Rallying can be such a cruel mistress (is that term allowed in these
politically correct times?), just ask Joshua and Tamsyn Davey. They led the
Beatson's Building Supplies Knockhill Stages from first stage to last today.
Well, not quite. The Darrian stopped dead in its tracks half way round the final
stage. The gearbox had jammed solid going from 4th to 3rd. How cruel was that?
And yet the pair of them were in remarkably good fettle at the finish despite
the prospect of a return trip home, in the cold and the dark - all the way back
to Cornwall!
Chris West
was almost apologetic at the finish, snatching a last gasp win in his
impressive Peugeot 306 Maxi. It looked a right twitchy handful at times in the
slippery and greasy conditions, but he just managed to hold off Nigel Feeney's
MINI by 7 seconds at close of play. That was a good result for Nigel though. He
had finished the first stage of the day in 8th place after a wrong tyre choice,
thereafter fighting back to take the runner up spot.
Equally
impressive was young Taylor Gibb completing the podium after a sensible run (unlike
his Da'!) into third place in the Watson Lancer Evo. Top RWD car on the day was
Alan Kirkaldy's Escort and he too had a great run into 4th finishing just 6
seconds shy of Taylor's Mitsubishi.
John
Marshall was well pleased with 5th having finished the first stage in 10th:
"I just wanted to finish ahead of John Stone, to get the points in the MSN
Championship," he explained, "I just kept chipping away at his
times," and did the job, taking the place by 13 seconds.
As previously
mentioned, James Gibb had a hooley of a day: "I switched all the drive and
the bias to the rear," said the Lancer pilot, "I don't really like
4WD!" As it was he spent the day going mostly sideways, and it was a rare
treat for the cold and frozen spectators who had turned out in quite
significant numbers to watch the spectacle.
Andrew Gallacher
failed to finish when the Focus' gearbox failed and Ross Hunter was up to his
usual giant killing antics until an
errant tyre marker had the temerity to get in his way and he punctured the Peugeot's
radiator.
And you know
what? The sun shone. It was dark and cold at first just after dawn, until the
sun poked its eye above the horizon and it was almost pleasant, till it dipped
below the hills again late in the afternoon. An enjoyable day out, but if this
is the future of rallying, then I'm glad I've seen the best of it.
(More
detailed report on the web-site on Monday night)
Top Ten:
1, Chris
West/Keith Hounslow (Peugeot 306 Maxi Kit Car) 2300cc, 44m 49s
2, Nigel
Feeney/Paula Swinscoe (MINI Countryman WRC) 1600cc, 44:56
3, Taylor
Gibb/Jane Nicol (Mitsubishi Evo) 1998cc, 45:01
4, Alan
Kirkaldy/Don Whyatt (Ford Escort Mk2) 2499cc, 45:07
5, John
Marshall/Scott Crawford (Subaru Impreza) 1998cc, 45:15
6, John
Stone/Shona Hale (Ford Fiesta) 2500cc, 45:28
7, James
Gibb/Charley Sayer-Payne (Mitsubishi Evo) 1998cc, 45:29
8, Ian
Woodhouse/Jason Leaf (Ford Escort Mk2) 2494cc, 45:59
9, Ross
Marshall/Denver Rafferty (Ford Escort Mk2) 2000cc, 46:08
10, Mark
Kelly/Andy Baker (Ford Escort Mk2) 2500cc, 46:42
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