News from: The British Rally Championship The BTRDA Rally Championship The Welsh Rally Championship Rally Estonia and WRC Rally Finland
Geoff’s gossip Hello and welcome, one and all, to my latest musings! I write this from somewhere up above, and it’s not as a result of some mishap with explosives, but more because of the amount of globetrotting I’ve done this month! From the Isle of Man to Estonia and Finland via Sweet Lamb in Mid Wales, it has been a crazy few weeks. My two trips to Eastern Europe have served to remind me that, whilst rallying is seen as almost a hindrance in the British forests with little done to attract spectators, to the Scandinavians the sport is a way of life. The police were firm yet helpful and full of smiles in Estonia, and the thousands of spectators who had turned out to watch Markko Martin back in action were vocal but extremely well behaved! On to Finland, where the 1000 Lakes Rally was celebrating its sixtieth visit and those people know exactly what works! One of the best spectator guides around, well marked and thought out spectator parking and designated access roads for media ensuring that we could get in and out with next to no trouble! In fact, of the 19 special stages, the Horsey family and I comfortably saw nine and could probably have snuck in another two or three if we had tried! I have warned them not to expect the same on Wales Rally GB! For sure the highlight of Finland for me was breakfast with Ari! A true gentleman with time for everyone, the 1981 World Rally Champion invited me to breakfast on the Sunday after the rally to thank me in person for creating a youtube video when he was running for the FIA presidency! The full interview can be read later in Rally Ramblings but it is difficult to convey in words the emotion and energy that this man has for the world of motorsport! I would like to extend my congratulations to Jamie Whyte, Archie and KT the amazing Subaru N10, after they successfully defended their African Rally Championship title recently. This year’s championship has struggled for numbers but I am hoping to reach an agreement to be more involved in 2011 and turn things around. With excellent roads, enthusiastic spectators, keen sponsors and more mileage for your money than most European events, Africa has to be a viable alternative for the rally driver wishing to try something a little different! Finally – this years Pirelli Star Driver scheme has achieved what it set out to do – find some hidden talent! Both Haddon Paddon and Ott Tanak have won rounds of the PWRC this year and the other three drivers, Alex, Nicholai and Peter are improving round by round… but the question is – what happens in 2011? The African PSD shoot out takes place in Zimbabwe later in August and I will bring you all the news in the next edition, but with the control tyre deal ending this season I, and many others, are curious to know what happens next…. Food for thought: Whilst I was away jet-setting, my Dad went down to the Royal International Air Tattoo – a massive air show at RAF Fairford – and this got me thinking about the whole “Green” issue. People complain about rallying not being terribly eco friendly but that air show attracted 160 000 people over two days, plus hundreds of aircraft regularly doing airborne demonstrations over the weekend and you have to wonder how big a carbon footprint that little display created…
Ari Vatanen Ari Vatanen, 1981 World Rally Champion (the last driver to win the title in a Ford), double British Rally Champion, four times winner of the Paris Dakar Marathon and a former European Union Member of Parliament, recently took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to have breakfast with me, chat about the current state of affairs of rallying and generally reminisce about the “Golden Years”! The first thing you notice is the aura that Ari holds, he is full of smiles and has a refreshingly positive outlook on life and admits that this all comes as a result of his near fatal accident in Argentina in 1985. Since then, Ari has learnt that life should never be taken for granted and he takes time out to greet people, colleagues and fans alike, in such a way that you can’t help but get sucked into the whole feel good atmosphere that he creates. Whilst rallying is very close to his heart Ari talks about how the most special moment of his career was taking to the start line of the 1987 Paris Dakar Rally. This was his competitive return after that terribly accident 18 months before and the realisation that he was still alive and had been given a second chance made the whole occasion so special! He then went on to win the mighty marathon at the wheel of a Peugeot 205 T16! When talking of cars he admits that, without a doubt, the 205 Group B car is his favourite. “It was so revolutionary and made the other manufacturers go back to the drawing board. And from a driver’s point of view the 205 just inspired so much confidence! It is just a pity that it didn’t like jumps!!!” However Ari has fond memories of the Ford Escort that was like “a lover” in his hands in the late 70’s and early 80’s and he could make it dance as he wished… and yet he finds them a bit of a handful these days! On the subject of team tactics, from the teams’ point of view, Ari admits that they are a necessary evil. When a manufacturer has invested so much money in a championship, to lose the title at the end of the year because they didn’t play the game correctly is a bit foolish – an example being with Ford in 2009. If Mikko and Jari had switched positions in Sardinia then Mikko would have been champion! But Ari also adds that any manipulation should be done in a way that is sporting and won’t upset the fans that are there for the spectacle… a barbed dig at some of the shenanigans in F1! Ari is gracious in his FIA Presidential defeat but you get the feeling that this mighty man is not done yet – the same man who would carry on with a battered Escort all those years ago is still in action and is just as popular with the fans as ever! Go Ari Go!
Perez perfect on quality Quinton Quinton Stages – 10 July- Mid Wales With only two rounds left of the 2010 BTRDA Rally Series Steve Perez and co-driver Paul Spooner have one hand on the title, courtesy of their fourth outright victory of the year on the recent Quinton Stages… but Steve didn’t have it all his own way and, had championship rival Andy Burton not retired his amazing Peugeot Cosworth once more, things might have been rather different! Indeed the pair were only separated by a mere 1 second after the opening 13 mile stage over the Epynt military ranges! Burton pulled out a further six seconds on the second stage before the pair tied on times in SS3. Perez then moved into the lead with a blistering time on Stage 4 as Burton’s car went off song, eventually retiring on the fifth stage and allowing Perez to throttle back and cruise to a victory of almost a minute and a half! Perez has admitted that he wished the Peugeot was more reliable as he enjoys the fights with the crowd pleasing V6! And with the title in sight Perez has put his ex Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus WRC up for sale – should he sell the car before the next two rallies then he will dust off his old 03 Focus WRC for those events! When Burton retired it looked like Roger Chilman, in a Group N Subaru Impreza N12, would again take a strong haul on points (Group N cars get bonus points to stop the World Cars running away) but Roger cruelly retired with mechanical gremlins metres from the finish of the rally! This allowed James Belton to take second overall in his Subaru Impreza WRC whilst a rapid Patrick Naylor took third overall in his Group N Mitsubishi Evo 9. An amazing 11th overall were Matt Edwards and Sam Collis, back in their 1400cc MG ZR and taking maximum points in the category for the third time this year. This fantastic result moves the pair into a slim lead in the series with two of Matt’s favourite events left. The key to his victory was going 15 seconds faster than any other 1400cc car through that first decisive test! Not only did the young pairing take the 1400cc spoils, beating returnee George Thomas along the way, but they were also the top two wheel drives at the end of the seven stages! With dropped scores to consider (the best six scores from the 8 events count) the overall, two wheel drive and 1400cc titles are still wide open, but on current form the favourites have to be Perez, Ballinger and Edwards to take the respective titles… but, as with everything in rallying… anything can happen!
Fantastic five scoop awards on quality Quinton Geoff Jones Motorsport enjoyed a strong day out on the Llandovery based Quinton Stages when all five of their various Subaru Impreza rally cars returned to the finish of the seven stage rally inside the top twenty, with a number of the drivers taking class awards to add to their trophy cabinets. Gary Kenna and Chris Davies were making their World Rally Car debut and despite treating the event as an extended test it was smiles all around as Gary brought his ex Tommi Makinen Subaru Impreza S9 WRC home a fine second in class. After a cautious start Gary rapidly raised his pace throughout the day and by the final stage was a mere five seconds away from the top ten on stage times! Nigel Seabold and Tim Barton were back in action after suffering the ignominy of rolling their brand new Subaru Impreza N2010 on the Severn Valley Rally just a few weeks before! The pair adopted a cautious start to the rally, Nigel mindful of his recent inversion, but as he settled into his new stead so the times improved. The Grayston backed pair returned to Llandovery a well deserving third in the Production class! Neville Jones and Ian Capewell were contesting only their second ever event in the Subaru Impreza N14 plus and followed up their fine second over on the recent Mid Wales Stages with fourth in the very competitive B13 class, finishing just behind brother in law Julian. Nev has vowed to make sure that he is ahead of Julian next time out but still enjoyed the day immensely! Julian Jones and Martin Taylor were on fine form in their Subaru Impreza B13 as Julian powered his car to a second consecutive top ten overall finish! 2010 is Julian’s first year in a four wheel drive and after just a handful of events seems to have settled in nicely, with third overall in Class B13 being his reward this weekend! Wug Utting and Bob Stokoe continued their recent form of top finishes when the pair brought their Subaru Impreza N12b home second in Group N and seventh overall! Whilst Wug’s son Max was playing in the rain on the Isle of Man, where he finished 8th in Class N4, Wug experienced some of the best of the Welsh weather with the day primarily dry. Once again all of the cars in the Geoff Jones Motorsport stable ran faultlessly and judging by the smiles at the finish, everyone was happy with their day out in the Welsh woods!
Cronin crushes with dominant drive Isle of Man International Rally – 10 July Keith Cronin reignited his title aspirations with a controlled drive to victory on a very wet and treacherous Rally Isle of Man recently, fending off the Wiley old fox that is Gwyndaf Evans along the way. After a no score and a troubled drive on the Pirelli and Jim Clark rallies respectively, Cronin desperately needed to do something to stay in the title hunt and with Evans hitting a sweet spot with victory on both events it was all to play for this weekend. But Evans had a small problem… his co-driver! Chris Patterson had recently signed up to co-drive for Petter Solberg. But then Gwyndaf “borrowed” Gareth Roberts from the absent Craig Breen who was unable to contest the rally after badly damaging his Ford Fiesta S2000 on an Irish event just a few weeks earlier! The rally wasn’t just about these two though. Fastest on the opening stage was young Alistair Fisher but his charge ultimately ended upside down when he was caught out in the changeable weather conditions! The same stage proved decisive in the overall fight for the lead when Gwyndaf Evans went off and lost almost two minutes in the undergrowth! His fight back was amazing – six fastest stage times and climbing from seventh to second overall was certainly the drive of the rally! Jason Pritchard really came of age on this event, fending off attacks from first Adam Gould, who came to grief on the infamous Curraghs stage and later Jonnie Greer, to take his first ever podium in the British Championship! Jason and codriver Robbie Durant have really settled into their Subaru Impreza N2010 and despite a couple of wrong tyre choices the pair kept their noses clean and set a number of very competitive times… not bad for a learning year in the car! Elsewhere Jarkko Nikara excelled in the challenging conditions and hustled the little Renault Twingo R2 up to an incredible sixth overall and top two wheel drive on his first visit to the island. He was appropriately rewarded with the Pirelli yellow Jacket, joining his team mate on the role call so far in 2010! Results 1 Keith Cronin/ Barry McNulty 2 Gwyndaf Evans/ Gareth Roberts 3 Jason Pritchard/ Robbie Durant
Subaru Impreza N15 Mitsubishi Evo X Subaru Impreza N16
2:19:00 2:20:38 2:23:51
Sweet Manx success for Stokes Revolution Wheels supported Historic rallying ace David Stokes continued his strong run of success on the Isle of Man when the former rally champion took a well deserved victory at the wheel of his Ford Escort Mk 1 after two days of high speed rallying action. With a brace of wins and a run of podiums for the past five years, Stokes began the event as favourite but, with torrential rain and heavy fog, the 2010 running of the Historic Rally Isle of Man was by no means an easy win for the personable driver. This year’s rally was one of the most difficult that I’ve ever driven! The weather made life very interesting and at times we would have been better off with a paddle! Young Alistair Fisher began the fourth round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship with a stage win on the opening test. A wrong tyre choice for the rest of the opening loop cost him some time but by the fifth stage Fisher, who finished on the podium here 12 months ago, was within sight of the leaders. Everything went wrong on stage 6 when Fisher suffered a dramatic crash mid way through the stage, rolling his pristine Mitsubishi Evo 9 a number of times. Fortunately both Alistair and co-driver Rory Kennedy were unhurt but their rally, and championship aspirations, were over! Adam Gould and Craig Drew inherited third position and soon moved their ageing Subaru Impreza N11 up to second overall after refining the car set up at second service. A fastest stage time on the run through Staarvey boosted Gould’s confidence but then an altercation with a telegraph pole later in the day damaged his radiator and ultimately led to Adam’s retirement. The Subaru N12b pairing of Max Utting and Ken Bowman experienced a fraught rally, struggling with handling maladies and then damaging the exhaust system after sliding into a grass bank. Things improved on the second day and despite contending with atrocious weather conditions Utting, on only his second ever tarmac rally in a four wheel drive, survived the conditions to return to Douglas eighth in class. Warren McKiernan, from Revolution Wheels, was full of praise for the crews; David Stokes once again showed why he is rated as one of the quickest Escort drivers in the country and to survive those torrential weather conditions is quite an achievement. Alistair’s and Adam’s incidents are part of the risks of rallying at this level, and as their stage times show, both of these young talents were mixing it with the best! The next round of the 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship is the Rally Northern Ireland which takes place on the bumpy lanes around Antrim on 20 and 21 August.
Horsey takes top ten in Estonia Rally Estonia – 17 July - Otepaa Peter Horsey enjoyed a successful test with new co-driver, Welshman Calvin Cooledge, when the pair drove their Civicon backed Mitsubishi Evo X to ninth in the production class on the recent Mad Croc Rally Estonia, an event they contested as a warm up for the World Rally Championship Rally Finland. The 2010 Mad Croc Rally Estonia had attracted such super stars as former works Ford drive Markko Martin as well as Peter’s Pirelli Star drive team mate Ott Tanak. Whilst Ott had prior experience and ultimately went on to win the Group N category on the rally, Peter was using the event as a high speed test. At the end of the opening day Horsey and Cooledge were down in 21st in Group N, a combination of taking time to acclimatize and a puzzling misfire costing them time. After solving a problem with the water feed to the intercooler which cured the misfire, the pair found a new turn of speed and climbed the leaderboard on every stage, eventually returning to the finish on Sunday afternoon a very impressive ninth in Group N! Peter was happy with how the weekend had developed; the roads are amazing, a lot more technical than I was expecting and so much fun to drive. Calvin and I have learnt a lot about each other this weekend and now I’m feeling confident ahead of WRC Rally Finland! I’d like to say a big thanks to both Priit Kinnuenn and Kulder Sikk for all of their help and assistance this weekend! I’d like to also congratulate Ott and Kuldar on finishing second overall – it’s an awesome result for them! The rally was won outright by former Ford and Peugeot works driver Markko Martin, who convincingly won every single special stage in a Ford Focus WRC03. Ott Tanak was second overall in his Group N Subaru Impreza with Toni Gardemeister completing the podium in a Ford Fiesta S2000.
Horsey scores points in Finland Neste Oils Rally Finland – 29-31 July Just two weeks after competing in Estonia Peter and Calvin were back in action for the third round of Peter’s 2010 Pirelli Star Drive programme… and an event that Peter had admitted to looking forward to the most – Rally Finland, or the 1000 Lakes Rally as many fans still call it today! The rally began with quite a historic moment for the pairing as the priority drivers were run in reverse for the opening special stage on Thursday night. This meant that Car 37, Peter Horsey and Calvin Cooledge, opening proceedings for the 60th anniversary of the rally and topped the overall timesheets for four minutes! Friday saw the crews tackle 11 high speed stages around the host town of Jyvaskyla, but it all very nearly ended in disaster early on when Peter slid wide on the very first corner of the day and bounced through a ditch and, luckily, back onto the road! This served as a sharp reminder of the need to concentrate and ensure that the crew completed all of the stages. As the day progressed and Peters’ confidence in both the notes and the car increased, so did his pace and he enjoyed a fierce battle with his fellow Pirelli star driver Nick Georgiou. And at the end of the fast and flowing Myhinpaa stage his grin was huge – having just averaged over 105 km/h down the narrow tree lined roads and tackling blind crests at full speed, Peter admitted that this was the most fun he had ever had in a rally car! A minor issue when the rear diff mounting needed replacing at final service was the only mechanical drama that Peter had all weekend and the young Kenyan began the final day a mere ten seconds off the car in front. It took Peter just two stages to catch and pass his nearest championship rival and enjoyed a solid day as he climbed the leaderboard stage by stage. His eventual result was extremely impressive considering this was the toughest rally that Peter had ever faced. Fourth amongst the Pirelli Star drive cars, ninth in the PWRC, making him the first person from Africa to ever score points in the category, and a final result of 40th overall after over 310 kilometres of rallying action! This event has been amazing! It is by far the best rally I have ever tackled and the thrill of driving over those blind crests as fast as I could will stay with me for a very long time! Definitely our recent test in Estonia has helped a lot and I am really pleased to have scored points on my PWRC debut!
Podiums galore for GJM Bill Gwynne Rally school Coracle Stages – 25 July The recent Coracle Stages at the Sweet Lamb Rally Complex saw Geoff Jones Motorsport enjoy yet another successful weekend of rallying, with all five cars returning to the finish without any dramas and a number of awards being received by the various drivers. Gary Kenna and Chris Davies continued their steep learning curve in the ex Tommi Makinen Subaru S9 World Rally Car. After loosing time early on as the pair were hampered by thick fog they were then forced to stop and change a puncture mid way through the final test, costing Gary and Chris a substantial amount of time. Despite this Gary was pleased to get more mileage under his belt. Julian Jones and Martyn Taylor had an entertaining day out as the pair powered their Subaru Impreza B13 to yet another top ten finish, taking third in class at the end of the seven stages. Julian had a big grin on his face and admitted to enjoying the final 12 mile test! Wug Utting had a new co-driver as Michael Ainsworth joined him in his Subaru Impreza N12b for this event. Wug admitted to a slow start and at first service discovered that good friend Nigel Seabold was actually ahead of him on the leaderboard! A couple of rapid times soon restored order and Wug was more than happy with third overall and first in Group N! Nigel Seabold had Bob Stokoe sitting with him this weekend as regular codriver Tim Barton is away on summer holidays. The pair worked well together and Nigel, feeling much more confident in the new Subaru Impreza N2010, finished sixth overall and second in Group N, his best result to date! Young James Watkins was celebrating his first anniversary of gravel rallying and despite having the smallest car in class flew the GJM flag proudly by bringing his 1 litre Nissan Micra home second in class! This now makes it two podiums from the last two gravel rallies for the 20 year old! Geoff Jones’ pupils also had a fantastic day out. Sara Williams and Dai Roberts had a faultless rally, the Brecon Motors backed Subaru Impreza having recently undergone a lot of checking over at Geoff’s workshops, and her reward was a fantastic second overall! This result is impressive for anyone and shows that Sara is not just a quick lady driver… she is a quick driver! Osian Pryce and Iestyn Williams were always going to struggle as their Group N Ford Fiesta ST was pitched up against the very rapid two wheel drive Escorts and Mantas. Undeterred Osian got on with the task at hand and returned to the finish 14th overall and third in class!
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! ☺ August 13 14 20 20 27 29
Rally Reyjavik Neath Stages Ulster Rally WRC Germany Zimbabwe Challenge Rally Mewla Rally, Epynt
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
October 07 – 09 09 -16 16 16
Legends Rally Rallye International du Maroc Mombasa Rally Cambrian Rally
San Marino Long distance Historic Rally Kenyan National Rally Championship BTRDA Rally Series
November 06 12-14 19-21 20
Tempest Rally Wales Rally GB IRC Rally Scotland Premier Stages
English Rally Championship World Rally Championship Intercontinental Rally Challenge Mansfield, UK
Iceland Welsh Forest Championship British Rally Championship World Rally Championship African Rally Championship National Tarmac Championship
Photo of the Month
Kimi bites the dust in Finland!