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Scorpion Road Rally 2002
Potteries & Newcastle Motor Club
14th/15th September 2002
Clerk of the Course: Renny Morgan
Route: 120 Miles
Maps: 118 & 119
Starters: 29
Winners: Guy Robinson/Charlie Wheeldon (Vauxhall Nova)
Guy Robinson/Charlie Wheeldon took their second win of the year on the Scorpion Rally to put themselves in a strong position in the East Midlands Road Rally Championship.
The Potteries & Newcastle organised event used a 120 mile route in Staffordshire, starting at the Halford's Superstore in Stoke and moving through the Alton Towers, Uttoxeter and Chesterfield areas before finishing just south of Buxton. A straight forward plot 'n bash format was used through out the well recieved event.
The Scorpion attracted 29 starters and was a round of both the East and West Midlands Road Rally Championships.
The opening sections were relatively easy and twelve crews arrived at the petrol halt free of any penalty, however the organisers tighten the screw after the break; two timed to the second sections in the Roach End area determined the results. Robinson/Wheeldon finished 32 seconds ahead of their main Championship rivals Andy Baker/Lee Burgess.
Owen Turner/Graham Raeburn finished third in their Hillman Imp after surviving a half spin on the timed to the second Grindon section. John Haden/Steve Coupland brought their Subaru Impreza into fourth.
The Peugeot 205 GTi of Peter Reeson/Roger Hage was halted by an electrical failure at one point, but they were able to repair the car and continued to finish fifth. Simon Gibson/Jez Harris also had electrical problems on their Mark One Ford Escort - the starter motor failed in the first half and then the altenator gave up the ghost at Petrol, they completed the event on sidelights and even managed a seventh place finish.
Jamie Gratton-Smith/Richard Hage were another crew to suffer a major problem on the night. After their engine failure on the St Wilfrid's the 1.6 engine had been replaced by a 1.9 unit in their Peugeot 205. The dip stick from the 1.6 engine had been re-used in the 1.9, however it was too short and caused an oil leak. Early in the second half this led to an engine bay fire. Luckily the fire was put out before any electrical wiring was damaged. They lost six minutes in the incident and survived to finish eleventh.
The Historic section of the rally was won by the Austin A40 of Jean Appleton/Stan Appleton, who finished in ninth place overall.
The Novice Class was won by Joe Woodward/Chris Wallett who finished in seventeenth place overall in their Peugeot 205. Seventeen year old Dan Sharp in a 1100cc 205, partnered by David Cox, was one place further back and took second in class.
Lee Bartlett/Richard Edwards were the only West Midlands Championship crew to contest the Scorpion and despite it being their first experience of plot 'n bash rallying, they finished in nineteenth place, the last crew free from fails.
TOP TEN RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Guy Robinson | Charlie Wheeldon | Vauxhall Nova | 1m 39s | |
| 2 | Andy Baker | Lee Burgess | Peugeot 205 GTi | 2m 11s | |
| 3 | Owen Turner | Graham Raeburn | Hillman Imp | 2m 24s | |
| 4 | John Haden | Steve Coupland | Subaru Impreza | 2m 39s | |
| 5 | Peter Reeson | Roger Hage | Peugeot 205 GTi | 3m 06s | |
| 6 | Paul Wright | Malcolm Barber | Vauxhall Nova | 3m 52s | |
| 7 | Simon Gibson | Jez Harris | Ford Escort | 3m 56s | |
| 8 | Malcolm Grisedale | Bob Hargreaves | Subaru Turbo Coupe | 4m 29s | |
| 9 | Jean Appleton | Stan Appleton | Austin A40 | 7m 59s | |
| 10 | Abe Shenker | Steve Brown | Peugeot 205 GTi | 8m 47s |