The eleventh running of the Carlisle Stages Rally was due to be a two day format with around 10 stage miles in the darkness of Friday night before a further 45 miles on Saturday for the Carlisle Stages. Unfortunately the deluge of rain through the days up to the event put paid to the evening stages running on the grounds of safety.
The event utilised the best mileage in the forests of Florida, Kershope, Buck Fell, Hyndlee and Riccarton with carefully selected double used roads.
This year’s event was again the final round of the Fuchs Lubricants Motorsport UK British Historic Rally Championship.
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke – Ford Escort Mk 2 - 1st BHRC overall
Jason and Phil were seeded at 3 in the North Road Garage, Trailhead Get Jerky, Chartists 1770 at The Trewythen, J and S Handling Ltd (Forklifts), Sherwood Engines sponsored MKII Escort looking for some more quality seat time before November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally.
With the two nighttime stages cancelled due to poor weather conditions the first stage was the 4.73 miles of Tommy’s Fell where a cautious approach on the mud and grass covered surface saw the pair emerge as 2nd British Historic Championship crew.
The surface improved over the next two stages and some quick times put them into the lead of the Championship crews as they headed for the service halt, albeit by a slender 5 seconds. A clean run through the tricky 6.82 miles of Hyndlee increased the lead to 12 seconds, a repeat of 2 previous stages and the retirement of their main rival saw the pair take 1st place O/A at the Kielder Castle finish.
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Gareth James/Dan Petrie – Ford Escort Mk 2 - 2nd BHRC overall and 1st in Category 3
This was to be the second outing for this new pairing in the Blue Sky Engineering backed Ford Escort Mk 2. Both were incredibly disappointed at the loss of the night stages but mother nature put her foot down on an early start to proceedings.
A great start on the Saturday saw them at the sharp end of the pack early on and that is exactly where they stayed with consistent times. All stages went well with no issues or indiscretions making it a fantastic test for the RAC in a few weeks’ time.
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Simon Webster/Jez Rogers – Ford Escort Mk 2 – 4th overall, 2nd in Class
Starting car 11 Simon and Jez were happy with their seeding seeing as they haven’t been out on the stages much this season. Their mission was to enjoy the day and get to the end drama free!!
The car ran faultlessly all day and they were really pleased with their pace, using Gareth and Dan behind them to keep checking times and have the craic. Both reported great stages, great fun and just what they needed ahead of the RAC.
Ludlow Castle Motor Club Ltd would like to extend their congratulations to both Roger Chilman and Patrick Walsh who captured the BHRC championship after a tight battle with Nick Elliott/Dave Price all year who unfortunately succumbed to the conditions on the first stage.
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence
Photograph courtesy of Ben Lawrence