Ludlow Castle Motor Club has had a very good 2010 season, with members excelling in various championships.

Alex Allingham sealed his Welsh National Championship victory in fine style with a superb third overall on the Cambrian Rally.

All he had to do to win the overall Driver’s Championship was to ensure he finished the rally which made the task even harder, trying to drive on the “safe” side of flat out.

Alex just needed to cross the start ramp to win the Production Cup part of the championship, but the overall standings were still to play for.

It was difficult to concentrate on the stages with the pressure of having to just finish the event yet still wanting to enjoy the classic forest stages.

He did have a few dramas along the way, every slight noise was a potential problem, and all this was going through Allingham’s mind on every stage.

A small spin on Stage 2 cost a few seconds and catching the car in front a few more, but it was on Stage 4 when the front brake discs cracked.

He thought it was all over, but he managed to get the car back to service where new brake discs were fitted.

Allingham kept it together with a very professional drive and set two more excellent times which saw him cross the finish line as 2010 Hankook Welsh National Champion and Hankook Welsh National Production Cup winner, having led Class N4 since the start of the season.

Allingham has also won the 2010 MSA ANCRO Gravel Rally Production Cup and Subaru cup. He has defied the odds against more modern machinery in the seven-year-old GpN Subaru Impreza.

Alex would like to thank his sponsors, Richard Allingham cars, McCrash media, Brokenpencil.co.uk, Workwear4you, Grade A Subaru, Mc-Video, Adgespeed, and racebits.co.uk.

Roger Chilman Jnr and Andrew Sankey finished second overall in the 2010 BTRDA Silverstone Tyres Gold Star Championship, just six points behind the winner Steve Perez in his Focus WRC 07.

This was a very good achievement as Chilman’s Subaru Impreza is only a GpN car.

In 2004 Roger Chilman Jnr started his rally career in a Peugeot 106 and in 2005 he teamed up with one of the UK’s best co drivers, Andrew (Maps) Sankey.

They contended the BTRDA Gold Star Championship together in a Mitsubishi EVO6, which they won.

In 2007 and 2008 they moved to the ANCRO National Championship in a new car, a Subaru Impreza N12, but had two seasons of unreliability.

The same issues haunted them in 2009 before moving to a different engine builder and commencing a major revamp on the whole car ready for 2010.

After these changes the car proved very reliable and much faster. With Chilman’s consistent driving and Sankey’s co-driving skills the pair achieved second overall in this year’s BTRDA Gold Star Championship, and first overall in the Production Cup, with one round still to go.

They were only beaten by Steve (Vodka kick) Perez in his World Rally Car.

They didn’t need to contest the Cambrian Rally, the last round of the Series as it would have made no difference to their final position. They would like to thank their sponsors, Alexander and Duncan, and Teme Valley Tractors.

Sankey also finished in second place in the Co-driver Championship, just six points down. If the pair had finished the Quinton Stages Rally they would have probably clinched the title but were let down by fuel pump problems.

Never the less, this was still a very good result against cars worth nearly £500,000.

Duncan Edwards with Colin Stevens contested the 2010 AB Motorsport Heart of England Rally Championship (HoE), a mixed surface championship, in their Mk2 Ford Escort.

They proved again that steady consistent driving, taking minimum risk, does pay off as they were crowned 2010 HoE Champions, also with a round in hand.

Their thanks go to The Embroidery Shop Tenbury for their support. The championship runners-up spot went to fellow LCMC members Tim Cains/Richard May and in third place were Eric Weaver/Andrew Sankey, also from LCMC

LCMC member Simon Mellings went into the Cilwendeg Road Rally with a slender lead over rival competitor Jonty Bloxham.

The rally started from Newcastle Emlyn, South Wales, and was the last round of the AWMMC Road Rally Championship. Mellings started off well with no problems and on his way to winning the Championship.

However, by selective 8 the car had developed clutch problems which meant he had little drive and was unable to continue.

Mellings however had a very enjoyable season, finishing second overall and first expert in his class. He would like to thank McConnels of Ludlow, Eric Weaver Motorsport, Brian Gittoes and Nigel Cooke for all the support throughout the year.

Report and pictures: Russell Kenhard (kentonphotografix-photography)