rallyroots.com results@rallyroots.com
rallyroots.com
rallyroots.com

rally results service


Unless otherwise clearly indicated, results on this site have been declared final and are therefore not subject to query or protest

John Bloxham Memorial Rally

Ludlow Castle Motor Club

22nd November 2025


John Bloxham Memorial Rally 2025
Winners: Dan Willan/Amy Henchoz (Volvo PV544)
Photograph: © M&H Photography

Organiser: Ludlow Castle Motor Club

Date: 22nd November 2025

Clerk of the Course: Nick Bloxham

Route: 155 Miles (6 Regularities & 11 Tests)

Base: Bridgnorth

Starters: 39


Heavy overnight rain continued into the morning as thirty-nine cars took the start of the third John Bloxham Memorial Rally. Classic Motors on the Stanmore Estate at Bridgnorth provided the venue where navigators received their first plotting information half an hour before the off.

With Telford Auto Club having been banned from running road events by Motorsport UK after rule breaches on the Moonbeam Rally earlier in the year, the 2025 JBMR was run under the auspices of Ludlow Castle Motor Club.

Clerk of the Course Nick Bloxham had laid out a demanding day's rallying, with the 155 mile route including eleven tests and six regularities; there were a total of 44 timing points on the regs.

The action began with six tests, the first five being in the grounds of the Apley Estate. Lewis Ayris/Matt Outhwaite (Ford Escort) were quickest on Test 1 and held on to the lead until Dan Willan/Amy Henchoz (Volvo PV544) took fastest time and the lead on Test 3. At this point the Volvo was only a second ahead, but by the finish of Test 6, which was at Solari Farm, this had been extended to 18 seconds.

The first regularity was an anti-clockwise loop around Albrighton, with the second timing point causing some difficulty for many crews as it needed careful attention to the navigation to find it correctly - eighteen failed to locate it, while James Griffiths/James Howell (Mini 1275 GT) collected a Wrong Approach there.

The best performance over the section was put in by Ken Binstead/Sarah Binstead (MG B). Both crew members were still in the running to secure their respective HRCR Championship titles, however ignition troubles intervened later in the day and they had to cut the final regularity; they were eventually classified in thirtieth place.

At the morning coffee halt Willan/Henchoz held a lead of 23 seconds over John Haygarth/Martyn Taylor (Opel Kadett Rallye), the latter crew being in pole position to win the HRCR series. Ayris/Outhwaite were now in third. This top three was to remain the same for most of the day.

Already on the retirement list was the Ford Capri 3.0 GT of Simon Wallis/Graham Wride, which had broken its gearbox.

Regularity Two started not far from the Bell at Tong coffee halt and wiggled its way between Albrighton and Shifnal. The leaders extended their advantage as they put in a performance six seconds better than anyone else on the section. The pair pulled even further ahead as they put in the quickest time by fourteen seconds on Test 7, the longest of the day that combined all the tracks on the Apley Estate.

Baz Green/Matthew Vokes (Peugeot 205 GTi) were in fifth place after the third regularity, which used roads and tracks to the west of Bridgnorth, however they were then forced to withdraw as their car broke its exhaust.

John Bloxham Memorial Rally 2025

Millington Airbase was the venue for the eighth test. Haygarth/Taylor were three seconds faster than Willan/Henchoz here, however the Volvo arrived at the Cleobury North lunch halt with a lead of 53 seconds. The placings were well spaced out now, with the Opel being 25 seconds ahead of Ayris/Outhwaite, who in turn were 34 seconds in front of fourth placed, and first time pairing, Roger Fildes/Mike Cochrane (Ford Escort).

Fifth place was held by Mick Valentine/Ryan Pickering in the Mini Cooper S campaigned by the driver's father in the Sixties. Pickering was still in with a chance of denying Taylor the HRCR Navigator's title.

The final three tests of the event were at nearby the Ditton Priors ex-army base. Ayris/Outhwaite were fastest on all three, but shared the honours on all the tests with other crews, on Test 10 it was Haygarth/Taylor, while on Test 11 it was Willan/Henchoz. This performance put the Escort pair within ten seconds of second place.

Three regularities remained to be tackled, but all were lengthy affairs, with fog now playing its part in making the going difficult for the competitors.

Regularity Four took the route south-west towards Ludlow, with the latter part using the forest tracks at Hall Farm. Dan Darkin/Nick Darkin (Mazda MX5), who had been in seventh place after Ditton Priors put in the best performance over the section and moved up to fifth afterwards. In contrast, Willan/Henchoz made their only error of the event; they missed a slot and picked up a maximum one minute penalty at the eighth timing point. However, they still held a lead of over a minute, despite the slip up.

The fifth regularity started just outside Ludlow at Lower Ledwyche and ran to the south of Clee Hill, through Knowbury and Coreley, to finish at Cleobury Mortimer. Seven timing points had been planned, but the second was lost after the front runners encountered an ambulance attending a call, and then the final three controls were cancelled after a farmer blocked the road.

Willan/Henchoz were best over the remaining controls, one second ahead of Darkin/Darkin. These two were well clear of the remainder of the field over the section. Haygarth/Taylor were in difficulties as they lost their headlights on four occasions on the reg and had to complete the rest of the event on dipped beam.

After a Neutral taking the route through Cleobury Mortimer, the final reg started just south of the town. It passed Bayton, Buckridge, Kinlet Hall, and skirted Woodhill, before finishing just short of the finish venue at Chelmarsh. There were ten timing points.

Once again, Willan/Henchoz were best over the section, dropping eleven second less than anyone else. This meant that they came home with a victory margin of almost two minutes, giving the navigator her maiden rally win.

Darkin/Darkin were second best, the only other crew to drop less than two minutes, and this promoted them to third place, 21 seconds behind Haygarth/Taylor. The latter pair were simply happy to make the finish after their lighting problems, but the result secured the HRCR Club Championship for the Opel crew.

Ayris/Outhwaite, who had been in third place for most of the event, got past the struggling Haygarth/Taylor on Reg 5, but they then picked up almost three minutes of penalties over the first four timing points of Regularity 6 and this relegated them to fourth place at the Finish. However, this was more than enough to secure them the Expert Category win in the HRCR Club Championship.

It had been a tough event, made more difficult by the rain and fog; it was a fitting end to the Championship.


RESULTS