Damian Cole’s quest to succeed Melvyn Evans as REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Champion took another step forward at the weekend when he and co-driver Craig Drew won the Dublin-based ALMC Stages Rally outright. This was the crew’s fourth consecutive maximum score and now moves them ahead of erstwhile leaders John Stone and Lee Carter in the points tables.
The meat of the rally was contained in three stages, each run three times, and intermittent rain showers not only made the going more treacherous but also caused crews some headaches when it came to tyre choice.
Cole’s victory was not without its dramas either – having been running in second place for much of the day, he moved to the front after the leaders hit trouble on the penultimate stage. However, the eventual winner’s progress was hampered by a problem with his Ford Focus WRC’s throttle and an overheating engine. Nevertheless, everything held together to give the Herefordshire crew victory by 13 seconds.
Simon Mauger/Ashley Trimble took third place in their Ford Escort MkII after a superb display of driving in conditions that weren’t ideally suited to their two-wheel drive machine. Mauger also moves ahead of Stone, who retired his Skoda Fabia WRC with turbo failure in Ireland and now occupies the final podium spot.
2006 & 2008 MSA Asphalt Rally Champions David Kynaston and Andy Russell looked to be heading for a Top Six finish in their Audi A3 Quattro when an under-bonnet fire put them out with two stages to go. This was an especially disappointing end to a promising run, especially as niggling problems have seen ‘DK’ fail to finish a round of the MSA Asphalt Championship this year.
On their first visit to the event, Scots crew David Hardie/John McCulloch brought their Subaru Impreza home to a class win, in spite of problems with the car’s gear linkage which saw it stuck in fifth for the whole of the sixth stage. Careful entry into all the corners was required to maintain the necessary momentum to keep going – the plan worked and David was awarded the ‘John Horton Motorsport Management Star Performance’ salver for his perseverance.
Dave Price and Chris Rice made the trip across the Irish Sea and both gained some useful class points on the day. Dave’s Ford Escort Mk6 RWD had been repaired following an incident with a deer on the Rally of the Midlands and a steady run, without further such interruptions, was recorded on this occasion.
Meanwhile, defending Group N Champion Chris Rice was pleased to complete the event in his Subaru Impreza, despite the car’s rear propshaft bolts coming loose on one stage. The problem was rectified at service, allowing him to continue on to take maximum points in N4.
Pressure of work at the family bakery in Stafford meant that Mark Jasper only arrived in Dublin on Saturday evening, leaving co-driver Don Whyatt, who lives just a few miles from the start, to take care of all the pre-event formalities. However, their pristine Legend Motorsport MG Metro 6R4 was out before the end of the first loop, having lost a wheel on the third stage.
Roger Donnan, who has finished every Championship event he has started since the beginning of 2009, put his Ford Puma S1600 off into a ditch and was OTL before a suitable recovery truck was on the scene to extricate the stricken car.
The next round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship is the Tyneside Stages on Sunday 1st August, affording competitors the first of two visits to the Otterburn Military Ranges this season.
– Credit: www.asphaltrallying.com and www.rallybuzz.com