Only a few Ludlow Castle Motor Club crews saw fit to tackle the microclimate of Epynt at the weekend. The event certainly lived up to the hype of inclement weather. On this occasion there was no chance of sunstroke or frostbite, but the use of flippers may well have been a distinct advantage.
Photo courtesy of Ben Lawrence Photography
Phil Clarke/Jason Pritchard – 1st Overall, National Event
Phil Clarke was sat by regular driver Jason Pritchard in his brand-new Scott Williams’ built Mk 2 Ford Escort. Seeded at car 2 in the National Event the pair were hopeful of a decent debut for the car. Lying third overall after the first loop of 14 miles a couple of changes were made to the ride height and tracking which seemed to transform the car and produced a quickest time on SS3. Unfortunately, the excellent work was undone with an overshoot within sight of the finish of SS4, dropping 10 seconds but still holding third place. The last three stages were properly wet, however with confidence growing three stunning times saw the pair take and extend the lead to finish first overall by 19 seconds to take maximum British Historic Rally Championship points.
Photo courtesy of Ben Lawrence Photography
Photo courtesy of Ben Lawrence Photography
Chris Simmons/Fraser Moss – 11th overall Interclub Rally, 3rd in Class 5
The pair reported that their first two stages saw damp conditions then the heavens opened into a shockingly wet day. It was Fraser’s first time on pace notes, and he seemed to manage well. Had a bolt snap on the TCA which made the Darrian’s handling a little sloppy and on stage 6 the car cut out four times due to the wet conditions. With team orders for Chris to bring the car home on the last stage, all was going well until the car again cut out numerous times however they managed to cruise to a gutsy finish in dismal conditions with a Darrian suffering from pneumonia!
Photo courtesy of Ben Lawrence Photography
Ryan Wilding/Lucy Wilding – DNF
The day certainly didn’t go as planned. With some committed driving from the off, they unfortunately hit a chicane on SS1 after locking the brakes up, knocking the bale about 70 m down the road resulting in the car facing the wrong way in the road. After driving back up the stage to allow Ryan to spin the car around on the handbrake, the car slipped into a ditch and all attempts to recover them failed.
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
Photo courtesy of Black Mountains Media
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