News from the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship Press release 5 August 2013 Neath Valley set for WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round four The classic Wales Rally GB stages of South Wales will be the setting for the Neath Valley Stages, round four of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship (Saturday 10 August). With 14 models of car from 11 manufacturers and a vast array of quality drivers, including five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae, it is another superb entry for the championship. The historic cars will run first on the road, competing over prime gravel stages in the Rheola and Margam forest complexes. The very compact route, based at Rheola, covers 45 stages miles and just over 60 road miles and the forest tracks are reported as being in prime condition. The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. Championship, which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA and FIA historic regulations. But, significantly, it also opens up the chance for the next generation of cars to join the historic fraternity. The 2013 championship is running over six one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre 87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations. Heading the main historic field away will be championship leaders Marty McCormack/Phil Clarke and Nick Elliott/Dave Price in a battle of the Ford Escort Mk2s and their respective pace in these forests will be a talking point of the rally. Elliott has more experience than McCormack of the area, but neither crew is on what can be described as familiar territory. Lining up against McCormack and Elliott will be another leading contender in the form of the Viking Motorsport prepared Ford Escort Mk2 of Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss, who may elect to run in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series 4 for cars prepared to FIA Appendix K regulations. Whichever category Pritchard enters, he will be a very big rival to McCormack and Elliott in overall terms, having shown increasingly strong pace in recent rounds. McCormack and Elliott head the entry for the Rob Smith Rallying Series 3, but a gaggle of very quick Escort Mk2s will be in pursuit, including the cars of Matt Edwards/Sam Collis, Terry Brown/Tomos Whittle, James Potter/Bob Duck, Will Nicholls/Nick Broom, Warren Philliskirk/Paul Wakely, Peter Slights/James Whitaker, Jimmy McRae/Pauline Gullick, Tim Freeman/tba, Phil and Mick Squires and event co-sponsor Jonathan Brace with Jonny Evans. All of them add fantastic quality to another very strong field for the WWRS R.A.C. Championship. Class D4 within Series 3 promises to be very interesting with the addition of an ex-Russell Brookes Sunbeam Lotus for Irish ace Owen Murphy and highly experienced co-driver James OBrien. Although lacking experience in these forests, Murphys pace in Ireland suggests he could be a big contender. Similarly mounted are former BHRC champion James Stait and Glyn Thomas on Staits first outing of 2013. A tremendous seven-strong entry for Class D3 makes it the best D3 field of the season in British historic rallying so far and the addition of asphalt ace Melvyn Evans in his Escort Mk2 adds further quality. Evans, who is an infrequent competitor on gravel, will go up against championship pacesetters Ben Mellors/Alex Lee (Escort Mk2) and the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith/Graham Wild. More rapid Pinto-powered Escorts are entered for Paul Fry/Mike Steele, Duncan Waite/Keith Garton and Ben Friend/Jonathan Jackson. The Ford Escort Mk1 of Nick Jarvis/Craig Thorley should set the standard in the Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74), where an excellent entry of 2-litre Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s will take on the BMW 2002 of Terry Cree/Richard Shores. The Escort pack includes the ever-spectacular Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and David Kirby/Chris Rixon. The WWRS R.A.C. Championship has pioneered a move to allow the 1600cc cars from Series 2 and 3 to run first on the road along with the Series 1 cars and this trial will be repeated on the Neath Valley Stages. The Ford Escort Mk1s of Vince Bristow/Tim Sayer and Robin Shuttleworth/Ronnie Roughead will run at the very head of the rally with the flying Bristow set to be first on the road for his debut rally this season in the Escort. Also running in this group will be the Hillman Avenger of Graham Thatcher/Robert James. In the Walker Diecastings Series 1, the Lotus Cortina of Simon Wallis/Graham Wride will set the benchmark in an encouraging field of pre 68 cars. In hot pursuit will be Ian Beveridge/Paul Price (Volvo PV544) and John Everard/Mark Sharpley in the lovely Alfa Romeo GT. Now rebuilt after rolling on the Tour of Hamsterley, the Alfa will be a real crowd pleaser and will be chased by Les Allfrey/Sasha Herriott (Mini Cooper), Chris and Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois) and welcome converts Callum Barney/Ron Channon (Ford Cortina GT). The Neath Valley Stages is organised by the Three Counties Car Club. For more details about the event please visit threecountiescarclub.co.uk. -ends-
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 06:03:06 +0000
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