ColdTrackDays

Fantastic weather, fervent rally fans and a full field of cars made for a thrilling JLT South Of England Tempest Rally this weekend as both competitors and spectators enjoyed the action across the forest stages surrounding Aldershot on the Hampshire/Surrey border in the UK.

Will Nicholls from the Isle of White took victory in the 4 wheel drive section of the event While Jason Pritchard claimed the spoils in the 2 wheel drive class... [read more]

This year the Tempest did not live up to its name in terms of weather as crews and rally fans were greeted by clear skies all through the one day event. Stages took place both in the Hampshire forests and the surrounding military ranges including Longmoor Camp.

The day however started with a headache for the organisers as on the very first stage an accident to one of the front runners caused a delay of an hour to the rally schedule of the 4 wheel drive section but thankfully no serious injuries were sustained and with great organisation the event proceeded without further problems.

Tempest 4WD:

Nicholls (above) piloting his usual Subaru Impreza S9 WRC was involved in a frenetic struggle with rally ace Marcus Dodd (below) from Poole in Dorset at the front of the Tempest 4 over the course of the morning stages with at one point the pair tying for the lead as they came into service. This fantastic fight was to be short lived however as Dodd's Hyundai Accent developed a differential fault after stage 4 forcing him and co-driver Alun Cook into retirement. With Nicholls now able to drop his pace but yet still keep a cushion over his rivals the man from Ventnor who has now won the event four times commented "We were having a great battle but once Marcus dropped out it was a case of bringing the car home." Finishing the day behind the multiple winner in the top three were the Ford Focus's of Andrew Barnes and John Lloyd.

Local driver Peter Egerton from Burley near Ringwood was also a retirement in his Hyundai Accent WRC. For Peter it was not mechanical issues with his car but was instead a flare up of a existing back injury which was aggravated by some of the rougher sections during the morning loop of stages.

Results 4WD Top Ten:

1 Will Nicholls/ Nick Broom Subaru Impreza S9 WRC
2 Andrew Barnes/ Guy Simmons Ford Focus WRC
3 John Lloyd/ Adrian Cavenagh Ford Focus WRC
4 Robert Swann/ Darren Garrod Subaru Impreza N14
5 Martyn England/ Ian Enland Mitsubishi EVO
6 Wug Utting/ Bob Stokoe Subaru Impreza
7 Martin Newcombe/ Peter Newcombe Mitsubishi EVO6
8 Mick Harris/ Mike Harris Subaru Impreza
9 Tristan Bailey/ James Howe Mitsubishi EVO9
10 Nigel Seabold/ Tim Barton Subaru Impreza

Tempest 2WD:

The Tempest 2 section of the event consisting of the two wheel drive entrants saw a win for the little front wheel drive Citroen C2 R2 Max of youngster Jason Pritchard and his co-driver Robbie Durrant who produced a sparkling drive seeing off the more powerful Mk2 Ford Escort's. 21 yr old Jason who has been contesting Rallycross and Stage Rallying since the age of 14 spent the first few stages getting into his stride before moving up through the field during the afternoon to take the victory. At the finish a delighted Jason was concerned over his social arrangements commenting "The real shame is that we are going home tonight without a party - we will have to celebrate over Sunday lunch tomorrow."

Pushing Pritchard all the way to the finish was the fellow Citroen crew of Mark Gamble and Janice Moore who closed to within only 20 seconds of the leader by the time the final run through the Warren stage was complete. Gamble was in reflective mood back at rally HQ and said "In hindsight I should have put the lamp pod on when Jason did. It probably could have made all the difference but we are really pleased with second place."

Results 2WD Top Ten:

1 Jason Pritchard/ Robbie Durrant Citroen C2 R2 Max
2 Mark Gamble/ Janice Moore Citroen C2 R2 Max
3 Jim Munden/ John Leigh Ford Escort
4 Ernie Graham/ Andy Greenland Ford Escort RS
5 David Harris/ Tim Babbage Ford Escort Mk2
6 Ian Roberton/Kenny Roberts Nissan 240RS
7 Julian Wilkes/Will Rutherford Vauxhall Nova VXR190
8 Terry Brown/ Arwell Jenkins Ford Escort Mk2
9 Simon Rees/ Simon Illsley Ford Escort
10 Stephen Richards/ Ian Withecombe Ford Escort

With a full field of cars and some fantastic action including the legendary Tempest Jump which sees the 4WD cars take to the air, organisers are already planning for next year's event which hopefully will be even better.

Photo/Editorial: Neil Tozer