News from: Rally Reykjavik Neath Stages The British Rally Championship The African Rally Championship and WRC Rally Deutschland
Geoff’s gossip Summer is almost over in the UK, but what a glorious summer it has been – scorching temperatures and hose pipe bans – I know of this because I read the news – but I also know that things are hoting up in the world of rallying! During the after rally party in Iceland I had the chance to chat with a gentleman who sits on the “Alternative energies” commission for the FIA and we spent an entertaining evening debating the new rules, both in motor racing and in motor rallying. The FIA has this desire to create a “World Engine” that is a 1.6 litre turbocharged unit. The idea, I thought, was to bring motorsport back in line with the current trend in commercially available cars. I argued that a typical layman has no interest in what is under his bonnet as long as it is economical and cheap. The die hard anoraks are also our greatest allies and thus a rally or racing car does not need the same engine as its road going cousin. Take German Touring Cars – rear wheel drive, monster V8’s that shake the ground when they roar past, and attract huge crowds of enthusiasts… when I mentioned this I was put in my place… (it would appear that appealing to the public is not part of the objective) Apparently it has nothing to do with what the manufacturers want but more to do with what the European Union demands! Legislation insists that all motor vehicles must be more efficient, friendly to the environment when they are built, whilst they are in operation and when they are destroyed. Motorsport, by affiliation, must follow suit. When I asked about the aural aspect (the sound of Mad Mick Jones Honda S2000 powered Escort echoing through the lava flows had my neck hair standing on end!) I was told that motorsport was far too noisy and that the current noise limits were already under review and would be adjusted in the near future! What The F***! So it seems that our sport faces an uneasy future as a bunch of pencil pushers have the power to dictate to both the manufacturers and the FIA (who supposedly have our best interests at heart) at the detriment of the sport and with no consultation to those who matter the most… the spectators! On a completely different note, motorsport needs three very important groups of people. The competitors, the organisers (and this includes marshals, the unsung heros of the sport) and the media! Without media there is no coverage of an event, nothing to encourage marketing partners and no stories to be recorded in the press. Now I know we are a demanding bunch, but we actually require very little to get on with our job. We are there to provide a service and, as our role is seen as a “cool job”, the pay is pretty pathetic, But we do it for the love of the sport. So when a small event in the UK recently insisted that all media must PAY to sign on and cover their event I objected most strongly. I even had the organisers call me to discuss this matter. I still cannot comprehend how they had the audacity to insist on such a thing but I stated my case and apologised in advance for not sending a representative to cover their rally but that morally I objected to such a fee. We eventually reached a compromise and my dad attended on my behalf. I couldn’t attend the rally personally as I was away covering Rally Rekjavik in Iceland. And you know who paid for that? The organisers! A group of hard working and passionate people whose love for the sport knows no bounds... and who understand that they need international coverage to ensure that their rally lives on!
Rally Reykjavik 2010 Iceland – 13 to 15 August After three days and 23 special stages of high speed rallying action, which saw the lead change on several occasions, the outcome of the 2010 Rally Reykjavik was decided on the penultimate test when the leading cars ran into problems and allowed the Mitsubishi Evo 6 of Petur Sigurbjorn Petursson and Bjorn Ragnarsson to take the victory by almost 1 and a half minutes! Second overall went to former Icelandic champion Daniel Sigurdsson and his sister Asta in a Subaru Impreza N8. Daniel, a front runner in the British Rally Championship, was the class of the field. After opening up a healthy lead on Friday he was forced to super rally in order to replace a clutch and incurred over five minutes of penalties. After 11 special stages on the second day Daniel had reduced the deficit to a mere forty seconds! A fuel pump failure on the penultimate stage cost the Subaru pilot over a minute and a half and robbing him of almost certain victory. That 30 kilometre test would also dash the hopes of Hilmar Brainsson and Stefan bor Jonsson. The pair, in a Mitsubishi Evo V, had led the rally at the end of the second day and were embroiled in a three way fight for the victory when the pair slid off the road and lost 15 minutes within sight of the finish of the gruelling event! Sighvatur Siguardsson and Andreas Gislason took the 4x4 award in their Mitsubishi Pajero, ending the rally an impressive seventh overall. 37 seconds further back were the two wheel drive winners, Hlodver Baldursson and Baldur Arnar Hlodversson in a Toyota Corolla. Mick Jones and Isak Gudjonsson had been lying in a very impressive second overall in their Ford Escort MkII before breaking a half shaft, forcing the pair to super rally. In total 17 of the 18 starters completed the rally, with only the Mitsubishi Evo X of Adalsteinn Johannsson and Heimir Snaer Jonsson failing to restart after a rally ending crash on the second day. 1st 2nd 3rd
Pétur Sigurbjörn / Björn Daníel / Ásta Marian / Jón Þór
Mitsubishi Evo 9 2:43:10 Subaru Impreza N8 2:44:32 Mitsubishi Evo 8 2:51:14
Neath nets more podiums for GJM squad Neath Stages – Walters Arena – 14 August The recent Brace’s Bakery Neath Valley Stages saw all three of the Geoff Jones Motorsport crews pick up awards as the Subaru pilots enjoyed a faultless day out in the South Wales woods. The six stage rally, which was based in Walters Arena, attracted over sixty entries and the action was always expected to be intense. Third fastest overall through the opening stage showed that Gary Kenna and Chris Davies were finally getting to grips with the ex Tommi Makinen Subaru Impreza World Rally Car. The strong run of stage times continued throughout the rally and Gary was very happy to take the WR class award at the finish. Neville Jones and Ian Capewell enjoyed a very good day out in their new Subaru Impreza N14 plus and took their first ever stage win on the second run through Resolven Forest. This strong push helped the pairing finish the rally a mere twenty seconds off the lead and in a very respectable third overall! The pair might have been even higher up but for a small suspension issue earlier in the day, which was repaired in first service! Finishing the rally a mere 0.3 of a second behind Neville was his brother in law Julian Jones! Julian, co-driven by Paul Wakely in the Subaru Impreza B13, was on fine form and took a number of top three stage times! Julian’s times are definitely getting quicker by the event and shows how adaptable this former tarmac two wheel drive champion is! The next rally for the team will be the Woodpecker Stages in early September. This rally is based in Ludlow and features two high speed runs through the world famous Radnor Stage, a test that will be returning to Wales Rally GB later this year! The Neath Stages was won outright by Jamie Andersson in a Mitsubishi Evo whilst the Historic section saw Phil Collins and Nicky Grist take the laurels in their magnificent Opel Ascona.
More points for Pritchard on high speed Irish run Ulster Rally – 21 August Builth Wells based Jason Pritchard and co-driver Robbie Durant survived a drama filled International Rally of Northern Ireland to record their fourth top six result of the 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship. The pair overcame a high speed moment and a time consuming puncture to finish the two day event 16 seconds ahead of arch rival, and championship leader, Jonnie Greer. 22 year old Jason, in only his first season of four wheel drive rallying, has balanced consistency with raw pace and after fine tuning the setup on his North Road Garage backed Subaru Impreza N2010, the youngster gained the confidence to really push, culminating in a second fastest overall stage time on the final test! Before that Jason had lost time with a punctured front left wheel which he was forced to drive on for five miles on Friday night. If you remove the time loss from this incident it is possible that a second consecutive top three finish might have been on the cards! The pace this weekend was unreal and I am very happy with how we have performed. We are learning things on every rally and to set the times we are producing is a great feeling. I know that there is plenty more to come and am now really looking forward to the International Rally of Yorkshire. After five rounds of the prestigious Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, Jason and Robbie find themselves third overall in the standings which is extremely impressive considering their relative lack of experience of this class of machinery. The final round of the series is based in Scarborough and takes place on Saturday 25 September. For more information on Jason please visit www.jasonpritchard.co.uk The rally itself was won by Craig Breen and Gareth Roberts in their Ford Fiesta S2000. This result marks the first time that one of the new generation rally cars has won a round of the MSA British Rally Championship! The championship title hunt took a dramatic turn during the event when season, and rally, long rivals Gwyndaf Evans (Mitsubishi Evo X) and Keith Cronin (Subaru Impreza N15) both ran into problems whilst dueling with Breen for the win. Evans ended his rally after an uncharacteristic accident whilst Cronin picked up a time penalty after checking in early to a control but still finished the rally second overall, strengthening his hold on the championship. 1st 2nd 3rd
Craig Breen/ Gareth Roberts Keith Cronin/ Barry McNulty Alistair Fisher/ Rory Kennedy
Ford Fiesta S2000 Subaru Impreza N15 Mitsubishi Evo 9
1:42:09 1:43:36 1:44:00
2011 Tuthill Porsche Challenge On Friday 13th August 2010 Tuthill Porsche launched their fantastic new challenge aimed at the discerning individual looking for an excellent value for money option to go historic rallying in 2011. Ten identical 3.0 litre challenge specification Porsche 911 rally cars are being built to contest a five round series consisting of four gravel and one tarmac rallies. All five of these events are already part of the British Historic Rally Championship ensuring that the competitor will have the opportunity to rally against the very best drivers on the very best stages that the U.K has to offer! The package is a complete arrive and drive arrangement and includes the use of the car, rally insurance, entry fees, tyres, fuel, catering, re-prep costs and accommodation during each event! And this whole arrangement is available at a very reasonable £42 250.00 per car! And the prize fund is pretty juicy too! First prize: A fully paid entry into an agreed FIA European championship round in a full spec 3.0 litre Porsche 911. Second prize: A fully funded trip for two, as part of the team, to watch the 2011 Classic Safari Rally. Third prize: A trip for two to the popular Norway Ice Driving experience. Tuthill Porsche are no strangers to historic rallying, with multiple British Historic Rally Championship titles under their belts as well as outstanding results across Europe and Africa (in 2009 all five of their cars finished the grueling East African Safari Rally!) the Oxfordshire based Porsche specialists not only talk the talk but they certainly know how to walk the walk‌
www.francistuthill.co.uk
richard@francistuthill.co.uk
www.norwayicedriving.com
Horsey picks up points on difficult tarmac debut WRC Rally Deutschland – 20 to 22 August Kenyan Pirelli Star Driver Peter Horsey endured a difficult tarmac debut on the recent Rally Deutschland, the fourth of his six World Rally Championship events in 2010, but ultimately ended the rally a highly respectable eighth overall in the Production World Rally Championship category! Horsey and Welsh co-driver Calvin Cooledge were forced to use the super rally regulations after some bizarre incidents hampered their tarmac debut in the Ralliart Italy Mitsubishi Evo X. On Friday Peter’s helmet disappeared after a helpful spectator removed it from the roof of the car to avoid this important item falling on the ground. This all happened in the middle of a special stage after Peter had stopped to assist another competitor whose car was on fire. By the time the helmet had been located Peter was out of time to continue with the day’s action! The second day was equally as frustrating after the plumbed in fire extinguisher was accidentally triggered during transit between special stages! As all rally cars are required to be equipped with functioning extinguishers Peter was once again a reluctant spectator! Up until this freakish occurance, Peter had been enjoying the day, the high speed stages around the world famous Baumholder Military Ranges suiting his driving style. The third and final day featured just five special stages and despite limited mileage so far Peter and Calvin made the most of the day. Their stage times improved on every stage as they narrowed the gap to their Pirelli Star Drive team mates and on the final special stage, around the streets of the host town of Trier, Peter was the third fastest PSD car! This was a very difficult rally for us. The dramas on day 1 and 2 really did not help as my main aim was to gain experience of driving on the black stuff. The final day went well and although the stages were very technical I am fairly happy with my pace. I have learnt a lot and can now focus on France, the next tarmac rally, and aim to improve even more there!
possible.
Peter faces a busy period leading up to the next round of his World Rally Championship campaign as he returns home to continue working for the family business for the next few weeks. He will also contest the final round of the MSA British Rally Championship on the weekend before WRC France, ensuring that he is as prepared as For more information on Peter please visit www.peterhorsey.com
Whyte wins home rally in dominant fashion Zimbabwe Challenge Rally – 27 to 29 August Double African Rally Champions Jamie Whyte and Phil Archenoul finally achieved success on their home event when the pair powered their Subaru Impreza N10 to a dominant victory on the recent Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally. The action was always going to be fierce during the three day event as there were no less than three former champions amongst the 21 entries. Former Citroen WRC driver Conrad Rautenbach set the initial pace when he beat his own stage record around the opening test! Home grown hero Rautenbach, now driving a Ford Fiesta Super 2000 machine, was the man to beat over the opening six stages but was destined for retirement when the power steering failed on his car. This then allowed Craig Green in a Mitsubishi to take the overall lead but with both Jamie Whyte (Zimbabwe) and Muna Singh (Zambia) close behind the rally was far from over. Singh, a former African Champion, lost time towards the end of the second day with a damaged rear differential but still entered the final leg third overall. Sunday saw the remaining crews tackle a further seven stages before returning to the Rainbow Towers back in Harare for the ceremonial finish. Green was the first front runner to experience problems as his transmission failed. This elevated Rwandan Giancarlo Davite into third position. But the Subaru pilot then had an off road adventure on the penultimate stage and lost two wheels on his Subaru! Fastest through this test was junior driver Quentin Mitchell, from Kenya, and such was his time that the 24 year old moved from fifth to third overall! With Whyte, the 2009 and 2010 African Rally Champion, now holding a comfortable lead of over two minutes over Muna Singh, the final spectator stage was a mere formality as the Subaru pilot took his first ever home victory on this challenging rally! The Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally was also the scene for the African Pirelli Star Driver selection. Two young talents would be chosen to represent Africa in the worldwide Pirelli Star Driver programme. Zimbabwe Chase Attwell and Zambian Mohammed Essa were both chosen after setting impressive stage times before ultimately retiring their respective Subarus.
Quentin Mitchell When 24 year old Quentin Mitchell took to the start of the 2010 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally it was the culmination of nine months of incredibly hard work for the young opera singer. Along the way he had been forced to overcome the loss of a major sponsor, spent a spell in hospital and had to find an extraordinarily large amount of cash to buy a new rally car and yet, by finishing third overall on the rally, Limuru based Quentin proved that he really is a very rapid talent! Although Quentin has been involved in the sport for a number of years he only very recently began competing. And he chose one of the most daunting events in the world in which to make his debut… the 2007 East African Classic Safari Rally. Quentin rescued a derelict Triumph from the side of the road and converted it to full “safari” spec in a matter of months. Although the event ended in retirement with a broken engine the young Kenyan had done enough to convince his sponsors to invest further. In 2008 Quentin contested a selection of Kenyan National Rally Championship events in a Mitsubishi Evo 7 loaned to him by a sponsor. For 2008 the car was upgraded to an Evo 8, but was still essentially a road car with a roll cage. Despite the unsophisticated nature of his car Quentin became a regular thorn in the side of his rivals, blending speed with mechanical sympathy and recorded a number of top ten overall results, including fourth on the Meru Rally. The season ended on a downer when the car developed an electrical fault and resulted in retirements from the final two events whilst running well inside the top six overall! Undaunted by these setbacks Quentin built up a team of loyal sponsors and supporters and spent the first half of 2010 sourcing the budget and support to contest the 2010 African Pirelli Star Drive shoot-out. His background is even more diverse than his rallying career. One of nine children Quentin has forged an international career as an opera singer and released his first solo album last Christmas. Away from the recording studio Quentin also helps to maintain and prepare a variety of road and rally cars, having learnt from an early age that being handy with the spanners in Africa is essential. Quentin also sits on the committee of the Kenyan Motor Sport Federation ensuring that his finger is on the pulse and that he is well versed in the rules and regulations of the sport. Random fact – when Quentin took to the start of the Zimbabwe Challenge Rally it was only his fourteenth rally start! By comparison co-driver Chris Davies, five years his junior, already had 76 rallies under his belt!
Biter sweet podium for Mitchell 24 year old Kenyan rally driver Quentin Mitchell and his Welsh co-driver Chris Davies drove a very impressive rally on their international rallying debut to take a podium position in their Subaru Impreza N16 rally car. Mitchell had travelled across the continent to contest the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally as the young Opera Singer had been selected to represent Kenya in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout. Quentin was well aware of the handicap he was faced with as he had not contested a rally since the end of 2009, the car was completely new to him, he had never even met his co-driver until the day before the rally and less than four weeks previously Quentin had been rushed to hospital with a ruptured appendix! Regardless of these handicaps Quentin had faith in the team of people that were helping him. Consistently inside the top ten on this, an event which he had never contested before, and trading times with his two rivals, both of whom had competed on these roads before. The only drama for Mitchell and Davies was when their Subaru ingested dust into the radiator on Saturday afternoon and they were forced to slow for the final loop of stages. Despite this the pair ended the day fifth overall and as the top juniors. Sunday’s eight high speed tests would suit the Tarpo, Recycle Africa, AccessKenya, Freem, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Insurance, Fuchs Lubricants and Jungle Oats supported pairing and they immediately began to push hard, culminating in Quentin taking his first ever outright stage victory! Such was their pace that the young duo ended the rally a mightily impressive third overall and behind only two African Rally Champions! The joys of such a magnificent result were soon tempered when it was announced that his two rivals, Chase Attwell and Mohammed Essa, had been nominated to represent Africa in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout! This was despite the fact that neither crew had finished the event! I am a little disappointed to have had been selected to represent Africa but I wish both Chase and Mohammed all the best and hope they do us all proud! My own rally has been fantastic and I cannot express my thanks to everyone who has made this possible. The support that I have received all over the world is nothing short of incredible! To finish third overall is fantastic and this whole experience has been unforgettable. I am more determined than ever to be successful as a rally driver now! By finishing third overall Quentin has set a new best result for the new shape Subaru Impreza in Africa and is also the highest finishing Kenyan in Zimbabwe in almost twenty years! Whilst his plans for the rest of 2010 are undecided, Quentin has proved without a doubt that he is one of Africa’s fastest rally drivers! For more information please visit www.quentinmitchellrallying.com
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! ☺ 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
Photo of the Month
Dust and water - it must be a rally in Africa â˜ş