Preview of Round 5 : Trackrod Forest Stages (27th September).
The Trackrod Forest Stages takes both the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series & the Motorsport UK English Rally Championship, sponsored by Kingfisher Insurance, on to the North York Moors on 27th September. Following the long dry spell and the much-publicised fires, some of the extensive peat bogs are still burning underground and it’ll take some time before they are finally extinguished. Local firefighters, farmers and volunteers have mounted a Herculean effort to contain the fires and Event Clerk of the Course Rod Parkin said : ‘Everyone involved in the rally appreciates the huge effort being made to deal with this disaster. Understandably, permission to use Langdale has been withdrawn which is a decision we wholly support.’

So, with an amended route to look forward to, the Top Three starters on this year’s Trackrod are, coincidentally, the Top Three finishers – and Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Gold Star Championship points scorers – from twelve months ago!  Consequently, as the current series moves into a critical phase, Matthew Hirst / Declan Dear’s Fabia R5 (in typical pose above), Elliot Payne / Patrick Walsh (Fiesta Rally2) & Daniel Sigurðarson & Asta Sigurðadóttir (Skoda RS) will be out to stamp their authority on the event once more.

Current standings, as we approach Round 5, have Payne & Walsh and Hirst & Dear with two maximum scores apiece, with the former in the lead courtesy of their other results. The Icelanders, meanwhile, were in runners-up spot following the Border Counties but a no-show on the Nicky Grist Stages and a non-finish on the Woodpecker leave them with a lot of work to do – there’s still time but no room for error!
Liam Clark (Fiesta Rally2) posted his best result of the season to-date on the Woodpecker but, similar to Daniel and Asta, already has two no-scores and must do well on the three remaining events. In spite of a ‘challenging’ run on the Woody, Alex Vassallo (Fiesta Rally2) remains in 3rd place in the points while co-driver Chris Lees, who missed the opening round of the Series, is still comfortably in the Top Ten.

The Protyre Autocare BTRDA Silver Star® Championship is in a similar situation to Gold Star in that just two drivers have monopolised the winners’ enclosure so far – David Henderson’s Escort Mk2 reigned supreme on the first two events while Osian Pryce’s similar car came up trumps on the next two. However, while the Welshman is not set for an appearance in Yorkshire, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Henderson can pick up where he left off! Lewis Hooper / Rhys Edwards (Fiesta R2 – see photo right >>>>>) lead the table – indeed, Edwards already has four maximums to his credit and, without wishing to tempt fate, another high score could put the 2025 Silver Star Co-drivers’ title out of reach….

Unsurprisingly, Hooper and Edwards also dominate the BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup but, in both categories, Tom Constantine / Tony Walker (Opel Adam R2) are their nearest rivals. Steve Ward / John Millington (Escort Mk2) are in touching distance of a podium spot in Silver Star while also leading the Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Historic Cup from Henderson. A good run over the Moors could also do wonders for Barry Jordan, himself, and Arwel Jenkins (Mitsubishi Galant) who finished ahead of Ward / Millington on the Woodpecker.

<<<< Steve Ward (Escort Mk2) – Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Historic Cup Leader

As ever, the Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star Championship is proving to be an enthralling competition. Winners for the past couple of years, Nigel & Kaz Jenkins (Nova), have had to give best to the Micra of Dylan Fowler-Bishop / Dan Evans on each of the first three rounds but the tables were finally turned on the Woodpecker when the husband-and-wife took their first ‘win’ of the season.
So, Fowler-Bishop / Evans lead from Ed James / Kevin Lane (Micra Kit Car) who have been keeping out of harm’s way and ensuring they’ve finished each event, with the Jenkins 3rd. Nevertheless, with three events to go and a possible 30 points available on each, the end result is about as far from a foregone conclusion as it’s possible to be. Splendid stuff!

                                   Dylan Fowler-Bishop / Dan Evans (Micra) – Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star Championship Leaders  >>>>

With three rounds down, the Motorsport UK English Rally Championship, sponsored by Kingfisher Insurance, moves into the second half of its season in Yorkshire. David Henderson had top spot all to himself following the Border Counties Rally but then defending champion Elliot Payne hit back with a maximum score on the Woodpecker Stages to equal his tally. So, not only is there a spot of sorting-out to do there but the next three places – Lewis Hooper, Dylan Fowler-Bishop and Matthew Hirst – have just five points between them, indicating a great deal of shuffling throughout the table!

David Henderson (Escort Mk2)               &                 Elliot Payne (Fiesta Rally2)

Joint English Rally Championship Leaders

SPECTATORS : Tickets for the spectator stages in Cropton and Dalby are only available on-line at https://www.rallyyorkshire.co.uk/spectator-information/
All photos © Kevin Money & Malcolm Almond.
Further information on the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series : www.btrdarally.com & English Rally Championship sponsored by Kingfisher Insurance : www.englishrally.co.uk

-ENDS-