• Ambaston’s Steve Lloyd tops Trophy category
2008 BRITPART MSA BRITISH CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Castle O’er – round 3: June 28th-29th, 2008
Heswall’s Roland Marlow and co-driver Lisa Khoo in spectacular form at Driffield. Marlow leads Class C and will be taking part in the Scottish event next weekend. Pic: Songasport.
The fast, flowing forest tracks of Castle O’er in the Scottish borders, near Lockerbie, play host to round three of the 2008 Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship (BCCC) on Saturday, June 28th and Sunday, June 29th.
Marches 4x4 Motorsport Management Limited are again expecting over 60 cars to take part in the two-day round of Britain’s premier off-road series. The series is developing into a thrilling battle after the opening two rounds at muddy Baden Hall in Staffordshire and over the tricky Ministry of Defence proving ground roads at Driffield in Yorkshire.
Huddersfield’s Richard Kershaw has modestly dismissed his 12-point championship lead as "nothing" at this near mid-point in the six-round season, but the Peugeot 206 Evo 9 driver will be one of the favourites to win nonetheless.
His closest challengers are Holywell’s Tim Dilworth - who finished runner-up at Driffield - and Deeside’s Neil Davey, the winner of the Baden Hall round. Bamber Bridge-based Dan Lofthouse is within touching of the leading trio and will be hoping to push his Proto LD4 to a podium finish.
Martin Gould finished third overall at Driffield and lies fifth in the championship in a Matseratti. The Hyde driver heads to Scotland with a six-point lead over a tying Chipping Norton’s Ray Kempster and Hatton’s Stephen Smith. Nuneaton’s Lee Mansfield, Kegworth’s Ken Powell and Chesterfield’s Alan Kirkland complete the top 10.
Ambaston’s Steve Lloyd holds a 12-point lead in the Trophy category in his Milner R4, although Talybont’s Martin James will be pushing his Land Rover Special hard to make up the lost ground in the Scottish forests, where torrential rain marred last year’s slippery encounter.
Shropshire’s Nick Forsyth holds third position in a Range Rover, while Leeds driver Paul Myers (Britpart 100) is a mere three points behind the All Stretton driver. Ludford’s Bob Seaman is a distant fifth after his expensive car fire at Driffield and will miss the third round in Scotland, but still intends to attend the event.
Championship class leaders heading to Castle O’er include Kempster (G1), Kirkland (F), Darlington’s Graham Porter (H2), Caxton’s Martin Cox (E), Brampton’s Paul Garner (G2), Heswall’s Roland Marlow (C), Nuneaton’s Andrew Wilson (D), Lancashire’s Laurie Boyle (B) and Billericay’s Tim Hayday (A2).
The weekend’s action gets underway from 10am on Saturday morning in Castle O’er forest after scrutineering and documentation. There will be a maximum of 10 timed runs on the stage, which will continue throughout Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and early Sunday afternoon.
The venue at Castle O'er is a large conifer forest located near to the convergence of the White and Black Esk rivers and an ancient Iron Age hill fort at the nearby hamlet of the same name. Other local names for the village are Castle Over or Castle Overbie.
Spectator information
Site entrance: OS map 79/NY 2207 9465
The entrance is near to the village of Twiglees and is about 10 miles north-east of Lockerbie on the B723 from Lockerbie to Eskdalemuir. The site will be signposted from Boreland. Spectators and competitors are requested to observe a 15mph speed limit when they leave the B723.
2008 Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship – Positions after round 2 of 6 (official):
BCCC
1. Richard Kershaw (Huddersfield) 167 pts
2. Tim Dilworth (Holywell) 155 pts
3. Neil Davey (Deeside) 143 pts
4. Dan Lofthouse (Bamber Bridge) 137 pts
5. Martin Gould (Broadbottom, Hyde) 133 pts
6. Ray Kempster (Chipping Norton) 126 pts
6. Stephen Smith (Hatton) 126 pts
8. Lee Mansfield (Nuneaton) 125 pts
9. Ken Powell (Kegworth) 123 pts
10. Alan Kirkland (Chesterfield) 121 pts, etc
Trophy
1. Steve Lloyd (Ambaston) 172 pts
2. Martin James (Talybont) 160 pts
3. Nick Forsyth (All Stretton) 140 pts
4. Paul Myers (Leeds) 137 pts
5. Bob Seaman (Ludford) 75 pts, etc
www.marches4x4.com
-Neil Perkins, 2008 Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship-
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