Photos © Brian Gilbert & Carl Arnold

UP FOR GRABS!

Bruce Tigwell won the second round of the Goodyear British Off Road Championship at Glynneath on the 15th and 16th June in a dramatic event which not only saw Tigwell's return to form, but also blew the championship wide open.

Paul Choat started as he had finished at Tunbridge Wells blitzing the competition in the early laps to take a strong lead until gaining a maximum penalty on the last run of day one, effectively putting him out of contention.

The six and a half mile course had a bit of everything. Clerk of the Course, Selwyn Kendrick had found a good flowing course on fairly smooth tracks, slowed only by the numerous junctions, a handful of hairpins and some gully crossings, not to mention the slippery surface conditions. The character of the course altered dramatically with the weather during the weekend, leading Mick Gillett to say "We've had three completely different tracks this weekend!", without a single course change!

Both Keith and Sally Lewis and Bruce and Nicola Tigwell had bad starts to Saturday. Keith and Sally had wiper failure which on the already wet course meant they dropped a significant amount of time. Bruce on the other hand took a little longer to get to the bottom of his problem - his seat! Off the pace in the morning of Saturday Bruce's team were at a loss to explain why, until Bruce admitted to being in some considerable pain whilst competing. He was relieved to find that far from being old age catching up with him, as he no-doubt thought, the cause of his pain was a collapsed seat. A large piece of foam did the trick and Bruce's lap times instantly plummeted by over 20 seconds and continued to fall.

One of the worst starts plagued Richard Kershaw who broke his rear diff on the first lap. At least he was able to repair his vehicle, Modified Production Class leader Richard Hopkins destroyed his gearbox on the first lap and declared his weekend over, and Paul Leworthy with his awesome newly finished racer broke a propshaft on the start line!

Trevor Milner, whose immaculate Toyota Hilux - Race Truck revels in the rough conditions, made the decision to fly the first of the marked hazards on the course, in an attempt to pull back some time on some of the more powerful opposition. The result of the attempt was to stand the vehicle on its nose before  pirouetting and ending up in the back on its wheels in the trees. Fortunately only superficial front-end body damage was done and Trevor was able to continue to fight for third with Richard Kershaw on day two. Last minute clutch problems for Trevor promoted Richard to a happy third overall.

David Eggington was another of the fast starters, with his Simmbugghini seemingly cured of its engine maladies David ran second for the first three laps before a dramatic roll dropped him down to 16th. With windscreen removed and air scoop re-modelled David clawed his way back into the top ten, before a propshaft let go on the second run of day two.

Following his vehicle destroying roll at the Tunbridge Wells event, Simon Dowdeswell has done a tremendous job of putting his Defender 90 back together with the help of main sponsors Tim Fry Land Rovers. The vehicle looks as stunning as ever and Simon capitalised on Richard Hopkins early demise to claim a fine first in the Modified Production Class. He was not without competition though Tony Walmsley who is getting the hang of the ex-ADI Engineering Land Rover ran him close, as did Paul Clackett in his Range Rover.

There was drama too in the small engined Production Vehicle Class. Nik Ward and his Suzuki Vitara who had appeared out classed by the new Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin of Colin Read at the first event led for most of the weekend. Nik was only eclipsed by Colin after suffering a puncture on the run 10. Worse, though was to befall the now hard-charging Shogun Pinin. Colin punctured then rolled at about 50mph destroying the front suspension in the process. The Shogun Pinin was badly damaged and Colin and navigator Chris Eade suffered some minor cuts and bruises. Nik then took the class win and just missed out on a top ten placing, in the process opening the class out once more to a real battle for championship honours.

With an awards list that reads quite differently to the first round in Tunbridge Wells, the Goodyear British Off Road Championship is now wide open. No-one has any distinct advantage after round 2. Whilst it is Bruce Tigwell that now leads the championship, his margin is very small and four or five contenders behind him are all in with a very serious chance. In the classes too nothing is predictable and all things are to play for as the circus moves to Scotland in July for Round 3! 

Check www.britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk regularly for more details, or call Chris or Wendy Tomley (day) 01686 626641 (eve) 650430

Website

The official website for the Goodyear British Off Road Championship, www.britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk has been updated with the details of all the competitors that have signed up for the championship. Each competitor gets their own "competitor profile" which gives background information on all the teams, a pundits view of how they will do, technical details about the car, and sponsor information. This "competitor profile" is useful both to the competitors and their sponsors and also to those who want to follow the action at the Goodyear British Off Road Championship throughout 2002. The website will be updated regularly during the year, and will include event previews and reviews and all the news from the competition.

Marshals

What better way to get close to the action than to volunteer your services as a marshal for the Goodyear British Off Road Championship. Marshals are still required for each of the Goodyear British Off Road Championship rounds.

Not only do marshals get the opportunity to taste, first hand, the courses used by the championship for free, but they will also be able to join in with the festivities in the evening. Each round will have excellent catering and a licensed bar. The organisers are looking at a series of incentives for marshals, including various goodies from Ford Ranger and Goodyear tyres. Training will be available throughout the year.

For more information check the website www.britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk or call Terry Day on 01635 864833.

Spectators

Spectators are welcome at all the Goodyear British Off Road Championship rounds. For more information on location or how to get there check the website www.britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk or call Henry Webster on 0777 5655256.

Competitors

To do the entire Goodyear British Off Road Championship and be in with a shout of lifting one of the MSA's prestigious British titles, it costs only £300, for the whole year. That equates to just £30 entry fee per day. All events count towards the championship, with no dropped scores and you must be registered prior to the first round. An MSA National 'A' Rally licence is required.

If you cannot commit to the whole championship or would like to build up your experience for next year then the individual events are open to clubman competitors at £50 per day (or £100 per weekend) or if you commit, in advance, to doing all the clubmans events the fee is half price at just £500.

Goodyear MSA British Off Road Championship

• April 20/21 Tunbridge Wells - A testing multi-terrain course providing a unique and privileged opportunity to compete across one of the finest country estates in Kent.
• June 15/16 Leeds - Another new site to off road motorsport and another new challenge.
• July 27/28 Perth, Scotland - A week after the fabulous Scottish Hillrally, the perfect opportunity to enjoy Scotland at its best.
• Sept 21/22 Swindon - Likened to the fast and furious terrain used on the Southern Hillrallies, hold on tight!
• Oct 26/27 Glynneath - Where better to end the toughest of British motorsport championships than at the extensive Seven Sisters complex. Blending Rally GB tracks with rutted fire breaks there is always a surprise at Glynneath and you ain't seen nothing yet!

For any further information, a copy of the regulations or for an entry please contact Wendy Tomley, Cwm Cochen, Bettws, Newstown, Powys. SY16 3LQ. (w) 01686 626 641, (h) 01686 650 430, (fax) 01686 628 618 or email info@britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk