• Kershaw aims to extend series lead over Dilworth and Gould
• Smith, Garner, Cox and Hayday take class leads to Wales
Smithbridge driver Toby Jefferson in action at Hartnoll Farm recently. Pic: Songasport.
2008 BRITPART MSA BRITISH CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP Radnor forest – round 5: September 13th-14th, 2008
The Stud Farm at Bleddfa, near Monaughty in mid-Wales, was the venue for the inaugural Baja GB in August 2006 and the location will host next weekend’s fifth round of the Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship (BCCC), due to its close proximity to the Radnor forest complex.
Marches 4x4 Motorsport Management’s penultimate round of Britain’s premier all-terrain series takes place on Saturday, September 13th and Sunday, September 14th with event officials hoping for better weather conditions than they have been granted on recent rounds of the BCCC.
Huddersfield’s Richard Kershaw will arrive in mid-Wales with a 25-point lead over Holywell’s Tim Dilworth in the overall championship standings, with Broadbottom’s Martin Gould a further 15-points behind.
These three drivers are the clear favourites to take the title showdown to the final round at Seven Sisters in November, but both Deeside’s Neil Davey and Dan Lofthouse remain in contention, with Lofthouse, from Bamber Bridge, hitting form at the right time by taking outright victory at Hartnoll Farm in Devon last month.
Radnor may well see the return of Abergavenny’s Keith Lewis in his new Peugeot 206 and the former championship pace-setter is more than capable of taking valuable points off the leading runners. Stephen Smith lies sixth overall and leads the G1 class into the bargain; the Hatton driver knows that a podium finish could well push him into the overall top five.
Ambaston’s Steve Lloyd has a 34-point lead in the Trophy category over Talybont’s Martin James with two rounds remaining. Stockton’s Peter Wood holds third position, but this trio are well clear of All Stretton’s Nick Forsyth, Leeds driver Paul Myers, Keighley’s Adam Evans and Ludford’s Bob Seaman.
In the class battles outside the top eight, ninth-placed Alan Kirkland, from Chesterfield, takes a useful lead in class F over Accrington’s Ian Bartram to mid-Wales, while the Wirral’s Roland Marlow and Nuneaton’s Andrew Wilson dominate classes C and D.
Huntingdon’s Paul Garner lies 12th in the overall points’ standings and heads class G2 from Burnley’s David Nutter and Blackburn’s Martin Dean. Billericay’s Tim Hayday is 39th in the overall championship rankings and leads class B from Lancashire’s Laurie Boyle, while 16th-placed Martin Cox, from Caxton, holds the advantage over King’s Nordley’s Ian Rochelle and Rochdale’s Phil Ibbotson in class E.
No less than 54 drivers have scored points so far this season in the overall classification, with a further seven scoring in the Trophy category.
"Provisionally we had arranged a stage of between seven and eight miles for this event, comprising around three miles of farmland and four and a half miles of forestry," admitted BCCC clerk of the course Selwyn Kendrick.
Broadbottom’s Colin Gould tackles a slippery stage in Radnor last season. Pic: Songasport.
"But the weather looks as though it has been against us once again and we may have to make last minute changes to that route. The option would be to extend the forestry stage mileage to compensate for any inclement weather and eliminate the use of the farmland."
Rally headquarters will be arrowed from the Stud Farm at Bleddfa (LD1 7NY) at map reference 148 – SO 224 679 and from the Radnor Forest sign at Monaughty. Teams should turn off the A488 at SO 236 681.
2008 Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship – Positions after round 4 of 6 (official):
BCCC
1. Richard Kershaw (Huddersfield) 329 pts
2. Tim Dilworth (Holywell) 304 pts
3. Martin Gould (Broadbottom, Hyde) 289 pts
4. Neil Davey (Deeside) 282 pts
4. Dan Lofthouse (Bamber Bridge) 282 pts
6. Stephen Smith (Hatton) 256 pts
7. Graham Porter (Darlington) 246 pts
8. Alan Kirkland (Chesterfield) 242 pts
9. Ken Powell (Kegworth) 233 pts
10. Toby Jefferson (Smithbridge) 229 pts, etc
Trophy
1. Steve Lloyd (Ambaston) 344 pts
2. Martin James (Talybont) 310 pts
3. Peter Wood (Stockton-on-Tees) 295 pts
4. Nick Forsyth (All Stretton) 209 pts
5. Paul Myers (Leeds) 207 pts
6. Adam Evans (Keighley) 147 pts
7. Bob Seaman (Ludford) 75 pts
www.marches4x4.com
- Neil Perkins-
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