WINTER 2015 If you have any ideas of what you would like to see in this publication, please contact the EDITOR at webmaster@bordermotorclub.co.uk The club website is updated regularly; check it out for further information and news. Club Nights - King William IV, Scawby Brook. Map Ref 112/984066 from 8:30 pm. Website www.bordermotorclub.co.uk Border Motor Club are also on &
CHAIRMAN’S CHAT Well, it’s hello and Happy New Year from me as I have taken up the challenge again of Border MC’s chairman’s role. Firstly I apologise for the lack of chairman’s chats last year, this was due to new work commitments, I hope to keep up this year!It was a busy year for us last year, with lots of events, from going out marshalling, the classic rally and of course Cadwell which were all a great success and thanks to everyone who participated and help to organise and run well done all. This year we have a full calendar which is on our web site, please keep an eye on it for updates as they will all be on there. On the web site I am pleased to welcome our new web master Adam Sutton he takes over from Roy Bell who has done a Stirling job for the last few years, so on behalf of the club we thank him for all he has done. That’s it for me for now; I hope to see you all at the next meeting.
Club calendar of events 2015 February 4th-Go-karting night- Venue TBC AHMR 2nd planning meeting – Tuesday 10th February- Venue TBC February 18th Committee Meeting- Venue TBC March 4th-Speaker night- Venue TBC AHMR 3rd planning meeting (Pre-event meeting) – Venue TBC March 25th- Alan Healy Memorial Rally pre-event rally meeting Saturday- March 28th- Rally set up- Cadwell Park Sunday-March 29th- Alan Healy Memorial Rally- Cadwell Park April 1st-Quiz night- King William IV Scawby Brook
May 6th-Awards Night – Venue TBC May 20th Committee Meeting- Venue TBC June 3rd-Treasure Hunt- Venue TBC July 1st-Clay Pigeon Shooting- Venue TBC August 5th-Natter night- King William IV Scawby Brook August 19th- Committee Meeting- Venue TBC September 2nd-Quiz Night- King William IV Scawby Brook October 7th-DVD night- King William IV Scawby Brook November 4th-AGM & Committee meeting- Venue TBC December 2nd-Christmas Party- Venue TBC
News IMS confirms 4WD for 2016 MSA British Rally Championship Although there is no BRC series for 2015 decisions have already been made regarding the 2016 championship. The promoters of the new-for-2016 MSA British Rally Championship have confirmed that when the series returns to action next year it will feature 4-wheel drive machinery in its leading classes, supported by a strong 2-wheel drive class structure for career-minded drivers. The announcement made by International Motor Sports (IMS) confirmed that from 2016 the BRC will welcome all homologated rally cars, up to and including the R5 class. In addition, an extension of five years can be granted after the expiry of a car’s homologation, further increasing the pool of eligible vehicles to contest what will be the UK’s premier stage rally championship. Sharing top billing alongside the championship-leading R5s, the 2016 BRC will feature a strong and competitive class structure in the 2-wheel drive categories, in recognition of the championship’s importance as a development environment for young rally drivers – something achieved with great success by the BRC in recent years. This will provide the essential formative training required by those career-minded drivers before they head for international competition and IMS will work closely with sponsors, teams and manufacturers to create meaningful incentives that will retain aspirational drivers in these classes. See for more details: https://www.msauk.org/IMS-confirms-4WD-for-2016-MSA-BritishRally-Championship
Donington Park to host Dukeries Rally The first competitive rally event at Donington Park since 1998 will take place next October, after an agreement was reached between the Dukeries Motor Club and the circuit operators.
The Dukeries Rally had its last year as a forest rally in 2014 and had a uncertain future after, it will be held on Sunday 25th October. Confirmation comes just a few days after Donington was granted planning permission to host two days of national rallying events per year from 2015 onwards, with the Dukeries Rally occupying one what could the other rally be? The Dukeries Rally has been held each year since 1959, and the 2015 running will be a round of several regional Motorsport Association rally championships. An entry of up to 90 cars is expected, with online entries opening at the end of August. Donington Park and Dukeries have previous history, with the Dukeries Rally using the pre-war layout as a stage in the years 1968 to 1970. Total stage distance in the 2015 edition will approximately 55 miles across eight stages, encompassing the Donington Park track and a small amount of off-track mileage also. Save the date: Sunday the 25th of October- Donington Park
Toyota to return to WRC? Had written a piece on rumours of Toyota returning to the WRC however that’s now out of date. On the 31st of January Toyota Motorsport Group (TMG) confirmed it would be making a return to the WRC in 2017 and has released pictures of the Yaris that they may be using. The Yaris that has been tested is compliant with current regulations however changes will come with the updated technical regulations for 2017. Videos can be seen of the Yaris testing here.
Pictures from the WRC facebook page
WRC+ Review WRC+ is the online only subscription service offered by the WRC promoters, possibly in reaction to complaints of not enough coverage of the WRC the service has been since roughly half way through the last season however it has only recently started being offered in the UK. Currently it offers: Live stages: A good quality live-stream of certain stages from the event, this looks to show about 2-3 stages from each event with commentary and can be re-viewed at a later date. Live maps: Tracks cars in the stages live with split times available. Onboard Action: View onboard videos in 3 different views from a selected group of about 10 drivers, every stage completed is videoed and again can be viewed at a later date. Highlights: View full highlights of each full day of rallying (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) along with event highlights which can be watched at a later date. Also there is previews of upcoming events as well as specials with documentaries on drivers such as Colin McRae, Sebastian Loeb etc. Costs about £4 a month which offers very good value for money, having watched this weekend’s Monte Carlo event through it the level and quality of coverage combined with the catch up at anytime means this is a must have for a WRC fan.
Border Stage Rally Championship results 2014
Event Reports Harold Palin Memorial Stages Rally 2014, Fulbeck, Garry Carver & Paul Rhodes The first two stages were slick & a couple of committed runs left us 1st in class by 21 seconds. Stage three and we started to feel the brakes fading but set a respectable time of 8 mins & 39 secs extending the class lead by another 30 seconds. Then it went “pear shaped” on SS4. The brakes were giving less & less in the stopping department and finally down the back straight nothing at all. We were following Dean & Geoff into a 90 left when the parachute failed to open. Brilliant driving and we crossed the front of the Sierra missing it by a coat of paint before skittling the tyres & disappearing into the freshly ploughed field. It must be the only one on Fulbeck without a ditch or drop off it & after a very large 180 left that would have befitted the Arc Royal we managed to get back on stage. Still no brakes, so we had to once again take evasive action on the hair pin right & drive up the run off road to turn round again before coasting to the stop line – or at least close past it. Over lunch, Aidy & Stuart worked with Garry to repair the broken pipe & bleed the system. We started SS5 with a middle peddle which felt a whole lot better than earlier & confidence soon returned after a couple of corners without drama. We were actually 18th fastest on that stage which goes to show how quickly you get back into the rhythm. SS6 a repeat of the previous stage should have seen another improvement but it soon became obvious that we had another problem. Was it a puncture? No; the prop shaft rubber had thrown itself into the scenery. However we got back to service having extended our class lead by another 3 seconds. With no spare prop was this the end of the line once again? Not a chance. Again the “bodgit & scarper” twins packed the U/J with a couple of bits of wood, cable
ties & duck tape. We weren't really going to get to the next stage start never mind 2 x seven & half milers were we? Telling most drivers that if they drive carefully we might just get round is usually the last thing before retiring mid stage. However Garry listened, backed off by a full minute & using his mirrors drove SS7 letting anyone past who came near us. We may have had the 3rd to slowest time but we were still in it. There was nothing else that could be done now, especially as the organisors put everyone straight out of stage 7 into the final stage of the day. Decision made & we gave it 95% on the final run to end the event 22nd O/A & 1st in class D. What a day – certainly didn't expect 6 class stage fastests out of 8. Thought we were heading to the nearest Hospital on SS4 & home for an early bath after SS6. Once again massive thanks to Aidy & Stuart.
Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally 2014, Perth, Nigel Barber and Stuart Popplewell Nigel Barber and Stuart Popplewell compete on this the last round of the Scottish Rally Championship after a kind invitation from one of their sponsors. This was the first time that they had ever been to Aberfeldy area to compete on the event. With the Roger Albert Clark Rally getting close, the crew thought it was an ideal time to give the car and crew a shakedown before the big event. With very little knowledge of the stages, a safe drive to finish the event was the aim. The weather in the morning was rain making the stages fairly slippery, but as it went into the afternoon the rain cleared away to make the stage conditions improve slightly. The crew had a good run on the event with no major problems coming in 22nd Overall, 1st in Class, 6th Overall in the two drive section and also collected the trophy for most improved on seeding coming from car number 67.
Photos thanks to Matthew Rudd Photography Hall Trophy Rally, Blyton Park, Stuart Diaper and Roy Bell Received a call asking if would navigate in a MkII Escort for Stuart Diaper, who is a mate of Stuart Ranby, so you can safely say there was a lot of 'No, not you Stuart, you Stuart'
going on all day. Had to adapt bend calling to suit the driver and found that quite hard after calling in degrees for 30 odd years. Also had forgotten how forgiving an Escort is when put at all sorts of angles, as an incident on SS7 would show. After SS2 Stuart and Stuart were tying doing exactly the same times on both stages, but there were 2 other crews, Michael Pickles/Chris Sharpe-Simkiss & Stephen Oade/Joe Oade mixing in with them for class positions. A spin on SS3 saw Stuart Ranby/Ian Bass drop back, but by the end of SS8 they were 4 seconds between the 4 crews vying for the class lead. Stage 9 saw the end of the challenge; the car had been using a bit of water, and the head gasket was suspected, which finally let go on the run to the flying finish and so game over. Stephen & Joe were also out with a broken drive shaft, and then on the last stage of the day Michael/Chris lost electrical power but managed to limp to the end, but lost loads of time, which left Stuart/Ian class winners. Sad for the battle to end like that, but everybody agreed they had a great fun filled day.
Photographs courtesy of Dave Dudley. See his facebook page for further photographs of this and other events
Roger Albert Clark Rally, North of England, Nigel Barber and Stuart Popplewell Nigel Barber and Stuart Popplewell competed on there 3rd RAC Rally this year and after coming second in the Open section in 2009 & 2012 the crew were hoping to go one better and take the win. With all the checks competed on Friday afternoon with no problems, the crew started three from the back on the short Friday night leg, with four
stages around the short Herrington Park with two stages in the middle at Hamsterley Forest. Once the crew got to the forest the fog came in making visibility very difficult, but some how the crew made it through catching cars in the stage. The last stage of the night at Herrington Park the alternator belt came off, but with a short run back to the overnight halt this was all sorted out ready for the next day. End of Day One, 1st in Open Section by 1.34 mins, 4th Overall in the whole event. With a short turn round and now running fourth on the road, the crew headed out to do 87 stage miles on day two. With visibility much better than the previous night, the crew wasn’t expecting to go backwards as some of the top crews started to push on. At Croft racing circuit the crew went better than they could have ever wished for, setting fastest and equal fastest over the two stages against the whole field, it must have been Front Wheel Drive conditions!!! Into Hamsterley and the crew had a big sideways moment on their second run through, but lost no time. After this the crew headed up to the Kielder forest with 45 stages miles to do in the dark. The fog came back in a bit on some of the stages and the team made better progress than some of the top teams. Again the crew had a good run through the stages with only a close call with a bridge and a short trip into the undergrowth was the only problems to report. End of Day Two, 1st in the Open Section by 5.32 mins, 5th Overall in the whole event. The last day dawned with only 48 stage miles standing between the Nigel and Stuart and the Open win. A quick, but safe drive was required to make sure that they didn’t have a silly off or any problems came on the last day. The crew had a good run on the morning stages, but with the cancellation of one stage the crew moved up to 4th overall and still had a 5.50 mins lead in the Open Section. With only three stages to go in the afternoon loop the crew made it round with no dramas to take the champagne and the 1st Overall in the Open Section, 3rd Overall in the main event behind Matthew Robinson and Nick Elliott. After such a hard event this result wouldn’t have happened without all the team what helped us on the event. Thanks to our sponsors for the kind help with sorting our tyres out for the whole event, Martin Barber and Dave Robinson for running in the chase car and Edward Muxlow for being part of the Service Crew. The two main people need special thanks, Stuart Popplewell for reading the maps spot on throughout the whole event and keeping us on time, a changing in the way you described the road made a massive difference, wasn’t sure for starters if it would work, but was going nearly as fast as being on pacenotes and without your attention to detail this result wouldn’t have happened. Two Overall wins in a year is great going after nine years together and long may it continue. Obviously the last one is to who everyone knows my Dad, Colin. The time and effort to make sure the car was ready for this event and the other events I do is very much appreciated. After the event Dad went back and tore up his MSA competition license renewal for 2015, meaning he has about retired from the sport after some great results with his brother, Martin, over the years, but hopefully the Barber name can live on in the sport for a bit longer and follow in the footsteps for years to come. Nigel Barber
Photos thanks to Matthew Rudd Photography
Useful websites for events are: www.itsmymotorsport.co.uk/rally-events-by-month www.silkrallyradio.biz/calendar.htm The contents included in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or Border Motor Club Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Border Motor Club Ltd. Enquiries concerning reproduction should be sent to the Newsletter Editor r Border Motor Club Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Border Motor Club Ltd. Enquiries concerning reproduction should be sent to the Newsletter Editor