Neath Valley Stages. 9th August Spectator Guide. Promoted by. Supported by

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1 Neath Valley Stages 9th August 2014 Spectator Guide Promoted by Supported by

2 Neath Valley Stages Supported by Howard Rees of Rheola Estates Ltd. Promoted by Three Counties Car Club

Contents Championship Manager Introduction... 5 Event Location Map... 6 Championship Introduction... 7 Rally Introduction... 8 Spectator Information.

3 Contents Championship Manager Introduction... 5 Event Location Map... 6 Championship Introduction... 7 Rally Introduction... 8 Spectator Information Event Time Schedule Spectator Map Event Preview Seeded Entry List Acknowledgements Photo Credit: tombanksphotography.co.uk

4 4 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship Supporters

5 Introduction Colin Heppenstall Championship Manager W elcome to the spectator guide for round six of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Neath Valley Stages.

Den Golding and his team are once again putting on a rally that offers outstanding value for money and the compact one-day format is just the type of rally that we want in the championship.

5 5 Introduction Colin Heppenstall Championship Manager W elcome to the spectator guide for round six of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, the Neath Valley Stages. I am delighted that this event is one of the key rounds of our 2014 schedule, as this is a rally run by competitors for competitors. Den Golding and his team are once again putting on a rally that offers outstanding value for money and the compact one-day format is just the type of rally that we want in the championship. Importantly, this event gives competitors the only chance for this year to tackle these classic stages, made famous by Wales Rally GB. With the British round of the World Rally Championship having moved north for at least three years, the Neath Valley is the only rally using these great stages. All the reports say that the stages are in prime condition, so I think the crews are in for a real treat. We look forward to bringing a strong contingent of championship contenders to the rally and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the rally for all their hard work. From the organising team through to the marshals, rescue and recovery crews: without them we could not go rallying. After the first five rounds of the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship, I am absolutely delighted with the way the championship is evolving. Great entries, fierce competition, sporting atmosphere and a real sense of fun are the key features of the championship and we are already working on plans to continue developing the championship in 2015 and beyond. I m really looking forward to a great day s rallying on the Neath Valley Stages! With best regards Colin Heppenstall Championship Manager West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship

6 6 The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship Rounds

7 The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship Paul Lawrence Championship Press and PR Officer B arely two year sago, the West Wales R.A.C. Rally Championship was little more than an idea amongst a group of competitors.

Colin Heppenstall, the man behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally, is the driving force for the series but says that it is competitor demand that was the catalyst for this new development.

7 7 The West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship Paul Lawrence Championship Press and PR Officer B arely two year sago, the West Wales R.A.C. Rally Championship was little more than an idea amongst a group of competitors. Yet now, as we head for round six of its second year, the Neath Valley Stages, it is a thriving and growing part of British rallying. Colin Heppenstall, the man behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally, is the driving force for the series but says that it is competitor demand that was the catalyst for this new development. Competitors, many of them members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, came to us and asked us to put a championship together, said Heppenstall. We consulted with a range of interested parties and have had excellent support from the MSA. Cars in Categories One, Two and Three are running in full accordance with the current MSA historic regulations and we are accommodating a range of other cars, including those from the early 1980s, which is set to become the next chapter in the story of historic rallying. The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has developed the championship, which focuses on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations. But, significantly, it is also opening up the chance for the next generation of cars to join the historic fraternity. The 2014 championship is running over seven one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship caters for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre 87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations. On average we have had more than 50 crews for each round back in this season and the quality of historic entry has been described as the best ever seen for British championship event.s The final count showed over 35 BDA/BDG engined Escorts in a field that also includes cars from Lancia, BMW, Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo, VW, Singer, Opel and Talbot. Of course, this is still early days for the R.A.C. Rally Championship, for the Neath Valley Stages is still only the fourth event in the story. But what is already clear is that competitors and spectators are giving the championship a big thumbs' up. The future is very bright indeed! Paul Lawrence.

8 8 Rally Introduction Den Golding Clerk of the Course W elcome to the 2014 Neath Valley Historic and Modern Stages promoted by Three Counties Car Club Limited. Once again we are offering competitors a great value for money event with an entry fee of 475 for 6 stages totalling 45 miles within the world famous Rheola and Margam forests, with only 85 miles on the public highway. We are indebted to our Main Sponsor for 2014, London based, Irish businessman, John Leahy of Zutec Technologies Ltd for his support and enthusiasm. We are also indebted to Howard Rees of Rheola Estates Ltd for allowing us to use his facilities at the Old Aluminium Works at Resolven better known in recent times as Rheola Indoor Market. This area has been used by Rally Wales GB for remote service in the past and is sure to be appreciated by competitors, service crews, officials, and spectators alike. Rally HQ is situated here with Start/Finish and Service all held on a huge, solid concrete area. We are delighted to be part of the following Championships WWRS RAC Rally Championship Pirelli MSA Welsh Stage Rally Championship In-Car Services/Evans Motorsport Tyres Welsh Clubman s Forest Championship FMP Rally Challenge GwynneSpeed Rally Challenge We are in the enviable position of being the only rally to use these fabulous stages, which have not been used since last years Neath Valley Stages and are in prime condition. Rally HQ will be at the "Old Aluminium Works" Resolven. Why not make a full weekend of it.? FREE Overnight camping has been arranged for Friday 8th at Rally HQ with plenty of room for Motorhomes and Caravans..

9 Competitors, Service Crews, Officials and Spectators are all welcome. Competitors, Service Crews, Officials and Spectators are all welcome. Food will be available on Friday from 1.

9 9 Competitors, Service Crews, Officials and Spectators are all welcome. Competitors, Service Crews, Officials and Spectators are all welcome. Food will be available on Friday from 1.00pm onwards Noise Test, Scrutineering and Documentation will take place at Rally HQ (Map Ref: 170/ ) on Friday 8th August starting at and finishing at Scrutineering will also be available by prior arrangement on Saturday 9th starting at and finishing at prompt. Competitors must be signed on by on Saturday morning Food will be available all day Saturday at Rally HQ We hope you will come and join us for a great day s Motorsport Den Golding Clerk of the Course Regulations are now available on our website.:

10 10 West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship TV Partners

11 11 Spectator Information RHEOLA SPECTATOR STAGE Admission charge is 10 per car payable on the gate. Tickets are also available at Rally HQ. This includes a full coloured programme and a seeded Entry List. This Ticket will allow full access to the Stage and also to Rally HQ on Friday 8th from 12 noon and again on Saturday 9th from 07.30am. Rheola is the only official Spectator Stage and will be used twice during the rally. First car is due on SS1 at approximately 09:10 and on SS4 at approximately 12:45. Spectator Gate will open at 9.00am Food and drink will be available at the spectator area PLEASE FOLLOW MARSHALS INSTRUCTIONS There is a strict 15mph limit on the Forest road (imposed by Natural Resources Wales) Forestry Officers will be in attendance throughout the day so please adhere to the limit. This limit will also be imposed by the Organisers at Rally HQ Spectators are welcome to camp overnight on Friday 8 th at Rally HQ FREE OF CHARGE. There is plenty of room for Motor-homes and Caravans on a solid concrete car park but unfortunately no grass for tents Alcohol is not permitted in the Forest or at Rally HQ. Offenders will be asked to leave We hope you have a great day s Motorsport The Organisers

12 12 Event Time Schedule

13 13 Spectator Map

14 Event Preview WWRS R.A.C. Championship heads for Neath Valley T he West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship switches focus to the superb stages of South Wales for round six, the Zutec Neath Valley Stages (Saturday 9 August).

14 14 Event Preview WWRS R.A.C. Championship heads for Neath Valley T he West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship switches focus to the superb stages of South Wales for round six, the Zutec Neath Valley Stages (Saturday 9 August). Another cracking entry, covering 50 championship contenders, will tackle some of best stages of the season as the title races head for a final showdown. The event will mark the final event in the championship s 2014 Welsh Challenge as well as the penultimate round of the highly successful Kumho Clubmans Challenge for crews competing on a maximum of six tyres for the event. As the championship heads into the closing stages, the major title contest is now between Nick Elliott/Dave Price and Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke and once dropped scores are factored in (crews count their best five results from seven events), Elliott has just a four-point advantage. More than anything, both crews need to finish strongly overall on the Neath Valley Stages as Richard Hill and David Stokes/Guy Weaver are still firmly in contention. Leading the field away will be the pre 68 cars in the Walker Diecastings Category 1, and it is the ever-spectacular Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite and Gill Cotton at the head of the pack. Chasing the Volvo will be the Mini Cooper of Ray Cunningham and Arron Forde, and there is sure to be another big battle for category victory. Paul Mankin should be well in contention in his Lotus Cortina, along with the similar car of Gwilym Roberts and Don James. Ranged against the Cortinas will be wonderful Volvo PV544 of Ian Beveridge/Paul Price, while Callum Barney/Ron Channon (Ford Cortina GT) and Chris and Jo Tooze (Singer Chamois) add further quality to the Category 1 field. In the Capital Construction Category 2, Stokes and Weaver head the field in their Ford Escort Mk1 from the similar car of Chris

15 15 Event Preview Browne and Ali-Cornwell Browne. More quality is added to the class C5 field by the welcome return of Warren Philliskirk/Nigel Hutchinson after they rolled out of the Severn Valley Stages and also by the presence of Roger Matthews/Tom Marrott. Class C3 has another very strong entry as Peter Smith and Patrick Walsh pit their Opel Ascona against the flying BMW 2002 of Terry Cree/Richard Shores and the Ford Escorts of Nick Danks/Martin Corbett, David Kirby/Chris Rixon, Phil Jobson/Arwel Jenkins and Simon Pickering/Colin Jenkins. Running alongside the Category 1 cars at the head of the field will be the 1600cc cars from Category 2 with the Escort Mk1 of Robin Shuttleworth/Ron Roughead leading the way from the Hillman Avenger of Barry Jordan/James Gratton-Smith. The Holton Homes Category K continues to build support and is headed by the front-running Ford Escort Mk2 of Pritchard/Clarke, overall winners of the DMACK Carlisle Stages. Tomas Davies/Eurig Davies, Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James and Tom Coughtrie/Jamie Edwards pack out the Category K field in more Escort Mk2s. Elliott and Price head yet another mighty entry for the Rob Smith Rallying Category 3 in their Ford Escort Mk2 and will want to go one better than last year when they finished a very close second to Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke. Out to take the fight to Elliott will be Richard Hill, who has Steffan Evans back in the co-driver s seat for this rally. However, right in contention will be crews like Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis, Meirion Evans/Iwan Jones, Terry Brown/Tomos Whittle and Tim Freeman/Paul Wakeley. Lining up to battle with the Escort Mk2s will be the mighty Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Owen Murphy/James O Brien. In class D3, another great battle is in prospect as local crew Adrian Young/Gwynfor Jones take on Gareth Lewis/Dan Holley and more Escorts for Ben Friend/Sean Kennedy, John Baker/ Seyyan John and Paul Fry/Mike Steele. Meanwhile, the class D2

16 Event Preview cars run at the head of the rally as the Hillman Avenger of Graham Thatcher/Robert James goes up against the Talbot Sunbeam of Dave Hopkins/Tony Vart and the Ford Escort Mk2 of David

16 16 Event Preview cars run at the head of the rally as the Hillman Avenger of Graham Thatcher/Robert James goes up against the Talbot Sunbeam of Dave Hopkins/Tony Vart and the Ford Escort Mk2 of David Goose/Caron Tomlinson. Running alongside the historics are the cars in R.A.C. Category O for open two-wheel drive cars and the entry is topped by the very rapid Opel Manta of brothers Simon and Alister Crook. Their opposition includes the Ford Escort Mk2 of Barry Stevenson- Wheeler/John Pickavance and the Toyota Starlet of Layton Waters/Kevin Bowcott. The Neath Valley Stages is organised by the Three Counties Car Club. For more details about the event please visit

17 17 Seeded Entry List Coming Soon! Complete entry list will be added once seeding has been completed

18 Acknowledgements John Leahy of Zutec Technologies Ltd Simon Tysoe Howard Rees of Rheola Estates Ltd Jonathan Brace of Brace s Bakery Paul Gunter of BG Landrovers Geoff Jones Motorsport South

Chief Marshal All of our other sponsors All the Marshals, Competitors, and Helpers - we couldn't do this without you.

18 18 Acknowledgements John Leahy of Zutec Technologies Ltd Simon Tysoe Howard Rees of Rheola Estates Ltd Jonathan Brace of Brace s Bakery Paul Gunter of BG Landrovers Geoff Jones Motorsport South Wales Constabulary Neath/Port Talbot Borough Council Natural Resources Wales MSA UK Residents on the Route Andrew Thomson RLO Members of Forest of Dean Motor Club Paul Morris - Our hardworking Chief Marshal All of our other sponsors All the Marshals, Competitors, and Helpers - we couldn't do this without you. All that remains for us to say is we look forward to welcoming you to this event. Let s all hope for a safe and enjoyable weekend s sport. The Championship Team Please comply with all marshals instructions Please take your litter home and keep the forests clean for everyone!

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

West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship Championship newsletter: 1/2013 15 January 2013 Welcome Welcome to the first championship newsletter for the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C Rally Championship.