Organised by Wolverhampton & South Staffs Car Club National contestants assembled in Newtown from where they would depart to tackle eight stages whilst those competing in the Clubman Rally would only cover six.

The route of seventy-five stage miles for Nationals and forty-five stage miles for Clubman would be interspersed with service halts at Sweet Lamb and Dolgellau Farmers Mart. Survivors would then head east across the border to the finish at Shrewsbury Livestock Market late in the afternoon.

National Rally
First test for the sixty-eight car entry was the 14.6 miles of Hafren North where Mark Perrott/Graham Hopewell blazed a trail in the Escort WRC over six seconds faster than the Impreza of Julian Reynolds/Ieuan Thomas.

Championship hopefuls Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield were third in the Impreza WRC whilst the much fancied favourites David Mann/Alun Cook were content to hold sixth. Sandwiched between them was a pair of Imprezas in the hands of Gary and Gordon Adam and Paul Wedgbury/Neil Dashfield.

The day had started disastrously for Andy Burton/John Roberts who picked up a puncture in the Peugeot Cosworth, which resulted in a damaged wing and left them languishing in thirty-first place the best part of two minutes behind the leaders.

At least they were still in the rally as already out were Nigel Griffiths/Andrew Owens (Impreza), Steve Palmer/Stephen Greenhill (Evo VII), Mandy Roberts/Derek Davies (Evo V) and Matthew Humphris/Andrew Cadle (Micra) Another crew to go off in the stage were Malloch Nichol/Jude Wylie who lost so much time after burying the Evo IV in a banking they would eventually go OTL.

Hafren South was next and proved the scene for the start of an amazing charge up the leaderboard by Burton/Roberts. Fastest time, 0.8 second quicker than Adam/Adam, moved them up seven places. Perrott/Hopewell were a further 5.7 seconds behind but it was enough for them to retain top spot. Adam/Adam were now second heading the Imprezas of Reynolds/Thomas, Duckworth/Broomfield, Wedgbury/Dashfield, Mann/Cook and Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry.

The two Sweet Lamb tests saw Burton/Roberts continue their charge up the leaderboard with a brace of fastest times taking them to eighteenth. On the first of the stages Adam/Adam took the lead after sharing second fastest time with the Accent WRC of Paul Bird/Larry Carter. Perrott/Hopewell then retaliated but left the Sweet Lamb complex trailing the Scots crew by seven tenths of a second.

Perrott/Hopewell then retook the lead in Taliesin as Burton/Roberts moved up to ninth by continuing their run of fastest times. The stage marked the end of the rally for two crews holding the top ten places. Wedgbury/Dashfield retired the Subaru and Bird/Carter’s rally ended when the Accent caught fire.

SS6 Gartheiniog brought about an interruption in Burton/Roberts’ run of fastest times as honours here fell to Perrott/Hopewell who now had Duckworth/Broomfield as their closest challengers.

Mann/Cook were quite content to hold sixth in the knowledge that they only needed a ninth placed points scoring position to secure the championship.
With only two stages remaining only an accident or mechanical failure stood between them and the title.

Duckworth/Broomfield kept the pressure on Perrott/Hopewell taking 4.6 seconds off them through Dyfi Main closing the gap to 14.5 seconds. The stage wasn’t so good though for Adam/Adam who rolled into retirement.

Burton/Roberts had been quickest again and repeated the feat through Dyfnant to claim a richly deserved third place at the finish as Perrott/Hopewell made sure of victory increasing their margin over Duckworth/Broomfield by another two seconds.

Reynolds/Thomas had held a podium place until Burton/Roberts’ last stage charge deprived them but at least they won N4. Steve Petch/John Richardson settled for fifth in the Accent WRC.

Sixth place may not have been a spectacular result by Mann/Cook’s recent performances but it was nonetheless a telling one as it meant they were the 2003 Kumho National Rally Champions.

Anthony Wilmington/Andy White secured the runners-up place in the 2003 Mitsubishi Evo Challenge Championship by bringing their Evo VI home fourteenth overall.

In the classes David Young/James Young took B11 honours in the Mk II Escort, James Wozencroft/Nick Cadwallader were the only B9 finishers in the Nova, Michael Coomber/Jeremy Pole took A6 in the Satria, A5 went to Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson in the Ka and the N3 win was taken by Astra crew Nigel Wakefield/Roger Allan.

Drivers Championship – Final Positions:
Mann 123 points; Duckworth 115 points; Crealey 96 points; Harrison 84 points; Burton 80 points; Petch 79 points

Clubmans Rally
Leading the field of forty-one cars away was the Impreza of James Harvey/Pete Bold and despite head gasket problems later in the day they stayed in front to prove the seeding committee had done their homework properly.

James Belton/Paul Williams provided the early challenge finishing the opening Hafren South stage just 4.4 seconds in their Escort RS. A blown gearbox put paid to the expected charge from Joe Price/Ian Allsop in the Sunbeam.

It was then the turn of another Escort crew, Dave Brick/Phil Clark to take up the gauntlet through Sweet Lamb before breaking a diff and allowing Martyn and Ian England to bring the Evo VI up to second by the end of Taliesin.

Gartheiniog saw the early retirements of championship regulars Alistair and Andrew Adams who put the Escort off the track whilst lying fourth and Allan McDowall/Gavin Heseltine when the gearbox failed on the Kadette.

It was here that Ieuan Rowlands/Andy Davies took up the challenge but with the championship being a priority they elected to ease back a little through the final Dyfnant test and settle for third and first in Class 02.

This left Denis Parry/Huw Lewis, who had completed the day’s opening test in eighth place, to snatch second. The Escort Cosworth crew had made steady progress up the leaderboard throughout the day and fastest time through Dyfnant brought them just reward.

There were top ten finishes for Class 01 winners Nathan Crewe/John Connor in the MG ZR and Will Onions/Steve Quine who took Class 03 in the Escort Kit Car.

Drivers Championship – Final Positions
Ieuan Rowlands 119 points; Potter 103 points; Adams 97 points; McCulloch 84 points; Shirlaw 80 points; McDowell 79 points

Top Ten Bulldog Rally:

1. Mark Perrott/Graham Hopewell (Escort WRC) 1:18:42.1
2. Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Impreza WRC) 1:18:58.6
3. Andrew Burton/John Roberts (Peugeot Cosworth) 1:20:06.5
4. Julian Reynolds/Ieuan Thomas (Impreza) 1:20:13.3
5. Steve Petch/John Richardson (Accent WRC) 1:20:33.0
6. David Mann/Alun Cook (Impreza) 1:20:41.5
7. Martyn Harrison/Steve Harris (Metro 6R4) 1:21:04.6
8. Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Impreza WRC) 1:21:33.3
9. Mick Jones/Andy Morgan (Evo III) 1:21:35.9
10. Phil Morgan/Martin Douglas (Impreza WRC) 1:21:53.9

Top Ten Bulldog Clubmans Rally:

1. James Harvey/Pete Bold (Impreza) 54:23.9
2. Denis Parry/Huw Lewis (Escort Cosworth) 54:49.8
3. Ieuan Rowlands/Andy Davies (Mk II Escort) (206) 54:59.2
4. Will Onions/Steve Quine (Escort Kit Car) 55:02.6
5. James Belton/Paul Williams (Mk II Escort) 55:05.1
6. Martyn England/Ian England (Evo VI) 55:14.9
7. George Collister/Rob Fagg (Mk II Escort) 56:19.4
8. John Rowlands/Darren Garrod (Mk II Escort) 56:42.9
9. Steve Finch/Stan Graham (Mk II Escort) 56:54.2
10. Nathan Crewe/John Connor (MG ZR) 56:56.9

View a gallery of photos from the 2003 Bulldog Rally, here.

The post 2003 Bulldog Rally Report appeared first on Pro-Rally Photography.

The penultimate round of the British Rally Championship was back in Yorkshire where Jonny Milner was hoping to repeat his success of the previous year and win the title on home ground. To do so he only needed to finish in the top nine but driving slowly can be risky and besides that’s not Milner’s style so the big question was would he do it?

With a tough programme of over one hundred stage miles spread across fifteen special stages making up two days of competition nothing was certain. What was certain though was that the Driffield driver would be giving it his best shot and his main rival Tapio Laukkanen would have to fight all the way.

The opening Spectator Stage at Pickering Showground was more of a teaser than a tester, the type where you can’t win a rally but could easily lose one. Milner was straight on the pace though as he and co-driver Nicky Beech guided the Corolla WRC into a slender four-tenths of a second lead over Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anttila in the Focus WRC. Laukkanen seemed to be taking things at a more leisurely pace as he and co-driver Ilka Riipinen finished the stage in sixth place in their Impreza WRC.

Milner/Beech and Latvala/Anittila retained first and second spots following the opening forest test Cropton 1 but Laukkanen/Riipinen were now moving at a more serious rate of knots and up into third despite dropping crucial seconds after stalling on the start line. A stage later and they were out in front storming through Gale Rigg 1 knocking both Milner/Beech and Latvala/Anittila down a notch – the battle was on!

By the end of Staindale it was a Finnish one two as Latvala/Anittila overhauled Milner/Beech who had a comfortable cushion of around twenty-five seconds over Austin McHale/Brian Murphy in the Impreza S7. Julian Reynolds/Iuean Thomas had started the test lying sixth in the Impreza but an excursion up at firebreak dropped them forty places.

Milner/Beech were now fully focussed on the championship allowing the Fins to trade fastest times over the next two Dalby tests. Meanwhile they extended their lead over McHale/Murphy to almost fifty seconds heading into the Pickering service.

Leading the Super 1600 class at this point, as they had been from the outset, were Gwyndaf Evans/Clare Mole in the MG ZR. They needed to look over shoulders though as Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson had now closed to within six seconds in the Corsa. There was also a threat from an unknown quantity in the form of Aki and Miika Teiskonen who were making their British debut in a Saxo. The Finnish brothers were adapting quickly to the conditions but as they were running so far down the order their progress was going almost unnoticed.

The scheduled re-run of the Showground stage was cancelled as it hadn’t withstood the first stage rigours as well had been expected. It was then back into Cropton where Latvala/Anittila reduced the arrears to 3.2 seconds before Laukkanen/Riipinen set another top time through Gale Rigg to widen the gap to just under six seconds at the end of the day’s play.

Keeping their sights firmly fixed on the championship Milner/Beech were happy to hold third over a minute ahead of McHale/Murphy with Steve Petch/John Richardson (Accent WRC) fifth, Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Impreza WRC) sixth and Chris Mellors/Craig Thorley (Escort WRC) seventh.

Evans/Mole had been holding eighth but when the ZR retired with gearbox problems within sight of the Cropton stage finish Meeke/Patterson moved up a place. The Teiskonen brothers then set a cracking time through Gale Rigg 2 to move ahead of the Evo IV of Dom Buckley/Doug Redpath who completed the top ten at the end of the first leg.

The first day had claimed the usual quota of casualties amongst whom were Steve Hill/Joanne Lockwood in the Alfa, Bob Ceen/Alistair Douglas in the Impreza 555 and Dougi Hall/Steve Egglestone in the Evo VI. When Shelly Taunt/Bob Stokoe broke a stub axle and lost a wheel in Cropton the driver hand brake turned the Micra into the first available safe parking spot. It was then, as if to add insult to injury, that the wayward wheel came bouncing down the track and smacked the Nissan’s rear quarter leaving it with a large dent. At least they had the consolation of being crowned the 2003 British Rally Championship F1400 Champions.

Sunday started with another spectator stage at Pickering Showground. The organisers had re-graded the track the previous evening and Milner/Beech made most of the opportunity to display their talents to the fans with another fastest time.

Latvala/Anittila again reduced the gap to Laukkanen/Riipinen to 3.2 seconds setting up what promised to be a real battle in the forests. Unfortunately it didn’t materialise as on the first test, SS11 Langdale, Latvala/Anittila put the Focus off the track. Around ninety seconds were lost with the car wedged on a log and all chance of victory was gone. Indeed the incident even cost them the runners-up spot as they were relegated to third with little chance of catching Milner/Beech.

A brace of fastest stage times left Laukkanen/Riipinen with a 56.1 second lead over Milner/Beech at the end of SS12 Pike Hill. Their lead looked unassailable but any hopes they had of winning the championship now rested on Milner/Beech having a big problem that would see them crash down the leaderboard or out of the rally.

With so much at stake neither crew would take any chances leaving it to Latvala/Anittila to set fastest stage time over the last three tests. It was of no consequence however as the final positions show. Laukkanen/Riipinen were the rally winners, Milner/Beech the runners-up and 2003 Champions with Latvala/Anittila very much the bridesmaids in third.

The rest of the top ten remained unchanged from its overnight order meaning Meeke/Patterson and Buckley/Doug Redpath both secured class wins. Similarly Marcus Foss/Glenn Patterson took the F2000 win clinching the class title in the Almera Gti while F1400 honours went to John and Stephen Moxon in the Felicia. Sami Vatanen/Jussi Martiskin made the trip from Finland worthwhile by taking the F1400 class spoils in the 206.

One outcome that did change on the day was in the Super 206 Cup where overnight leaders Stuart Jones/Richard Edwards hit problems on the penultimate stage. They finished the test way down the order but when the problem was pinpointed to a faulty map sensor retirement was their only option. This allowed Shaun Gallagher/Richard Pashley to move up from second and clinch another series win. They had started the leg trailing Chris Moore/Mike Panes but were a comfortable 50.8 seconds ahead of them by the end of Pike Hill. Moore/Panes had a troublesome time throughout Sunday eventually finishing third 3.1 seconds behind Phillip and Simon Morrow.

The win may have gone to Laukkanen/Riipinen but Milner/Beech were the real winners, British Rally Champions for the second successive year and for Milner the added satisfaction of winning the title on home ground.

Top Ten:

1. Tapio Laukkanen/Ilka Riipinen (Impreza WRC) 1:38:11.6
2. Jonny Milner/Nicky Beech (Corolla WRC) 1:39:00.2
3. Jari-Matti Latvala/Miika Anittila (Focus WRC01) 1:39:38.6
4. Austin McHale/Brian Murphy (Impreza S7) 1:41:30.9
5. Steve Petch/John Richardson (Accent WRC) 1:42:51.5
6. Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry (Impreza WRC) 1:43:21.8
7. Chris Mellors/Craig Thorley (Escort WRC) 1:44:13.6
8. Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson (Corsa) 1:47:31.1
9. Aki Teiskonen/Miika Teiskonen (Saxo) 1:48:32.3
10. Neil Buckley/Douglas Redpath (Evo IV) 1:48:335

Classes:

• F1400 – John Moxon/Stephen Moxon (Felicia)
• F2000 – Marcus Foss/Glenn Patterson (Almera)
• S1600 – Kris Meeke/Chris Patterson (Corsa)
• PROD – Neil Buckley/Douglas Redpath (Evo IV)

View a gallery of photos from the 2003 Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, here.

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