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Monday, 21 May 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
Monaghan fights back to take second in class
The rally kicked off on Friday evening with a stage that started in Port Erin town centre before heading up a hill out of the town over a very testing series of bends and crests. Monaghan and co-driver Dave Jones had a good run through the stage but as they crossed the finish line a joint on the driveshaft sheared which meant they had no drive in their Pirtek-backed Vauxhall Corsa Kit Car.
They managed to get back to service where Neil Thompson and Derek Belbin set about repairing the car, determined that it would be ready for Saturday’s action. Thanks to their efforts the car was ready to go again and with nothing to lose Monaghan pushed hard on all of Saturday’s stages.
With no further problems Monaghan was able to climb back up the leaderboard to claim vital championship points with a second in class finish.
“We were lucky that the rally rules meant that we could take a penalty and restart on Saturday,” said Monaghan. “The guys in service did a fantastic job in getting the car fixed and to get points for second in class was a huge unexpected bonus after our disastrous Friday night.”
“Thanks to Pirtek Tyne & Wear, F&R Belbin, GB Lubricants, Playskool Motorsport for their support and to Dave Jones for co-driving.”
Monaghan will continue his championship campaign on the Jim Clark National rally at the start of June.
Image courtesy Jess Quirk
Wright returns to winning ways in Hamsterley
After retirements on both the Wyedean and Malcolm Wilson rallies Wright decided to take some time out from competing to make some modifications to his Kumho Tyres, Drenth, York Brewery, Proflex and Grove Hill Garage-supported Mitsubishi Evo 9. With the modifications finished last week he entered the Hamsterley forest event as a test ahead of the BTRDA championship Plains rally next weekend.
Wright and co-driver Michael Wilkinson made a fantastic start to the event, setting fastest times on the first three stages to lead by 34 seconds. However, most of that lead was lost on stage four when a puncture meant that Wright was only 7th fastest.
Wright fought back from the puncture to take another fastest time on the fifth and final stage which meant he won the event by 7 seconds.
“We had a brilliant event, the car is absolutely awesome, and the stages were fantastic – really fast and flowing which suited us,” said Wright. “It was frustrating to lose the time with the puncture but I am delighted to have been fastest on most of the stages. It’s great for Michael to win his local event too.”
“We’ll do the Plains rally next weekend and I’m feeling very confident that we can get a good result. We’ve nothing to lose after retiring on the first two BTRDA rounds so we will be pushing hard to battle with the World Rally class cars.”
Image courtesy Steve Pugh
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Dominant DCC Stages victory for Vassallo
Vassallo, from Corbridge, is contesting both the Junior 1000 Rally Challenge and Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge championships this year, both championships are for drivers aged between 14 and 17 using cars with engines of 1000cc or less. Despite only starting rallying this year Vassallo had already won two of the three events he had contested prior to the DCC Stages so hopes were high of a good result at the Ingliston-based second round of the Ecosse Challenge.
With experienced co-driver Janice Moore in his Birkbeck-prepared Citroën C1 Vassallo made a storming start to the event, setting a time 28 seconds faster than his nearest rival. He continued that form throughout the days eight stages, being quickest on each one despite the tyres going off on stage 4 and a small overshoot on stage 5. By the end of the event he had pulled out a lead of almost three minutes, a remarkable performance when Junior 1000 events are more usually settled by a few seconds.
“To get my third win in four events is fantastic, I did not expect such a good start to my rally career,” said Vassallo. “I was very pleased with my performance and the car was faultless all day. The tyres going off and the overshoot cost us a few seconds but we still managed to be fastest on every stage.”
“Thanks to Chris Birkbeck and his team and to Janice who was sitting with me for the first time and did a great job.”
Vassallo’s Ecosse Challenge season will continue with the Summer Stages at Crail in June while the next Junior 1000 Rally Challenge round is the TSH Stages at Portreath on 18/19 May.
Image courtesy Davie Hatrick
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