West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship. Championship newsletter: 1/ January 2013

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Patience O’Connor’
5 years ago
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The response to the championship has been overwhelming and the entry for the opening round, the Red Kite, has far exceeded our expectations.

1 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship Championship newsletter: 1/ January 2013 Welcome Welcome to the first championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship. We plan to issue a newsletter after each round of the championship to keep you up to date with everything that is going on. It has been an incredibly busy time getting the championship up and running and we ve just finished four days at Autosport International. The response to the championship has been overwhelming and the entry for the opening round, the Red Kite, has far exceeded our expectations. We have over 50 contenders entered for the Red Kite and we know of a lot more planning to join in over the course of the season. We ended the show with 36 registrations and expect to take another 20 before the start of the Red Kite. There are many people who have worked hard to get us to this point, and I am grateful to them and to all the competitors who have supported us. Also, the event organisers have backed us and I am very pleased that we can expect to take a very good field of cars to their events. We could not have done this without the backing of our title sponsor West Wales Rally Spares and the other championship supporters and TV partners who have backed the championship. I hope to see many of you in Llandovery over the weekend. It s going to be a great start for the championship. Best regards Colin Heppenstall Tuesday 15 January 2013 Notes for the Red Kite The running order will be: RAC series 1 cars (numbers 36-40) Short gap RAC series 2, 3 and 4 cars (numbers 41-83) 10-minute gap RAC series 5, 6 and 7 cars (numbers 31-35)

2 Short gap Event modern entries (numbers 1-29) Don t forget that championship registration can be done on Saturday just look out for Nicola Heppenstall. Should weather conditions be wintry for the Red Kite, dispensation has been granted for the use of snow tyres. If conditions dictate, a bulletin will be issued by the event Clerk of the Course. If in any doubt about this, please check with Colin Heppenstall or John Cooper. Technical update The championship eligibility scrutineer John Cooper has issued some notes for guidance. To clarify, the various vehicle cut-off dates apply to the date that the model was homologated and not the registration date of individual cars. Classes D1 to D3 inclusive are for cars with a maximum of two valves per cylinder. For cars in Series 5, 6 and 7, vehicle identification forms will be issued on the Red Kite and will be completed and signed off before the Mid Wales Stages. Championship stickers We have a sun-strip and a sponsor door panel (measuring 20cm wide by 50cm deep) for each car as well as Mintex and Fuchs stickers. These will all be available at documentation. The Red Kite is using WRC-style numbers, but we plan to have a number panel available from the Mid Wales Stages onwards. In the meantime, WWRS door squares will be available at the Red Kite for anyone who needs them. Future events With regard to running order, it is intended to run all of the RAC contenders in one black and discussions are in hand with the event organisers. More details to follow. Mid Wales Stages A stunning route has been put together by Chris Tomley and his team, with 55 prime miles in Pike s Peak, Myherin and Hafren, with central servicing (two visits) at Sweet Lamb. There will be two runs up Pike s Peak and a 16-miler in Hafren. There will be a Hog Roast for competitors at 6pm on Saturday after the drivers briefing. On Sunday morning there will be a town centre start in Newtown with Howard Davies and Mike Broad providing the commentary. Regs will soon be available from Rally North Wales (formerly the Bulldog Rally) For the contenders in the RAC Championship, the format for round three has been confirmed as 50 stages miles all on Saturday, based on the Dyfi complex with servicing in Dolgellau. Rally HQ, documentation, the ceremonial start and finish will all be in Welshpool. Scrutineering will be on Friday evening or from approx 8am-11am on Saturday morning ahead of a mid-day start and tea time finish. More details from

3 Television coverage Everything is in place for TV coverage of the WWRS R.A.C Rally Championship, with coverage provided by David Winstanley. The plan is for seven event reports, each running for 90 minutes, an end of year review and a mid-season review. (See later in this newsletter for details of the opening programme). David is offering a media package for drivers, with all the shots of your car on an event for 75 on a DVD. Please contact him via tvrallyman.rallytv@gmail.com The preferred in-car supplier for 2013 is Mad Bob Media. Co-drivers corner We plan to run a dating agency in the newsletter, so if you are a co-driver available or a driver looking for a co-driver, just drop an to paul@tfmpr.com and we ll let everyone know. Tyre bin We also plan to run a second-hand tyre corner for tyres that the guys in C5 and D5 have available for sale. Just let me know what you have and we ll advertise them, with a view to them being delivered to the next event. Some competitors have said they will donate any revenue raised in this way to a marshals fund. Car for sale Dave Reynolds is selling his Cat 1 Volvo Amazon. With such an exciting season ahead it is with great regret that I have made this decision, but who knows, there may be someone out there who needs a ready-prepared car for Category 1. The car has been run successfully in the BHRC, with best results being two third places and two fourth places overall in Category 1. I would expect a more experienced driver to be able to improve on these (I have only done 10 events or so, so am still a relative novice). Dave can be contacted on Recent press releases More awards for the RAC Rally Championship Competitors in the West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship will have a chance of winning a share of a new award fund worth more than 2000 as part of the WWRS title sponsorship package for the championship. The championship will present three 100 vouchers per rally, meaning that 21 championship registered crews will win a voucher during the seven-event season. WWRS vouchers will be presented to the first and last retirement on each rally, with a third voucher to be drawn from a hat containing all other starters. Any crew can only win one voucher during the season. Retiring at any point on an event is tough, but to go out on the first or last stage seems even tougher. We hope that a 100 WWRS voucher will ease the pain a little, said championship manager Colin Heppenstall. I m very grateful to Gareth Lloyd and all the team at WWRS for their enthusiastic support of the championship.

4 Sensational entry for opening R.A.C Rally Championship round A truly sensational entry has been assembled for the opening round of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, the Red Kite Stages (Sunday 20 January), with the field headed by Julian Reynolds, Mark Higgins and Nick Elliott. More than 50 registered crews will line up in Llandovery for the first of seven rallies and the quality of historic entry is being described as the best ever seen for a British championship event. The final count shows 29 BDA/BDG engined Escorts in a field that also includes cars from Volvo, BMW, Hillman, Opel, Austin, Alfa Romeo, Sunbeam and Triumph. Heading the field away will be reigning BHRC champions Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh in their Ford Escort Mk2. Reynolds has won the modern section of the Red Kite three times and the historic section twice, but it is still uncertain if he will be there when the rally starts at 9am on Sunday. They are attending the MSA Night of Champions in London on Saturday night and face a race against time to get back to West Wales. Three-time British Rally Champion Mark Higgins and co-driver Ieuan Thomas are second away in the main field in an Escort Mk2 from Historic Rallysport, with the flying Nick Elliott and Dave Price next up. In a stunning entry, quick Series 3 cars pack out the top 20 in the hands of drivers like Kevin Davies, Will Onions, Thomas Davies, Terry Brown, Rob Smith, Alan Walker and Seamus O Connell. New to the historic arena for the event will be Jason Pritchard in a Viking Motorsport Escort Mk2, while Matt Edwards has worked non-stop for the last six weeks to get his Escort Mk2 ready after a first stage retirement on the Roger Albert Clark Rally. Variety in Series 3 is provided by the Sunbeam Lotus of Guy Anderson and the Triumph TR7 V8 of Peter Jones, while Guy Woodcock heads the Pinto-powered Escorts Mk2s in Series 3. More Escort Mk2s will contest Series 4 for cars running to FIA Appendix K regulations, including those of Barry Jordan and Neville Jones. Among the Escort Mk1s at the head of Series 2 is the car of Richard Hill, while the Pintopowered cars include Dick Slaughter, Neal James and Nick Jarvis who will go up against the Opel Kadett of Peter Smith. From the 1600cc ranks comes the rapid Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth. At the very front of the rally will be the pre 67 cars in Series 1, with Ian Beveridge/Paul Price first away in their Volvo PV 544. Leading the chase will be Clive King/Bob Ward (Mini Cooper) and John Everard/Mark Sharpley (Alfa Romeo). A major feature of the new championship are the classes for other pre 87 cars and Series 5 is set to grow in popularity as the season develops. Simon Wallis and Graham Wride lead the way in their BMW 325, while Series 7 caters for all pre 87 cars regardless of specification. Ben (son of former British champion David) Llewellin will make his rallying debut in a Ford Escort Mk2, and will line up against more Escorts for Mark Spencer, Roger Taylor and Robert Cholmondeley. Expected to join the Series 7 field are the very rapid Matthew Robinson (Escort Mk2) and Dylan Davies (Escort Mk1). Commercial partners unveiled for the WWRS RAC Rally Championship No less than 16 commercial partners have been confirmed for the West Wales Rally Spares RAC Rally Championship. The championship starts in just over a week on the Red Kite Stages (20 January) and has already attracted what is being described as the best ever historic entry for a British rally.

5 Alongside title sponsor West Wales Rally Spares, the championship organisers from the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club welcome DMACK, Dunlop, Kumho and Pirelli as tyre partners for the 2013 season. Five companies have stepped forward to support the championship by sponsoring individual series. The backers are Walker Diecastings (Series 1 for Category 1 historic cars), Capital Construction (Series 2 for Category 2 cars), Rob Smith Rallying (Series 3 for Category 3 cars), Martin Jones Transmissions (Series 4 for FIA Appendix K cars) and Holton Homes (Series 5 for cars). Already announced are 100 vouchers from WWRS for the first and last retirement on each rally along with one for a crew drawn from a hat. Meanwhile, the Holton Homes Clubmans Award will give one deserving crew half of their entry fee back after each rally. Fuchs Lubricants will supply a product award on each event for the Spirit of the Rally and Mintex will support the Best Improvement on Seeding award with a set of brake pads after each rally. The Hard Charger award, backed by Green Valley Industrial Supplies will present a 20-litre jerry can on each of the seven rounds. New end of season awards include the JT Motorsport Award for the most entertaining driver and Weir Laundry Equipment Award for the best performance by an under-25 driver. R.A.C Rally Championship unveils TV coverage A superb TV package will add to the ever-growing profile of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship, and the coverage will start with a special R.A.C Rally night on Motors TV on Sunday 10 February. The evening s rally action will start at 7.30pm with a 90-minute programme covering the fabulous 2012 Roger Albert Clark Rally when Marty McCormack and Steve Bannister enacted a mighty battle for victory which was only resolved on the final special stage. Then, at 9pm comes another 90-minute programme covering the Red Kite Stages, the opening round of the R.A.C Rally Championship. Support for coverage of the 2013 R.A.C Rally Championship comes from TV partners including Swift Leisure, Jordan Road Surfacing, Skipton Ford, Sherwood Engines, Robinson Road Planing, Rally and Competition Equipment and Lloyd-Thomas Opticians. Talk about starting with a bang, said David Winstanley of rallytv.co.uk, the organisation appointed to film all seven rounds of the championship as well as the Roger Albert Clark Rally. The quality of entry for the Red Kite guarantees stunning footage and the R.A.C Rally Night will be a real treat for fans. Each round of the championship will be covered in detail in a 90-minute prime-time programme on Motors TV with multiple repeats and there will also be an end-of-season review programme to give the championship over 50 hours of TV coverage. The move to 90-minute programmes allows Winstanley and his team to give good coverage to each of the seven series within the championship. In addition to the TV coverage, each event will be featured on YouTube, with a mini-report uploaded as soon as possible after each event. We are very pleased to work with David Winstanley, said Frederic Viger, head of programming at Motors TV. Historic rallying is so spectacular and has a massive following. The ratings are very good.

6 This newsletter is produced on behalf of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club and edited by Paul Lawrence on

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