H&H 246 - HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS

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Craig Breen who, together with co-driver Paul Nagle, were demonstrating the new R2 Peugeot 208 by running as course car. As the day went on, the sun came out and the temperatures got higher and higher, which saw the roads dry out and speeds increase – especially those of Evans/Pugh, who were fastest though SS9, the 6.7-mile run of Lisnamuck. But the demands of the bumpy Ulster asphalt forced further retirements during the course of the afternoon, with Fiesta crews Fisher/Barritt and Parpottas/Davies bringing their rallies to a disappointing conclusion in a ditch. In contrast, Cave/Parry were on a mission and, when they posted the fastest time on the penultimate stage, would have overhauled Greer/Noble for fourth, if it had not been for a 50-second penalty that was applied when their car would not start as they went to leave the fi nal service halt of the day. An ever-improving Matthew Cathcart/James Morgan were sixth in their Fiesta after Donnelly/Roberts fi nally lost the battle with their car’s transmission. Solid runs by Callum Black/Paul Wakely in their Citroën DS3 and Arron Newby/ Martyn Taylor in their Skoda Fabia saw them fi nish seventh and eighth respectively, whilst Grint/Drew were ninth. Tenth place went to a delighted Garry Pearson/Craig Wallace and, by scoring a fi nish in his Twingo Renaultsport R1, Pearson became the 2012 MSA British Junior Rally Champion. His cause was helped when rivals Steve Røkland/ Tom Andre retired their Fiesta R1 in SS12 with fuel problems. But it was Cronin/Clarke who dominated the event and the result moves the Irish driver closer to a third British Rally Championship title by claiming his third consecutive win this season. Evans/Pugh were equally as pleased with their giant-killing performance, taking their fi fth Class 6 (R2 category) win in as many events, Evans wrapping up the 2012 R2 title in the process. The outcome of the event means that Cronin and Evans now share the Drivers’ Championship lead, with Cave four points behind in third. Therefore, with the opportunity to score 50 percent more points, the battle for the 2012 MSA British Rally championship title will be decided on the sixth and fi nal round, the International Rally Yorkshire, which takes place on 28 - 29 September. H&H Final Overall Classifi cation for Int’l Rally NI: 01) K. Cronin/M. Clarke Citroen DS3 R3T - 01h 45m 37.3s 02) E. Evans/P. Pugh Ford Fiesta R2 + 01m 37.2s 03) O. Pryce/I. Williams Citroen DS3 R3 + 02m 42.1s 04) J. Greer/G. Noble Citroen DS3 R3 + 02m 47.5s 05) T. Doyle/L. Moynihan Citroen DS3 R3 + 03m 22.9s 06) T. Cave/C. Parry Citroen DS3 R3 + 03m 32.8s 07) M. Cathcart/J. Morgan Ford Fiesta R2 + 04m 19.5s 08) C. Black/P. Wakely Citroen DS3 R3T + 05m 56.4s 09) D. Carney/R. Fitzpatrick Citroen C2R2 Max + 08m 24.3s 10) K. O’Connor/G. Conway Citroen C2R2 Max + 09m 25.7s
Words: Handbrakes & Hairpins Pictures: Evan Rothman The Rally South Africa was an event of extremes. Sheer drops, high speed jumps, fast sweeps and tight hairpins, with the 30 entered crews putting on a brave display of driving skills. It was also an event that will long be remembered for its poor organisation, its shocking Day One route selection was amongst a plethora of reasons this was an absolute failure as a WRC Candidate Event. As Round Five of the 2012 South African Rally Championship, the event was scheduled for 185km of competition over two days in the Valley of 1,000 Hills on Day One and the forest gravel stages near Richmond in Mid-Illovo on Day Two. With the FIA delegates and observers watching in wonderment, SS2 was cancelled after buses, minibuses and public vehicles passed through the stage. This stage was cancelled, and reduced the event’s overall competitive distance by 29km. This was then further shortened on Day Two as the Clerk of the Course was forced to alter the stages. At the end of the eight stages, competitors tackled only 134.10km… Poor organisation and leadership, planning and preparation resulted in what was quite possibly the most damaging event in South African rallying’s history. Handbrakes & Hairpins will run an objective report on these digital pages in next week’s issue, but in this week’s read please enjoy these action photographs from Evan Rothman. H&H RALLY SOUTH AFRICA: DRAMATIC EVENTS Final Overall Classifi cation for Rally South Africa: 01) M. Cronje/R. Houghton Ford Fiesta S2000 - 01h 25m 00.4s 02) J. Gemmell/C. Swan Toyota Auris S2000 + 24.5s 03) J. Habig/R. Paisley Ford Fiesta S2000 + 01m 14.8s 04) E. Kuun/G. Hodgson Volkswagen Polo S2000 + 01m 31.6s 05) G. de Villiers/C. Snyders Toyota Auris S2000 + 03m 59.3s 06) H. Lategan/J. van der Merwe Peugeot 207 S2000 + 04m 30.1s 07) W. Dippenaar/M. du Toit Toyota RunX S2000 + 05m 37.2s 08) C. Wilken/E. Lourens Ford Fiesta S2000 + 08m 30.1s 09) S. Klaassen/C. Harding Ford Fiesta S2000 + 09m 24.4s 10) C. Weston/H. Groenewald Citroën C2 R2 Max + 10m 07.8s
Page 1: && Handbrakes Handbrakes Hairpins H
Page 4 and 5: OPENING SHOT On the International R
Page 6 and 7: START RAMP
Page 8 and 9: Damseaux/Grant Martin (car #10) and
Page 10 and 11: IN FOCUS Guy Wilks and David Moynih
Page 12 and 13: BRC INT’L RALLY NI: CRONIN SWEEPS
Page 18 and 19: WRC IN GERMANY: WHO CAN BEAT LOEB?
Page 20 and 21: PARC FERME
Page 22 and 23: MATTHEW WILSON: RETURNS TO RALLYING
Page 24 and 25: can’t believe I have actually don

H&H 246 - HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS

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