Brecon Motor Club News: December 2006

December Action, Y2K, Forum, Pembrey
01/01/2007 20:59

What a month!! Firstly, apologies to all who competed on the Y2K, the news is a bit late but events have meant that it's been a bit too busy to get on here and think straight!

The Y2K turned out to be an excellent navigational event and the club was represented by a total of eight crews, all of whom finished bar one. Pete Chappelle & Phil Savage were the non-finishers after bending something or other in the geometry department on the Fiesta! Best finishers were Dai & Glyn in the beastly BMW who were a great 6th overall. Will Arrowsmith was next up with Farry in a stunning 10th place, don't think anyone saw that one coming, keep it up boys. Mike Jones bought his 205 into 17th place despite having Robin 'Crikey' Moses 'we've got a fail' on the maps. I think he might have been secretly disappointed!! Alwyn Arrowsmith gave his lovely Escort an airing and with Paul Taylor came home in 34th place. A plethora of crews finished in the forties, Wayne Aerosmith making it a full house for the family in his 205, Phil Jones and Craig doing well in the 1 litre Micra and Jon Williams and Josh Jones in their 205. All in all a pretty good night for the Motor Club crews.

December the 13th saw a whole new departure into the organisation of a rally forum at Brecon Theatre. With 488 seats sold with more than a month to go it was always going to be a good night and with John Horton hosting the likes of Phil Collins, Russell Brookes, Tony Mason, Phil Mills, Tony Fowkes and David Llewellin. Howard Davies saw to the auction and in the region of £10,000 was raised for charity. A lot of people helped to make the evening a success with a good team of club members holding it all together. Thank you!

The WWRS Christmas Stages at Pembrey saw a rare outing by Ieuan Roberts in the infamous pinkish Avenger and with Dai Pritchard he managed a creditable 28th overall on a day when a powerboat would have been more appropriate! Wayne Palmer was also out as was Jason Pritchard but both were listed as retirements.

Other news club members should know about is the inclusion of the Flatters in the BHRC (Historics) for 2007. We'll need another mammoth effort to make this a success. There is also a chance that the much mooted hill climb could take place this year as the course has now been approved for our use. Next hurdle is a date. Watch this space.......

Good Cambrian Run For Skinner
05/11/2006 16:20

BMC member Liz Skinner contested her last BTRDA event of the season at the weekend, finishing a decent 3rd in class in her Nissan Micra. I understand that the 'other' car was pressed in to service for the day and obviously performed very well. Overall the season has been good to Liz and she finished in 2nd place in her class in the championship. Who knows what's next, we will have to wait for an update and get it posted here!

Somerset Stages
29/10/2006 18:21

Bob Gibbons was accompanied by BMC member Stuart Cardell at the weekend on the Somerset Stages. Using the usual immaculate Mk 1 Escort RS2000 they won their class and finished 7th post historic. Bob was a bit rusty as he hasn't competed much lately but despite a 4th gear 'orf' into the scenery they were happy with the result. Photographic evidence of an excursion exists with a directional arrow stuck firmly in the middle of the grill!

Rarebit Rally Review
29/10/2006 18:21

Six BMC crews ventured out for some local lane action at the weekend for the Mini Rarebit Rally which started from Bishops Meadow.

All bar one made it to the finish after a thoroughly enjoyable night, the exception being Kevin Tweedy and son Martin. A broken exhaust on the Mini thwarted their efforts but surely they'll be back for more!

Best of the bunch was Dai 'Block' Jones and Glyn Price who debuted the much awaited BMW 325. Dai was looking concerned at the start but a steady 11th overall had him smiling again by morning! Next up were Pete Chappelle & Phil Savage in the Fiesta who were in a fine 8th place at petrol only to lose gears and places in the second half, 19th the result. This left Mike 'Wheelyking' Jones and Robin 'Crikey' Moses to be BMC runners up in 15th place in their 205. Peugeots, I think, made up the other places finishing 20th and 21st overall, the crews being John Williams & Phil Jones, Craig Jones & Josh Jones,

Cork 20, Breidden & Peter Lloyd Stages
15/10/2006 18:44

A bit of late news, been a bit busy lately!

The weekend before last, Jason Pritchard & Martin Jones contested the Cork 20 and came home having scored an excellent result, 34th overall on their first International. The following weekend the duo attempted the Peter Lloyd Stages at Pembrey but suffered mechanical failure when in 11th position.

Also at Pembrey was Sara Williams making her rally debut in a Rover 216. The 17 year old did well to cope and was looking good for a finish until driveshaft failure intervened.

Mike Jones & Robin Moses travelled to Welshpool for the Breidden Rally in a quest to score Welsh Championship points but despite 'Crikey' having a good night on the maps, it was the car that let the team down with a snapped steering rack. Despite the problems with the Peugeot it looks likely that they have won their class in the championship. (Subject to confirmation) Well done.

Plains Rally Points For Skinner
24/09/2006 10:51

Liz Skinner & Karen Watts scored another impressive finish on the Plains Rally at the weekend in their Nissan Micra. More BTRDA championship points were amassed with a fine 3rd in class A5. Once again the pair were close to grabbing second but didn't quite make it. For their first season in rallying the performances and reliability shown so far have been outstanding.

Chris Phillips was supposed to have been competing at Caerwent on Sunday but unfortunately, Bernie, Chris' pilot has his arm in a sling so they non started!

Woodpecker & Twilight
12/09/2006 23:42

Late report sorry. Liz Skinner carried on scoring useful championship points on the Woodpecker Stages by bringing her Nissan Micra home 2nd in class just a few seconds behind the class winner in a Micra Kit Car. I believe the Plains is the next event and we wish her all the best for that.

The Twilight took place the same weekend and the most successful crew was Mike Jones with Robin 'Crikeeeeeey' Moses on the maps. Their Peugeot had it's problems on the night but they still finished in a decent position which is more than can be said for Dai 'Block' Jones & Glyn Price who had a mare with the car and the navigation, finishing well down the field. The other BMC crews, Phil Jones etc. all had problems and headed for home.

Mewla 2006
27/08/2006 22:19

A trio of BMC crews sampled Epynt Motor Clubs best efforts on this years Mewla Rally and all came back with decent class positions. Front runners Eian Pritchard and Martin Jones ended up with a fair result, 3rd overall behind the flying Kynaston Audi and Tony Davies' recent spec Subaru. Pritchard Junior wheeled out the Peugeot for the first time since its Severn Valley indiscretion and took a confident 2nd in class A6

Running further down the field in the less than state of the art Peugeot 205 Rallye, James Chappelle with Zoe Brute tenaciously hung on to take 3rd in their class on a day when unexploded bombs and a drug crazed rave took the headlines. Despite our current fragile relationship with the organising club, they did well to keep the event on track in a difficult climate.

Harry Flatters 2006 Report
07/08/2006 08:31

Well what a weekend, the entry of 80 starters was a surprise for a start and the quality was superb. Recce on Saturday was as usual frantic but it all seemed to go well and everyone was smiling.

The rally got off to a smooth start and apart from Andrew Williams' Starlet going belly up on stage 1 all seemed well. That was until stage 3 where unfortunately Steve Fleck and Nigel Gardner went off hard at Noel Edmonds Bend. Both were taken to hospital and Steve is now recovering from a broken arm - we wish both a speedy recovery.

While all this was going on however, Nigel Morrish was working away quietly and was leading the rally in his Mercury RS200. More carnage was to follow during the day with one of the Irish lads in a Fiesta ST going straight on at T by the service area requiring an air ambulance for co-driver Mark Ammonds who ironically was involved in the big 206 crash a few years ago! Apparently Mark was released form hospital but is suffering with a bad back. Richard Archer was the next to go, another ST practicing for the Mewla, and despite being ok themselves, the car was in a very sad state. The last shunt was a traditional Harry Flatters affair, last stage, last mile and one of the final cars. Everyone's winding down and don't you know it one of Blackwood MC's best tops the table with a huge roll at the German Village triangle! I saw the crew and apart from a few aches they were fine. To all crews who had a bad day, we hope you feel better soon.

Back to the competition and at the end of the day it was Nigel Morrish who took a well deserved and popular victory. Chris Griffiths took his Darrian to 2nd and a subdued Eian Pritchard came in 3rd, no doubt his Welsh bump was still fresh in the memory banks.

BMC crews were led home by Eian and Martin with Jason Pritchard taking 3rd in the 1400cc class in a hired Micra and Wayne Palmer not far behind in another Micra. Brian Dennis debuted the new Citroen C2 but unfortunately broke down, the car it has to be said is stunning, hopefully we'll see it out again soon.

Most club members were out on the stages working at the weekend and a HUGE thank you goes to all of you. As always you did a great job with good humour.

Lastly, to non members reading this, a massive thanks from the organisers to all competitors, marshals, radio crews and emergency crews - it would have been impossible without you.

Pacemaker Rally
16/07/2006 19:56

Two crews ventured out in their familiar Peugeot 205's for the Radnor Pacemaker Rally. Of those two one tasted success and the other an early bath. Mike Jones and Robin Moses managed to stay fail free and finished 21st overall and 1st in the novice class. Robin must now be wondering where he didn't go wrong for a change!!

Dai 'Block' Jones and Glyn Price again gave up a balmy summers evening in the pub to have a go but a broken exhaust and failed electrics put them out. Concerns about a failing head gasket proved unfounded.

Quinton Stages For Skinner
09/07/2006 15:01

Liz Skinner and Karen Watts continued their good run in the BTRDA series yesterday with 3rd in their class. Encouragingly, they were not too far behind their opposition and the result was particularly good as Liz was suffering with a damaged left wrist, making driving difficult. The Nissan Micra appeared to be running faultlessly.

Although not a club member (!) it was of note that the rally was won by Andreas Mikelsson in a Ford Focus WRC. He is just 17 years old and passed his driving test on Thursday. One to watch?

1000 Lanes Rally
03/07/2006 18:32

HOVAC stepped back into the world of organising road rallies last weekend and came up with what was generally very well received. Despite a few rumblings about the rougher bits the route was excellent, a shower of rain in Walters Arena would have helped though!

Four BMC crews ventured out and three finished. James Chappelle & Kevin Chaffey were the only non finishers, a driveshaft broke on their Peugeot 205 Rallye towards the end, dropping them from a certain top ten finish. Top finishers were the intrepid duo of Dai 'Block' and Glyn Price, their Pug performing perfectly on the way to 6th overall. Mike Jones and Matthew Farr survived a heavy blow to the sump guard late on and finished 15th in their 205 GTI. Alwyn Arrowsmith and Phil Jones picked up a pot with 22nd overall.

There was a little more local interest as Wayne Arrowsmith navigated a friend in a Nova but cooked the brakes. Martin Leonard's old Golf continued it's winning ways in the hands of Llandovery's Ben Davies and won it's class taking 21st overall.

Leukaemia Rally
25/06/2006 21:44

One BMC crew represented the club this weekend and what a special appearance it was!

Graham Richards readied the green machine (Mini), after major works at Dennis Motorsport, and flew around the route of the Leukaemia Rally to finish in the twenties despite too hard suspension, unsorted brakes and a new navigator.

Robin Moses was drafted in at late notice to keep up his 100% attendance record on this event and wasn't to be disappointed as Richards kept his head (most of the time) to stroke the green peril home in one piece.

Caerwent, Dukeries & Classic Lanes
19/06/2006 18:45

At last, a full weekend of competition for club members. Success first I suppose, Liz Skinner took the Micra to the Dukeries on Saturday and with a new co-driver she snatched her best result to date. Third in class A5 was the reward for a long drive to the event, no doubt this will encourage her to do even more now!

Caerwent was the venue for the Mid Summer Stages and Chris Phillips was praying that the propshaft would hold together and not threaten his crown jewels. Everything was fine with the car but a decent result was lost when they suffered a puncture on Bernard Charles' Escort.

The Classic Lanes was on also and Robin Moses accompanied Mike Jones due to Matthew Farr not being well. News is sketchy so keep watching the FORUM for updates from Robin!!

EMCOS & Severn Valley National
04/06/2006 16:22

First of all the EMCOS Stages held at Down Ampney last weekend, Chris Phillips was riding shotgun with Bernard Charles but they disappeared from the top ten after 6 stages.

The Severn Valley was held in some of the local forests and Jason Pritchard accompanied by Martin Jones were hoping to finally throw off the reliability problems they've been encountering of late and score a good result. Unfortunately, despite the car behaving, Jason clipped a rock in the Mabion Way forest and rolled the Pug into retirement. Many crews were encountering problems with hanging dust which made for difficult driving conditions.

Red Dragon Gloom
21/05/2006 20:12

Jason Pritchard's run of bad luck continued on the Red Dragon Rally at the weekend when a track rod end failed on the penultimate stage. All had been going fairly well until then for Jason and co-driver Martin Jones who have not had the rub of the green for the last few events with the 106 Maxi.

Cambrian Endurance
14/05/2006 10:16

Brecon Motor Club was represented on the Cambrian Endurance Rally at the weekend by new member, Adrian Leonard. Having spent the last 20 years or more in the rallying wilderness he returned for the Cambrian in the passenger seat of Andrew Lees' 1400cc Vauxhall Nova. A well disciplined run resulted in a great 7th overall at the finish. The club was also represented at the finish of Test 3 at Sweetlamb in the day and again on the night section. Thanks to the Chappelle clan for that.

Bro Teifi & Bobs Tale
14/05/2006 10:14

Two BMC crews tackled last weekends Rali Bro Teifi and both made it to the finish. Dai 'Block' and Glyn Price brought their Pug home in 33rd, not a good result by their standards and Mike Jones enjoyed himself once more with Robin Moses to bring their Pug home 48th and 3rd in class despite collecting a dubious fail.

Elsewhere Stuart Cardells regular driver, Bob Gibbons, had a fraught expensive weekend when he and a stand in co driver did the Astra stages. All was going well until they encountered Brian Bell regaining the road on a 4 left. The resultant coming together wrecked the axle, petrol tank and most of the side of the car! Brian Bells historic Porsche wasn't too good either. The moral of the story is, take a BMC co driver with you and everything will be alright!!!!!!!

Manx Gremlins Halt Pritchard's Progress
08/05/2006 19:36

Jason Pritchard and Martin Jones took the Pug 106 to the Manx National last weekend but suffered an early retirement when the diff let go after the first stage. The long trip and recce were in vain and the team were on the first boat home. Hopefully reliability can be found for the Red Dragon.

Next weekend new club member (he was a member in the '70's & 80's) Adrian Leonard will revive his rallying career by navigating for Andrew Lees on the Cambrian Enduro in his 1400cc Nova. Andrew is also well known to Graham Richards. Ask and he'll tell you the story!

Weekend Woes, Welsh Rally & Night Owl
03/05/2006 19:17

BMC crews didn't have the best of weekends with Eain Pritchard and Martin Jones rolling their Subaru Impreza WRC out of the lead of the Welsh Rally between 4 Ways Bridge and the telephone exchange. No official reason for it yet but that particular area is always covered in gravel from corner cutting. Chris Phillips, accompanying Bernard Charles in his Escort, had an eventful weekend running as high as eighth at one point before car problems dropped them to 12th overall but still 3rd in class! Liz Skinner didn't have a brilliant weekend as her Nissan Micra succumbed to power steering failure on the first day, a problem that I don't think was rectified.

On the Night Owl Mike Jones and Robin Moses finished but it looks as if Robin has collected his obligatory fail. 45th overall was the result.

Somerset Suspension Setback For Pritchard
24/04/2006 19:08

Jason Pritchard travelled to the Somerset Stages at the weekend but suffered once again with broken suspension on his Peugeot 106 Maxi. The set that was fitted only arrived just before the rally but proved to be unequal to the task. For most of the rally Jason, accompanied by Martin Jones, was setting a decent pace and despite falling back badly on the last few stages they still finished second in class, securing much needed BTRDA points.

Elsewhere Liz Skinner travelled to Talbenny to compete with Dave Ferguson in the Nissan Micra, hopefully they made the finish as Liz will be tackling the Welsh Rally this weekend as will the elder of the Pritchard clan, Eian, with Martin Jones in the Subaru.

Humberside Woes For Pritchard J.
26/03/2006 13:07

The haul to the Humberside Stages proved to be a trial for Jason Pritchard and Martin Jones at the weekend. On the very first stage the Peugeot 106 Maxi decided it didn't like it's shock absorbers and broke the two rears. After limping to service a pair were borrowed from a class A6 rival with a Peugeot 206. Though not ideal it kept them in the running and despite destroying the new shocks they managed to collect points for 2nd in class. It's now planned to try Proflex in an attempt to improve handling and reliability.

Border Rally & Mia Phillips Road Rally
21/03/2006 18:43

A few BMC crews were out playing last weekend, Jason Pritchard & Martin Jones went up to the Scottish borders for the Border Rally and were running as high as 14th overall before the radiator burst in a stage. More bad luck but the car should be ready for Humberside this weekend.

Two crews headed for a new event in Pembrokeshire, Dai 'Block' Jones and Glyn Price gave up drinking on an Six Nations weekend to contest the Mia Phillips Rally and wound up 19th overall. Mike Jones, who won't answer his mobile(!), was accompanied by Robin Moses in the usual Peugeot and finished up 42nd after collecting a few fails.

I need more information to keep these pages updated so please tell me your stories, however unexciting or exciting they may be!!!

Rali Cwm Gwendraeth
13/03/2006 19:40

Brecon Motor club was represented at Pembrey at the weekend by Nissan Micra driver Liz Skinner who turned in a confidence boosting performance to finish third in her class. Co-driven by Cwmdu's John Williams the car performed faultlessly to bring home the bacon.

Elsewhere Brecon resident Jonathon Williams, who is yet to re-new his club membership, took a fine victory using his usual Subaru Impreza with daughter Sara in the passenger seat.

Robinhood Stages For Cardell Jnr.
06/03/2006 21:48

Stuart Cardell took a trip to Nottinghamshire at the weekend to contest the Robin Hood Historic Stages. He co-drove for old partner Bob Gibbons in the usual immaculate Escort RS2000 and came home 16th.

Gremlin - Club Members Stories
06/03/2006 21:44

Right, here are the finishers, no stories of woe or otherwise, I think everyone had safe steady runs. Mark Hatton was looking pensive at the start and drove very well according to 'Relic' Robin.

As mentioned in the previous report, Martin Leonard finished 5th in the Golf and Dai 'Block' Jones and Glyn Price sealed another finish with a sound 10th overall. Mark Hatton and Robin Moses brought their Peugeot 205 GTi home in 27th with Peter Chappelle and Zoe Brute in 32nd in the red Fiesta. Mike Jones was accompanied by Matthew Farr in his Pug on this occasion and finished 40th. Last of the BMC finishers was John Williams with Phil Jones in 40th. All did very well to finish on a testing night.

Gremlin Provisional Report
05/03/2006 21:57

Sunday evening and I haven't tracked down all the antics of BMC crews yet!

The rally was controversial once again, many WAMC registered crews chose to non start due to the inclement snowy and icy conditions. That was fine but mob rule seemed to come into play with some foul play being employed in an attempt to get other crews to comply with their wishes. It has to be said that there was only a small minority involved. All credit to Denis and James for sticking to their guns and running a relatively trouble free event.

As for the crews who did run, they drove accordingly and it was good to see a friend of the club, Chris Jenkins accompanied by Tony Brooks, take a hugely popular win in their historic Mini from the M1 Escort of Andy Lane & Ian Tullie. Third overall and first modern were Mark ATFF Robinson and David 'Garth' Powell in a diesel Seat Ibiza who put in a fine performance also.

Martin Leonard was top BMC driver again with Phil Jones on the maps in the regular Golf and Dai 'Block' Jones & Glyn Price were there again in tenth place in the Pug. More details of other crews tomorrow.

Sweet Lamb & Rallye Sunseeker
03/03/2006 17:57

It seems we have only had one crew out over the last two weekends as the Bro Caron was once again a barren hunting ground for BMC crews wanting an entry. If anyone else was competing, I'd be pleased to know.

Jason Pritchard continued with his busy programme of events, firstly competing on the Winter Stages at Sweetlamb and this weekend on the Rallye Sunseeker on the South Coast.

Unfortunately both outings were fruitless in terms of results as on the Sweetlamb event the ECU played up on the Peugeot turning the day into a test session. The trip to Bournemouth was looking good with Jason accompanied by Paul Cook running as first two wheel drive car until the engine let go on stage 8. It's back to the workshop now to get the car ready for a series of events up north.

Also out at Sweetlamb was BMC member Jonathon Vamplew accompanying Jonathon Williams in his Subaru on his first gravel event. A few problems during the day ended with them unclassified.

Wyedean News
12/02/2006 12:29

Two Brecon Motor Club drivers took to the woods on Saturday, both tackling the Wyedean Stages Rally for the first time.

Jason Pritchard was the only finisher, the Peugeot 106 Maxi once again running faultlessly. Continuing the steep learning curve Jason accompanied by Paul Cook took a safe approach in order to finish and they were rewarded with second place in class A6.

Liz Skinner started her second event ever and was running well in the Nissan Micra before driveshaft failure intervened on stage three.

Jason will be out for the next two weekends, at Sweetlamb and the following week in Bournemouth for the Rallye Sunseeker. Liz will be travelling north in pursuit of success in the BTRDA Championship in March.

Carpetbagger & Tour Of Epynt
06/02/2006 22:07

Sorry about the news updates, my computer is not well at the moment!

The Carpetbagger Rally took place on the last weekend in January and Martin Leonard took Phil Jones for a cruise around in the usual Golf. It was a tough event and ice lurked around many corners after long dry stretches. At the end of the night they ended up in 9th place overall having been as high as 4th at one point but a couple of errors dropped them back. Two other BMC crews entered but were on the reserve list and stood no chance of an entry on this highly popular event.

Result of last weekend went to BMC members John Bogie and Davie Patterson who took their very first Epynt win in their Metro 6R4. Congratulations to you both.

The Tour of Epynt also saw a small amount of other local interest with Martin Jones sitting with Eli Sharpe in what looked like a pretty potent Mini. They persevered on what was a very slippery day and reached the finish successfully. John Williams made a mistake early on in the day, rolling his Honda Civic and then going OTL in a bid to get running again. Damage is reported to be fairly minor.

This weekend sees Jason Pritchard continue his steep learning curve with a trip to the Wyedean in the Peugeot while Liz Skinner attempts her second rally in the E Lottery Nissan Micra. Good luck to both crews.

Three Finishes For Jason Pritchard
09/01/2006 19:45

BMC member Jason Pritchard, seventeen year old son of Epynt veteran Eian, has in the last two weeks achieved three rally finishes to upgrade his licence to National A. His Peugeot 106 Maxi has been a model of reliability.

First event was the Christmas Stages at Pembrey where accompanied by Paul Cook he finished 15th overall. The following Monday it was a trip to Longmoor where Martin Jones stepped in to take him to 12th overall.

With everything looking good the Red Kite was entered and in icy conditions Jason coped well on his first loose event gradually getting quicker as the day wore on.

Brecon Motor Club wishes Jason all the best for the year ahead. That of course applies to all BMC crews who are out there having a go this year.