Indeed, there were more firsts for the winning Citroen C3 crew to celebrate as for Butterworth it was his first ever rally while Hankin set his first ever fastest stage time, adding four more before the finish.

Once the rally got underway, despite what seemed to be perfect conditions, some crews questioned the level of grip as they suffered a stream of unplanned spins and slides. As has become the norm with Wigan rallies the morning’s stages ran in a clockwise direction with a split on Coward’s Summit taking stage finishers onto the track exit leading to the scrutineering bay. Many of those proceeding to a further lap found the hairpin right at Joey Dunlop Corner a little trickier than expected as a multitude of spins and overshoots kept the spectators, and marshals, alert.

Mark Jasper and Don Whyatt were the first to spin, dropping close to 10 seconds, in their newly acquired and immaculate Ford Escort Mk2. Fortunately that was to be a ‘one off’ as their subsequent stage times and ultimate fourth place finish proved. Paul Sheard and Colin Stephens incurred a greater time loss when they overshot and took their Mazda MX5 onto the grass in a bid to regain the stage.

Bruce Lindsay and Ant Ayton suffered a greater penalty in being forced to take a stage maximum after exiting the stage a lap too early. It later showed to be a seriously costly error as the Ford Fiesta crew were to be denied a class win as a consequence.

Leading the way by the opening stage finish were Jonathan Mounsey and Richard Wardle in their Ford Fiesta R5, a second better than Hankin/Butterworth who were tied with the Fiesta Rally2 of Ryan Burns and Steve Hallmark. Irish duo Sean Cassidy and Sean Devine were two seconds further back in fourth, their Fiesta R5 holding a similar advantage over the fifth placed Peugeot 208 T16 of Kevin Furber and Cat Lund.

Burns’ fastest time on SS2 put him on equal standing with Mounsey, albeit the R5 pilot retained the rally lead thanks to his faster opening stage. Third placed Hankin was two seconds in arrears while Cassidy and Furber retained their top five places.

A change of layout for the next pair of stages saw Burns grab the outright lead after setting fastest time on the first and doing enough on the second to stay in pole position. Mounsey remained his closest challenger while Furber moved to fourth and Mike Gilman/Jonathan Needham claimed fifth place in their Darrian T9. Upstaging all that went before at the Joey Dunlop Corner were Mike Riley and Phil Gough who performed what appeared to be more of a ‘doughnut’ than a spin. When asked later the Escort Mk2 pilot was quick to refute any suggestions he was showboating to please his fans having performed a similar stunt here on last year’s Adgespeed Stages!

The final pair of tests preceding the lunch halt, the shortest of the day, hit Burns hardest as a slipping clutch concern slowed his Fiesta leaving the way for Mounsey to take the lead and Hankin to claim second place. Only a single second separated the pair with Burns a further three seconds behind but having an eight second advantage on Furber who in turn had double that margin over Gilman.

It was during the mid-rally break that a decision was taken in the Burns camp to turn down the boost in a bid to help preserve the clutch and get the car to the finish. A tough call but probably a sensible one.

The first of the afternoons stages, now run in an anti-clockwise direction starting from the track exit lane, climbing Coward’s and dropping down Pentith Climb towards Conrod Straight, could hardly have begun in more dramatic fashion. Running first on the road, as he neared the end of the tyre line that had defined the earlier split, Mounsey’s Fiesta started to slide going onto the grass and beaching on the tyre line that defined the off-road bike track. Despite the best efforts of a posse of marshals, more than a minute was lost as he dropped to eighth place in the stage finish standings.

That incident handed Hankin a lead he would keep a tight grip on through to the finish while Burns now faced a battle with Furber for the runners-up spot. They were on matching times by the end of SS8 after Furber set fastest stage time and a stage later the Peugeot pilot moved three seconds ahead of his rival. Burns hit back starting the final stage with a five second cushion but it was academic as Furber failed to finish with the 208 having developed a gear linkage issue. That left the way open for Gilman to claim the final podium placing.

Following his mishap Mounsey was making up ground and a brace of fastest stage times saw him end the day only a second behind fourth placed Jasper. Next up came a trio of Peugeots with the Class C winning 106 Maxi of Ben and Andrew Wilkinson sandwiched between the leading Class D 205s of Jamie McBain/Jordine Crooks and Josh Jones/Kelan Watkins. Kim and Yvonne Mather finished fourth in their Chrysler Sunbeam Lotus while completing the top ten were Jake Smith and Robbie Sandford who had recovered from an early spin in their Escort Mk2. Cassidy/Devlin were denied a top ten finish when a turbo issue forced their retirement at the start of the penultimate stage.

The Class B victory went to Geraint Williams and Liam Jones. They brought their Vauxhall Nova home 15 seconds clear of the Nissan Micra of Owain Hughes and Chris Phillips with the Peugeot 205 of Chris and Rob Johnson a further 20 seconds adrift. Those final margins may appear decisive but in reality the contest was more closely fought for much of the day. Williams and Hughes swapped pole position while Johnson doggedly kept hold of second place before a loss of power steering forced a third place finish having earlier been only a second off the lead.

With that first stage maximum hanging over him Lindsay’s string of fastest in class stage times counted for little and he finished fifth behind Damian Harvey and Paul Brown’s Ford Puma. It was Harvey’s first event in the drivers seat for 20 years, that last outing being at the Wigan track. Since then his only competition experience has been on Targa rallies in the navigators seat and for co-driver Brown it was a rally debut and not one without incident. His intercom failed on the first stage startline forcing him to shout and point directions to his driver. Then at the end of SS6 the exhaust manifold snapped but fortunately the lunch break provided time to effect a weld repair.

Completing the Class B order was the rally debutant son and father team of Ryan and John Evans. The Bala Motor Club duo’s Vauxhall Corsa was fraught with problems but friends and marshals rallied round and with the occasional bump start they made the finish.

The day’s biggest winning margin came in Class C where Ben and Andrew Wilkinson brought their Peugeot 106 Maxi home 1m42s ahead of Richard Kay and Ian McLean’s Vauxhall Corsa. Ben Bloor and Jack Morris secured the third in class prizes with a steady run in their Ford Fiesta R2. Being seeded at car 13 proved unlucky for Mike and Ellis King who had been closest to the Wilkinsons before sliding off on SS5 and regaining the track in the wrong direction. That misdemeanour brought about a premature rally end for the Citroen Saxo crew who were given a disqualification.

In Class D Gilman/Needham’s third place overall finish enabled McBain/Crooks collect the top award after finishing almost a minute ahead of Jones/Watkins, who survived a SS5 excursion, with Sheard/Stephens picking up the third in class prizes. Joe Merrills, co-driven by his mum Pauline, finished fourth in his Honda Civic while one place behind was his dad Phil and co-driver Jason McTear in the immaculate Vauxhall Chevette HSR bearing the iconic Andrews Heat for Hire livery.

Elsewhere Rob Jones and Johnny Knight scored a best ever result for the Blackpool & Fylde College MINI Cooper S finishing 13th overall. Lee Thomas and Ben Forrester’s second outing in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo4 was hampered by a boost pipe issue and they finished 25th, the number they were seeded at.

Thankfully the recovery crews had a quiet day and the event ran seamlessly as is the norm with Wigan & District Motor Club organised events.

View a gallery of photos from the 2024 CompBrake Motorsport Stages, here.

Results (Top 10)

1. Kiaran Hankin/Ben Butterworth (Citroen C3) 27m28s;
2. Ryan Burns/Steve Hallmark (Ford Fiesta Rally2) 28m14s;
3. Mike Gilman/Jonathan Needham (Darrian T9) 28m25s;
4. Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt (Ford Escort Mk2) 28m32s;
5. Jonathan Mounsey/Richard Wardle (Ford Fiesta R5) 28m33s;
6. Jamie McBain/Jordine Crooks (Peugeot 205GTi) 28m39s;
7. Ben Wilkinson/Andrew Wilkinson (Peugeot 106 Maxi) 29m01s;
8. osh Jones/Kelan Watkins (Peugeot 205) 29m20s;
9. Kim Mather/Yvonne Mather (Chrysler Sunbeam Lotus) 29m32s;
10. Jake Smith/Robbie Sandford (Ford Escort Mk2) 29m40s.

Class Award Winners

• B: Geraint Williams/Liam Jones (Vauxhall Nova);
• C: Wilkinson/Wilkinson;
• D: McBain/Crooks;
• E: Jasper/Whyatt.

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It was Neil and Aled Jones who set the early pace in their Mazda MX5 and they remained closest challengers to the eventual winners for the rest of the morning’s tests. Sadly for the Bala & District Motor Club crew their challenge was brought to an end early in the afternoon when their car developed a differential problem.

That allowed top seeds Owen Turner and Gary Evans to move their MG ZR up the order and retain second place through to the finish. Completing the podium places were James Griffiths and Matt Venables in their Vauxhall Astra.

Two crews who had earlier been in contention for a podium finish completed the top five Interclub places. John and Martin Gornall brought their Peugeot 206 GTi home in fourth position finishing just three seconds ahead of the Austin Mini of Robert Milligan and Jo Lisa Hayes.

For rally debutant Hayes it was a real baptism of fire as the Mini crew were amongst the first on the scene when the Proton Satria of Keaton Williams and Jamie Mills developed an under-bonnet fire during Test 2. Quickly exiting their car Milligan and Hayes played their part in helping extinguish the flames using their bottled water and activating a fire stick but the damage was done and the Proton wouldn’t go any further.

To add to that drama the Mini was already running with bent steering following an off-road excursion and altercation with a kerb on Test 1. They then collected a 10 second cone penalty on Test 3 that would ultimately deny them a fourth place finish. Despite all that they were happy with their BTRDA points haul and left with the navigator’s ears ringing with praise from her driver in recognition of her faultless performance.

When it came to praise though no one could match that showered on Shaun Bee, the top entertainer for his flamboyant driving style in the BMW 120D. His ‘sideways everywhere’ style didn’t earn him any rally prizes but did earn much deserved plaudits from those watching!

While Bee and co-driver James Robertson were clearly enjoying themselves it wasn’t such a pleasurable experience for those who retired. Jord Duxbury and Danny Hacking failed to complete the first test when a differential issue blighted their Citroen C2 while gearbox failure brought about the retirement of the Proton Satria of Matt Hewlett and Adam Griffin on Test 2.

Jon Paul Challinor and Freddy Harris were another crew who’s car was plagued with mechanical maladies. Their Fiat Panda suffered handbrake failure almost from the off and then developed a misfire, that couldn’t be cured, on Test 2. If that wasn’t enough extinguishers had to be deployed at the Test 4 finish when a cv boot caught fire and so they decided to call it a day.

Amongst those to benefit most from a trouble free run were George Newman and Jamie Wilson who won the Clubman Rally in their BMW 318Ti. Edward and Richard Cartledge had set the early pace but the Citroen C2 crew had to settle for second place at the finish.

View a gallery of photos from the 2024 061 Targa Rally, here.

Interclub Results (Top 10)

1. Christian Parker/Aaron Parker (Subaru Impreza) 1hr28m48s;
2. Owen Turner/Gary Evans (MG ZR) 1hr32m13s;
3. James Griffiths/Matt Venables (Vauxhall Astra) 1hr34m43s;
4. John Gornall/Martin Gornall (Peugeot 206 GTi) 1hr35m47s;
5. Robert Milligan/Jo Lisa Hayes (Austin Mini) 1hr35m50s;
6. Jage Millichap/Joe Davies (Peugeot 106 Rallye) 1hr38m01s;
7. Jamie White/Bradley White (BMW 318Ti) 1hr38m09s;
8. Gareth Price/Gemma Woolley (BMW 318Ti) 1hr38m14s;
9. Jake Simms/Jack Slatcher (Proton Compact) 1hr38m42s;
10. Jonathan Bennett/Mark Bennett (Mini Cooper) 1hr38m51s.

Clubman Results (Top 5)

1. George Newman/Jamie Wilson (BMW 318Ti) 1hr34m12s;
2. Edward Cartledge/Richard Cartledge (Citroen C2) 1hr37m43s;
3. Adam Forrester/Ben Forrester (Nissan Micra) 1hr41m54s;
4. Jonathan Bowker/James Bowker (Ford Fiesta ST170) 1hr47m07;
5. Tim Millington/Richard Duddell (Citroen C2) 1hr47m22.

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The father and son crew set eight fastest stage times to finish almost a minute ahead of their closest challengers Scots duo Tom Morris and Colin Harkness in the Skoda Fabia S2500. Jason and Lee Wilson, who had a new engine in their Darrian T90GTR, finished third despite being plagued by some early electrical issues that left the car prone to stopping, without warning, mid stage.

No fewer than six Escorts made up the rest of the top ten order, a quintet of Mk2s and the Mk3 version of Richie Hughes and Martyn Quant who finished tenth. Mark Jasper and Don Whyatt headed the Mk2 contingent finishing fourth closely followed by Rob Cox and Joe Graham. Matt Pierce/Phil Turner and Jack Ives/Stephen Henty finished sixth and seventh respectively before the Escort order was interrupted by the Subaru Impreza of Adam Williams and Rachel Atherton. Chris and Steve Grundy finished a respectable ninth on their first visit to the Wigan venue.

Top honours in the Junior event went to Maurice Henry and Mike Jode in their Citroen C1. A close contest for second place was decided by the tie-break rule that favoured Nissan Micra pairing Lewis Hooper and Sam Bilham by virtue of their faster first stage time.

Results
1 John Stone/Alex Stone (Ford Fiesta WRC) 26m31s;
2 Tom Morris/Colin Harkness (Skoda Fabia S2500) 27m28s;
3 Jason Wilson/Lee Wilson (Darrian T90GTR) 27m33s;
4 Mark Jasper/Don Whyatt (Ford Escort Mk2) 28m15s;
5 Rob Cox/Joe Graham (Escort Mk2) 28m18s;
6 Matt Pierce/Phil Turner (Escort Mk2) 28m19s;
7 Jack Ives/Stephen Henty (Escort Mk2) 28m24s;
8 Adam Williams/Rachel Atherton (Subaru Impreza) 28m41s;
9 Chris Grundy/Steve Grundy (Escort Mk2) 29m05s;
10 Richie Hughes/Martyn Quant (Escort Mk3) 29m09s.

View a gallery of photos from the 2020 Questmead Stages, here.

Class Award Winners
A: Andy Walshaw/Lacey Brown (Nissan Micra);
B: Stephen Terry/David Terry (Micra);
C: Jack Darbyshire/Tom Darbyshire (Peugeot 106GTi);
D: Wilson/Wilson;
E: Morris/Harkness.

Juniors (Top 5)
1 Maurice Henry/Mike Jode (Citroen C1) 31m43s;
2 Lewis Hooper/Sam Bilham (Nissan Micra) 31m55s;
3 David Burden/Aled Edwards (Citroen C1) 31m55s;
4 Tom Naylor/Tom Bishop (Nissan Micra) 32m07s;
5 James Hancock/Emma Morrison (Citroen C1) 32m19s.

View a gallery of photos from the 2020 Questmead Junior Stages, here.

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Scots crew Ross Fernie and John Young held an early leaders until their Impreza was forced out with gearbox problems whilst nearest challengers Graham Butler and Walter Ainsworth’s Focus WRC succumbed to an under-bonnet fire.

Andrew and Reg Irving from Cockermouth took the Class A awards after finishing thirteenth overall in their Peugeot 205 whilst the Blyth brothers, James and David, took Class B honours after finishing eighth in their Peugeot 205 GTi.

Results
1 Tim Finch/Neil Bye (Subaru Impreza) 1hr21m15s;
2 Andrew Barker/Steve Mort (Citroen C2 VTR) 1hr22m20s;
3 Richard Barnard/Chris Sharpe-Simkiss (Subaru Impreza) 1hr22m04s;
4 David White/Mathew White (Subaru Impreza) 1hr22m56s;
5 Dave Riley/Gary Dillon (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo4) 1hr23m01s;
6 Wesley Simpson/Ryan Simpson (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr24m28s;
7 Darren Howard/Scott Howrard (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr25m10s;
8 James Blyth/David Blyth (Peugeot 205) 1hr26m23s;
9 Antony Dixon/Ryan Moyler (Vauxhall Astra GSi) 1hr26m51s;
10 David Gardner/Sam Bartlett (Subaru Impreza) 1hr27m21s.

Class Award Winners
A: Andrew Irving/Reg Irving (Peugeot 205);
B: Blyth/Blyth;
C: Barker/Mort;
D: Barnard/Sharpe-Simkiss.

View a gallery of photos from the 2014 SMC Stages, here.

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The battle for victory went to the wire with Darren Doherty, co-driven by South Shore member Craig Simkiss, taking a dramatic last stage win in his Subaru Impreza. Ian and Stephen Woodhouse had headed the leaderboard for most of the day but eventually had to settle for the runners-up prizes after their Ford Escort Mk2 was slowed by mechanical problems.

Best result from a local crew came from Blackpool duo David Benson and novice co-driver David Easter who won Class 3 and finished seventh overall in the Iain Gorrie/Blackpool Race & Rally Honda Civic.

Pre-rally favourites Graham Butler and Chris O’Connor, who were debuting an ex-works Ford Focus WRC03 formerly driven by Markko Martin, got off to a flying start, leading the rally after two stages. Unfortunately a series of stalls then dropped them down the order and a broken power steering belt forced their eventual retirement.

Mark Roberts and Gareth Twiss survived a pair of SS3 spins to finish third in their Ford Escort Cosworth WRC while Mike Taylor and Ann Forster claimed fourth in their Talbot Sunbeam Lotus having survived an early excursion.

A brace of Fiords followed with Mike Gilman and Iain Douglas finishing a solid fifth in their Escort Cosworth WRC ahead of the Escort Mk2 of Class 4 winners Michael Pickles and James Crosland.

David Benson and debutant co-driver David Easter survived a SS8 overshoot to finish seventh overall and claim the Class 3 Awards in their Honda Civic. Eighth placed Andrew Varley and Gareth Hooper had been chasing a podium finish before breaking a compression strut on SS8 and dropping two minutes in their Escort Cosworth.

Talbot Sunbeam pairing Howard Potter and Martin Haggett finished ninth ahead of Nigel and Tim Hobson who slipped to tenth following a SS12 excursion in their Impreza.

Results
1 Darren Doherty/Craig Simkiss (Subaru Impreza) 1hr00m57s;
2 Ian Woodhouse/Stephen Woodhouse (Ford Escort Mk2) +0m05s;
3 Mark Roberts/Gareth Twiss (Ford Escort Cosworth WRC) +2m06s;
4 Mike Taylor/Ann Forster (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus) +2m40s;
5 Mike Gilman/Iain Douglas (Ford Escort Cosworth WRC) +3m06s;
6 Michael Pickles/James Crosland (Ford Escort Mk2) +3m36s;
7 David Benson/David Easter (Honda Civic) +3m50s;
8 Andrew Varley/Gareth Hooper (Ford Escort Cosworth) +4m14s;
9 Howard Potter/Martin Haggett (Talbot Sunbeam) +4m24s;
10 Nigel Hobson/Tim Hobson (Subaru Impreza) +4m57s.

Class Award Winners
1: Stephen Johnson/David Barratt (Nissan Micra);
2: Andrew Irving/Reg Irving (Peugeot 205);
3: Benson/Easter;
4: Pickles/Crosland;
5: Taylor/Forster.

View a gallery of photos from the 2013 Keith Frecker Memorial Weeton Stages, here.

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Run for the most part in glorious sunshine the Gallagher brothers finished over a minute ahead of Wirral father and son Wesley and Ryan Simpson who were slowed by gearbox problems with their Ford Escort Mk2.

Peter Jackson and Steve Coombes had set the early pace but having lost their oil filler cap midway through stage three they were forced to retire their Escort with ominous sounds coming from the engine. It was then left to Chris Collie, who had made the long trek south from Aberdeen, to take up pole position in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6. His lead was short lived as a complete loss of brakes saw him and co-driver Ric Wood crash out into instant retirement.

That saw the Gallaghers move into a pole position they weren’t to relinquish and when their closest rivals Mike Gilman and Iain Douglas crashed their Escort Cosworth WRC on the penultimate stage their win was all but guaranteed. With the Simpsons safely ensconced in second place Keith Dowthwaite and Chris Neale secured the final podium placing in another Escort Mk2.

Results
1 Phil Gallagher/Mick Gallagher (MG Metro 6R4) 1hr02m32s;
2 Wesley Simpson/Ryan Simpson (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr03m45s;
3 Keith Dowthwaite/Chris Neale (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr04m30s;
4 Ian Tiffany/Graham White (Subaru Impreza) 1hr04m43s;
5 Dave Hornbrook/Caroline Howell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6) 1hr04m58s;
6 Thomas Abbott/Stephen Riley (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr06m22s;
7 David Greenbank/Alister Wells (Subaru Impreza) 1hr06m38;
8 Andy Graham/Rob Chesters (Subaru Impreza) 1hr07m03;
9 Ean Lewin/Laura Taylor (Ford Fiesta ST) 1hr09m06;
10 Ian Martin/Gareth Reynolds-Jones (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr09m13.

Class Award Winners
1: Andrew Irving/Reg Irving (Peugeot 205);
2: Colin Stockil/Sarah Craven (Peugeot 205);
3: Abbott/Riley;
4: Tiffany/White.

View a gallery of photos from the 2012 Keith Frecker Memorial Stages, here.

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Gale force winds and a high tide battered Blackpool hours before the start throwing Friday’s pair of Promenade stages into doubt as stage set-up crews were given a near impossible mission. Fortunately calm followed the storm and the stages ran as scheduled but torrential rain throughout Saturday made driving conditions treacherous with standing water at every venue.

There’s a saying in rallying that ‘every second counts’ and if ever proof were needed the final outcome of this year’s rally gave it. After 76 miles over 24 timed to the second special stages it was the Subaru Imprea WRC of Kevin Procter and Dave Bellerby that proved the quickest. The rallycross aces beat the Nissan Sunny GTi-R of Tony Bardy and Reg Smith by a single second.

Stephen Simpson, a five times winner of the event, and co-driver Simon Hunter were happy to settle for third place in their Hyundai Accent WRC. At the finish a relieved Simpson said

“What a tough rally, there was the sea coming over the wall on the Promenade, we had three spins in Weeton and a puncture at Clifton.”

Stone, who’s company Legend Fires are the events main sponsor, and co-driver Kevin Hodkinson won Class F in a Nissan Micra hired as a last minute replacement for Stones’ Skoda Fabia WRC which was undergoing an engine rebuild. Stone, who finished 32nd in the overall standings, said

“We decided on a steady pace on Friday night but caught all our class rivals napping by attacking from the off at Hillhouse on Saturday.”

Procter had been quickest on three of Friday night’s four stages with Simpson his nearest challenger with Bardy third at the night halt just four seconds ahead of the MG Metro 6R4 of Mark Holmes and Tony Lindsay. Saturday’s monsoon like conditions suited Bardy who grabbed the lead but the final pair of stages on Blackpool’s Promenade clearly favoured Proctor who snatched a dramatic last gasp victory.

Radiator problems had forced Holmes to retire the Metro on Fleetwood Waterfront allowing two other Blackpool South Shore Motor Club crews to move up the order and complete the final top five places. Simon Bowen and Richard Robinson finished fourth while James and Chris Ford finished fifth, both crews in Subaru Imprezas.

Top 10 Results
1 Kevin Procter/Dave Bellerby (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1hr40m48s;
2 Tony Bird/Reg Smith (Nissan Sunny GTi-R) 1hr40m49s;
3 Stephen Simpson/Simon Hunter (Hyundai Accent WRC) 1hr45m36s;
4 Simon Bowen/Richard Robinson (Subaru Impreza) 1hr45m50s;
5 James Ford/Chris Ford (Subaru Impreza) 1hr46m17s;
6 Tony Hewitt/Emma Hewitt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5) 1hr47m36s;
7 Connor Corkill/Howard Allison (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr49m19s;
8 Nigel Hobson/Tim Hobson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6) 1hr50m29s;
9 Alan Kirby/Lawrence Kirby (Subaru Impreza) 1hr50m30s;
10 Alistair Hutchinson/StJohn Dykes (Renault Clio LPG) 1hr51m10s.

View a gallery of photos from the 2011 North West Stages Rally, here.

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Stone, co-driven for the first time by Whattam, took a convincing victory on the Wallasey Motor Club event by setting no fewer than eight, from a possible ten, fastest stage times.

The rally, which is run over closed roads on New Brighton Promenade, attracts competitors from the length and breadth of the British Isles and is regarded as one of the best events of its kind. Stone previously took top honours in 2005 when, together with long-term co-driver Lee Carter, he brought his MG Metro 6R4 to victory. Since that time Chris Davies and Brandon Parker had recorded four successive wins and the Darrian T90 crew were looking to add a fifth victory to their tally until Stone scuppered their plans!

At the finish Stone said “Everything’s gone right today. I was a bit tentative on the first stage giving second best to Chris (Davies) but thereafter it was maximum attack. I could afford to back off a bit towards the finish but having said that you can’t back off too much with the Skoda!”

Peter and Tim Stojanov made a cautious start in Peter Lloyd’s Subaru Impreza WRC S14 with the driver stating “It’s taking a bit of getting used to” having never driven it before the first stage. Gaining both confidence and speed as the day progressed the brothers finished the rally as runners-up as the Metro 6R4 of Chris Wise and Tracey Taylor-West completed the podium.

Results
1 John Stone/Matthew Whattam (Skoda Fabia WRC) 44m54s;
2 Peter Stojanov/Tim Stojanov (Subaru Impreza WRC) 45m31s;
3 Chris Wise/Tracey Taylor-West (MG Metro 6R4) 45m45s;
4 Mark Roberts/Sarah Hughes (Ford Escort Cosworth) 46m41s;
5 John Harland/Rob Soper (Darrian T90 GTR) 47m55s;
6 Stuart Deeley/Alistair Dodd (Lotus Banks Europa) 48m07s;
7 Keith Taylor/Dave Robson (Subaru Impreza) 48m30s;
8 Geoff Roberts/Mark Perryman (Ford Escort Mk2) 49m02s;
9 Steve Hopewell/Mark Blagden (Ford Escort Mk2) 49m17s;
10 Mark Jones/Chris Brierley (BMW M3) 49m36s.

Class Award Winners
1: Marcus Tinsley/Dave Batley (Peugeot 205);
2: Dave Burns/Steve Hallmark (Vauxhall Corsa);
3: Harland/Roper;
4: Roberts/Hughes.

View a gallery of photos from the 2010 GEG Promenade Stages, here.

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Proceedings got underway under the watchful eye of the Granada TV cameras as Blackpool Mayor, Cllr Allan Matthews, flagged the cars off the start ramp near Gynn Square. Competitors then went into a pair of timed to the second high speed special stages along the Lower Promenade and Middle Walk that was packed with cheering fans.

Leading the way was the Hyundai Accent WRC of Steve Simpson and Mark Booth who would go on to record their fourth win of the eventbut only after surviving a ‘rocky run’ through Pontins. Once again their closest challengers would be Blackpool South Shore Motor Club members John Stone and Lee Carter who had a fraught time in their similar car.

Stone’s rally got off to a frustrating start when the car stalled at the hairpin by the Metropole Hotel losing him precious seconds on the opening stage. That was just the start of a traumatic day for the South Shore crew as they stalled again on the second stage losing even more time. When the rally moved onto Weeton Barracks they went off the road, lost more time at Clifton in a ditch then crawled through Lytham Hall after losing power when the turbocharger failed. It was only thanks to the sportsmanship of Simpson in lending Stone his spare turbo unit that the South Shore member made the finish.

Behind the pair of Accents Tim Johnson and Tony Walker claimed the final podium place in their Subaru Impreza ahead of the top two-wheel drive finishing Ford Escort Mk2 of Darren Atkinson and Phil Sandham.

Stone and Carter weren’t the only South Shore crew to claim a top ten finish. Mark Holmes and Anthony Ross guided their Ford Escort Mk2 to tenth place despite having to run all days on tyres with too hard a compound. The car was under-steering and sliding around on the Promenade where the surface still had large areas of standing water left by the morning’s high tide. They then survived a series of spins at Weeton but an altercation with an Armco barrier at Clifton left the car looking worse for wear by the finish. Still, they’d made it, which is more than half the 111 starters did and their efforts were further rewarded with the Class C (for cars up to 2000cc) runners-up prize.

Another local crew making their mark were Blackpool’s ‘battling Benson brothers’ David and Stephen who turned in another class winning performance earning the laurels in Class A (up to 1400cc) in their 1300cc Peugeot 205. Their day wasn’t without problems either having to complete the Clifton stage with the car stuck in second gear then complete two stages through Lytham Hall with it stuck in fifth! The problem was solved at the Pontins service halt but then the alternator worked loose snapping a wire in Weeton and they dropped twenty seconds. More work from the service crew and they managed to hold their class lead finishing fifteenth overall ahead of a lot more powerful cars.

View a gallery of photos from the 2007 Legend Fires North West Stages Rally, here.

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The fourth round of the ANWCC Stage Rally Championship attracted a disappointing entry as only twenty-three cars started the opening pair of stages.

The tricky conditions soon caught out the unaware but two cars were already proving a class apart. By the end of stage one John Stone and Paul Mount had moved the MG Metro 6R4 into an eight second lead over the Ford Escort Cosworth of Trevor Smith and Anthony Desay. The two cars then matched times on stage two but by now had already opened up a gap of over half a minute on the chasing pack.

The numbers of those chasing was already rapidly diminishing as by now no fewer than eight cars had retired. The pick of those still going were Tot and Maureen Dixon in the Vauxhall Nova who were tied for third with the Ford Sapphire Cosworth of Paul Miller and Keith Barnes. Nick Stamper and Heather Leslie were two seconds behind them lying fifth in their Escort Cosworth.

Amongst those early retirements were Ian and Allan Patterson who had made the long journey south from Dumfries to debut their newly acquired Subaru Impreza. They had been fourth fastest through the opening stage before gearbox problems side-lined them on the second test.

Smith and Desay pulled three seconds back on SS3 but the Metro of Stone and Mount retaliated in fine style finishing SS4 nine seconds quicker. Stamper/Leslie had already snatched third when the Dixon’s driveshaft failed while Miller/Barnes held onto fourth despite completing the two stages running on three cylinders. The fault was eventually traced to a cracked distributor cap and once this was replaced the car ran faultlessly for the rest of the day. Andrew Darbyshire and Carla Charlton now moved up to fifth despite the driver complaining of a lack of grip from the rear wheel drive Escort Mk1.

Smith and Desay clawed back another second through SS5 but it was at the start of the next stage, just as the sun came out, that the Escort crew must have thought it was to be their day. Stone and Mount had just booked into the arrival control for the start of stage six when the header tank cap blew off. The car was shrouded in steam but fortunately it looked worse than it actually was. Once it cooled Stone secured the cap with a zip tie and the Metro finally started the stage at the back of the field. The driver clearly wasn’t phased by the incident as he proceeded to add another ten seconds to his lead.

By now Nick Stamper and Heather Leslie (Escort Cosworth) were holding a distant third, a minute and twenty-two seconds behind Smith and Desay, but looking comfortably placed twenty-five seconds up on Miller and Barnes.

Then as the two leading crews traded seconds over stages seven and eight Miller and Barnes stepped up a gear to take third. This position looked secure when within sight of the start of stage nine the gearbox failed on Stamper/Leslie’s Escort Cosworth leaving the Sapphire crew only needing to avoid any late dramas to take third overall and the Class 4 win.

The leading pair continued to swap fastest times through the following three stages leaving the Metro crew to carry a nineteen second advantage going into the twelfth and final test. Stone and Mount could now afford to back off and in doing so dropped fourteen seconds to their rivals but it proved to be a calculated drive by the Metro crew. In finishing five seconds ahead of Smith and Desay’s Escort Cosworth they took their second successive victory on this event.

Peugeot 309 GTi pairing Paul McClure and Mark Walmsley took the Class 3 win whilst Class 2 honours went to Mark Jenkinson and Kevin Parkinson (Escort Mk1) who finished twelfth overall.

Top Ten:
1. John Stone/Paul Mount (MG Metro 6R4) 56:32
2. Trevor Smith/Anthony Desay (Ford Escort Cosworth) 56:37
3. Paul Miller/Keith Barnes (Ford Sapphire Cosworth) 60:18
4. Andrew Darbyshire/Carla Charlton (Ford Escort Mk1) 61:51
5. Paul McClure/Mark Walmsley (Peugeot 309 GTi) 63:08
6. David Gardner/Stuart Hartley (Subaru Impreza) 63:21
7. Neil Mashiter/Katie Mashiter (Ford Escort Mk2) 65:17
8. Simon Martin/Stephen Bethwaite (Ford Escort Mk2) 65:31
9. Michael Dunning/Edward Dentice (Ford Escort Mk2) 65:58
10. Roger Hulse/Brian Cox (Peugeot 205 GTi) 67:41

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After almost fifty miles of competition the final margin between first and second was a mere twenty-three seconds with the winner’s laurels going to Tony Janetta and Lee Carter in their MG Metro 6R4. Local crew Mark Holmes and Andy Minns, who were piloting a similar car, were left to rue what might have been as Holmes said “There were some strange noises from the gearbox early on which made me back off. That probably cost us the win because we were the quickest car through the last few stages.”

Gearbox problems proved to be the downfall of two other South Shore crews. Graham Butler and Rick Forster were in or around the top three all day despite two time
consuming spins. “We dropped around forty-five seconds as a result” said Butler later. Their challenge to the leaders was to end on stage ten when the gearbox
in the ex-Carlos Sainz Ford Escort Cosworth cried enough.

The ANWCC Championship aspirations of Duncan Taylor and Stephen Graveson, were finally ended midway through the rally when their Escort Cosworth’s gear linkage broke. It had been a day of high hopes and high drama for the pair who suffered a complete loss of brakes resulting in them taking a maximum time on stage three. Afterwards Graveson reflected on what might have been saying “If there had been a brick wall at the end of that long straight we’d both be history now!”

By the final reckoning the third podium place had gone to Rob Barry and Wayne Hunt in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6 with the similar car of Steve Simpson and Mark Booth settling for occupancy of fourth place. Class C winners Dave Willett and John Roberts completed the top five in their Ford Escort Mk2.

View a gallery of photos from the 2001 Weeton Stages Rally, here.

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