• Huddersfield’s Kershaw takes 25-point BCCC lead to Wales
- Abergavenny’s Keith Lewis contemplates Radnor return
2008 BRITPART MSA BRITISH CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Radnor forest – round 5: September 13th-14th, 2008
Farnham’s Ben Gott should feature inside the top 10 at Radnor in mid-September. Pic: Songasport.
Radnor forest in mid-Wales will play host to the penultimate round of this year’s Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship (BCCC). The event will take place on September 13th-14th.
The popular forest venue, situated between Presteigne, Knighton and Llandrindod Wells in Powys, hosted the inaugural 2006 Baja GB and was used by two rounds of the British Off-Road Championship in 2007. It is a diverse woodland area of approximately 1,800 hectares and rises to a height of nearly 2000 feet.
Rumour has it that from the top of the Black Mixen Hill in Radnor, the next highest point on a similar line of latitude is in the Russian Ural mountains.
The forest is the closest location in the BCCC calendar to the head office of Newtown-based Marches 4x4 Motorsport Management, the organisers of Britain’s premier off-road rally series.
Despite losing out to Bamber Bridge-based driver Dan Lofthouse on the second Radnor event in 2007, Huddersfield’s Richard Kershaw finished third overall and went on to clinch the BORC title last autumn. Lofthouse is the man in form this season as well and will be hoping to follow up his recent win at Hartnoll Farm in Devon - which saw him climb up to equal fourth in the championship - with a second successive success in the BCCC.
Abergavenny’s Keith Lewis finished second overall at both the Radnor BORC meetings last year and the Welshman is rumoured to be arranging to use his new BCCC car in Wales in two weeks’ time. He finished second in the championship to Kershaw in 2007, finishing a mere six points behind the West Yorkshire-based driver, but Kershaw heads to Radnor with a 25-point lead over Holywell’s Tim Dilworth in this season’s Britpart-backed championship.
"We suffered the disappointment of losing the Baja GB this season on funding concerns," admitted BCCC clerk of the course Selwyn Kendrick. "But we have been fortunate that all rounds of the BCCC have attracted good healthy entries and the first and only visit of the season to mid-Wales should be no exception. Radnor is popular with our competitors and offers a challenging stage."
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, 2008 Britpart MSA British Cross-Country Championship-
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