News from: The BTRDA Rally Championship The Historic Rally Championship The Gravel Rally Championship The Kenyan National Rally Championship And The Mini Epynt Stages
Geoff’s gossip June has been a tragic month for rallying and brings home a stark reminder that our sport is dangerous! Early in the month two young spectators were killed when a car left the road at high speed and rolled into a crowd of onlookers in Rwanda. Just two weeks later popular Welsh driver Martyn Lewis died when his Vauxhall Nova crashed during the Dukeries Rally in Nottingham. And then, just one week after Martyn young Tom Maguire, from Ireland, died on the Donegal Rally whilst co-driving in a Citroen C2 Max! Whilst the Rwanda and the Donegal Rallies were halted early, the Dukeries Rally continued in Martyn’s memory – a gesture I personally found very touching! These horrific accidents serve as a timely reminder that rallying, and motorsport in general, is still dangerous and yet surely it is a sign of how advanced safety devices and crowd control have become that such accidents make us sit up and take note? In the UK, the last time a competitor died during a rally was over two and a half years ago! Consider that there are well in excess of 200 rallies a year in the British Isles and suddenly the law of averages makes rallying quite a safe sport! This does not for one moment mean that I think Martyn’s and Tom’s accidents should not be treated seriously but what I’m getting at is that the investigations should be handled in the correct perspective. Martyn and Tom both knew the risks when they climbed into their respective cars and right up until they crashed I bet both of these guys were having the time of their lives… Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but if I have to choose between dying with a smile on my face in a forest or being stricken down by some god awful disease then strap me into that car and let me have some fun! This Ramblings is for you guys, Martyn Lewis and Tom Maguire – foot flat to the end! In other news the FIA have (eventually) finalized plans for the 2011 WRC regulations. In just over eight months time a new dawn will fall on the World Rally Championship – gone will be the current crop of World Rally Cars and instead we will have the next generation – 1.6 litre turbos fitted to what is essentially a current S2000 chassis and body…. Or will it?! I know the registered teams have to comply by these rules but we still have a 12 month change over period for privateers and I’m curious to know if there is going to be an equalization factor? More importantly it is good bye to a control tyre, thus allowing privateers an alternative avenue to investigate for funding! The last time we had multiple tyre manufacturers it was very much a case of swings and roundabouts, especially on tarmac. I remember 2003. Petter Solberg’s Pirelli shod Subaru struggled in the dry but when it rained he promptly pissed all over the Fords and Citroens! And finally I’d like to applaud the FIA for allowing codrivers names back onto the side windows of the cars – isn’t it funny that our new FIA president is, himself, a former co-driver??? But enough waffling on – enjoy the newsletter and safe rallying! The photo on the right has no relevance to rallying but just proves once and for all that I have the golden touch! ☺
Milner takes sweet Severn success Severn Valley Rally – 05 June – Nation Gravel Championship Jonny Milner and Ian Windress made it two wins in a row after triumphing on the Severn Valley National Rally, narrowly beating Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield to the win after a full day of hot and dusty action on some of Wales finest forest stages. Duckworth was fastest out of the blocks but Milner then clawed back the advantage on the second stage as the following field struggled with visibility in the hanging dust. Charlie Payne was second fastest for the second stage in a row but then undid all of his good work by spinning backwards into a bank in the third test, dislodging the rear bumper and ended the stage with the offending item, now resting on a hot exhaust, in flames! By first service Milner held a slender four second lead over Duckworth, the two rivals having taken a pair of stage wins apiece. Third overall was Super 2000 interloper Tom Cave in his Proton Satria Neo. The Production Class was equally as frantic. Tom Naughton had experienced a frightening off in the opening stage, crashing head first into a tree and causing the stage to be halted. Fortunately both Tom and co-driver Horace Saville were unhurt but this allowed Wug Utting a clear run and the pair returned to first service with a four second advantage over Alex Allingham. The 15 miles of Radnor saw Milner and Duckworth separated by a mere 0.2 of a second! At the same time a rapid run from Allingham, coupled with Utting being stuck behind a stricken Jamie Anderson, saw the reigning BTRDA Production Class Champion regain the Group N lead. This stage also saw the demise of Nigel Seabold and Tim Barton as the pair rolled their brand new Subaru Impreza N2010 into retirement! The final two stages saw Duckworth and Milner resume their battle. Whilst Duckworth was 0.6 faster on the penultimate stage Milner attacked hard through Crychan to take 7 seconds back from the Subaru driver and returned to Builth Wells with his second maximum score in a row! What a fantastic day! Roger and I had a cracking battle all day long and to come out on top is the best way to end such an event! A frantic final stage saw Charlie Payne finally come to grips with his Ford Focus WRC and he did enough to move from fifth to third in one stage, taking the final podium position by seven seconds from Stephen Petch whilst Alex Allingham ensured that he took his first ever MSA Gravel Rally Championship Production Class victory with a pair of rapid times over the final two stages, doing enough to take maximum points by a comfortable 42 seconds from Wug Utting’s similar Subaru Impreza. The final word is reserved for Roger Duckworth; at the start of the second last stage Jonny (Milner) said that if I beat him he’d eat his hat and we took half a second out of him – ha! 1st 2nd 3rd
Jonny Milner/ Ian Windress Roger Duckworth/ Mark Broomfield Charlie Payne/ Craig Thorley
Toyota Corolla WRC Subaru Impreza WRC Ford focus WRC
1:00:59 1:01:10 1:02:44
Perfect Pritchard makes history with Epynt victory Jason Pritchard became the first person in the British Isles to win a tarmac rally outright with the latest shape Subaru Impreza when the 21 year old powered his Production Class version to victory on the recent Apex Motor Parts Mini Epynt Stages! Pritchard, joined by Dai Roberts for the event, was only contesting the rally to gain more seat time in the North Road Garage, FCS Lasermail and Total Impreza Magazine backed car and yet won nine of the ten special stages. It was not plain sailing though as the young pairing received a 30 second penalty for hitting a chicane. This meant that Jason had to fight back over the final four stages to eventually clinch his first ever tarmac win by a mere six seconds! Wow, I can’t believe that I have won a rally over Epynt! I’ve been coming here for years and have watched my Dad win on a number of occasions and so to top the sheets myself is very special! My uncle won this very event twenty years ago so it is a result I’m very proud of! I’m annoyed that we had the penalty for hitting the chicane as our incar camera shows that we made every effort possible to slow down but we pushed hard in the afternoon and still managed to take the win! I have to say a big thanks to Dai for calling the notes as he did a top job! This result means that Pritchard, who only made the step up to four wheel drive this season, has now won rallies on both gravel and tarmac in the Subaru Impreza N2010! Jason, a double British R2 Rally Champion, currently lies third overall in the Dulux Trades MSA British Rally Championship as the championship heads to the Isle of Man for round four in early July. Meanwhile Steve Wood and co-driver Aled Richards continued to adjust to their new Citroen C2 Max when the pair drove to 15th overall and fourth in class! Wood and Richards were aiming to contest the rally purely to gain more mileage in the new car, but such is the popularity of this event that they were on the reserve list until Thursday night! Despite the short notice that they were actually doing the rally, the pair acquitted themselves well. Although the settings on the car were not perfect in the morning Wood soon had the car behaving as he wanted and began to climb the leaderboard, ending the ten stage rally a mere five seconds behind the car in front! It was really good to get more seat time in the car as it is all still very new to us. The suspension was a bit soft in the morning but after a quick phone call to Geoff Jones we made some adjustments and it was much better in the afternoon! 1st 2nd 3rd
Jason Pritchard/ Dai Roberts Mark Straker/ Neil Harrison Bryan Davies/ Alun Lewis
Subaru Impreza N2010 Darrian T90 Mitsubishi Evo 6
36:05 36:11 36:21
Dusty Dukeries marred by tragic death Dukeries Rally – 12 June- Nottingham When Steve Perez equalled Roger Clarks record of three victories on the Dukeries Rally the Ford Focus WRC pilot dedicated his win to Welsh rally driver Martyn Lewis who died after crashing on the seventh stage of the rally. The fact that Perez had to fight hard for his victory made this dedication all the more fitting as Andy Burton pushed him hard right up until the Cosworth powered Peugeot retired with mechanical issues mid way through the rally! Damian Cole looked set to continue his trend of finishing as runner up on this event but then Charlie Payne piped him on the final stage, demoting Cole and his Hyundai WRC to third at the finish. Roger Chilman still leads the championship outright despite a relatively poor showing after he ran into all sorts of bother with his Group N Subaru Impreza N12, fourth in class is not normal for the former BTRDA champion. Group N spoils went to Jamie Anderson in an Evo 8! The battle for top 1400cc went to Matt Edwards who firmly stamped his authority on this rally. Edwards had opened up an almost half minute lead by the half way mark but when he was caught in dust from a slower car, nursing a puncture, Edwards saw his lead trimmed to a mere four seconds with just one 5 mile test left! A massive charge through Portland Two saw Edwards and co-driver Sam Collis win the category by thirty seconds! This decisive win now sees Matt top the leaderboard with three rounds still to go! Geoff Jones Motorsport had an interesting day out in the forests. Gary Kenna was making a welcome return in the Subaru N14 plus and enjoyed a drama free run to 20th overall and sixth in class. By contrast Phil Brown, at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza N11, ended his home rally in hospital after a high speed off resulted in him being taken away in an ambulance for precautionary checks! He had been on the fringes of the top ten when he crashed out! 1st 2nd 3rd
Steve Perez/ Paul Spooner Charlie Payne/ Craig Thorley Damian Cole/ Craig Drew
Ford Focus WRC Ford Focus WRC Hyundai Accent WRC
40:14 41:09 41:13
Mid Summer madness in Mid Wales Mid Wales Stages – 20 June – Newtown Ask any die hard rally fan in the UK what is the most entertaining rally championship in the country and they will always say the Historics. And for the second time in a fortnight this fiercely competitively series was playing in the Welsh woods. And for the second rally in a row Nick Elliott was in imperious form, backing up his Severn Valley win with a Sweet Lamb success! Elliott was fastest out of the blocks, but a high speed excursion through the undergrowth at the flying finish of the first stage ended Will Onions rally early. And his efforts had been in vain as the stage was annulled after the Graham brothers put their immaculate Lancia Fulvia on its side! Conor Corkill was close to Elliotts pace but the Manx man didn’t help his cause when he rolled his previously immaculate Mk II Escort on the third stage. He would recover to finish down in 19th position! Gareth Lloyd was second overall by the finish whilst Rob Smith hustled his Chevette to third, less than thirty seconds off the pace of the Escort ahead. Dessie Nutt took another maximum score in his Historic spec Porsche 911 and now closes to within 2 points of the amazing Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite at the top of the points table. Elliott is currently down in ninth following his Pirelli Rally exit but on current form should be odds on favourite to take the highly popular classic category! In the modern section young Matt Edwards delivered the drive of his life, dominating the event and making it all look so easy en route to a winning margin of almost three minutes! Second overall was an excellent result for Neville Jones on his debut in his new Subaru Impreza N14 plus, having come out on top of an event long battle with Hyundai World Rally Car driver Peter Egerton who finished third overall. The event was run in the memory of organizing club member Martyn Evans who tragically died on the Dukeries Rally a week before. Martyn’s widow, Cath, and his brother, Richard, were on hand at the prize giving to hand out an award to the first placed two wheel drive crew home. This fittingly went to young Welsh chargers Dylan Davies and Dale Furniss in a Ford Escort Mk 1 Clubman Results 1st Matt Edwards/ Sam Collis 2nd Neville Jones/ Ian Capewell 3rd Peter Egerton/ Jamie Edwards
Subaru Impreza N12 Subaru Impreza N14 Hyundai WRC
46.29 49.20 49.35
Historic Results 1st Nick Elliott/ Dave Price 2nd Gareth Lloyd/ Ryland James 3rd Rob Smith/ Shaun O’Gorman
Ford Escort Ford Escort Vauxhall Chevette
1.00.43 1.02.18 1.02.43
Geoff Jones From rallying a little Metro around Silverstone race circuit to driving a chase car for Mitsubishi in the Safari Rally in Kenya and Ivory Coast, a works driver for the likes of Proton and Nissan and involved in the test and development of a number of Prodrive projects Geoff Jones has done it all… and this affable Welshman, now at the helm of a prospering rally car preparation firm in the heart of Wales, is by no means done yet! Geoff Jones is commonly found in services parks around the country most weekends, either looking after his fleet of rally cars or helping set up other peoples’ cars but occasionally he still has the opportunity to get back behind the wheel himself. In 2009 Geoff was invited by Revolution Wheels to drive on the Jim Clark International Rally. Despite not having competed on a recced event, or on tarmac for that matter, in almost a decade Geoff still hustled his Subaru N14 into the top ten overall and had a lot of the younger drivers amazed at his times! His competition pedigree is both wide ranging and impressive. In the 1980’s he made his name as a rear wheel drive expert, winning his first ever rally, in the snow and ice, the same year that he began stage rallying! A number of wins then followed, including winning the Newtown Stages (now the Mid Wales stages!) in 1986 in a Chevette. But by 1990 Geoff had seen the potential of Group N and rallied a Production class Sierra Cosworth for a while. The chance to drive a Mitsubishi Starion was too good to turn down but just two events into that deal the car caught fire and burnt to the ground mid stage! At the time Geoff and regular co-driver Phil Mills (the same one!) just thought the spectators were waving them on, not realizing that they were trying to stop the flame ball! The early nineties saw Geoff take a break from competing to develop Geoff Jones Motorsport but during this period he drove the works Mitsubishi chase car for Kenjiro Shinozuka on the Safari and Ivory Coast Rallies for a number of years. Geoff returned to full time rallying in the mid 1990’s. After a year in a Group A Nova he had the opportunity to drive a standard 1300cc Nissan in the Rally School Nissan Micra Challenge. He promptly won the series and was rewarded with a fully paid drive, in the same car, on Rally Great Britain. He proceeded to win his class by over half an hour and finished inside the top twenty overall in the little car! This fine result led to further involvement with Nissan and by 1998 he was competing in the British Championship in a 1300cc Micra kit car. Due to regulations Geoff had to run with the 1600cc cars and a string of giant killing results saw him end the season second overall in class! When Nissan pulled out of British rallying Geoff was offered two drives in a Proton S1600, and he repaid the team with a fine ninth overall on the Isle of Man.
In 2003 Geoff contested Wales Rally GB in a Subaru Impreza GC8 and won the Group N class quite convincingly. This led to a works drive with the Prodrive Subaru in the ANCRO Championship but, just when things were looking good, Geoff was struck down by a car whilst servicing on a rally and missed a number of events whilst recovering in hospital! He returned to competition by winning Group N on the Swansea Bay Rally but by then his championship was over. But Geoff is much more than just an accomplished driver. As well as working on projects such as the World Championship and the Paris to Dakar marathon as a mechanic Geoff is also a top quality driver tutor. Conrad Rautenbach won the African Rally Championship under Geoff’s guidance before moving onto the world stage. A number of podiums in the Junior World Rally Championship followed and a best ever fourth overall on Rally Argentina was a highlight of 2008. Others to have benefited from Geoff’s guidance include a young Richard Burns who sat with Geoff when the future World Rally Champion was just 15 years old! Geoff’s business is equally as successful and these days runs a variety of Subaru Group N and World Rally Cars, historic Escorts, screaming Citroen R2’s and, in keeping with his roots, a Formula 1000 Nissan Micra! And, after making strong appearances in both four wheel drive (he won the Plains Rally in 2005 in a Group A Impreza and followed it up with third overall in 2008 in a Focus WRC) and front wheel drive (Geoff was lying third in the 1400cc class on the Cambrian Rally in a virtually standard MG ZR in 2009 when the engine failed) he now has his sights set on a rear wheel drive return and is currently building a Group 4 Ford Escort so look out for some sideways action in a forest near you soon! Random fact – not only is Geoff learning Swahili but he once covered over 500 miles in a weekend around a 1.5 mile track at Trawsfynydd doing endurance testing in a Subaru World Rally Car!
Mid Wales success for GJM Geoff Jones Motorsport enjoyed a successful weekend of rallying when the team took the top two positions overall and a total of five awards on a hot and dusty Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages on Sunday 20 June. The previous week had been very busy with drivers swapping cars and Geoff was busy ensuring that everyone was properly acclimatised to their new steads. Neville Jones was debuting the ex Gary Kenna Subaru Impreza N14 plus and despite only a brief test before hand Neville and codriver Ian Capewell immediately felt at home in the car. Strong times all day on a rally that had previously not been kind to Neville saw the Stone based driver record his best ever finish of second overall, finishing 15 seconds ahead of Peter Egerton’s Hyundai World Rally Car! Ahead of Neville, and winning every single stage on his return to a four wheel drive, was young Matt Edwards, ably co-driven by Sam Collis. The pair, who are pace setters in the BTRDA 1400cc rally series in an MG ZR, had not driven a four wheel drive competitively for almost two years but adapted to the ex Neville Jones Subaru Impreza N12 quickly and disappeared into the distance at a pace that no-one else could match. Seventh overall and third in class were Julian Jones and Ian Blethyn in their Subaru Impreza B13. Julian is still a relatively new convert to four wheel drive and this weekend was his best ever gravel result! The highlight of the day was taking three seconds out of his brother in law, Neville, on the final run through Sweet Lamb! Slightly further back, but trying just as hard, was young James Watkins on only his second ever gravel rally. James loved every moment of it and took his 1 litre Nissan Micra to second in the 1400cc class and 20th overall! Having studied in car footage of Sebastian Loeb through Sweet Lamb James admitted to “keeping it flat” all the way down the hill into the bowl on the final stage, sparking a comment from co-driver Chris Evans… “did you take your brave pills for this stage?” Two of Geoff Jones’ students were also in action on the event. Sara Williams had been bang on the pace in her Subaru Impreza N10, lying second overall until her turbo let go on Stage 4. Osian Pryce took his third podium of the year and his first ever top ten finish when the 17 year old brought his Ford Fiesta ST back to Newtown ninth overall and third in class, rounding up a pretty successful weekend for the team!
Horsey rues puncture in Meru KCB Simba Saving Rally – Meru – 26 June Mombasa born Peter Horsey was left to rue a string of dramas which ultimately cost the young Civicon backed rally driver a potential podium on last weekends KCB Simba Savings Rally in Meru, 26 year old Horsey eventually returning to the finish fourth overall in his Mitsubishi Evo 9. Peter, who has been competing in the World Rally Championship this year, courtesy of winning the Pirelli Star Driver nomination, was hoping to use some of his experiences to good effect on this, the fourth round of the Kenyan National Rally Championship. Problems during the pre event reconnaissance, when his recce car suffered mechanical problems, meant that Peter, codriven for the first time by Andrew Doig, was not able to perfect his pace notes ahead of the rally. Undeterred, the young transport manager attacked the rally with gusto and was in contention for a strong podium position right up until he punctured a tyre half way through a section. The time loss to their rivals meant that Peter and Doigy would return to Meru in fourth position having posted some consistently quick times, including winning special stage 8, the second time in two events that Peter has toped the time sheets in Kenya! Well this weekend didn’t go as planned, but that is rallying! The recce car breaking was a real pain and put us on a back foot but thanks to everyone who helped out. The stages were fantastic, so fast in places and yet so technical in others, it was a really good rally from that point of view. The puncture cost us precious time once more but at least my pace is constantly improving and that is my main target for this year. Peter will now head to Estonia to contest the South Estonia Rally at the wheel of his Mitsubishi Evo X. He will use this event as a high speed test ahead of WRC Rally Finland and to acclimatise to new WRC co-driver Calvin Cooledge and will join the likes of Markko Martin on the impressive entry list! The rally was won convincingly by championship leader Alistair Cavenagh who had a faultless run to victory. His task was made easier when team mate and rival Carl ‘Flash’ Tundo broke his gearbox early on. Lee Rose was forced to use a near standard Mitsubishi Evo 8 when his own Evo 9 could not be readied in time. Lee ultimately joined Flash on the retirement’s list when the coil pack failed before the half way mark. 1st 2nd 3rd
Alastair Cavenagh/ Gavin Laurence Ian Duncan/ Amaar Slatch Baldev Chager/ Raju Sehmi
Mitsubishi Evo 9 Nissan Patrol Subaru N12
1h 34m 32s 1h 37m 42s 1h 36m 56s
Wood extends championship lead with Caerwent podium Mid Summer Stages – Caerwent – 20 June Aberystwyth based Steve Wood and co-driver Aled Richards, from Ciliau Aeron, extended their class lead in the Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship when the pair drove their Citroen C2 Max to 16th overall on the recent Mid Summer Stages at Caerwent in South Wales, collecting maximum class points along the way. The little pocket rocket was always going to struggle against the more powerful four wheel drive rally cars around this high speed venue but Wood and Richards acquitted themselves well and enjoyed a frantic class battle all day long. A slight overshoot on one stage cost the pair precious seconds but their reward at the end of the seventy mile rally was another maximum points haul! Although Caerwent is a really high speed venue you have to be neat and tidy as there are a lot of unforgiving curbs! Because of the nature of the stages we found we were having brake fade towards the end of each test but apart from that, and one small overshoot, we had no dramas all day! 2010 is Steve and Aleds first full season of stage rallying and after seven rounds the pair increase their class lead and are currently lying third overall in the Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship! The next event for the pairing is the Harry Flatters Rally over the daunting Epynt Military Ranges in early August. The pair recently finished inside the top fifteen over Epynt when they contested the Mini Epynt Stages as a test and will be hoping that this bodes well for the future.
Dramas deny Vincent a strong Ypres run Ypres Rally – Belgium – 26 June Revolution Wheels backed Vincent Verschueren had a drama filled Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut when the Symtech Racing Subaru Impreza driver survived a freak accident whilst waiting to start stage two, an off road excursion later in the day and ultimately differential problems halted the Belgian and yet still set some very competitive times! Vincent, who has been on the pace since making his debut in the Production class car at the beginning of the year, could not believe his bad luck when a rival car crashed into him whilst waiting to begin the second stage! The damage to the rear axle caused Vincent to haemorrhage time over the next loop of stages. His problems then went from bad to worse when a wrong tyre choice on Friday evening saw the reigning Historic champion drop more time before ending the evening in an infamous Belgium ditch! Saturday morning began promisingly enough with some very competitive times but when the centre diff failed, a by product of the stage two incident the day before, Vincent was forced to call it a day. I am very disappointed! We had a good setup for this event but after the accident before stage two the car was not so good! We set a few quick times but that was worse as the car was not good and still I was on the pace!
Forthcoming events This is a list of events that Geoff Mayes Media will have a representative on – please contact us in advance if you would like photos or video at one of those listed, to ensure we film you! ☺ July 10 10 17 17 17 25 31 31 31
Isle of Man International Quinton Stages Swansea Bay Rally Zambia International Rally South Estonia Rally Coracle Stages WRC Finland Nakuru Rally Harry Flatters Rally
British/ Historic Rally Championship BTRDA Championship Gravel Championship African Rally Championship Estonian Rally Championship Welsh Forest Championship World Rally Championship Kenya National Rally Championship Welsh Tarmac Championship
August 13 14 20 20 27 29
Rally Reyjavik Neath Stages Ulster Rally WRC Germany Zimbabwe Challenge Rally Mewla Rally, Epynt
Iceland Welsh Forest Championship British Rally Championship World Rally Championship African Rally Championship National Tarmac Championship
September 04 11 18 25 27 30
Woodpecker Stages BTRDA/ ANCRO Flanders Rally Historic Rally Championship Nairobi Rally Kenya National Rally Championship Trackrod Rally Yorkshire British/ Historic/ ANRCO Championships Geoff gets his driving licence back – whoop whoop!!! WRC France World Rally Championship
Photo of the Month
Matt Edwards flies to his first ever win!