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Swan 2003 Rally
Sponsored by Stanwell Trailers
Windsor Car Club + High Wycombe & District Motor Club
10th/11th May 2003
Clerk of the Course: PRAR
Route: 120 Miles
Maps: 166
Starters: 28
Winners: Andy Coshan/Phil Kendall (Renault 19)
Andy Coshan/Phil Kendall were declared the winners of the Swan Rally after being the only crew to master the event's navigation method from the opening section.
The route was in the highly populated area just outside the M25, north of London. Despite the location, there was only one report of a PR issue, this was where a chap initially blocked a track with a van and then deployed a home made stinger, this caused a number of later runners to sustain punctures. There was a heavy police presence, with a number of competitors reporting being stopped.
There was a hitch at TC1 when the road books only arrived ten minutes after the first car should have departed. This caused some confusion as summertime cards were being used and these didn't easily lend themselves to cope with the change of schedule.Phil Collings/Mark Collings were caught out by this and booked in ten minutes early at the end of a transport section, picking up a fail as a result.
The organisers had devised a unique method navigation using tulip diagrams for the whole route. A roadbook containing over 2,500 diagrams were issued at TC1 and the marshal at the each start control instructed the navigators as to which tuilps would be used for that section.
Many crews took a few sections to get to grips with the format but by then it was too late, they had either picked up fails or had dropped too much time to challenge for the lead.
By the halfway halt Coshan/Kendall, debuting a new Renault 19, had dropped under two minutes and were six minutes ahead of the field. They eventually came home with a victory margin of five minutes as other crews finally speeded up.
Steve Cole/Bob Blows were looking for their fourth consecutive win on the Swan, however they took half the rally to get into their stride. Despite this their second place finish allowed them to extend their lead in the Rally 2003 Championship.
Two Semi-Expert crews, Mike Dowling/Steve Brown, on their first road rally in three years, and Maria McKenzie/Roger McKenzie took third and fourth places.
Paul Wright/Dean Taylor would have finished second but a fail for a wrong approach at a Time Control dropped them to fifth. This was at RTC10, which was a triangle control that required crews to apparoch the control via farmyard, only six competitors got this right. Olly Smith/David Coles were the fastest crew in the second half but early indiscretions, including a WA at RTC10, meant they finished sixth.
Novices used the tulip navigation for the first half, but then had a marked map for the second half. The Clubman Rally competitors had marked map for the whole route.
The Novice Class was won by Toby Jeffries/Chris Gage (Vauxhall Nova SR), while the Clubmans Rally saw Rob Jacobs/Alan Coombs (Chrysler Sunbeam GLS) victorious.
Six crews, including Mark Butler/Peter Barnard (Peugeot 205 GTi), were excluded for failing to stop at a give way check.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Andy Coshan | Phil Kendall | Renault 19 | 2m 57s | |
| 2 | Steve Cole | Bob Blows | Peugeot 205 GTi | 7m 55s | |
| 3 | Mike Dowling | Steve Brown | Audi Quattro | 10m 39s | |
| 4 | Maria McKenzie | Roger McKenzie | Ford Escort | 49m 40s | |
| 5 | Paul Wright | Dean Taylor | Ford Escort | 1F 5m 26s | |
| 6 | Olly SMith | David Coles | Ford Fiesta | 1F 8m 28s | |
| 7 | Phil Collings | Mark Collings | Peugeot 205 GTi | 1F 18m 58s | |
| 8 | Zip Zerihan | Dick Howatt | Toyota MR2 | 1F 23m 25s | |
| 9 | Graham Child | Kevin Ablitt | Ford Escort Mexico | 2F 18m 20s | |
| 10 | Bob Wisniewski | Paul Lettington | Vauxhall Nova | 2F 38m 28s | |
| 11 | Tim Daltry | Paul Fillis | Ford Escort RS2000 | 3F 19m 49s | |
| 12 | Rob Aslett | Paul Spencer | Peugeot 205 GTi | 16F 45m 11s | |
| Novice Class | |||||
| 1 | Toby Jeffries | Chris Gage | Vauxhall Nova SR | 2F 34m 09s | |
| 2 | Ian Orford | Damien Bigden | Mazda 323 4x4 | 5F 14m 51s | |
| 3 | Carl Gibbs | Lizzie Pope | Peugeot 205 XS | 5F 51m 30s | |
| 4 | Mark Lodder | Mark Hickman | Vauxhall Astra | 14F 21m 14s | |
| Clubman Rally | |||||
| 1 | Rob Jacobs | Alan Coombs | Chrysler Sunbeam GLS | 8m 30s | |
| 2 | Graham Yates | Richard Arnold | Peugeot 205 GTi | 30m 41s | |
| 3 | Phil Davidson | Nick Clarke | VW Polo | 1F 15m 03s | |
| 4 | Chris Moore | Ceri Owen | Peugeot 106 Rallye | 1F 54m 22s | |