
Winners: Andy Baker/Lee Burgess (Peugeot 205)
Andy Baker/Lee Burgess clinched the East Midlands Rally Championship with a win on Chelmsford MC’s Preston Road Rally.
The event, which raises money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance Service, used a route of 123 mile. There were almost 100 miles on unsurfaced tracks.
Baker/Burgess, competing in their regular AB Motorsport Peugeot 205, took the lead shortly before the first petrol halt and then pulled away from the opposition in the second half of the event.
Their main challenge had come from the Impreza of 2001 winners Steve Webster/Roger Hage. However by the Finish the 205 was exactly a minute ahead of the Subaru on time penalties. The organisers had imposed a five minute penalty on any 4WD car and, with this added, Webster/Hage fell to third behind the Corolla of Martin Smith/Matthew Fowle. This meant that the top three crews, in a slightly different order, were the same as the previous year.
The rest of the field, who were well down on the leading trio, were led home by the Rover Metro GTi of Jamie Turner/Graham Raeburn in fourth place. Toby Adam/Pat Gadsby had held third place initially but they then picked up a fail after booking in early and were finally classified in twelfth place.
Rob Reynolds/Allan Collyer were the leading Semi-Expert crew, their Impreza took them to fifth quickest on time penalties, however the 4WD penalty meant they were classified eighth.
Mark Hanham/Paul Haycock would have won the Semi-Expert Class but were another crew who picked up a fail for booking in early.
Winners: Andy Baker/Lee Burgess (Peugeot 205)
Photograph: M&H Photography
Richard Atherton/Chris Bowden finished ninth in their MG Maestro and were the winners of the Novice Class.
Of the 50 starters, 31 made it to the Finish. Amongst those that didn't were Gary Jones/Andy Oakes, they bent a shock absorber on their Corolla. Owen Turner/Andrew Dadswell, who had finished in sixth place on the two previous running of the Preston, had the diff fail on their Imp.
John Haden/Steve Coupland (Subaru Impreza) got wedged while turning around following an overshoot and got no further. Both Adam Gardner/Gary Orton (Mini) and Mark Annison/David Leckie (Vauxhall Nova) withdrew after losing exhausts.
The toll that the route took on cars was emphasised by Peter Reeson/Paul Daft (Peugeot 205 GTi) and Bob Wisniewski/Paul Lettington (Vauxhall Nova) went out with suspension failure.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Andy Baker | Lee Burgess | Peugeot 205 GTi | 9m 56s | |
| 2 | Martin Smith | Matthew Fowle | Toyota Corolla | 12m 54s | |
| 3 | Steve Webster | Roger Hage | Subaru Impreza | 16m 06s | |
| 4 | Jamie Turner | Graham Raeburn | MG Metro GTi | 30m 31s | |
| 5 | Jeremy Rodgers | Mark Fearon | MG Maestro | 35m 23s | |
| 6 | Doug Kingsley | Ben Greenwood | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 38m 22s | |
| 7 | Mark Turner | Gary Evans | Peugeot 205 GTi | 41m 50s | |
| 8 | Rob Reynolds | Allan Collyer | Subaru Impreza GL | 43m 52s | |
| 9 | Richard Atherton | Chris Bowden | MG Maestro | 48m 48s | |
| 10 | Ben Clay | Richard Hage | Peugeot 205 GTi | 1h 11m 13s | |
| 11 | Allan Sayers | Bob Stokoe | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 1h 26m 27s | |
| 12 | Toby Adam | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 1F 19m 14s | |
| 13 | Martin Betts | Mick Fern | Ford Escort | 1F 27m 58s | |
| 14 | Mark Banham | Paul Haycock | Vauxhall Nova | 1F 37m 28s | |
| 15 | Nigel Dinsdale | Brian Marquis | Ford Escort | 1F 47m 59s | |
| 16 | Steve Monk | Tom Ward | Toyota Corolla | 2F 33m 54s | |
| 17 | Dave Broadley | Ian Broadley | Lada Riva | 2F 1h 21m 54s | |
| 18 | Ian Perry | Clive Chapman | Citroen BX | 2F 1h 22m 50s | |
| 19 | Stuart Delf | Lorraine Annison | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 2F 1h 23m 11s | |
| 20 | Dave Rowbottom | Liz Rowbottom | Toyota Corolla | 3F 51m 15s | |
| 21 | Dick Archer | Tim Ball | Vauxhall Astra | 5F 20m 00s | |
| 22 | Issac Zarmati | Sarah Zarmati | Peugeot 205 | 6F 1F 14m 43s | |
| 23 | Paddy Jones | Tony Lomgstaff | Saab 900i | 6F 1h 44m 33s | |
| 24 | Richard Bardbury | Andrew Mason | Peugeot 205 GTi | 7F 42m 50s | |
| 25 | Murray MacDonald | Dave Smoley | VW Golf GTi | 10F 1h 10m 44s | |
| 26 | Dave Leadbetter | Matthew Endean | Vauxhall Astra | 13F 1h 19m 33s | |
| 27 | Joe Massey | Daniel Athurton | Peugeot 205 GTi | 16F 1h 00m 53s | |
| 28 | Mark Whitford | Steve Porter | Toyota Corolla | 18F 26m 53s | |
| 29 | Jim Hedgecock | Ben Howard | Daihatsu Charade | 20F 59m 14s | |
| 30 | Clive Baty | Ray Crowther | Proton Compact | 21F 33m 09s | |
| 31 | Malcolm Barber | Paul Wright | Ford Sierra | 35F 1h 03m 10s |