South Western Club Road Rally Championship

Entries are open for the Driveshaft! If you haven’t got your entry in already, you best be quick as I’ve heard they are almost full already! 😲

🚗✨ Devizes & District Motor club are thrilled to announcethat entries are now open for our 20/20 Rally! 🌌

Join us on October 19th, 2024, for an adrenaline-filled evening as we kick off from Chippenham Pit Stop at 19:50 hrs, navigating through the darkness and finishing at Leigh Delamere Services (Eastbound) around midnight. 🕒

This rally promises the thrill of night driving without taking you out of bed for too long—just pure driving excitement under the stars! 🌟

Visit https://www.ddmc.co.uk/driveshaft/ for regs

Championship Contenders should have received an important email this morning regarding the upcoming Driveshaft 20/20 Rally run by Devizes & District MC. Best be quick! 😉

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to post a little update and also apologise for the lack of updates recently. Someone else was meant to take over the championship but unfortunately they did nothing with it... So I've taken control back and hope to keep things moving in the second half of the year.

First thing, table updates are attached after the Primrose rally earlier in the year. I think it's a bit late to put a report together now!

Secondly, unfortunately Plymouth MC will not be running the Plymouth Rally this year. The route they had planned and recced unfortunately clashed too much with the Primrose. They will be running the event in the first half of 2025 and will work with South Hams MC to eliminate the problem next year. They are also thinking of just running as a full night event instead of a 20/20, so we shall see what happens!

For those of you thinking about dropped scores, there will still be two dropped scores for those of you who enter all events and those who enter six events will drop one.

There is just over three months to go until the championship starts again after the summer break with South Hams MC's Harvest Road Rally, so make sure those summer tweeks are almost done and we will see you in the lanes!

Best Wishes,
The Championship Team

Don’t forget to claim for your marshal points if you were out on the Primrose rally at the weekend! You’ve got until the end of the weekend to claim

It looks to have been a tough night in the South Hams lanes last night for round three, The Primrose, with less then half the entries finishing. A big thank you to all the marshals, photographer and everyone on the organising side as well who stood out in terrible conditions!

Results can be found online here

OverallResults ~ Primrose Rally ~ 16/17 March 2024

The seeded entry list is now out for this weekends Primrose Rally! What’s your predicted top three and class winners?

Entry List ~ The Primrose Rally

Entries close on Wednesday!
This is looking to be a cracking route so get those entries in!
If you have submitted an entry and not payed please could you do this ASAP

Enter here:
http://www.shmc.co.uk/index.php/events/primrose-road-rally

Unfortunately the Plymouth 20/20 has had to be postponed due to their planned route now having roadworks and closures, clashing with other events and generally having a few bits and bobs which can’t be sorted quickly.
Plymouth MC hope to have things sorted and another date towards the end of the year 🤞

Round two of the 2024 South Western Club Road Rally Championship took place on the weekend of the 3rd & 4th February 2024. Round two was the reborn Taunton Rally, running for the second year after coming back onto the calendar. Clerk of the course James How had an exciting route of 150 miles which headed up across Exmoor before dropping back down to the finish at Wiveliscombe.
The start was at Chelstone Motorhomes, just off the M5 at junction 26. Fuel was round the corner as well as various different food outlets and the carpark was ample big enough for the 35 entries who were ready for a challenging night. 36 of the entries were registered for the championship with plenty of marshals as well. Last year’s winner of the event Phil Harris was seeded at car 1, this year with Liam Burns back by his side in the trusty Suzuki Swift. Scrutineering all of the pre-event bits were done on site and before crews knew it, they were picking up their plotting instructions and heading down the M5 to the start of the first section near Tiverton.
The first section headed straight into the narrow lanes around Uplowman, passing Huntsham Castle and using the shorter two Bampton Down whites as well as Pipshayne white near Bampton. Crossing the B3227 the route skirted Shillingford and finish just outside of Morebath. Phillip & Edward Luxton were quickest in their Rover 25 dropping 3:14 with Harris/Burns just 10 seconds behind them in second and James Appleby & Sam Treleaven, Fiesta ST150 rounded off the top three dropping 3:42. Top semi-experts were Pat & Poppy Blight in their 206 on 5:51 with Rhys Williams being top novice with Paul Boxall along side him in his Rover 25, dropping 6:30. Andrew Millington was second best novice, sat alongside Paul Prance again in his MG ZR, they dropped 6:33 with Mark Thorburn & James Graham, Satria GTi being third best novice championship contenders dropping 7:46. Unfortunately there were a few people out already by the end of this first section. Geoff Harding didn’t start due to the engine on his drivers Proton giving up on the day of the event. Shaun Bee & Simon Bentley travelled down again from Angelsey/Leeds but their fan belt snapped on their Honda Civic. Elliott Dale & Charlotte Ryall were also out, snapped a half shaft at a triangle as well as Scott Marshall who got stuck in a field in his MX5.
The second section started just south of Oakfordbridge and heading steeply down into the Iron Mill Valley before heading back up the other side. A short run along the Quoit-at-Cross white before passing Coleford Bottom, through Great Wood and up to Bowdens before running around the North Esworthy triangle to finish just before the B3227. The Luxtons were quickest again dropping just 1:19 with Appleby/Treleaven second on 2:05 and Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton rounding off the top three in their Fiesta dropping 2:46. The Blights topped the semi-expert class dropping 5:38. Will Jefferis & Toby Sweetland topped the novice class in their Micra dropping 3:26. Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll, Renault Clio, were next quickest dropping 4:18 with Millington rounding off the top three on 4:53 which also moved him up to ninth overall.
The third section started just East of Oldways End, a long section which twisted it’s way up over onto Exmoor via a couple deep fords and plenty of thick fog for the crews to contend with! The route hoped over the old railway a couple times at West Knowle before heading onto the edge of the moor at Five Cross Ways. A quick section along East Anstey Common led crews down into the Yeo Valley before heading back up to the moor near Molland. Up to Ridgway Cross along the moorland roads and through the tight technical roads around Twitchen crews then headed over to Holywell Cross and up onto the gated road on the North Molton Ridge. Down to Heasley Mill and back along the edge of the moor to another loop south of Twitchen and down to the well-known Sheepwash Ford. A couple more long way round triangles then took crews to the end of the section back on the B3227 at Wester Bullaford Moor. Top seeds Harris/Burns were quickest dropping 6:56 with Appleby/Treleaven moving up to the lead dropping 7:15. Clarke/Luxton rounded off the top three with a time of 7:28 and The Blights set the best semi-expert time of 31:20. Williams set the best novice time dropping 18:43 with Thorburn/Graham only six seconds behind him on 18:49. Simon Fuidge who was sat along side Barry Shurman in the distinctive orange Saxo rounded off the top three novice times dropping 21:40. Unfortunately there were a few more crews who dropped out of the event, Mark Butler had his rear CV joint fail on his BMW 318Ti just before the second control while both Craig and Ari Owen (Proton Compact) and also Danni Pool who was sat alongside her father Darren in a Citroen C2 retired soon after.
Unfortunately, after this due to a change in plans for the fuel stop, a long run all the way to Barnstable for fuel met the crews before heading almost back to where they were afterwards. Championship contenders were in good positions at the fuel stop with the following crews still going.
1st – James Appleby & Sam Treleaven, Ford Fiesta ST150 – 0:13:02
2nd – Phill Harris & Liam Burns, Suzuki Swift – 0:13:11
3rd – Philip Luxton & Edward Luxton, Rover 25 Impression – 0:13:36
4th – Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton, Ford Fiesta Freestyle – 0:14:09
5th – Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney, Mini Cooper – 0:17:29
6th – Jacob Williams, MG ZR – 0:25:43
8th – Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le, MG ZR – 0:31:02
10th & 2nd Novice – Rhys Williams, Rover 25 – 0:34:06
12th & 3rd Novice – Mark Thorburn & James Graham, Proton Satria GTi – 0:39:44
13th & 3rd Semi-Expert – Pat Blight & Poppy Blight, Peugeot 206 – 0:42:49
14th & 4th Novice – Andrew Millington, MG ZR – 0:43:36
15th & 5th Novice – Simon Fuidge, Citroen Saxo – 0:50:22
17th – Andrew Axford, Subaru Impreza – 1:47:56
18th & 7th Novice - Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll, Renault Clio – 1:50:14
20th & 9th Novice – Will Jefferis & Toby Sweetland, Nissan Micra – 3:27:19
The fourth section was another long one and the fog was showing no signs of clearing and the rain was set in for the night. A quick shoutout to all the marshals who stood out in the terrible conditions, I’m sure some check sheets didn’t survive the night! The section started just north of South Molton and headed up the Portgate White and a double visit to Northland Cross. A few loops around the large triangles above North Molton preceded crew heading back up onto the moor at Yardewells Cross. Up to Five Barrows Cross and down Bentwitchen White which is just over 2km long before heading back up the map across Fyldon Common a couple times and straight across at Kinsford Gate to tackle Mole’s Chamber, a quick moorland road with a few not as map kinks that can catch out even the most experienced crews. With the added fog it wasn’t easy on the night! The final part skirted the edge of the moor through Barton Town before coming into the finish of the section at Yelland Cross. Phillip Luxton is a master at Mole’s Chamber so it’s no surprise The Luxtons were quickest on this section dropping 6:17 and moving them into the lead. Harris/Burns were second dropping 7:22 with Clarke/Luxton third on 7:30. There was quite a gap in times to the following crews, but Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney managed to move up to fourth overall dropping 15:07 in their Mini Cooper, a time worthy of fifth quickest on this section. The Blights missed a couple PC’s but were still the best semi-expert championship crew dropping 41:29. Williams was best novice dropping 17:05 with Luscombe/Joll on 20:08 and Jefferis/Sweetland rounding off the top three in class on 23:07. Appleby/Treleaven had some back luck with their gearbox mount bolt snapping causing them to retire from the lead at the start of the section. Thorburn/Graham also retired with a misfire just before the second intermediate control, possibly due to all the water around that night. They were running 12th overall and third in class at the time.
A long run along the B3358 across the moor took crews onto amp 181 for the start of the fifth section, which was a bit of a shorter affair then the last two. A loop south of the B3224 through Chibbet Ford and back over to B road and up onto Lucott Moor. A fast twisty moorland road then too crews all the way to the top of Porlock Toll Road and into the finish. A short run along Hawkcombe Head white was needed to get the correct approach to the finish control, something not all crews did! Clarke/Luxton set the best time dropping just 16 seconds with The Luxtons a further 21 seconds behind on 37 and Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le third in their MG ZR dropping 54 seconds, the only three crews to be under a minute. The Blights topped the semi-expert class dropping 1:44 with Millington at the front of the novices dropping 1:20. Williams wasn’t far behind dropping 1:30 with Jefferis/Sweetland third on 1:44. Harris/Burns was one of the crews to approach the final control from the wrong direction, a costly mistake dropping them down to third overall at this stage.
A short run down through Porlock Village took crews to the start of the sixth section, the well-known Stoke Pero! Starting just after West Luccombe crews headed up over Ley Hill and down Stoke Pero to The Mound, down through Cloutsham and up to Webber’s Post for a short way round the triangle to catch some tired crews out. Over Dunkery Hill via a couple not as map triangles and through the gate before dropping down to the finish of the section before Blagdon Cross. A shorter but very challenging section. Clarke/Luxton dropped 2:39 giving them the best time overall with Jacob Williams who was sat in with Paul Watts in the trusty MG ZR setting the next best time of 1:53. Harris/Burns dropped 3:08 with The Luxtons dropping 4:09 to drop them back to second behind Clarke/Luxton by just 5 seconds! A possible timing or calculation error at the first timing point meant they dropped exactly three minutes, meaning it was all to play for heading into the final section of the night! The Blights were best in the semi class dropping 6:31 with Willaims topping the novices on 5:40. Millington missed a PC towards the end of the section meaning he dropped 14:41, good for second in class with Jefferis/Sweetland also missing a PC and being on 17:20 in third.
Onto the seventh and final section of the night to determine the winner, with just five seconds between the top two it was going to be close! Starting on top of the Brendon Hills the route looped around Gupworthy and north of The Round House before skirting the edge of Exmoor to the east of Wimbleball Lake and to the south of Clatworthy Reservoir. Through the tight lanes near Clatworthy and down to the finish just outside of Wiveliscombe. Clarke/Luxton set the best time of 2:31 cementing their win with Harrus/Burns second dropping 3:36 for them to secure third. Rice/Disney dropping 4:09 for them to take fourth overall with The Luxtons dropping 4:41 to secure second. The Blights dropped 9:06 to see them come into the finish best semi-expert championship contenders and second in class for the event. Millington was the best novice dropping 5:45 which secured him 10th overall with R.Williams second dropping 6:43 to finish eighth. Rounding off the top three in class on the final section was Jefferis/Sweetland who dropped 9:27. Andrew Axford who was sat in with his daughter Natalie Howard again in the JDM Garage Impreza cut the final section to stay within OTL, a good move at the end of the event with several crews falling foul to OTL times earlier in the night, they finished the event in 18th overall.
Final results for championship contenders were as follows:
1st – Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton, Ford Fiesta Freestyle – 0:27:05
2nd – Phillip Luxton & Edward Luxton, Rover 25 Impression – 0:29:10
3rd – Phil Harris & Liam Burns, Suzuki Swift – 0:32:48
4th – Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney, Mini Cooper – 0:44:59
5th – Jacob Williams, MG ZR – 0:51:53
6th – Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le, MG ZR – 0:55:40
8th – Rhys Williams, Rover 25 – 1:05:04
10th – Andrew Millington, MG ZR – 1:33:42
11th – Pat Blight & Poppy Blight, Peugeot 206 – 1:42:29
14th – Simon Fuidge, Citroen Saxo – 2:50:00
15th – Will Jefferis & Toby Sweetland, Nissan Micra – 4:18:57
18th – Andrew Axford, Subaru Impreza – 7:44:06
19th – Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll, Renault Clio – 8:48:23
Well done to everyone who made it to the finish of a challenging night! And well done to the team at Taunton Motor Club for putting on a challenging night!
The next event, South Hams MC’s Primrose Rally is running on the weekend of 16/17th March and entries are still open. All the details can be found at http://www.shmc.co.uk/index.php/events/primrose-road-rally, we will see you all then!

Entries are still open for round three of the championship, The Primrose Rally. All details can be found here: http://www.shmc.co.uk/index.php/events/primrose-road-rally

Sorry there still isn’t an update after The Taunton just yet. I’m working on it!

Primrose Rally - South Hams Motor Club | Motorsport in Devon | ASWMC The Primrose Rally is organised by South Hams Motor Club on March 16th/17th, 2024.

Good luck to everyone tonight on The Taunton Rally. It’s looking a little damp up there so keep it on the black stuff

Who’s your money on?!

The South Western Club Road Rally Championship kicked off in 2024 with the final running of the famous Bagger rally starting at Cricket St Thomas Golf Course, just outside of Chard. Roger Hunt and his team at VCRR have been running events since the 70’s but the time had come for them to finally lay up their organiser hats and sit back and relax for once!
65 crews started the event of around 200 miles taking in the lanes of Devon and Somerset around the Blackdown Hills, Culm Valley and Vale of Taunton. 42 of the starters had signed up to the championship along with several of the marshals who this year, get a chance to win their own prize. Jamie Mills was the highest seed at car 7, navigating for Nethan Summer in a Mk2 Es**rt with southwest regulars James How and Nic Jones at car 10 in their trusty MG ZR.
23:00 soon came around and cars were lined up at eh start of the first control just outside of Tatworth ready to start the night. The first section was around ‘The Devils Triangle’ which was named back in the motorsport news championship due to the tight technical nature of the roads with several junctions and not as map sections making it very difficult to navigate.
Crews headed around Wambrook in the thick fog and then Stockland before a loop around Membury and down to the edge of Axminster before heading along the Yarty valley and around Dalwood for the finish of the first section of the night. James How & Nic Jones (MG ZR) were the best championship contenders dropping 4:41 which placed them fourth overall with Jamie Mills 19 seconds behind in fifth overall. James Appleby & Sam Treleaven (Fiesta) were third best and eight overall dropping 5:23, a considerable movement up from their seeding of 35! Local crew Elliott Dale and Charlotte Ryall in the lovely Mk1 Es**rt were fourth championship contenders and 15th overall dropping 7:44 with Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le (MG ZR) fifth and 19th overall dropping 9:22. Mark Thorburn and James Graham were best Novices in the championship, currently sat at 28th overall dropping 12:22 in their Proton Compact with Craig Owen and Ari Owen (Fiesta) second on 28:01 and Simon Fuidge who was navigating for Eddie Gale in a Rover 200 rounding off the top three on 30:45. Unfortunately, Shaun Bee & Simon Bentley (Proton Coupe) who had travelled down from the edge of Anglesey retired early on in the event.
A short neutral along the A35 took crews to the second section of the night starting just outside of Wilmington. Running down the and around the Coly Valley near Colyton a couple triangles and tricky to plot PC’s gave costly penalties to crews before heading back across the A35 and around Cotleigh and up to the ‘Seven Mile Straight’. Through the maze of roads around Stockland around and heading up to Yarcombe crews finally made it to the end of the first third back on the Seven Mile Straight. Dropping down to the A30 crews then headed down to Honiton for the first fuel stop of the night. Appleby/Treleaven were pushing hard, setting the best time of the whole field of 5:22 which also moved them up to second overall and top championship contenders. Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton (Fiesta) were not far behind dropping 5:27 which moved them up to 12th overall and fourth in the championship. 2023 championship driver has swapped sons for the year and had Edward Luxton along side him in the Rover 25, they put in the third best time dropping 6:34 and moving them up to 15th overall and sixth in the championship. How/Jones secured the fourth best time of 7:29 to still be in second for the championship and Mills dropped 9:17 to keep him in third. Thorburn/Graham were best again in the novice class dropping 16:17 with Toby Sweetland who was sat with Jamie Raymond in a Ford Puma setting the second best time in the class of 17:30 to move him into third in class. Chris Beer & Danni Pool (MG ZR) had cut a bit out of the first section to stay ahead of OTL so were now on a charge to make up time, setting the third best time of 19:44 which had them at sixth in class for the championship overall. Unfortunately a couple more championship contenders dropped out on this section, Andrew Millington who went OTL from 32nd overall and Scott Marshall who picked up three punctures while sat at 51st overall.
Championship results to the first fuel stop were as follows:
2nd – James Appleby & Same Treleaven, Ford Fiesta – 0:10:45
6th – James How & Nic Jones, MG ZR – 0:12:08
8th – Jamie Mills, Ford Es**rt Mk2 – 0:14:17
11th – Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton, Ford Fiesta – 0:15:56
12th – Elliott Dale & Charlotte Ryall, Ford Es**rt Mk1 – 0:16:06
14th – Phillip Luxton & Edward Luxton, Rover 25 – 0:16:49
16th – Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le, MG ZR – 0:17:34
19th – Pat Thomas & Zak Linham, Ford Es**rt – 0:19:30
20th – Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney, Mini Cooper – 0:20:03
22nd – Phil Harris & Liam Burns, Perodue Myvi – 0:22:04
24th – Patrick Blight & Poppy Blight, Peugeot 206 – 0:26:25
26th – Will Jefferis, Volkswagen Golf – 0:27:26
28th & 2nd Novice – Mark Thorburn & James Graham, Proton Compact – 0:28:39
33rd – Mark Butler, BMW 318Ti Compact – 0:34:13
35th – Andrew Axford, Subaru Impreza – 0:39:48
38th – Brian Cammack, Toyota Corolla – 0:46:31
39th & 4th Novice – Simon Fuidge, Rover 200 – 0:55:25
41st & 5th Novice – Toby Sweetland, Ford Puma – 1:05:17
43rd & 6th Novice – Craig Owen & Ari Owen, Ford Fiesta – 1:16:06
45th & 7th Novice – Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll, Renault Clio – 1:18:06
46th & 8th Novice – Chris Beer & Danni Pool, MG ZR – 1:21:56
48th – Jacob Williams, BMW 320i – 1:24:18
49th & 10th Novice – Derek Love & Jack Love, Peugeot 206 – 1:35:31
After filling up with fuel and making up lost time it was straight back into the lanes around Luppitt and Upottery before skirting Smeatharpe Airfield and dropping down into the Ottery Valley and into the finish of the section just outside of Churchinford. Clarke/Luxton were top of the championship contenders this time dropping just 56 seconds, moving them up to second in the championship and sixth overall. A further seven second behind them were Appleby/Treleaven who had now moved into the lead of the event with locals Pat Thomas & Zak Linham (Mk2 Es**rt) dropping just 1:10 to set the third best time and move them into sixth overall. Brian Cammack who was sat with Alex Raynolds in a Corolla set a good time of 2:55, fourth best in the championship which moved them up to 14th place overall with Mills dropping 3:08 to keep him in the final podium place in third overall. Thorburn/Graham were top novices again dropping 4:06 which moved them up to 11th championship contender overall. Beer/Pool set the second best time in the class of 12:29 after picking up a 10 minute penalty for missing a TC, it still moved them up a couple places in the class though and a massive 10 places overall on the event. Both Sweetland and Fuidge also missed the same control as well as another in this section, dropping 20:58 and 26:44 respectively. Even though this section was relatively short it was tricky, with crews across the field missing controls and a few more championship contenders retiring from the event. Will Jefferis who was 26th overall after hitting a large pot hole and causing damage, Mark Butler who was 33rd overall who’s rear top mounts failed, The Owens who were 43rd overall and Derek & Jack Love who were 49th overall due to driver error!
A short neutral through Churchinford took crews to the next section which wound it way up to the B3170 via a tight triangle and down into the valley the other side near Bishopswood. A short section along the top of Staple Hill before dropping down the valley once again and up to Otterford and over to Holman Clavel for the finish of the section. Appleby/Treleaven were quickest in the championship again dropping 2:44 which kept them in the lead of the event. Phil Harris and Liam Burns (Myvi) dropped three minutes which moved them to eight in the championship and Clarke/Luxton dropped 3:03 to keep them at second and seventh overall in the event. Mills dropped 3:59 to keep him in third for the championship and eight overall. Jacob Williams who was sat with Christopher Oakes in a more modern BMW 3 Series set the 10th best time for the championship of 7:12 to move them up to 15th. Thorburn/Graham were dominating the novice class again, dropping 7:13 to keep them at the front of the class. Beer/Pool were second in class dropping 9:38 which moved them up to third novices for the championship while Sweetland dropped 10:42 moving him into second.
A run across the top of Blagdon Hill took crews to the start of the next section which looped around the back of Tricky Warren Airfield crews then dropped down into the valley behind Smeatharpe and Hemyock before heading through Bolham Water and up onto Luppitt Common once again. Another triangle lead the crews down to Hemyock again and over to Blackborough before heading across the Culm Valley next to Hemyock once again and up through Culm Valey to the finish of the section. A long section to finish off the second third which saw crews drop down off the Blackdown Hills to the A38 and to Wellington for the second fuel stop. Thomas/Linham set the best time for the whole event dropping 3:51, moving them to second in the championship and seventh overall. Appleby/Treleaven dropped 6:12 to keep them in the lead for the championship but they dropped to second overall on the event by 34 seconds. Mills dropped 9:14 and Clarke/Luxton dropped 5:52 to keep them in third place. Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney were struggling for pace compared to usual, they dropped 17 minutes after missing a time control, but they were still 10th best championship contenders and 20th overall in the standings. No surprised who topped the novice class… Thorburn/Graham dropping 14:16 while Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll were second best championship contenders in the class dropping 38:42 in their Renault Clio and Fuidge third on 41:09. At this stage of the event several crews were cutting route to try and stay within OTL. The Bagger is known as being a long gruelling event and it’s an accomplishment to finish, let alone have a good result. Unfortunately, another retirement in this section, Patrick & Poppy Blight who were sat at 28th overall, after Pat got a little too excited and put the 206 into a ditch. They did manage to get themselves out in the end but had run OTL.
Championship results to the second fuel stop were as follows:
2nd – James Appleby & Sam Treleaven, Ford Fiesta – 0:20:44
7th – Pat Thomas & Zak Linham, Ford Es**rt – 0:29:41
9th – Lewis Clarke & Oliver Luxton, Ford Fiesta – 0:29:47
10th – Jamie Mills, Ford Es**rt – 0:30:38
12th – James How & Nic Jones, MG ZR – 0:34:26
13th – Phillip Luxton & Edward Luxton, Rover 25 – 0:34:54
15th – Elliott Dale & Charlotte Ryall, Ford Es**rt Mk1 – 0:37:45
16th – Phil Harris & Liam Burns, Perodua Myvi – 0:37:50
17th – Luke Quinnell & Kayleigh Di**le, MG ZR – 0:40:52
20th – Ashley Rice & Trevor Disney, Mini Cooper – 0:49:21
21st & 1st Novice – Mark Thorburn & James Graham, Proton Compact – 0:54:14
26th – Brian Cammack, Toyota Corolla – 1:06:51
27th – Andrew Axford, Subaru Impreza – 1:27:50
30th – Jacob Williams, BMW 320i – 1:54:41
34th & 4th Novice – Chris Beer & Danni Pool, MG ZR – 2:38:30
35th & 5th Novice – Simon Fuidge, Rover 200 – 2:43:18
36th & 6th Novice – Stephen Luscombe & Andrew Joll, Renault Clio – 2:51:56
37th & 7th Novice – Toby Sweetland, Ford Puma – 2:58:38
Into the final part of the night now, travelling down the A38 again to the start of the section near Beam Bridge. Hoping over the Great Western Canal a couple times crews then headed north past Kittishford and Stawley to the B3227 at Waterrow and then heading across the map toward Wilverton and the finish of the section to the east of Wiveliscombe. Clarke/Luxton set the best time for the championship of 4:25 which moved them up to second place and sixth overall. Appleby/Treleaven were only 4 seconds behind which saw them move into the lead of the event once again. The Luxtons were third quickest for the championship dropping 5:41 with Thomas/Linham dropping to third place overall with a time of 6:15. Andrew Axford was navigating for a different Howard on this event, Natalie stepping into the drivers seat the morning of the event after Paul fell ill. They dropped 20:06 here which saw them in 13th place for the championship and 27th overall. Thorburn/Graham topped the novice class again, dropping 8:56 with Luscombe/Joll moving up to second in class dropping 9:30 with Sweetland a further 31 seconds behind.
Another short neutral to get through Wiveliscombe and to the start of the final section just off the B3227. Up onto Haydon Hill and down past Waterrow again to cross the B road. Crews then headed down to Ashbrittle and Hockford Water before looping back on themselves and up to Petton. Dropping down Bampton Down to the edge of Huntsham crews then followed the valley down the map to a loop above Uplowman before a final loop near Westleigh for the finish of the section. It was then a short trip along the A38 and back to the Beam Bridge Inn for a well-earned breakfast and to wait for the results to come in. How/Jones set the best time in the championship, dropping 6:16 with Clarke/Luxton second on 7:15 and Mills third on 8:22. Unfortunately after being in the lead of the event for so long Appleby/Treleaven missed the final intermediate control of the night, picking up a 10 minute penalty and given them a final section time of 12:49, dropping them down to sixth overall but still top of the championship contenders. Sweetland had a good last run but missed the same control, dropping 18:01 with Thorburn/Graham missing a control as well, dropping 21:19. Rounding off the top three in class on that section was Beer/Pool who had a cut near the end to stay within OTL, dropping 39:20, but still finished.
The final results can be found online at https://mtc1.uk/results/2024/bagger/OverallResults.php. Well done to all crews who finished and well done and thank you to VCRR for running the event over the years! Hopefully something will be come along to at least use the roads that it covers.
Next up with Taunton Motor Clubs Taunton Rally running on the 3rd/4th February, we shall see you there!