Endurance Road Rally Championship

Top marks for Harris & Joseph as the Summer Challenge kicks off!

The ERRC’s inaugural Summer Challenge got off to a great start last weekend with the first of four events, the Leukaemia Rally.

This event is part of the HRCR championship and consisted of 21 tests and 7 regularities based around Blackwood, Caerphilly. In the past, the rally has made good use of Caerwent in its tests, but this year, sadly, the venue could not be used. The organising club, Ecurie Cymraeg, worked hard to replace this and devised a number of imaginative tests to challenge competitors.

Of the 52 starters, 8 were in endurance cars, 5 of them signed up for the 2012 ERRC Summer Challenge. Taking the early lead were Paul & Matt Heal in their MG ZR, followed closely by Simon Harris and Russell Joseph, Harris proving he is as good behind the wheel as he is on the maps. Oli Wakeman & Ian Perry along with Jamie Turner & James Newbould were also setting quick test times, but both crews struggled with the regularities – Turner/Newbould dropped way down the order with a 10-minute penalty for a missed PC on the first regularity. Also going well were Paul Freeth & Chris Head, proving endurance rallying can be fun with the old wedge shape Rover.

By lunch, Harris/Joseph had moved into the lead of not only the endurance runners but the overall event, a great showcase for the ERRC, meanwhile the Heals had slipped back and were now only a handful of seconds in front of Wakeman/Perry. This was as a result of Heal Senior’s youthful enthusiasm, seeing him trying to go way too fast though the ford on the final test before lunch and drowning out. The section though the ford also saw the end of Turner/Newbould’s rally, their morning going from bad to worse at this point when their car’s gearbox started making some very unhealthy noises. This was due to the filling plug falling out and the gearbox losing most of its oil, the cold water of the ford only making matters worse. Sensibly, they decided to head home whilst the gearbox was still salvageable.

The afternoon saw Harris/Joseph maintain their lead in the endurance event and only miss out on the overall win by 2 seconds! The Heals recovered with a strong performance on the afternoon’s regularities to finish as the second enduro crew, while Wakeman/Perry held off Freeth/Head to take maximum points in the semi class.

All the crews seemed to enjoy their day out on something a little different and are now looking forward to a fresh challenge in round two, the Wye Valley Trial on June 24th.

The full Leukaemia Rally results are >> HERE
The 2012 Summer Challenge points table after round 1 is >> HERE

Jamie & Mike Turner win the Ross!

Jamie & Mike Turner won last weekend’s inaugural Ross Endurance Road Rally, just over a minute clear of Paul Tod & Matt Fowle after more than 200 miles of tight competition.

Based in Ross-on-Wye and attracting 38 starters, the third round of the 2012 Endurance Road Rally Championship was a chance for crews to test themselves on new ground, the organisers having secured a collection of exciting venues for the rally.

Turner/Turner held an 18-second lead over David & Tom Banner after the first timecard, Tod/Fowle in a Suzuki Swift just 2 seconds further back with John Taylor & John Stringer only 6 seconds behind in fourth. Come the end of timecard 2, Turner/Turner had stretched their lead to 26 seconds, the new pairing of Tod/Fowle now second, Taylor/Stringer 2 seconds behind and just a second in front of Banner/Banner.

In fact it was close throughout the field and at the end of timecard 3, the top 13 cars were covered by just one minute, the previous week’s rain and testing selectifs keeping crews on their toes – and claiming a number of victims. Sadly this included the VW Polo of Banner/Banner, suspension damage ending their strong run.

At the dinner halt, with the selectifs completed, Tod/Fowle had trimmed Turner/Turner’s lead to 10 seconds, and the top two crews had started to pull away from the field. Charles Thompson & David Smoley were now third but over two minutes back, 30 seconds clear of Taylor/Stringer who had a 24-second gap to David Lobb & Lizzie Pope in fifth, the sixth place crew of Paul Sharp & Gruff Parry over a minute further back. The top crew in class 7, Oli Wakeman & Ian Perry were sitting eighth, class 5 leaders Ben Smith & Matt Clark ninth.

Next was the challenging after dark jogularity section but Turner/Turner prevailed, losing the least time on this leg to take their Rover 200 to a hard fought and well deserved victory – Mike’s first! Tod/Fowle were second, class 4 winners Thompson/Smoley third. Smith/Clark took top honours in class 5 finishing seventh, while Wakeman/Perry held on to take the top spot in class 7.

With three of 2012’s five rallies completed, Ash Chapman leads the drivers’ table by just four points from David Lobb, Kevin Ablitt holding the same lead over Lizzie Pope in the navigators’ table And with close battles across the classes, there is everything to play for in the remaining rounds.

To see the full breakdown of results from the Ross Endurance Road Rally please see HERE and for a list of award winners click HERE

The Premier Championship is taking a rest for a few months, but the Summer Challenge is about to get underway with the Leukaemia Rally in Wales on May 12th. See www.ecurie-cymraeg.co.uk/ for rally information and HERE for full details of our new for 2012 Summer Challenge.

Counting down to the start of the Summer Challenge

With less than a month until the all new for 2012 Endurance Road Rally Championship Summer Challenge kicks off, we’re delighted to be able to reveal the final list of events.

First is the Leukaemia Rally in Wales on May 12th. Entries are already open for this daylight road rally – please see www.ecurie-cymraeg.co.uk for full details. Round two is the Wye Valley Trial on June 24th in Herefordshire. Visit www.rossmotorsports.co.uk/Car_Trials.htm for more.

The following month, on July 14th/15th it is time to head south to Sussex for the Tony Watson Memorial Rally run by Central Sussex Motor Club, before the final round of the Summer Challenge, an autotest in Bedfordshire.

The Summer Challenge is a new initiative to give registered ERRC contenders more opportunities to get out, have a great time and use their cars, while learning new and valuable skills. And as if you needed another incentive, the winner of the Summer Challenge gets a free entry to the final round of the ERRC Premier Championship, the Exmoor Endurance!

Please see the latest Summer Challenge flyer www.endurance-rallying.co.uk/..... flyer.pdf for more information and download the regs here www.endurance-rallying.co.uk/..... regs.pdf And if you’ve any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch via Facebook www.facebook.com/EnduranceRoadRallying Twitter twitter.com/#!/endurorallying or e-mail via www.endurance-rallying.co.uk/contact.html

We look forward to a fun filled summer!

The ERRC in the MSA magazine!

Check out the feature on the Endurance Road Rally Championship in the new, spring 2012 edition of the MSA Magazine to remind you why this is a series you need to be a part of. Not an MSA licence holder? Fear not, you can also view it online at www.msauk.org/site/..... article=1134

The Summer Challenge is go!

Regs are out and entries open for round 1 of the 2012 ERRC's Summer Challenge, the Leukaemia Rally on May 12th – see www.ecurie-cymraeg.co.uk for details. If you need a quick Summer Challenge recap head to www.endurance-rallying.co.uk/..... regs.pdf for full details.

Built in a weekend - The £2000 Endurance Car

The £2000 Endurance Car

This endurance rally car was built in a weekend by the lads at the Rover Centre and has already had a top 15 placing on the Bullnose Rally. The story of how it was built for £2000 is told in a major Motorsport News article on 30th November.

There are some more pictures and the costs of how it was achieved in our car build flyer >> HERE