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Pacemaker Road Rally

Pacemaker Road Rally

10th & 11th July 2010

Last weekend 2 crews from Ludlow Castle Motor took part in the Pacemaker Road Rally which started and finished in Bishops Castle.

A total of 75 starters lined up to tackle the very popular event organised by Knighton Motor club, but only 50 made it to the finish after 120 miles of challenging route for both driver and navigator.

The highest LCMC finishers were Richard Preece & Anthony Gluyas. Once again they used a completely standard Ford Puma as their regular car is awaiting further mechanical repairs. The event started well for them as after the wood yard section they were only 7 seconds behind the eventual winner of the rally. The rest of the night went well with only a few minor mishaps, nudging bales whilst negotiating the tight tricky farm yards. Other than that they had a good night and finished 16^th o/a and 4^th in the Expert class.

Simon Mellings was the other LCMC member competing and he made it to the finish in 28^th place O/A. Mellings was also the 3^rd West Midland Association Championship contender and this finish moves him closer to 2nd place in the driver’s standings.

The rally had taken its toll on the car though, as the sump had been split and had leaked out all the engine oil, but thankfully this didn’t affect the crew’s result. Mellings was also using a new navigator, Max Freeman.

Simon would like to thank McConnell’s Ludlow for their continued support.

Mellings is competing again this weekend on the Derbyshire based Drystone rally. Preece & Gluyas will next be out on the Mercian rally hopefully with the restored Opel Kadett.

Report by Anthony Gluyas

Rail Bro Ddyfi

Rali Bro Ddyfi

5th & 6th June 2010

Only one crew from Ludlow Castle Motor Club took part in the Bro Ddyfi Road Rally on the 5th / 6th June

LCMC members, Richard Preece and Anthony Gluyas, made the trip in a Ford Puma to the Machynlleth based event. This was organised by Dovey Valley Motor Club and had a full entry of 65 cars.

The 130 mile route used some of the areas classic lanes, tracks and sections of Dyfi forest.

Preece/Gluyas were using a standard Puma for the first time as their regular car (Opel Kadett) was being overhauled after the run of recent retirements.

The event started well for them and they dropped limited time. By the time the crew arrived at the petrol halt (Dinas Mawddwy), they were laying 22nd overall, despite Gluyas feeling unwell.

They continued into the second half of the event with Gluyas still not feeling 100% to face more forestry, and a section that ran alongside Lake Vyrnwy. This proved to be very challenging.

After 130 tough miles Preece/Gluyas brought the Puma home in 16th place overall and 1st West Midland Championship contenders. The result was a welcome boost to their championship hopes with Gluyas moving up to 4th in the navigator’s standings.

The next event for Preece/Gluyas is the Pacemaker Road Rally in July where they hope to follow up with another good result.

REPORT BY KEITH GLUYAS

tim cains

Dream to reality

Ludlow Castle Motor Club member Tim Cains’ dream of winning a championship could come true with only three rounds to go.

Tim Cains from Ditton Priors, along with co driver Richard May, are contesting this year’s AB Motorsport Heart of England Rally (HoE) Championship in their Peugeot 309 Mi16.

The Championship is run alongside other championships within various rallies around the Midlands and Wales. The final three rounds are the Quinton Stages, Woodpecker Stages and finally Caerwent in South Wales.

Cains is currently lying second in the HoE Championship behind fellow LCMC members Duncan Edwards/Colin Stevens (Ford Escort Mk2).

Edwards is currently leading the championship with one rally in hand, but Cains could take this position off him by finishing in front of him on both the Quinton and Woodpecker. This would then leave him needing a good place finish on the final round at Caerwent.

Cains hoped to get his new engine for the Quinton in just one week’s time, but it won’t be ready until the Woodpecker in early September. Cains will therefore struggle on with the standard Mi16 engine until then.

The new engine will give a massive boost in torque and also develop approx 215bhp, still down on power to Edwards’ Escort. The company building the engine, West Midland Motor Sport (Kidderminster), who specialise in Peugeot rally car preparation, say that the car will be both fast and reliable. They are building it for him as part backing for the Championship.

Cains is presently converting his car back to gravel spec for the Quinton Rally. The event uses stages around Llandovery and the famous Epynt military ranges, which does include for this year the full Rally Wales GB route over the ranges.

LCMC wish Cains and all other club members competing in the HoE Championship good luck.

Report & photo by Russell Kenhard (kentonphotografix)

DISIS STAGES ( MIRA )

Horiba d’ Isis Rally

Two Ludlow Castle Motor Club crews competed on Saturday 17^th April on the Horiba d’ Isis rally.

The event was organised by Quinton Motor Club and was held at the MIRA proving ground at Nuneaton in Warwickshire.

This was a single venue event and offered approx 50 miles of good quality tarmac stages.

The rally was a round of three championships and attracted approx 80 crews.