Press ReleaseWWRS R.A.C. RAlly ChAmpionShip

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mcCormack takes WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship round two

marty mcCormack and phil Clarke swept to victory on the second round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, yesterday’s SG petch tour of hamsterley (Sunday 28 April). In a renewal of their tremendous sporting rivalry with fellow ford escort mk2 crew Steve Bannister and louise Sutherland that started on last year’s Roger Albert Clark Rally, McCormack and Clarke went 45s clear after seven tough and slippery stages in the Co Durham forest complex. Big crowds lined the stages to watch the spectacular action during an event that pumped an estimated half-million pounds into the local economy. “No real dramas,” said McCormack after taking the early championship lead with maximum points in the Rob Smith Rallying Series Three. However, round one winners Nick Elliott and Dave Price (Escort Mk2) had a rally to forget. “We were caught out by a slippery corner and put it in the ditch on its side,” said Elliott after sliding off the opening stage. Spectators finally got them out, and they levelled times with McCormack on two stages before pulling out, too far down to score useful points. McCormack set a fierce pace and by the time the crews arrived at second service, he had 32s in hand over Ryan Barrett and Barry Ferris. Barrett then went into the final 14-mile Sharnberry stage with the aim of holding off Bannister rather than chasing McCormack. Bannister had fought back up the order after a binding brake caliper on the opening loop of three stages and started the final test just five seconds down on Barrett. Unfortunately, Barrett punctured and dropped around half a

minute, which put Bannister clear into second. Tim Pearcey/Neil Shanks and Will Onions/Dave Williams both pushed Barrett back to fifth on the final stage. Pearcey was a strong third, despite damaging a rear corner on a metal gate post on SS6 and then getting a rear puncture two miles later, but only three seconds split him from Onions, who pulled back a single second in SS7 during 15 minutes of rallying. Barrett was desperately unlucky to drop three two places with the final stage puncture, while Series Seven winners Dylan Davies and Llion Williams (Ford Escort Mk1) were sixth after losing around 20s on the last stage when they had to stop as the damaged car of Matthew Robinson was moved. Leading the chase of Davies in the category was the Escort Mk2 of Mark Spencer/Steve Pugh despite being hampered by a leaking fuel pressure regulator. Seventh overall and top of the Capital Construction Series Two were Richard Hill and Pat Cooper (Ford Escort Mk1), despite a car not running entirely cleanly on the first loop of stages. Hill lost his likely main challengers Chris Browne and Ali Cornwell-Browne after they went off on SS3, Pennington. Robin Shuttleworth and Ron Roughead were resounding winners in class C2 for the second time running and brought their Escort Mk1 home more than a minute clear of the rest of the class. Terry Cree and Richard Shores claimed a final stage victory for their BMW 2002 in class C3. They clawed back 13s from Dick Slaughter/Tim Sayer (Escort Mk1) to win by just four seconds, while Iwan Rees/Aled Rees retired their Escort Mk1 when a half-shaft failed. Victory in the Martin Jones Transmissions Series Fo§vur for FIA Appendix K cars went to Jason Pritchard and Dale Furniss (Ford Escort Mk2). A minor off on the opening stage cost them a maximum, but they later set times that would have put them in the running for third place overall. Peter Smith and Patrick Walsh won class D3 in their Opel Kadett after an excellent run, although they were lucky to reach second service with only wheel nut holding a rear wheel in place. They were a minute clear of the Escort Mk2 of Alan Hughes/Richard Wardle, while Ben Mellors/Alex Lee took third in their escort mk2. Simon Wallis/Graham Wride (Lotus Cortina) romped to a dominant victory in the Walker Diecastings Series One. However, the Lotus Cortina crew had a major scare on the second stage when a big bump nearly sent them off. “I kept my foot in and it jumped out the other side,” said a relieved Wallis. The rest of the Category 1 field had a tough time, with the Alfa Romeo Junior of John Everard/Mark Sharpley rolling out on the first stage and the Saab 96 of Stephen Higgins/Richard Simpson retiring with a stuck throttle. The Singer Chamois of Chris and Jo Tooze was out with gearbox dramas and a broken steering arm sidelined the Lotus Cortina of Peter Gunson/Johnny Haynes. Full results are available at www.rallies.info -ends-

editor’s notes

More information can be found at www.racrallychamp.org or Follow the championship on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RACrallychamp and on Twitter: @RACRallyChamp.

High-resolution images are available on request for editorial use.

Details about the WWRS R.A.C. Rally Championship please contact:

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