Round 2 venue change

In a letter dated 25th April the MoD informed the BCCC organisers that the Nesscliff B venue was no longer available for competition use even though the venue has been booked for several months.

Despite this extremely short notice the organisers have arranged a new venue for round 2, it will now take place at Epynt in mid-Wales.

Crews have been emailed and the regs are on the Marches 4x4 site. Just to reiterate, this move is entirely down to the MoD and without the hard work of the organisers over the last few days there would not be an event in two weeks time.

Round 1 television programme

Images from Pikes Peak

Please click here to see the images.

Kershaw kicks off BCCC season with Pikes Peak win

Richard Kershaw took what in the end proved to be a comfortable win ahead of 2011 champion Ian Rochelle in the opening round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship.

The event was held on a testing course in Myherin forest which featured a mix of gravel forest roads and technical off-road sections. With temperatures just above freezing and snow in the air it was Kershaw who was in the lead after the opening run in his Milner R5 and Rochelle was just two seconds behind. Kershaw continued to build his lead throughout the opening day, his charge for the win only diminished by a broken front shaft on run 4 which lost him some time.

Rochelle hopes for a win were wrecked when his car suffered mechanical problems on the final run of day one which meant Kershaw took a good lead into the second day.

Rochelle’s trouble’s continued on day two with the car running on three cylinders on some runs and several punctures. Justin Birchall moved up to second but he too suffered problems, taking a maximum as his car had to be recovered.

At the front of the leaderboard Kershaw had a troublefree drive on day two’s six runs and took the win by over five minutes from Rochelle.

"It’s been a good weekend and a good course," commented Kershaw. "Other than the shaft problem we had a clear run, we kept it tidy and didn’t pick up any punctures."

Ryan Cooke continued his 2011 form to claim third place in his Land Rover. Steve Smith was fourth with Martin Cox in fifth in his Tornado Evo 1.

In the Trophy championship Alan Thomas took the win with Ben Gott victorious in the Clubman class. Alistair Myers won the Freelander Challenger category.

BCCC Results:

1 Richard Kershaw/Jonny Koonja (Milner R5) 2h 00m 47s
2 Ian Rochelle/Chris Hammond (Millington Phoenix) +5m 35s;
3 Ryan Cooke/Chris Cooke (Land Rover Defender) +12m 30s;
4 Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Focus) +15m 52s:
5 Martin Cox/Paul Carson (Tornado Evo 1) +17m 49s;
6 Justin Birchall/Tom Neathway (Peugeot M206 Evo) +18m 09s;
7 Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Indy Challenger) +18m 10s;
8 Andy Powell/Richard Heath (Simmbugghini) +19m 16s;
9 Greg Morris/Emma Garrett (Bowler Wildcat) +19m 46s;
10 Phil Ibbotson/Will Jefferson (Metro 6R4 Evo) +21m 46s

Trophy winner: Alan Thomas (Warrior Gemini)
Clubman winner: Ben Gott (TMC Minx)
Freelander Challenge winner: Alistair Myers (Land Rover Freelander)

Britpart BCCC all set for season opener

The Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship season kicks off next weekend (14/15 April) with the opening round of the 2012 championship taking place in Myherin forest in Mid-Wales.

The championship has attracted a good quality entry which should provide another season of close competition. Last year’s champion Ian Rochelle will be defending the title in his Millington Phoenix and behind him are several quick crews who will all be in with a shout of challenging to be at the top of the leaderboard including Richard Kershaw, who finished third last year, and Ryan Cooke who won the final 2011 round on his way to fourth in the championship.

Martin Cox is another driver who is expected to be on the pace after switching to a GSR 206 mid-way through last year. Dan Evans, who contested one BCCC event last year as a Clubman entry and finished with a time which would’ve given him a win had he been entered in the championship, will contest a full season in his Milner R5.

Several BCCC regulars will once again be competing in 2012 including Warrington’s Mike Moran in his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger, Steve Smith in his BMW M3-powered Focus and Phil Ibbotson in his Metro 6R4 Evo. Paul Myers, Managing Director of championship sponsor Britpart, will also contest the full championship this year.

Joining the regulars in the championship will be a few new names including Andi Skelley, who will use his 3M Land Rover and Lee Salt who will be in the Salt Buggy he contested two Clubman events in last year.

The BCCC Trophy championship, for National B/Clubman drivers, has attracted some new crews also including Paul Harris in a GSR Maxilight and Jon Damrel who will use a Land Rover Discovery.

Running alongside the BCCC and BCCC Trophy will be the Freelander Challenge which is for near-standard production Land Rover Freelanders. The Race2Recovery team will use the Freelander Challenge to continue their training for the 2013 Dakar rally.

The action will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day 2 will start at 9am with an early afternoon finish. Spectators are welcome at the event, please visit www.marches4x4.com for more information including maps of the two parking areas.

Spectator information for Pikes Peak

Round 1 of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship takes place at Pikes Peak in Myherin Forest on 14/15 April.

The venue is situated off the A44 approximately 8 miles west of Llangurig.

Action on the opening day will kick off at around 10am with an earlier start of around 9am for day two.

Spectators are welcome at the venue and hot food and drinks will be available from the marquee in the service area. There are two options for parking:

1) At service/event HQ - please click here for a map. It is possible to walk to the start or finish from service.

2) At Myherin arch - please click here for a map. There is an approximately two mile walk to the course. Please do not block the access road as it is needed for emergency vehicles.

Unseeded entry list announced

With one week to go until the opening round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship the organisers have released the unseeded entry list.

The main championship has received 17 entries with Andi Skelley, Lee Salt, Dean Sutcliffe and Dan Evans joining 13 other crews who competed last year. 2011 champion Ian Rochelle will defend his title and he can expect tough competition from the likes of Richard Kershaw and Ryan Cooke.

The BCCC Trophy has attracted five crews, all of them contesting the full championship for the first time.

In the Freelander Challenger entries have been received from Harry Sherrard, Nick Lines and Paul Cumpstone.

In addition three crews have entered the Clubman event for round 1.

A seeded entry list will be published next week.