In the Spotlight...
March 11 , 2009
Loddiswell’s Phil Harris took the top spot on the weekend’s Audi South West Endurance Rally. Driving a Daihatsu Sirion he won the event by 50 seconds with a time of 3hrs:6minutes:53 seconds. Having finished second for the last two years he and rookie navigator James Aldridge from
Cullompton took the lead halfway through the rally and never looked back. Harris commented “This is James’ first National rally victory, he was fantastic and has a very bright future ahead of him.” Owen Turner and Andrew Dadswell from Hertfordshire recovered well after replacing a broken strut on their Rover 200 to finish second. Third spot was taken by Cumbria based Carl Hawkins and Iain Tullie in a Nova.
Local challengers John Oldrieve and Chris Henley from Newton Abbot ended their rally when they slipped too far of the track on Saturday morning. Another local crew to suffer were Dan Bedington and Joff Cater who retired their Peugeot 205 just hours before the finish whilst lying 8th.
The snowy conditions in the high moor forests kept the crews on their toes and claimed a number of cars including the Peugeot 106 of John Taylor and Martin Wedge from Manaton. After a dry start on Friday the weather turned for the worse on Saturday afternoon. Slippery conditions made for some quite spectacular displays of car control on the testing route organised by South Hams Motor Club.
A resounding success in difficult conditions was the feedback from the 37 finishers on the 4th Audi South West Endurance Rally many of whom who had never rallied in the Westcountry. The 500 mile course took in some of the best forest roads in Devon and Cornwall which took a heavy toll on the 56 starters. 19 dropped out including Jamie Turner, event favourite and last year’s winner who was leading overnight but went out with clutch failure early on Saturday.
Best South Hams Motor Club crew, were Tony McCarthy and Matt Power both from Kingsbridge who finished 18th overall in a Vauxhall Nova. To round off the event the motor club, working with local charity Moor Trees are undertaking a tree planting programme in the South Hams to help offset the carbon footprint made by the rally.
March 2 , 2009
Around 60 top rally teams from across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales descend on South Devon this Friday to compete on the 4th Audi South West Endurance Rally.
The entry features nearly every endurance rally winner with top navigator, and 2006 event winner Graham Dance swapping the maps for a steering wheel. Driving a Vauxhall Corsa he has road rally expert Michael Gilbey on the maps – his first endurance rally.
Leading the field away is Jamie Turner/DanHarrison. Sibling rivalry will see Turner’s brother Owen, also driving a Rover 200, do his best to get the top spot on a rally he has never won - Jamie won in 2006 and 2008. Their father Mike, is on the maps for David Smith in another Rover.
The rally is the opening round of the Sportway Endurance Road Rally Championship and covers 500 miles over 2 days around Devon and Cornwall. There are plenty of new faces trying this low budget rally variant for the first time as more crews see what great value the sport offers.
South Hams Motor Club Chairman Paul Watts is over the moon with the support for the rally, “Despite the economic situation rallying is very much alive in the Southwest and I would like to thank all the marshals and sponsors who have chipped in to make it such a success”. The rally starts at 12 noon on Friday 6th March at Newton Abbot Racecourse where you can come and meet the local stars from 10am.
January 15 , 2009
Entries coming in well with 36 on the list so far. The sponsors page has been updated today so please take a look at our generous contributors. If you cannot enter please consider marshalling! It is great fun and Chief Marshal Chris Smale will be pleased to hear from you, details here.
December 5 , 2008
Nearly 20 entries received now and plenty of enquiries! We always have one or two drivers looking for navigators. If you fancy a ride please get in touch with us and we'll forward your details.
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Stuart and Linda Cariss have opted for the Historic class in their Mk 1 Escort - come and give them a run for their money! |
The rally has it's own page on "Facebook" - just logon (free account required) and search for "South West Endurance Rally" - join the party!!
November 14 , 2008
Regs and entry form are now online. If you entered the 2007 or 2008 events you should receive a set in the post.
In summary.... 500 mile route which includes approx 105 off road miles on various surfaces - entry fee is £319.00 if you enter before February 1st.
If you fancy doing something different there is an Historic Class (up to 1400cc) - get that old Lancia or Samba out of the garage!!
2008 Rally News archive here
2007 Rally News archive here
