Wilks storms to Yorkshire success
6th October 2007Guy Wilks strengthened his challenge for the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship with a dominant victory on the 30th staging of the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire.
Darlington driver Wilks steered his works Mitsubishi to fastest times on no fewer than eight of the 11 stages, in or around Pickering and the North York Moors, to finish over 50 seconds ahead of British title holder and current championship leader Mark Higgins, in a Subaru Impreza.
Higgins still leads the title race but Wilks now has three victories to his Welsh-based rival’s two which could prove vital when each competitor’s two lowest scores are dropped at the end of the series.
Wilks had fended off the challenge of Welsh team-mate Gwyndaf Evans for much of the day but a gear-linkage problem on the very last stage eventually relegated the 1996 Champion to fourth place, behind Higgins’ younger brother David, in another Subaru.
It was a disappointing day for Yorkshire hopes of another home win – last year’s rally winner Ryan Champion (Whitby) struggling to keep pace with the works Mitsubishi’s before losing a crippling four minutes having to stop and change a puncture on the rally’s 16-mile longest stage in Langdale.
Huggate’s Jonny Milner also suffered a mysterious lack of power in his Subaru Impreza prior to the car’s transmission failing completely, again in Langdale.
Some compensation for home fans was Miles Johnstone’s 12th place – not without problems but enough for the York driver to clinch the Mitsubishi Evolution Cup.
Even happier was Ulster’s Phillip Morrow who secured a factory drive in 2008 for winning the Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge with a sparkling fine place overall.
Early in the day there had been high drama when David Higgins came face to face with a JCB coming the other way up the seven-mile Gale Rigg stage but the Manxman managed to avoid a potentially horrific accident, leaving the rally organisers the task of investigating the incident as the dust settled on the day’s action.
The event’s opening Trackrod Historic Cup produced a thrilling finish as David Stokes (Dursley) snatched the British Historic crown for the first time, denying Castlerock campaigner Dessie Nutt the title after the Irishman’s fellow sixties Porsche pilot Stuart Rolt (Banbury) pipped him to overall rally success by 23.4 seconds.
Chesterfield businessman Steve Perez drove a Ford Focus WRC to a commanding two-minutes and 24-second victory over Cumbrian Paul Bird’s Subaru Impreza on the Trackrod National Rally, where 2006 winner Steve Petch (Richmond, N Yorks) had to settle for third in a Hyundai Accent WRC.
However there was no luck for Malton farmer Steve Bannister – the joint most successful driver in the rally’s history, with three wins in the mid and late eighties.
Veteran Bannister saw his hopes and the engine of his trusty Escort go up in smoke just halfway through the opening stage – but organisers expect the local crowd favourite back, yet again, next year.
Yorkshire joy was forthcoming and plentiful in the Trackrod Clubman’s Trophy event, which brought the day’s action to a close.
York Subaru Impreza duo Gary Cooper and Jeff McNeil fought a battle royal before being separated by under 12 seconds at the finish, with Guisborough’s Dave Craven – a former winner –, third in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6, another eight seconds back.
Andrew Glover (Sandbach) beat off four Armed Forces Wolf’s in his more powerful 3.9 litre Discovery to win the Trackrod Land Drover Challenge, while Stourbridge’s Richard Sykes (Peugeot 106) savoured success in the Trackrod All Stars event for cars below 1400cc.