Ludlow drivers take championship
Ludlow Castle Motor Club members Joe Price and Chris Brooks took their maiden British Historic Rally Championship win on the Pirelli Carlisle Rally. Based in the Kielder Forest Complex in Cumbria the event ran over 45 miles of slippy forest tracks with patches of snow and ice to catch out the unwary.
Phil Clarke was out with regular driver Jason Pritchard in another Ford Escort MKII seeded at car 1 they were 1st into the stages and 1st to discover a patch of ice towards the end of the 1st stage which saw them lose grip and understeer off down a bank, ending their 100% record of wins this season. Fortunately they managed to get out of the car in time to warn other competitors of the icy conditions.
With Prichard/Clarke out, Price/Brooks, whose plan was to take it steady, found themselves lying in 2nd place after 1 stage 19 seconds down on championship rivals Nick Elliot and Dave Price. Stage 2 was 15 miles includin gfour miles where snow lay on the track, however, Price/Brooks stuck to their plan and despite a clutch which was playing up they had a clean run and although they dropped further time to the leaders they increased their lead over the 3rd place crew Paul Barrett/Max Freeman.
It was all to change on the next stage when leaders Elliot/Price went off early on effectively handing the lead to Price/Brooks who won the stage by 1 second from Barrett/Freeman giving them a 10 second advantage going into the final 13 mile stage Pundershaw.
So with it all to play for Price/Brooks kept their composure and won the stage taking some 25 seconds off Barrett/Freeman to seal their win and take maximum championship points.
The event also run a modern section which counted as a round of the British Rally Championship, Ludlow's Keaton Williams co-drove for Gee Atherton. They reported no mishaps on their way to 27th overall and 1st in class in Gee's Fiesta R2.
Bridgnorth's Jez Rogers travelled all the way to Suffolk to take part in the Middlewick Stages, a single venue tarmac event of around 60 miles. Seeded at 13 with driver Grant Shand they were lying 3rd overall after four stages, unfortunately they shattered a wheel on the next stage and had to take a stage maximum which saw them plummet down the field. They continued and set several top five times eventually finishing 20th overall and 8th in class.
The next meeting of Ludlow Castle Motor Club will be held on May 11 at the Ludlow Brewery starting at 20.00, all are welcome.