19th. November 2005
RAF Portreath again hosted the City of Truro Stages Rally which ran under the
co-promoted banner of the Truro and Newquay clubs but with the support of Camel
Vale Motor Club. Many crews chose to compete in the final ASWMC round of the
season in the hope of getting a taster of the 2006 Tour of Cornwall stages.
Steve and Yvonne Furzeland came to the event as the number one seeds and
Championship leaders but could still have been numerically beaten to the 2006
title by Craig Jose and Chris Howells.
Overall numbers were down on last year with many of the local crews having
already disassembled their cars for annual refurbishment but the quality of
those entering the Portreath gates early in the morning was as good as any event
this year. David Kynaston and Andy Russell in the superb Audi A3 were at number
two looking to fulfill the promise they showed last year and John Stone and Lee
Carter brought their Metro 6R4 on the very long trek from Blackburn, Lancashire.
Chris Dillow/Adrian Tregunna were at four after last year’s second place and
looking to keep the vintage silver Truro Trophies in Cornwall whilst the rapidly
improving Kev Carr/Brett Wookey headed the two wheel drive brigade at five.
Steve Hollis/Stephen Edmond brought their Cosworth Escort from Cullompton
followed by the immaculate Darrian GTR of Mike Tregoning/Neil Gould. At eight
was the newly acquired Subaru Impreza of Andy Orchard/Chris Jarman in a late but
brave entry. Andy having driven the car for only two miles prior to SS1.
Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson were finishing their first season back in the
sport after a 13 year sabbatical and the highly rated new-comer Lee Rennison
with Mark Parsons completed the top ten. The quality didn’t stop at that,
however, and Dave Jones/Paul Sanders and Mike Reed/ Carl Sorenson at 11 and 12
still looked like crews that could take top honours.
The first stage started promptly at 1001GMT with the Furzeland crew learning the
lessons from last year and blitzing it from the beginning. John Stone/Lee Carter
set the service area tongues wagging by taking 4 seconds out of the number one
seeds on what all had thought would be a learning curve approach to the event …
some curve! Expectations are always high with the Kynaston Audi but a broken
prop shaft on the opening stage spread disappointment not only amongst the
number 3 crew but also the rest of the field and organisers. The Dillow/Tregunna
Metro 6R4 had an uncharacteristic 15 second spin on the opener but Mike
Tregoning/Neil Gould set third fastest and with a dry day in prospect looked
like they were on a mission to prove the Darrian cause.
Corbridge/Thurley in their Puegeot 205 and the Richards brothers’ Tigra set
stunning times in Classes 2 and 1 inside the top ten.
Dramas went all the way down the entry on the first stage with Derek Bligh/Steve
Falherty collecting a disappointing maximum having missed the split but they
continued to set times at the top of their Class throughout the rest of the day.
Veteran Terry Truscott with Ian Blake failed to get their Escort to the start
line when a plug blew out at SS1 Arrival.
Richard Clayton/Nickie Clayton clipped a solid lump of Cornish granite and
rolled their Mini which then split an oil line causing a fire. Next crew along,
Danny and Joss Gibson stopped to render assistance and help put out the fire but
on the next stage they put a rod through the side of their interesting hybrid
Corsa – their sportsmanship deserved better fortune.
Nigel Mummery/Paul Drew were intent on finishing a character building season
with another fraught day as they fought the gremlins all day long.
Shaun Cronin/Colin Bell had traveled from Blandford Forum for their first event
in an immaculate Impreza causing some confusion with its “POLICE” livery.
Encouragingly they seemed to be enjoying the experience.
Gary Lomas/Carol Whitehead again brightened the service area with their
nostalgia evoking immaculate Stratos. And proving that talent doesn’t need a big
budget Scott Webster/Mark Willcocks set about the Portreath stages in Scott’s
home built and well used Austin Mini Clubman.
Second stage of the day continued the attrition rate with the dramatic exit of
the Stone/Carter 6R4 rolling after catching the verge edge going into the merge.
Both crew members coming out unscathed but philosophical. The roof and bonnet
damage didn’t appear to have touched the roll-cage and hopes were high that
repairs weren’t too extensive. Their pace had clearly alerted all to their
potential on the 2006 Tour of Cornwall.
A change of plugs for Andy Orchard failed to cure a misfire which dogged him all
day. Dave Jones/Paul Sanders set a stunner on stage 2 which raised a few
eyebrows but their luck wasn’t to hold. Paul Davey/Andy Todd were back in their
venerable Legacy after a stressful season with their MG Rover but they too
succumbed to mechanical failure during the morning stages.
Craig Jose/Chris Howells championship winning attempt effectively ceased on SS4
as the 9 mile stage claimed another victim.
At the half-way point Ian Trebilcock/Richard Linne were checking the underneath
their RWD Peugeot only to find that the rear diff was a horror story about to
explode … next stop the trailer park.
In keeping with the rest of the event the afternoon stages started on time and
included the entrants in the Trophy rally. Significant retirement after SS5 was
Andy Orchard/Chris Jarman who chose to investigate the misfire rather than wreck
an expensive motor.
Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson continued to post respectable times even with the
alarming sight of the number nine Impreza enveloped in a cloud of steam
everywhere it went.
The leading Furzeland Subaru had by now pulled out an unassailable 39 second
advantage over the charging Dillow/Tregunna 6R4 and most positions seemed to be
settling down going into the final two night stages.
Tregoning/Gould at third were having a great day in the Darrian despite
event-long brake problems which were preventing them from taking top honours and
their 29 second advantage over Reed/Sorenson going into the night was enough to
see off the Mitsubishi challenge.
Still steaming into the night Cookson/Wilkinson were delighted to be in the
fifth spot and best Newquay Auto Club setting second fastest behind Dillow on
the final stage. Cookson’s only complaint of the event was the need for another
six night stages!
Carr/Wookey at sixth overall had proved their worth and Rennison/Parsons had
comprehensively captured the Class 3 award by a huge margin.
Another giant killing performance from Corbridge/Thurley at 8th and a Class 2
win begged the question of what they could do in a Class 5 machine. Ninth
overall and 2nd in Class 3 was reward for Duncan Harrison/Kevin Wadland who had
dropped time on SS1 but fought back hard afterwards. Rounding off the top ten
was David Boden/Deborah Miller after a consistent run in the Sierra Cosworth.
Eleventh overall and one of the drives of the event was Scott Webster/Mark
Willcocks in a battered but unbowed Austin Mini with the Class 1 win.
Steve and Yvonne Furzeland’s well crafted win almost came off the wheels at the
end when rear wheel bearings were giving cause for concern going into the final
stage. In the end the Plymouth couple again set the benchmark for this event
with a popular, if expected win.
The reduction to 62 miles to achieve good quality stages appeared well received
by the competitors and the use of a new area for the service area also worked
well. Organisers were particularly pleased to be thanked by so many of the crews
for a high quality and friendly event. Clerk of the Course Dave Brenton has
already agreed a new date with RAF Portreath for next year; Sunday 17th
September 2006.
Full results on: www.trurodmc.co.uk
Editor ... DJB
