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Version 2.0 03/09/13
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West Wales Rally Spares Sponsors The R.A.C. Rally Championship 2013 www.racrallychamp.org
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Contents Championship Manager Introduction ............................... 5 Championship Introduction ............................................... 7 Event Location Map .............................................................. 9 Rally Introduction.................................................................. 11 Driver Profile - Marty McCormack ..................................... 12 Event Schedule ...................................................................... 14 Spectator Information.......................................................... 15 Spectator Maps...................................................................... 16 Event Preview ........................................................................ 18 Seeded Entry List ................................................................. 20 Acknowledgements .............................................................. 21
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Introduction Colin Heppenstall Championship Manager West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship
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elcome to the spectator guide for round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Red Kite Stages. Originally, of course, the Red Kite Stages would have been the inaugural event in the championship on its original January date. However, heavy snow left the team at Amman and District Motor Club no choice but to postpone. With a foot of snow covering the stages, it would have been impossible to run the rally. However, here we are in September ready for the event to run on its revised date and everything is looking good. The classic stages are reported to be in top condition and the pace at the front of the championship is sure to be fierce. On round four, last month’s Neath Valley Stages, Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke took their third win from four rallies after a fabulous day of competition against the similar Ford Escort Mk2 of Nick Elliott and Dave Price with the result decided by just seven-tenths of a second. To show just how competitive things are at the head of the championship, Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss and Matt Edwards / Sam Collis finished within 20 seconds of McCormack and another epic contest is in prospect on the Red Kite. The right result for McCormack and Clarke could settle the title in their favour, but anything could happen on classic stages in Crychan and Cefn Llwydlo. We look forward to bringing a strong contingent of championship contenders to the rally and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the rally for all their hard work. From the organising team through to the marshals, timekeepers, rescue and recovery crews: without them we could not go rallying. After the first four rounds of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, I am absolutely delighted with the way the championship is evolving. Great entries, fierce competition, sporting atmosphere and a real sense of fun are the key features of the championship and we are already working on plans to continue developing the championship in 2014 and beyond. I’m looking forward to another great day’s rallying on the Red Kite Stages! With best regards Colin www.racrallychamp.org
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The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship 2013 6 Rounds
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ce Can
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The Championship Paul Lawrence Championship Press and PR Officer
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arely a year ago, the West Wales R.A.C. Rally Championship was little more than an idea amongst a group of competitors. Yet now, as we head for round five, the Red Kite Stages, it is a thriving and growing part of British rallying. Colin Heppenstall, the man behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally, is the driving force for the series but says that it is competitor demand that was the catalyst for the development of the championship. “Competitors, many of them members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, came to us and asked us to put a championship together,” said Heppenstall. “We consulted with a range of interested parties and have had excellent support from the MSA. Cars in Categories One, Two and Three are running in full accordance with the current MSA historic regulations and we are accommodating a range of other cars, including those from the early 1980s, which is set to become the next chapter in the story of historic rallying.” The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the championship, which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations. But, significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of cars to join the historic fraternity. Following the unfortunate cancellation of Rally North Wales, the 2013 championship is running over six one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
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The Championship... More than 60 crews lined up in Newtown for the first round back in March and the quality of historic entry was described as the best ever seen for a British championship event. The final count showed over 35 BDA/BDG engined Escorts in a field that also includes cars from Lancia, BMW, Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo, VW, Singer, Opel and Talbot.
Of course, this is still early days for the R.A.C. Rally Championship, for the Red Kite Stages is still only the fifth event in the story. But what is already clear is that competitors and spectators are giving the championship a big thumbs' up. The future is very bright indeed!
Paul Lawrence
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The Red Kite Stages Round Five Sunday 8th September 2013 Five Special Stages, all new for 2013 45 Special Stage Miles
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Rally Introduction Gareth Thomas, Clerk of the Course
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elcome to this the 2013 Red Kite Historic Stages and this our new date for this year due to the unforeseen cancellation earlier in the year.
Once again we would like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued backing in these difficult times, and the competitors for their support in making the Red Kite Stages a friendly, no-nonsense event with classic stages around the Llandovery area. We would also like to welcome registered competitors in the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship. Our commitment has been not to cancel the event but postpone it due to the atrocious weather that affected the original date in January. We hope that all that entered will now re-enter along with others to make the event a success. We hope to see you for a good day’s motorsport on the 8th September 2013. The Organising Team Amman and District Motor Club
PREVIOUS WINNERS 2007 Terry Brown/Paul Willetts (Ford Escort Mk2) 2008 Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey (Ford Escort RS 1800) 2009 Terry Brown/Den Golding (Ford Escort Mk2) 2010 Terry Brown/Martin Jones (Ford Escort RS) 2011 Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey (Ford Escort Mk2) 2012 Not held Regulations are available on our website.: http://www.redkitestages.co.uk/
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Driver Profile:Marty McCormack
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he driver at the head of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Championship is a true ace in a Ford Escort Mk2. We chatted to Marty McCormack about the 2013 season.
After a meteoric rise to fame is his native Northern Ireland and in historics over here, McCormack battled his way up the modern rallying ladder. He won the British Junior Championship, competed with Citroen, won the Ulster Rally outright and competed in a Super 2000 in Corsica when he stood in for the injured Patrick Flodin. But the sorry state of the European economy dealt his career a massive blow and he sat out most of the 2012 season trying to find a budget. At the end of the year he decided to return to the Roger Albert Clark Rally in the Ford Escort Mk2 that had first propelled him into the spotlight. The result was an epic, and ultimately victorious, battle with Steve Bannister, which was only settled on the final stage of a gripping three-day rally. Shropshire-based co-driver Phil Clarke was a key part of the success.
“Gareth Lloyd from West Wales Rally Spares put me in touch with Phil and said he was the guy I needed,” said Marty. “We hit it off from the start and we’ve been good friends ever since. He is a class act. On the RAC last November we just came back with a bang and it was an incredible fight with Steve Bannister.“ “This year I’ve just been taking it as it goes. I’m still trying to chase a few things with the modern rallying. I’ve not given up by any means, but there are not many supported drives out there. At the end of the day, I am a realist. I’m
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13 27 now and if something doesn’t happen soon, it’s not going to happen. “ “I’d like to be doing WRC2 in a R5 car: that’s what I need to be stepping into. There’s no way the family and the business can do that, but we can go and run the Escort comfortably, so it’s not a bad life and I have a lot of fun. I was very disappointed last year, but this year I see what I have and I’m very grateful for it. I really enjoy driving the Escort.” “I plan to keep on rallying for a long time. I have good
sponsors for the Escort, including Kumho tyres and John Moynihan Rallying. Alan Sherwood has been an absolute gem with the engines. I couldn’t do it without them. I love my rallying. There’s nothing better than going down a stage in a rally car with the Escort dancing around!” See Marty and Phil in action again on the 8th September it should be another exciting watch.
Marty was talking to Paul Lawrence
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Event Schedule Time
Schedule
Additional Info
July: - Regulations available and entries open. Entries Close 7th September Saturday
13:00
Service Park Opens
R.A.C. Hospitality & Media Desk open
13:00
Noise Check / Scrutineering
*Function Room Castle Hotel
Documentation opens*
LLandovery
Noise Check / Scrutineering
R.A.C. Hospitality & Media Desk Closes
7th September
18:00
Documentation closes Sunday
09:00
First car leaves the start at Llandovery Mart Ground
R.A.C. Hospitality and Media Desk re-opens
Spectator Stages
09:23
SS1 Crychan
The running order for the Red Kite is as follows:
See Pages 16 / 17 for details
09:48
SS2 Cefn Llwydlo
10:28
Service Llandovery Mart
8th September
SS3 Details not published
The Historic competitors will complete one loop of stages, whilst the modern cars complete a separate loop. And then this will be reversed.
12:01
Service Llandovery Mart
12:44
SS4 Crychan 2
13:09
SS5 Cefn Llwydlo 2
Enter & Exit Crychan following the one way system.
13:49
Service Llandovery Mart
Enter Cefn Llwydlo from the North via Llanwrtyd Wells.
SS6 Details not Published st
15:22
1 Car Finishes
17:00
Prizegiving Castle Hotel Llandovery
19:00
Rally HQ Closes
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Car Parking is ÂŁ10 p/car. This also gives you entry into the other car park free of charge.
Please drive with consideration for local residents and other road users. The organisers thank you for attending and hope that you have had a great day’s sport. Come back and see us ion the Championship in 2014 R.A.C. Hospitality and Media Desk closes, see you next time!
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Spectator Information Control / Stage
Name
Time
Historics MC 1
Start
SS1
Crychan
09:23
SS2
Cefn Llwydlo
09:48
SS4
Crychan
12:44
SS5
Cefn Llwydlo
13:09
MC4
Finish
Moderns
(Same Stages as above different Stage Numbers).
SS1
Crychan
10:56
SS2
Cefn Llwydlo
11:21
SS4
Crychan
14:44
SS5
Cefn Llwydlo
14:42
N.B. A Trophy rally will be added to both events to allow competitors who have the misfortune to retire on stages 1 & 2 to continue on the event from stage 4. They will only be eligible for any award in the Trophy rally and not in the event they have entered. Full details will be included in the Final Instructions.
Please note that rallies are often held in remote locations therefore, if you are spectating on this event we strongly advise you to download the spectator guide before heading into the forests, as there may not be a strong mobile signal at all localities. The organisers cannot be held responsible for the lack of mobile device coverage to enable downloading.
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Spectator Route
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Spectator Stage Maps
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Event Preview
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nother tremendous entry has been assembled for the Red Kite Stages, round five of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship (Sunday 8 September).
With 45 miles of prime Welsh stages in the Crychan and Cefn region from a base in Llandovery, the Red Kite promises to be another highlight of a fabulous debut season for the new championship. The rally was originally intended to be the opening round of the championship in January, but heavy snow forced the organisers to postpone the rally. Significantly, the overall title could be settled on this penultimate round of the championship as Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke bid to secure the inaugural WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship title. The Escort Mk2 crew can seal the crown with another victory on the Welsh event, having scored three wins on the trot over the last three rallies. However, if the Irishman is headed by the similar cars of Nick Elliott or Jason Pritchard, the title will not be resolved until the concluding Trackrod Rally at the end of September. The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the R.A.C. Championship, which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA and FIA historic regulations. But, significantly, it also opens up the chance for the next generation of cars to join the historic fraternity. The 2013 championship is running over six one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations.
Yet another fabulous field packs out the Rob Smith Rallying Series 3, with
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Event Preview McCormack and Elliott at the head of the field. However, this is certainly not just a two-way contest as both Jason Pritchard/Dale Furniss and Matt Edwards/Andy Murphy clearly have the speed to win overall and Pritchard was just eight seconds away from winning round four, the Neath Valley Stages. The quality of Escort Mk2 entry goes much, much further with crews like Terry Brown/Tomos Whittle, Kevin Davies/Dale Bowen, Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson, Tim Pearcey/Jamie Edwards, James Potter/Bob Duck and Warren Philliskirk/Paul Wakely making up a sensational top 10. In class D3, the pace of young Ben Mellors and Alex Lee has been outstanding over recent events in their Pinto-powered Escort Mk2, while Peter Smith and Graham Wild offer strong opposition in their Opel Kadett as bounce back from a very early retirement in Neath. More quick class D3 Escorts are handled by Paul Fry/Mike Steele and youngsters Ben Friend/Jonathan Jackson. In class D4 is the Sunbeam Lotus of James Stait/Glyn Thomas, while the ever-popular Hillman Avenger of Graham Thatcher/Rob James runs in D2. The 2-litre Pinto-powered Escort Mk1s of Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and David Kirby/Chris Rixon will take on the BMW 2002 of Terry Cree/Richard Shores in class C3 within the Capital Construction Series 2 (1968-74). In class C5, the battle will be between the Ford Escort Mk1s of Nick Jarvis/Craig Thorley and Ian Rix/Lee Carter, while Robin Shuttleworth/Ron Roughead head class C2, and run first car on the road, in their Ford Escort Mk1. In the Walker Diecastings Series 1 for pre ’68 cars the top championship contenders are John Everard and Mark Sharpley in the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Junior GT. Their rivals include Chris and Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois) and Stephen Higgins/Don Bramfoot (Saab 96). Finally, Series 7 for open pre ’87 cars is headed by the very rapid Ford Escort Mk2 of Mark Spencer and Steve Pugh. The Red Kite Stages is organised by the Amman and District Motor Club. For more details about the event please visit www.redkitestages.co.uk.
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Seeded Entry List
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Acknowledgements
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Acknowledgements
The Championship Team would like to thank All the Marshals, Competitors, and Helpers - we couldn't do this without you.
All that remains for us to say is we look forward to welcoming you to this event. Let’s all hope for a safe and enjoyable weekend’s sport. Please comply with all marshals instructions Please take your litter home and keep the forests clean for everyone!
Regular results updates will be available throughout the event on
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