Mini Tempest Stages 2002
The 2002 Mini Tempest boasted an excellent field that included 2 World Rally Cars, 2 "evolution" Metro 6R4's not to mention 3 Mitsubishis with Impreza's and Cosworths a plenty.
At car 1 was Chris Wood and Ken Bills shaking down their awesome Metro 6R4, rebuilt after the heavy crash on Epynt in 1999, car 2 was Paul Shelmerdine/Steve Renham in their new Escort WRC and at 3, Mark Slater/Nick Slater in a new DAM 4100.
The leaderboard after SS1 was full of surprises. Wood and Bills set fastest time with Slater and Slater 10 seconds adrift. However, Lee Williams and Steve Hall in their atmo Cosworth Mark 2 Escort had obviously overdosed on shredded wheat and were a magnificent 3rd. 1 second behind was the Jersey crew of Paul Le Marquand/Gaynor Jubb in another Mark 2, and just 1 second further back was Shelmerdine/Renham, still getting to grips with the new car.
Kirtley/Jones after a spin were down in 16th, but made amends by setting a 3rd fastest time behind the Metros on SS2 to move up to 5th. Slater (engine) retired after SS2 and Wood (diff problems) at the end of SS3. Now the leaderboard had a completely different look. Kirtley had taken the lead from that man Williams in the Mark 2. Shelmerdine held 3rd but only 3 seconds separated the top 3.
By the halfway mark, things started to settled down. Kirtley from Shelmerdine, with Williams 3rd , very much in contention. 4th was occupied by Paul and Mark Brocklebank in their impressive Fiesta rear wheel drive and they led class D. One place further back were class E leaders, Dick Mauger and Andrew Street in an Escort Cosworth. Pauls King and Hollingham in their immaculate Vauxhall powered Mark 2 Escort topped class C at 8th overall. Class B leaders were car 46, Trevor Owen and Paul Diver in their Fiesta. At the head of class A sat car 36, Chris Powis and Paul Downes in a Nova.
During the afternoon, the battle at the front continued. After SS5, still only 6 seconds separated Kirtley/Jones, Shelmerdine/Renham and Williams/Hall with Brocklebanks a further 18 seconds in arrears. Class positions remained unchanged.
However, it WAS all change for SS6! A slow time from Kirtley saw him slip from 1st to 3rd. Shelmerdine now led by 2 seconds from a flying Williams. Kirtley was a further 4 seconds behind with Brocklebank making ground, reducing the gap from 4th to 3rd by 2 seconds. The lead of class B changed after the engine expired on Owen/Divers Fiesta. The new leaders now were car 50, the Nova of Brian Lee and Les Skeet. Dick Mauger and Andrew Street wrong slotted, handing the lead of class E over to Andy Vey and Jason Aplin in their Mitsubishi Evo 4.
The times see-sawed over the remaining 2 stages but at the finish the verdict went to Shelmerdine/Renham enjoying their first outing in a WRC Escort. By contrast, a magnificent 2nd for Lee Williams and Steve Hall in a 25 year old Mark 2 escort, a mere 8 seconds in arrears. Lee put his fine drive down to the fact that after many years of rallying, this was the first time he had used brand new tyres!
3rd was Kirtley, suffering from power steering woes in his Subaru Impreza WRC. Paul and Mark Brocklebank came in 4th and first in class D. Class C was won by 5th placed Paul King and Paul Hollingham. The class E award went to Andy Vey in his Evo 4, class B to Brian Lee in a Nova, and class A to Chris Powis, also in a Nova.
The event was a round of the Rally 2002 stage championship, The CMSG, Heart of England and LCAMC championships.
As usual, the Carnival attracted an excellent field; at car 1 was last years winners, Tom Lambert and Peter Keel in their Darrian, at 2 an on form Tony Janetta and Lee Carter in their immaculate Metro 6R4, and making the long trip south from Scotland was Tom Morris and Neil Chambers in another Metro. Another potential winner was Mark Lane co-driven by brother Rob in a Darrian at 4. With 12 stages on offer (subsequently shortened to 11 due to weather based delays) and 90 competitive miles, the scene was set for an excellent days Motorsport!
SS1 got underway under heavy grey skies, and after 11 fast miles, it was Morris and Chambers at the head of the field, holding a 2 second advantage over the Lanes and Janetta/Carter tying for second. In fourth was Lambert, 1 second further in arrears. Simon Mauger and Keith Hounslow in an Escort Cosworth, managed 12th fastest despite a puncture and lots of flailing bodywork.
Spectacular as ever was the husband and wife pairing of Stuart and Teresa Fossey in their glorious sounding Escort BDG - they held seventh after SS1. One crew who had a nasty moment were Steve Colville and Fiona Thornton in a Renault 5 GT Turbo, that shed its left rear wheel sending them spinning into the undergrowth!
The pace stepped up for SS2 with the Lanes taking 4 seconds back from Morris and the lead by 2 seconds. Janetta was third fastest a second down on Morris and holding third. A half spin from Lambert saw him lose valuable time, he still held 4th but was now 13 seconds behind the top 3. Snapping at Lamberts heels was James Hoseason and Oliver Pearson in a Darrian GTR and Mauger was on the move, taking 3rd fastest on the stage and now up to 6th. Casualties at this point were Paul and Mark Brocklebank with turbo woes in their dramatic Fiesta Turbo, and David Nutt/Shelly Nutt also with turbo problems in their Escort Cosworth.
This may have suited David who was due to attend a hospital appointment at 6:30!!
As the crews thought about SS3, the heavens opened which was great news for the 4-wheel drive contingent, but bad news for the Darrian pilots. This was reflected in the stage times. After 4 stages, the leader board had a different look. 1st was Janetta, 4 seconds up on Morris. 37 seconds down were the Lanes. Obviously enjoying the conditions, Chris Davies and Brandon Parker in another Darrian progressed up to 4th.
At the halfway point, things had stabilised. The 2 Metros were disappearing into the spray and having their own Battle Royal. Morris had sneaked ahead of Janetta by 1 second. Now a minute down, the Lanes held 3rd but were tied with Mauger in his Cosworth.
Davies and Parker held 5th and trying hard to join them was Hoseason in his V8 version of a Darrian, just 7 seconds behind. In 7th were Donald Fowler and David Muir in a smart Corsa kit car, 3 seconds ahead of Geoff Bennett and Tim Chapman in an Evo 5. 9th was double spinning Lambert just ahead of the Fosseys rounding out the top 10.
Class leaders were in A, Julian Wilkes in a Nova, B was the rapid Chris Dillow in another Nova, and C was Guy Wigley in his ex works RS2000 kit car.
2 more stages in monsoon conditions could not separate the 2 Metros who were tied after SS8. Mauger was alone in 3rd after the Lanes retired on SS8 but really flying taking fastest time for the stage, with Davies now 4th, Bennett making good use of 4-wheel drive in 5th, and Hoseason 6th. The Fosseys were obviously enjoying themselves and had moved up to 7th, with Paul Hodges and Justin Brooks getting used to their new 6R4 in 8th.
The next 2 stages saw changes nearly as dramatic as the weather that had gone from monsoon to bright summer sunshine with almost no clouds!
Gearbox problems slowed both Metros - Janetta dropping down to 3rd and losing almost a minute to Morris on SS9, necessitating a quick gearbox change prior to SS10. Meanwhile, Mauger was still charging and he moved up to second place, the meat in a Metro sandwich. The drama continued as the Morris' leading Metro started to stutter with transmission woes getting caught by Janetta (who had started 30 seconds behind him) close to the end of SS10. With 1 stage to go, a grandstand finish in was in prospect.
Morris' gearbox continued to play up, and a blistering final stage saw Mauger take an excellent victory and drive of the day. Morris just held off Janetta who came in 3rd. 4th place and 1st in Class D went to Davis in the Darrian, 5th and 1st in Class E went to Geoff Bennett in the Evo 5, and 6th was a distant Dave Jacobs in an Escort Cosworth.
Class A honours went to Julian Wilkes in his Nova, and another Nova, that of Chris Dillow took class B. Paul's King and Hollingham had a good afternoon, winning class C and finishing ninth overall.
Top Ten:
1st Simon Mauger/Keith Hounslow - Escort Cosworth
2nd Tom Morris/Neil Chambers - Metro 6R4
3rd Tony Janetta/Lee Carter - Metro 6R4
4th Chris Davis/Brandon Parker - Darrian T90
5th Geoff Bennett/Tim Chapman - Mitsubishi Evo 5
6th Dave Jacobs/Andy Willis - Escort Cosworth
7th Stuart Fossey/Teresa Fossey - Escort BDG
8th James Hoseason/Oliver Pearson - Darrian T90 GT"R"
9th Paul king/Paul Hollingham - Escort RS
10th Paul Hodges/Justin Brooks - Metro 6R4.
Photographs
Try Mark Simms 01926 430299 or www.rallygallery.com for for some excellent pictures of the event
