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Isle Of Man Stars Report

 

Barrett slip-up gifts Meredith

Rob Barrett and Dave Hammond posted impressive times on the Jim Clark Stars Rally to come home a comfortable first behind the wheel of their Nissan Micra, only to be unclassified in the final results after failing to report to the final time control.

Barrett finished 54.3 seconds clear of eventual winners David Meredith/Richard Devenport (MG ZR) after he took charge at the top of the leader board on stage three of the event and never let the top spot out of his sight despite battling through the final stage, Little Swinton, without a clutch. But he failed to hand in his time card after the ceremonial finish, handing the win to Meredith.

Meredith was consistent throughout despite a close call on stage 13 when he nearly went off. He also topped the MG 1400 series runners.

Just four cars were classified from the 11 starters in a day that featured a high rate of attrition as many competitors fell foul of mechanical problems.

Mark Gamble/George Gwynn (Peugeot 106) took third. He had led after stage two and set the pace across four of the tests but lost three minutes with an engine problem and incurred a one-minute time penalty. Suzuki Swift crew Alan Howard/ William Kelly finished third.

 

By Amanda Cornforth

 

They Think It's All Over

The stages were finished, the champagne sprayed, the interviews were complete and the winning car had passed post-event scrutiny with flying colours. Then, when Rob Barrett and Dave Hammond thought it was all over, a phone call stripped them of their Stars of the Future victory.

After post-event scrutiny, the crew had put their car on the trailer and gone to celebrate, not realising that there was a final time control to visit. The disastrous error resulted in their disqualification from the event, handing victory to David Meredith and Richard Davenport.

It's a major blow to Barrett, who commented, "I thought that if a BRC official said we had passed post-event scrutineering, then we were done and dusted. I mean, was it post event or not?"

Barrett is hoping the MSA will award him the points he should have received. If his appeal fails, then two non-scores leave little hope for his championship aspirations.

With Meredith taking the win, Mark Gamble and George Gwynn were second in their MG ZR, while Alan Howard and William Kelly finished third. Supradip Dey Roy and Richard Mills completed the category finishers, in fourth position.

 

 

 

 

Micra crew make amends

 

Rob Barrett and Dave Hammond made amends for missing out on maximum points in the previous round of the Silverstone Tyres -backed series by claiming victory.

The Nissan Micra crew, who lost their win on the Jim Clark Stars Rally after failing to hand their timecard in at the final control, finished 11.4 seconds ahead of the Peugeot 106 of Gareth Nutt and Stuart Powell as they set the pace across five of the six stages. The event was reduced in length following the cancellation of three tests on the second leg.

Huddersfield-based driver Barrett, making his debut on the island, and co-driver Hammond took charge from the outset in what was a baptism of fire across the first two stages on the infamous closed public roads, with drizzle and mist making conditions tough. They enjoyed a relatively close battle with 23-year-old Nutt and Powell, who won the final stage.

Dolgellau's David Meredith and co-driver Gareth Roberts came home third and the first of the MG ZRs following a consistent performance throughout the event.

Tom Bowen and Phil Hall clinched fourth place in their MG ZR on a day which saw very little drama. Nine competitors were classified.

The Suzuki Swift GTi pairing of Alan Howard and Neil Foulkes finished fifth, just over a minute down on Bowen and Hall. The sibling pairing of Steve and Tony Graham survived a 360 degree spin on the final stage, finishing sixth in their MG ZR.

 

By Amanda Cornforth

 

 

 

Below: Motorsport News Feburary 14th ‘07

Below: Motorsport News March 7th ‘07

Below: Motorsport News MAy 23rd ‘07

Tesco worker swaps checkout for a Corsa

 

Welshman Alan Howard has bought Neil Weaver’s title-winning Vauxhall Corsa for a stab at the Tesco 99 Octane BTRDA 1400 Rally Championship this year.

The Tesco employee drove a Suzuki Swift in the British Rally Championship Stars series in 2006 and won his class with co-driver William Kelly.

“Driving the Corsa will be a steep learning curve as it has nearly double the power my little Suzuki had last year and we won’t have much time to test the car,” said Howard, who will continue his partnership with Irishman Kelly for a second term.

Their first event is Saturday’s Wyedean Rally.

 

By Jo Holland

Cowan defies seeding for 1400 victory

 

  Niall Cowan and Peter Grant (MG ZR) defied their lowly seeding to clinch a deserved victory in the 1400 class by some 48 seconds over veteran Clive Wheeler and co-driver Ken Bartram (Citroen C2).

  With Grant acting as a late replacement for a sick Pamela Hilton, Cowan put his traumatic 2006 behind him to rekindle the type of form he enjoyed en route to a dominant class title in 2005.

  Martin Shaw/Ian Prout were fastest out of the blocks in their Ford Escort but a puncture on SS3 put paid to their chances, leading to a 3-way battle for the lead.  Leaving Grizedale, Cowan had a slight lead over Graham Gaskell/Martyn Taylor, Matt Edwards (Astra), Marcel Freling (Ginetta) and Brenden Wellman (Nissan), all bowed out before the end of SS”.

  In the final 3 stages, Cowan stretched the gap over his rivals, who could do nothing about him winning, with Wheeler contenting himself with securing maximum points in the Tesco 99 Octane 1400 class.

  Gaskell secured third, just ahead of the recovering Shaw, with the Corsa of Alan Howard/William Kelly fifth of the early runners home.

  Jonathan Sproat/Jonathan Brass were next up in their Corsa, ahead of Harry Portlock/John Jarrett in their VW Polo.  Scotsmen Dale Robertson/Paul Beaton followed them home in their MG.

  As a result, Wheeler leads the series going into the next months North Humberside Forest Rally, followed by Portlock with Gary Wright in third.

Clare Rix went out on the last stageleaving Amanda Cornforth (Ford Ka) to beat Jayne Auden (Pug 106) to take female honours and take second spot in class behind Cowan.

Willams exit helps Lewis hit the front

 

Martyn and Richard Lewis won the 1400 class of the Red Dragon after dramas put Duncan Williams/Mark Freeman out of the event.

Lewis was running in a new engina in his Vauxhall Nova on the Welsh event.  “We are just trying to get used to having more power under us.” He said.  He must have enjoyed it – it powered him home to a 22s win over Justin Lawson/Paul Hargreaves (Vauxhall Nova).

Williams had set the early pace, clocking a fastest time on the three of the four stages he completed, but it all went wrong in the 11.5 mile fifth stage.

“The stub axle broke half-way through,” said Williams.  “We lost a wheel and drove half of the stage on three wheels.  We didn’t hit anything, it just seemed to fail.  It felt like a puncture but it was actually the wheel, the disc, the calliper, the lot, in fact.

Lawson had also led the event on his first rally since he rolled his Nova on the Cambrain Rally last year.  (It’s taking time to get back into the notes,” he said.  “We overshot a few junctions, and we’ve had no brakes for three miles of stage 2.”

Alan Howard/William Kelly finished third in their Vauxhall Corsa,  picking up top points in the BTRDA Tesco 99 Octane 1400 Rally Championship.

Howard quipped: “We’ve had a few  moments, we’ve not really done that before.  It’s good because it means we’re getting good enough to have moments, but unfortunately it means losing time too.