Kershaw wins BCCC battle in the Borders

Richard Kershaw took a convincing win at round three of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship which was held at Forrest Lodge in South West Scotland.

Kershaw was quickest on the opening run, setting a time 36 seconds quicker than second placed Ian Rochelle. Early casualties included Dean Sutcliffe who rolled his Bowler and Phil Ibbotson who had power steering failure on his Metro 6R4.

Any hopes of a challenge for the lead by Rochelle were dashed when his Millington Phoenix suffered an oil fire which forced him out of the event towards the end of day one. The tough 8 mile course was proving to be a stern test of both car and crew with crews such as Ryan Cooke and Dan Evans joining Rochelle on the retirements list with car problems.

Managing to remain largely troublefree in day one Justin Birchall powered his Peugeot 206 Evo into second place on the overnight leaderboard ahead of Paul Myers in his Britpart Land Rover 100.

Myers lost his podium position on the first run of day two as the belt came off his car’s water pump resulting in a stage maximum which dropped him to sixth at the end of the event. Birchall also had a stage maximum with electrical issues on his Peugeot but he was able to retain second place. Behind Birchall in third place was Warrington’s Mike Moran, taking his best ever BCCC result in his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger.

“I’ve had a really great weekend,” said Moran. “It was a very fast and demanding course but other than a few punctures, which were my own fault for cutting corners, the car has been troublefree and it’s been an enjoyable event. ”

Kershaw remained at the top of the leaderboard throughout day two to make in a hat-trick of wins in the 2012 BCCC.

“It’s been a good weekend, I’m very happy with the result,” said Kershaw. “The course was very challenging, if you try and go flat out at this venue it bites back so a delicate touch is required to keep the car out of trouble. Our only problem was a couple of punctures.”

Rounding off the top five were Andy Powell in his Simmbugghini and Tom Hipkiss in his GSR 206.

After three rounds Kershaw leads the championship on 258 points ahead of Moran on 214 and Hipkiss on 200.

In the Trophy category Paul Harris followed up his round two win with another victory ahead of round one winner Alan Thomas but it is Thomas who leads the Trophy championship at the season mid-point.

Nick Lines won the Freelander Challenge class with Selwyn Kendrick in second.

Four crews entered the Clubman event but only one made it to the finish, 2010 BCCC champion Tim Dilworth winning in a time that would have seen him win the BCCC event had he entered the championship this year.

The BCCC will resume with round four at Radnor at the end of July. Please visit www.marches4x4.com for all the latest championship news.

BCCC Results:

1. Richard Kershaw/Andy Lees (Milner R5) 1:50:25
2. Justin Birchall/Louise Birchall (Peugeot 206 Evo) +16m 49s;
3. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger) +18m 13s;
4. Andy Powell/Richard Heath (Simmbugghini) +21m 46s;
5. Tom Hipkiss/Rich Hipkiss (GSR 206) +23m 04s;
6. Paul Myers/Alastair Moore-Myers (Land Rover 100) +26m 48s;
7. Richard Wynne-Williams/Ian Jones (AT 4x4 206) +30m 12s;
8. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Bowler Tomcat) +36m 42s;
9. Dean Sutcliffe/Rob Taylor (Bowler Vengimororda) +54m 28s.

BCCC Trophy winner: Paul Harris/Terence Phelps (GSR Maxilight)

Freelander Challenge winner: Nick Lines/Craig Hutchby (Freelander)

Clubman winner: Tim Dilworth/Anthony Brinkman (Peugeot 206 GTi)

Images from Forrest Lodge

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BCCC title battle to resume in Scotland

The Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship crews will head to South West Scotland next weekend for round three of the championship. The event will be held at Forrest Lodge near St.Johns Town of Dalry, a venue that has been part of the championship since 2009.

For 2012 the organisers have arranged a completely new course from that used in the last three years, with the tracks to the south side of the estate being used for the first time in the BCCC. Although the course is different the same hard-standing service area as last year will be used.

After two rounds of the championship Richard Kershaw leads the title race after winning both events so far in his Milner R5. Ian Rochelle, currently in second place, will be looking for a troublefree weekend after car problems have cost him the chance of challenging for a win on rounds one and two.

In third place going in to round three is Ryan Cooke. After another good performance at Epynt Cooke has had some work done on the engine of his Land Rover Defender and is hoping for another top result in Scotland.

With usual navigator Will Jefferson not available Metro 6R4 Evo driver Phil Ibbotson will have Steven Matthews in the passenger seat for Forrest Lodge while Martin Cox is hoping to be out in his ex-Kershaw GSR 206 after having to use his old Tornado Evo 1 for the opening two rounds. Dean Sutcliffe has fixed the power steering in his Bowler after driving four runs without it at Epynt. With his service truck problems at round one and two he has also bought a new van which will hopefully make the long journey from Norfolk without any problems!

In the Trophy category Alan Thomas will be looking to repeat his round one win in his ex-Ibbotson Warrior Gemini but he will face a strong challenge from round two winner Paul Harris.

After rolling his Freelander off the road at Epynt Harry Sherrard will not be taking part in the Freelander Challenge at Forrest Lodge but it is expected that Chris Ratter, who contested the Jim Clark rally last weekend, and Nick Lines will be competing as well as Alastair Moore-Myers.

At the time of writing there was a single Clubman entry with Robin Izzard competing in his Land Rover 90.

Spectators can attend the event but please note there is very limited parking at the picnic area at the venue. Please do not park on the verges or the access roads to the forest. Remember to bring some insect repellent also! For more information on the BCCC please visit www.marches4x4.com.

Round 2 television programme