Images from BCCC Walters



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Lofthouse ends perfect season with another win

2013 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship champion Dan Lofthouse rounded off a perfect season with another win in the final round at Walters Arena.

On a very muddy and slippery opening run the top three BCCC crews were separated by just three seconds with Toby Jefferson leading ahead of Lofthouse and Martin Cox . Cox’s hopes of finishing runner-up in the championship were ended on run two though when the engine failed in his GSR 206.

Torrential rain made parts of the course treacherous but the crews battled on with Jefferson, Tom Hipkiss and Lofthouse sharing fastest times on Saturday’s five runs. Lofthouse ended day one just over two minutes ahead of Hipkiss with Karl Gudgeon in third.

With both Hipkiss and Gudgeon suffering steering problems on day two Lofthouse was able to extend his lead over the day’s six runs and he finished with a lead of seven minutes.

“It was a tough event, very hard on both the car and the crew,” said Lofthouse. “We started on worn tyres but after a big moment at the jump on an early run we put new ones on which greatly improved the grip.”

“We had no issues with the car and no punctures, it’s a great end to what has been a perfect season.”

Paul Garner put in some great times on Sunday to pip Hipkiss for second on the final run. Garner’s co-driver Giles Tinkler said: “We’re happy with the result, we battled on through the conditions and got to the finish with no problems.”

Despite dropping to third Hipkiss was delighted with his performance: “It’s my best-ever BCCC result, second would’ve been even better but third is excellent. I enjoyed the course, it was very demanding and we had a few issues with the steering over the weekend. We managed to fabricate a temporary fix which allowed us to get to the finish.”

Another driver celebrating his best-ever BCCC result was Phil Ibbotson who brought his Metro 6R4 home in fourth.

“It’s my 30^th year of racing and this is my highest BCCC finish,” said Ibbotson. “I don’t usually like the Walters course but this one was enjoyable in a sadistic kind of way! The car ran like a dream”.

Rounding off the top five was Mike Moran who was another driver having problems with his steering. Toby Jefferson ended up sixth after his good start, his car requiring to be nursed to the finish after suffering a damaged frame.  Andy Powell was seventh, a good achievement in a car whose windscreen wipers stopped working. Powell had to operate the wipers manually with a piece of string which slowed him considerably in the awful conditions.  Paul Myers and Steve Smith were the remaining finishers, both experiencing problems on day two.

Non-finishers included Ian Bartlett who rolled his car on the final run of day one and Andi Skelley who had electrical problems on his new Milner part way through day two.

In the Trophy championship Paul Harris took the win in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight ahead of Alan Thomas which meant he retained the BCCC Trophy title.

“I’m over the moon to win the title again, I didn’t think it’d be possible to win it twice. It’s been a difficult weekend, the conditions caused the car windows to steam up a lot which made visibility poor but we got to the finish.”

Matthew Morgan won the Freelander Challenge category with Nick Lines in second. In the Clubman class Jon Damrel was victorious in his Land Rover Tornado. Chris Bird led the Clubman event after the first run with a time that was quicker than the BCCC crews but his event ended with a broken diff on run two.

The 2014 championship will start in April with details expected to be announced at the Autosport show in January.

BCCC results
1.       Dan Lofthouse/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 2h 24m 11s
2.       Paul Garner/Giles Tinkler (GSR V10) 2h 31m 15s
3.       Tom Hipkiss/Rich Hipkiss (Milner R5) 2h 35m 36s
4.       Phil Ibbotson/Will Jefferson (Metro 6R4) 2h 39m 25s
5.       Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger) 2h 40m 12s
6.       Toby Jefferson/Geoff Barlow (GSR 206) 2h 41m 49s
7.       Andy Powell/Andrew Graham (Simmbugghini) 2h 49m 19s
8.       Paul Myers/Alistair Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 3h 01m 17s
9.       Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio) 3h 16m 22s

Walters set for BCCC runner-up battle

The final round of this year’s Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship takes place at Walters Arena in South Wales next weekend with several crews in with a chance of taking the runner’s up position behind title victor Dan Lofthouse.

Lofthouse has won all four rounds so far this year to take an unbeatable lead in the championship. Currently lying in second place is Toby Jefferson on 285 points despite a broken throttle cable on the last round dropping him down the leaderboard.

“The throttle cable problem was unfortunate but we were still able to finish”, said Jefferson. “The car has a little bit of body damage from the last round but it won’t affect the performance at Walters.”

“It’s all to play for going into the last round, we’re aiming to maintain second place but with our consistently good results we’re potentially going to have to drop more points than others when our best four scores are counted so we need to finish as high as we can and hope we’re far enough ahead of the other drivers. It’s going to be a great end to what has been an excellent season, good luck to all the crews and thanks to all the marshals and organisers.”

Just 9 points behind Jefferson is Britpart’s Paul Myers who has had a good season in his Land Rover Tornado. A further 12 points behind lies Mike Moran in his Jaguar-powered AT 4x4 Indy Challenger. Moran has had a consistent season and a repeat of the podium finish he achieved in 2012 is a definite possibility. The current fifth and sixth place drivers Andy Powell and Ian Bartlett are separated by just one point on 252 and 251 respectively.

Martin Cox presently lies in eighth place in his GSR 206 but after not finishing the Forrest Lodge round he can keep all the points he scores at Walters and could pass everyone to finish second.

Hoping for a better event than the last round is Andi Skelley. His newly-purchased Milner suffered problems with the clutch on the first run at Myherin forcing Skelley and navigator Laura Shepherd to retire.

“Myherin was hugely disappointing. After two years of running the old faithful Land Rover we decided to go for an upgrade but it let us down,” said Skelley. “The bellhousing is now being reworked so hopefully we will be on form for Walters. It’s one of my favourite tracks and we’re looking for a good run to prepare for next season. I’d like to say a big thank you to all concerned in running and helping the championship who make it possible for us to have our fun.”

In the Trophy championship Paul Harris leads the field on 322 points in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight despite transfer problems on the last event. Mark Jacques is second on 295.

“The transfer box has been completely rebuilt since the last round, we’ve still to fit it in the car but it should be ready for Walters,” commented Harris. “Our target for the weekend is to get a good finish which will mean we retain the Trophy championship that we won last year.

“We’re then hoping to move up to the main championship next year if we can secure the funding. Thanks to all involved for the hard work in running the championship.”

The Freelander Challenge has a two-way battle for the title with Matthew Morgan just 12 points ahead of Chris Ratter going into the final round.

The action starts at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two will start at 9am with the final run expected early in the afternoon. Spectator parking will be available near the service area and the venue will be arrowed from the A4109. Please visit www.marches4x4.com for more information.

Photographs from Myherin

 

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Lofthouse seals the title with Myherin win

Dan Lofthouse won his fourth Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship  of the year and in doing so claimed his first BCCC title.

Lofthouse was quickest on the first run of the weekend ahead of Tom Hipkiss with Ryan Cooke in third. The opening run caused problems for some crews with Andi Skelley retiring his new Milner R4 with clutch problems and Tim Dilworth suffering a broken propshaft on his Peugeot.

The drama continued on run two with Cooke rolling his Milner LRM-1 out of the event at high speed. At the top of the leaderboard Lofthouse extended his lead throughout day one and with Hipkiss retiring on the fifth run it was Mike Moran who was in second place overnight with Paul Garner in his GSR V10 in third.

After a sunny day one conditions changed for the worse for day two with torrential rain making the course treacherous. A few crews fell foul of the conditions including Martin Cox who put his GSR Evo 9 well off the road. After help from the event recovery crews Cox was able to continue to finish 10^th.

Despite a vibration from the car Lofthouse had a troublefree run through day two’s four runs to take a clear victory. Moran retired with clutch problems which moved Garner up to second on the final leaderboard. Karl Gudgeon took his GSR Evo X to third.

Lofthouse commented: “It’s been a great event and a phenomenal course. We backed off on day two as there was a vibration which we think was coming from the propshaft. With the championship at stake and a good overnight lead there was no point in taking a risk and going flat out.

"I’m over the moon to win the championship, it’s been a long time coming with three runners up spots and a third in recent year. Thanks to Roland at ACR for the engine, Lofthouse Motor Services, Jonny and everyone else who has helped and supported us.”

Paul Myers finished fourth in the Britpart Land Rover Tornado and Steve Smith completed the top five in his Clio.

Alan Thomas won the Trophy class in his Warrior ahead of Mark Jacques. Championship leader Paul Harris had an event to forget with gearbox problems on the recce lap and then electrical problems on the event itself. Harris eventually retired on day two. Richard Keasey also retired after the rear of his car caught fire.

Matt Morgan won the Freelander Challenge from Chris Ratter. The Race2Recovery Freelander made a return to the championship in the hands of Tony Harris who was classified third despite a day two excursion into the trees.

Richard Green won the Clubman event in his new Tomcat with Ben Gott in second.

BCCC results

1. Dan Lofthouse/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 2h 04m 12s
2. Paul Garner/Giles Tinkler (GSR V10) 2h 14m 54s
3. Karl Gudgeon/Richard Canterbury (GSR Evo X) 2h 15m 51s
4. Paul Myers/Alistair Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 2h 18m 42s
5. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio) 2h 19m 11s
6. Ian Bartlett/Aaron Burch (Bartletts 3M 206) 2h 22m 31s
7. Keith Wylde/Mathew Long (Milner R4) 2h 25m 29s
8. Phil Ibbotson/Will Jefferson (MG Metro 6R4 Evo) 2h 26m 04s
9. Toby Jefferson/Peter Widdop (GSR 206) 2h 27m 18s
10. Martin Cox/Paul Carson (GSR 206 Evo 9) 2h 32m 22s

Lofthouse aims to take BCCC title at Myherin

Bamber Bridge’s Dan Lofthouse will start the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship event at Myherin next weekend knowing that another win will guarantee him the championship crown.

Lofthouse has won all three events this year and has 258 points, 38 points ahead of Toby Jefferson with Paul Myers in third on 207.

“The car has been serviced but we’ve made no changes to the spec ahead of Myherin,” said Lofthouse. “We’ve been flat out in the workshop completing a second Lofthouse Freelander for a customer so there has been no time to work on our own car. It’d be good to wrap up the title at the weekend to take the pressure off us for the final round.”

Currently in 7^th place is Andi Skelley who has purchased a Milner R4 since the last round and he will give the car its BCCC debut at the weekend.

Skelley commented: "It will take some getting used to, it's totally different from my previous car with a sequential box and independent suspension, I'm looking forward to trying it out at Myherin."

Ryan Cooke has made modifications to his Milner LRM-1 in a bid to resolve the problems he experienced at the last round in Radnor.

“We have had a full rethink on the fuel and exhaust system to try to keep heat temperature down and increase fuel supply to the engine. Hopefully that will stop the engine cutting out like it was doing at Radnor” said Cooke.

In the Trophy championship Paul Harris is in a good position to retain his title as he is 38 points in front of second-placed Mark Jacques. Alan Thomas is in third place.

The Freelander Challenge battle is closer with just 6 points separating leader Matthew Morgan and Chris Ratter.

The event will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two will start at 9am with action until the early afternoon. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.

New venue for round 5

The next round will take place in Myherin forest due to issues with the original venue in Ceri. Myherin is the same forest as the Pikes Peak event last year although access will be via "The Arch" which is at the southern end of the forest rather than the usual entrance off the A44.

Photographs from Radnor 2

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Lofthouse makes it three out of three in BCCC

 

Dan Lofthouse stormed to his third win of the year in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship at Radnor forest last weekend.

Tim Dilworth was quickest on the first run, 22 seconds ahead of Lofthouse who was suffering from brake problems. Lofthouse clawed back 9 seconds over the next two runs but the chance of an event-long battle ended when Dilworth was forced out of the event with engine problems on run 4.

At the overnight halt Lofthouse led by over three minutes from Toby Jefferson with Martin Cox in third.

The dry and dusty day one course became very slippery and wet for day two after heavy overnight rain but Lofthouse continued to extend his lead and by the finish he was 7 minutes up on the second place Cox.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the event,” said Lofthouse. “Other than losing the brakes on the first run we had no problems at all and the course was brilliant. That’s three out of three now, one more good result will give us the championship.”

Cox moved up from his overnight third place to match his best ever BCCC result with second place.

“After the problems we had on the last round I’m very happy to get a good result. The car has had a lot of work done by Guy Smith and it ran like clockwork. I enjoyed the course, it had a bit of everything with fast sections and nice technical sections. Thanks to all the marshals and organisers for an excellent weekend.”

With his James Law Chemicals-supported 206 having mechanical issues on day two Jefferson backed off to nurse it to the finish and he was rewarded with third place.

“It was disappointing to lose second but I didn’t want to push the car and risk getting no points,” said Jefferson. “Thanks to the four navigators I had over the two days and thanks to the event officials , it was a great course.”

Tom Hipkiss took fourth place in his ex-Alan Wilkinson Milner R5 with Paul Myers rounding off the top five in his Land Rover Tornado.

Mike Moran and Tony Coid finished sixth in their AT 4x4 Indy Challenger. In seventh place was birthday boy  Andy Powell who was another driver with multiple navigators, Karolina Kunigiskyte and Adrian Griffiths in the passenger seat of the Simmbugghini.

Ian Bartlett was eighth and Phil Ibbotson in ninth. In tenth place was Keith Wylde who was starting his first BCCC event of the year in his MSL-prepared Milner. Wylde had rally co-driver Sally Ceen, who usually sits in a Focus WRC, navigating and she enjoyed her BCCC experience: “It’s been a fun weekend, it’s different to rallying but in a good way! “

In the Trophy event Paul Harris won for the second time this season in his Bristol Street Motors-backed GSR Maxilight ahead of Adam Bridgeman.

Harris commented: “We had cooling issues on day one so we had to take the rear bodywork off the car. Then the starter motor packed up. Fortunately day two was troublefree and we managed to get a valuable win. The course was the best of the season so far.”

Nick Lines won the Freelander Challenge ahead of Matthew Morgan and Chris Ratter.

An eventful Clubman event saw Chris Bird leading on day one with times that would’ve had him in second place in the BCCC but he did not contest day two. Jon Damrel gave his new car it’s BCCC debut but fuel pump problems curtailed his event early on. Radu Ciortan rolled his Pajero on day one while Dave Harlow entered for one day in his ex-Ryan Cooke Land Rover. It was Richard Green who eventually took the win on the first event for his new car, overcoming a bent steering rod and clutch problems on day one.

The next round of the championship will take place on 14/15 September.

BCCC results:

1.       Dan Lofthouse/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 1h 24m 09s

2.       Martin Cox/Paul Carson (GSR 206 Evo 9) 1h 31m 14s

3.       Toby Jefferson/Serena Hollamby (GSR 206) 1h 32m 30s

4.       Tom Hipkiss/Rich Hipkiss (Milner R5) 1h 33m 19s

5.       Paul Myers/Alistair Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 1h 35m 42s

6.       Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Indy Challenger) 1h 36m 13s

7.       Andy Powell/Adrian Griffiths (Simmbugghini) 1h 36m 28s

8.       Ian Bartlett/Aaron Burch (Bartletts 3M 206) 1h 37m 39s

9.       Phil Ibbotson/Will Jefferson (MG Metro 6R4) 1h 40m 45s

10.   Keith Wylde/Sally Ceen (Milner R4) 1h 46m 38s

BCCC crews set to tackle new Radnor course

 

The third round of the Britpart MSA BCCC takes place next weekend on a course in Radnor forest that has never been used for a BCCC event before. The route takes in both gravel forest tracks and technical offroad sections and it includes some roads that were used on the Baja GB and Y Rali Bryn Cymru events several years ago.

 

After winning the opening two rounds Dan Lofthouse leads the championship on 172 points in his Lofthouse Freelander ahead of Toby Jefferson on 145 with Paul Myers third on 138.

 

"We've made an excellent start to the year and reliability is the key now," said Lofthouse. "The car has had a full service since the last round so we're all set for Radnor. We need to keep the good points scores going to stay on track for the championship."

 

Jefferson has been busy working on his GSR since the last round. He commented: "Our car has had a fair bit of work since Forrest Estate, we've had to fit some new parts to the shock absorbers as well as new CV boot protectors. We'll be trying a new brand of tyre for Radnor too. The car has been in action between rounds, it was used to take my daughter (and navigator) Megan to her school prom!"

 

Currently lying in 7th place in the championship standings in Andi Skelley whose Land Rover 3M 88 has had extensive modifications in preparation for the weekend.

 

Skelley commented: "Finally the car is back on it's wheels, it's had a new front axle and steering box. The two front shock absorbers have been reshafted and various bushes have been renewed. We've also got a new diff guard and lots of new rivets in various panel as well as a repaired radiator. I think we are ready for Radnor!"

 

In the Trophy championship Paul Harris leads in his GSR Maxilight on 167 points just ahead of Alan Thomas on 155. Chris Ratter and Matt Morgan jointly lead the Freelander Challenge.

 

Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com, the action starts at 10am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday.

Photographs from Forrest Estate

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Lofthouse battles fuel issue to take victory at Forrest Estate

Dan Lofthouse made it two wins out of two in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship when he won the event at Forrest Estate in South West Scotland.

The organisers had laid on a very challenging course of nearly nine miles in length and the unusually hot and dry conditions tested crews even before the event started with some of them regretting the decision to walk the course!

The first run of the day saw Lofthouse take a commanding lead of 55 seconds in his Lofthouse Freelander with Mike Hannak’s Milner R5 in second and Tom Hipkiss third. Hannak continued to be Lofthouse’s nearest challenger until his car lost drive on the fourth run. Other crews joining Hannak on the retirements list included Karl Gudgeon who had the oil cooler pipe come off, Phil Ibbotson who bent a trackrod end on his 6R4 Evo and Ryan Cooke who had a puncture which resulted in a flailing tyre, a broken hub and suspension and damaged bodywork on his Milner LRM-1.

Lofthouse set the fastest time on all six of day one’s runs to go into the overnight halt with a good lead over Britpart’s Paul Myers in second and Paul Garner who moved up the leaderboard into third.

Lofthouse’s hopes for a troublefree run to victory on day two were thwarted when the car developed a fuelling issue on the third run. Frantic efforts were made in the service area to identify and then fix the problem. With his final run time deadline approaching Lofthouse had to do back to back laps and he started his last run with just four minutes to spare but he completed the course successfully.

“The lads in service did a brilliant job to get the problem sorted,” said Lofthouse. “A few more minutes and we’d have had to take a maximum for the last run which would’ve cost us the win. It was a very challenging course, a real test of car and crew and I’m very happy with the victory.”

Garner moved up to second in his GSR V10 with Myers rounding off the top three. Mike Moran took his Jaguar-powered AT 4x4 Challenger to fourth with father and daughter team Toby and Megan Jefferson in fifth.

“We had a good event in the end,” said Jefferson. “The weekend started badly with a puncture on the trailer when we were driving to the venue and then I wasn’t feeling too great when we walked the course. Megan did a brilliant job in the navigator’s seat and I’m happy with fifth although I struggled to get on with the course, it was very tough.”

Andy Powell was sixth in his Simmbugghini with Ian Bartlett in seventh. Steve Smith overcame a seized diff on his Clio early on Saturday to finish eighth and Tom Hipkiss battled back from a shedded tyre and crank sensor problem to take ninth. Andi Skelley completed the top ten in his Land Rover 3M 88.

In the Trophy class Richard Keasey and Paul Harris continued where they left off at Radnor, both drivers setting fastest times on day one. However, Keasey suffered a crank pulley problem which put him out of the event leaving Harris to claim the victory.

“It’s great to get the win and, with the second we got at Radnor, we’re in a good position in the Trophy championship,” said Harris. “It’s been a tough event, the course was physically very difficult to drive. Other than a couple of punctures we had no issues with the car and, once Richard had retired, it was a case of surviving and getting to the finish.”

Alan Thomas finished second in the Trophy with Mark Jaques completing the top three.

Andrew West won the Clubman event in a time which would’ve placed him sixth in the BCCC. Matthew Morgan won the Freelander Challenge ahead of Ian Letman.

BCCC Results:

1. Dan Lofthouse/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 2:33:39
2. Paul Garner/Giles Tinkler (GSR V10) +9m 41s;
3. Paul Myers/Simon Kerfoot (Land Rover Tornado) +10m 58s;
4. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger) +13m 32s;
5. Toby Jefferson/Megan Jefferson (GSR 206) +16m 45s;
6. Andy Powell/Richard Heath (Simmbugghini) +27m 23s;
7. Ian Bartlett/Aaron Burch (Bartletts 3M 206) +43m 07s
8. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio) +50m 18s;
9. Tom Hipkiss/Rich Hipkiss (Milner R5) +51m 08s;
10. Andi Skelley/Laura Shepherd (Land Rover 3M 88) +57m 38s.

BCCC Trophy winner: Paul Harris (GSR Maxilight)
Freelander Challenger winner: Matthew Morgan (Freelander)
Clubman winner: Andrew West (Milner R5)

Forrest Lodge next up for BCCC crews



 

Round 2 of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship takes place next weekend at the Forrest Lodge venue near St.John’s Town of Dalry in South West Scotland.

After switching to the southern part of Forrest Lodge last year this year’s course will return to the northern end of the site and will use a similar route to the one used in 2009. The course will have a mix of Cat 1 gravel roads and offroad sections together with a quarry near the end.

Leading the championship after the first round is Dan Lofthouse on 86 points. After early competition from Tim Dilworth ended with engine problems on Dilworth’s car Lofthouse took a convincing win at Radnor. Martin Cox finished second and has 81 points with Toby Jefferson in third on 75. Jefferson’s daughter Megan will be in the navigator’s seat for Forrest Lodge, it will be her first BCCC event.

After problems with punctures at Radnor which cost him a lot of time Ian Bartlett has swapped tyre brands for Forrest Lodge and he’s hoping the stronger sidewalls of his new tyres will reduce the risk of punctures.

In the Trophy class Richard Keasey leads the championship after winning a close battle with Paul Harris at round 1. Defending champion Harris is keen to overturn that result next weekend in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight.

Fresh from representing Race2Recovery at the Jim Clark rally last weekend Chris Ratter will be trying to repeat his round 1 win in the Freelander Challenge. He has also been hard at work repairing the Freelander of Ian Letman which rolled at Radnor.

The action on Saturday will kick off at 10am and, other than any stoppages to recover broken cars, there will be racing until around 5pm. Sunday’s competition will start at 9am with the event finishing early in the afternoon. Limited spectator parking is available in the picnic area at the entrance to the venue, please do not park on the verges on the access roads. The venue will be arrowed from the A713.

Photographs from Radnor





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Lofthouse races to Radnor success

Dan Lofthouse got his Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship season off to the best possible start with a win at the opening round in Radnor forest. Martin Cox took second place with Toby Jefferson taking third.

Conditions on the opening runs of day one were very testing with rain and mist adding to the challenge of the course. Lofthouse took an early lead in his Lofthouse Freelander ahead of Tim Dilworth with Ryan Cooke, who was giving the Milner LRM-1 its BCCC debut, in third. Crews suffering problems early on included Mike Hannak who sheared the shafts on his ex-Bob Seaman Milner R5 and Steve Smith whose Clio lost drive.

The prospect of a battle between Lofthouse and Dilworth ended on run 5 when engine problems forced Dilworth’s Peugeot out of the event. By the end of the first day Lofthouse had built up a lead of almost two minutes over Cooke with Martin Cox in third.

Cooke’s hopes for a good result ended on the first run of day two when the car’s bonnet flew up and then sheared off as it was powering up one of the narrow offroad sections. With the cooling system reliant on the bonnet being fixed in place Cooke decided to retire.

Lofthouse continued to dominate the event, setting the fastest time on each run to win by over three minutes from Cox.

“We had no problems at all,” said Lofthouse. “It’s been a good weekend and the car has been perfect. I enjoyed the tussle with Tim on the first day but once he had retired we backed off a bit to preserve the car. It’s a great start to the championship for us.”

Cox equalled his best-ever BCCC result in second place.

“I couldn’t keep up with the young guys but the retirements have given us a good result,” commented Cox. “The car was pretty faultless, the power steering had some issues which meant it wasn’t operating as well as it should but other than that we had a troublefree weekend. I enjoyed the course and it’s been a good event.”

Toby Jefferson, who had former BCCC driver Gordon Monaghan in the navigator’s seat of his James Law Chemicals-supported GSR, took his best ever BCCC result in third.

Jefferson said: “Gordon gave me some good advice and it helped me push the car more. I’m pleased with the result, it’s a good start to the season. I was a bit worried on day one as we got two punctures early on and only had four spares for the weekend. Fortunately the rest of the event was puncture-free.”

Karl Gudgeon had a successful return to the BCCC with fourth place in his GSR Evo X with Mike Moran using the power of his new Jaguar engine to take fifth.

In the BCCC Trophy championship debutant Richard Keasey won in his Warrior Indy SSG after an event-long battle with the Bristol Street Motors-backed GSR Maxilight of Paul Harris. Alan Thomas rounded off the top three in the Trophy.

“I am delighted with the result and I loved the event,” said Keasey. “The last two runs were a struggle as we only had two wheel drive which made the uphill offroad sections difficult but we got to the finish. I can’t wait for the next round!”

Chris Ratter won the Freelander Challenge after overnight leader Nick Lines was forced out of the event.

In the Clubmans event 2011 and 2012 BCCC Champion Ian Rochelle, who is not contesting the full championship this year, led early on in his Millington Phoenix but he lost drive which put the Milner R5 of Andrew West into the lead, a lead which he held for the rest of the event.

The championship moves to Scotland for the next round with a challenging course being planned at the Forrest Estate venue near Dalry.

BCCC Results:

1. Dan Lofthouse/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 1:21:41

2. Martin Cox/Paul Carson (GSR 206) +3m 23s;
3. Toby Jefferson/Gordon Monaghan (GSR 206) +6m 51s;
4. Karl Gudgeon/Richard Canterbury (GSR Evo X)  +10m 57s;
5. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger) +11m 25s;
6. Phil Ibbotson/Will Jefferson (Metro 6R4 Evo) +15m 47s;
7. Andy Powell/Richard Heath (Simmbugghini) +16m 41s;
8. Paul Myers/ (Land Rover Special) +21m 14s;
9. Andi Skelley/Laura Shepherd (Land Rover 3M 88) +23m 38s;
10. Ian Bartlett/Aaron Burch (Bartletts 3M 206) +25m 35s.

BCCC Trophy winner: Richard Keasey (Warrior Indy SSG)

Freelander Challenger winner: Chris Ratter (Freelander)

Clubman winner: Andrew West (Milner R5)

Top quality BCCC entry ready for Radnor opener

The Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship season will commence next weekend in Radnor forest and the series has attracted a high-quality entry list for the first of the five rounds.

Heading the cars away will be Warrington’s Mike Moran in his AT 4x4. Moran finished third in the championship last year and, with his car now powered by a V8 Jaguar engine, he is looking for another good result this season.

Martin Cox is seeded at car 2 in his ex-Richard Kershaw GSR 206 ahead of Richard Wynne-Williams in his AT 4x4 206. Paul Myers from championship sponsors Britpart returns in his Land Rover Special at car 4 with Andy Powell, who enjoyed a good debut BCCC season last year, starting at car 5 in his Simmbugghini.

Further down the entry list Ryan Cooke will give the Milner LRM-1 its BCCC debut at car 7. Cooke tested the car at an event at Manby last weekend and, although there were a few teething problems, the Evoque-shaped car showed impressive pace. Cooke is planning to do further work on the car ahead of Radnor.

Dan Lofthouse will return to the championship in 2013 in his Lofthouse Freelander which has had a lot of work done over the winter. Lofthouse was another driver who used the Manby event as a shakedown for Radnor and it proved to be a successful weekend as he took a dominant victory.

“The car has been rebuilt and we’ve made quite a few changes,” said Lofthouse. “Most of our efforts were concentrated on the engine and suspension. The Manby event went very well, the car feels really together now so hopefully we can get a good result at Radnor.”

2010 BCCC champion Tim Dilworth will do the full championship this year after contesting selected events as a Clubman entry last year. His Subaru-powered Peugeot 206 is one of the cars expected to be near the top of the leaderboard.

Another driver stepping up to the full championship is Mike Hannak. Hannak won the Clubman event at Radnor last year in a time that would have won him the event overall had he been entered in the championship so he should be one of the crews battling for the title this year in his Milner R5. Paul Bramley, making his debut in the BCCC, will navigate for Hannak.

Toby Jefferson is aiming for a good result in his GSR after a strong 4^th place at Manby last weekend while Keith Wylde will use his new Milner in the BCCC for the first time accompanied by stage rally co-driver Sarah Ceen who is more used to competing in a Focus WRC.

2011 and 2012 champion Ian Rochelle has opted not to do the championship this year so there will be a new name on the trophy in 2013 and, with some of the top cross country drivers and cars in the UK on the entry list, the battle for the BCCC crown is shaping up to be very competitive.

In the BCCC Trophy 2012 champion Paul Harris heads the field in his GSR Maxilight.

“I’m looking forward to the championship kicking off at Radnor,” said Harris. “I’m aiming to defend the title so hopefully the car will be as reliable as last season. The engine ECU has been chipped to give some extra performance but other than that the car is the same spec as last year.”

Harris will be followed by Alan Thomas in his Warrior with Mark Jacques in his Land Rover Special rounding off the top three Trophy crews.

At the time of writing entrants for the Freelander Challenge were still to be confirmed although it is expected that Nick Lines will return to defend the title he won last year and the Race2Recovery team were hoping to have their Freelander ready also.

The first car will start at 10am on Saturday with runs taking place until late afternoon. The cars will restart on Sunday at 9am with the event finishing early in the afternoon.

Spectators are welcome, please park at the side of the approach road to the service area but do not block the track as it used as an emergency access route. The venue will be arrowed from the A488 near Monaughty. A map showing the route in is available at www.marches4x4.com. There is no charge to spectate.

BCCC Trophy championship attracts sponsorship for new season

 

A Bristol Street Motor’s workshop technician has swapped his wrench for a racing helmet as he prepares to defend his Britpart MSA British Cross Country (BCCC) Trophy title.

Bristol Street Motors Ford Worcester is proud to announce that it will be sponsoring the technician and reigning champion, Paul Harris, for the 2013 championship. The dealership has sponsored Paul for the upcoming BCCC season, after he funded last season’s achievement himself.

In only his first competitive season, Paul exceeded expectations by taking the title in October 2012 after finishing the season with a total of 424 points, winning four out of the six rounds.

There will be a total of five race events this season, starting on May 11th at Radnor forest in Wales. The season finishes with the final race meet in October at Walters Arena near Glyn Neath. All rounds will be featured on Motors TV.

Tony Trueman, General Manager of Bristol Street Motors Ford Worcester, said: “All of us at the dealership are excited for Paul in the upcoming season, especially since he exceeded everyone’s expectations by winning the championship last season."

“Paul is an exemplary colleague, who always goes the extra mile for our customers, so it is great that we can help him out in this way. Bristol Street Motors is proud to support Paul for the upcoming season and grass root sports in general.”

Paul has had a passion for mechanics ever since he left school and in his spare time he has managed to build two off-road vehicles which are both used for racing, with his first being a Tomcat, which is raced in Holland and the second, a GSR Maxilight which is used for the championships and is featured on Paul’s own website.

Paul said: “I am very grateful to the dealership here at Worcester and Bristol Street Motors in general for supporting me with the kind sponsorship. I’ve always loved cars, ever since I was small, so motor mechanics is a life-long passion which was a fantastic career choice for me."

“As well as the sponsorship, I’ve had a great deal of support from my colleagues at Bristol Street Motors. It’s a great company to work for, and I think this sponsorship just shows how much everyone here values and supports their colleagues. The money will really help my cause and I’m hoping that I can successfully defend my title in what promises to be a very exciting season.”

The GSR Maxilight was bought by Paul as a bare frame two years ago and has been transformed into the championship winning off-road car of 2012.

Paul has his own seven tonne transporter which he uses to transport the car to and from events.

Mr Trueman added: “We are proud to sponsor Paul in something that is a great passion of his and something that he has worked so hard on after building his off-road car from scratch. Hopefully Paul will have another fantastic season and everyone here at the Worcester dealership is supporting him all the way.”

Below is the full racing schedule for the upcoming BCC Trophy season:
May 11/12 .Radnor
June 8/9 Forrest Lodge
July 27/28 Radnor
September 14/15 Ceri
October 19/20 Walters Arena

For more information about Paul you can visit his website by going to www.offroad-racing.co.uk and to find out more about the BCCC you can visit www.marches4x4.com.

Regs for Radnor available to download

The regs for the first BCCC event of the year are available, please download them from www.songasport.co.uk/2013R2SuppRegs.pdf

The events takes place on 11/12 May in Radnor forest, a venue that is very popular with competitors.

If you would like to enter please contact Lilian Turley on 01594 810161.

Britpart MSA BCCC 2013

The message below was emailed to all those who have registered for the 2013 championship earlier today. All registered crews were contacted by Lilian and they have agreed to a five round championship.

"It is with regret that the Marches 4x4 Directors Selwyn Kendrick & Philip Turley have had to come to this decision, due to a lack of sufficient entries to run a 6 Round Championship, 2013 will now be a 5 Round Championship with best 4 scores to count.

We wish to thank all the Competitors who have registered and thank you for your support of pledging the £1500.00 entry fee for 5 rounds instead of 6, we are aware Lilian has spoken to you all personally re this matter and she is going to do her best to get sufficient funds to try and get you all a refund of upto £250.00.

Regards

Selwyn Kendrick & Philip Turley
Directors Marches 4x4 MSM Ltd"

Myers targets win in inaugral diesel championship

Off-road racing driver Paul Myers is aiming for victory in the new for 2013 Britpart Diesel Cross Country Championship (DCCC).

The new championship was devised after the success last year of Mike “Bumpy” Moran who thrilled the crowds with the speed of his BMW diesel-powered AT Indy Challenger. Interest in the DCCC is expected to be high after the organisers unveiled an extensive prize package including an all-expenses paid exotic holiday in Gloucestershire and a lifetime supply of generators.

Myers has sourced a powerful MAN Marine diesel engine which has recently been on the dyno and is now being installed in his Land Rover ready for the opening round of the DCCC at Pikes Peak later this month.

“The new championship looks really good and we’ll be pushing hard for the win,” said Myers. “The engine is producing 1400hp at the moment but we should have some upgrades by the time we get to Forrest Lodge in June which should give us 1800hp.”

“Diesel is definitely the way to go and I am very surprised to hear that Bumpy has switched a petrol-powered Jag engine for this season. ”

Our reporter tried contacting Moran to discuss his defection but the butler at his chateau in Warrington said he was unavailable for comment.

The DCCC starts on April 20/21 and will consist of six rounds in some of the top off-roading locations in the UK.

 

Regs now available for 2013 championships

Regs for the 2013 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, Trophy Championship and Britpart Freelander Challenge are now available.

The entry fee is £1,500 for the BCCC and BCCC Trophy which can be paid in three installments, £900 initially and two post-dated cheques of £300 for 1st June and 1st September. The Freelander Challenge entry fee is £250 per event contested.

There has been a slight change to the calendar as the Ceri venue is now not available in May and so it has swapped dates with the Penllyn round.

Download links:

Britpart MSA BCCC and BCC Trophy regs

Freelander Challenge regs

Strong early interest in 2013 BCCC

With over two months still to go until the opening round of the 2013 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship interest in Britain’s premier off-road racing series has been high with several crews planning a championship assault.

 

After missing the 2012 championship Dan Lofthouse will return this year in his Jaguar-powered Lofthouse Freelander. His car has had a rebuild over the winter and it is expected that he’ll be one of the drivers in with a shout of the championship title.

Ryan Cooke will be competing again but after many years driving a Land Rover Special he will be out in the new CRC Motorsport Milner LRM-1 for 2013. The car, which was unveiled at the Autosport show in January, is powered by a supercharged Jaguar engine which should see Cooke challenging for victory.

Another driver turning to Jaguar power for 2013 is Warrington’s Mike Moran. Moran has used a BMW diesel engine for the last few years in his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger but he has switched to a 4.2 Jaguar V8 petrol unit which should help him continue the good results he obtained in 2012.

Karl Gudgeon is planning to contest the full season in his GSR Evo X while Adrian Eason-Bassett will combine the doing the BCCC in his Range Rover with some events in Iceland. Eason-Bassett has undertaken extensive work on the car since it was last out including fitting a new BMW engine. After finishing 9th in 2012 Richard Green will again be competing in his Bowler Tomcat while Stephen Smith will continue in the Renault Clio that he debuted last year.

Whitworth driver Phil Ibbotson finished 8^th last year and he’ll be out again in his popular Metro 6R4 Evo while Martin Cox is aiming to better 2012’s fourth place in his ex-Richard Kershaw GSR 206 Evo 9.

Andy Powell enjoyed a successful first season in his Simmbugghini in 2012 and he will be back for more in 2013 as will Andi Skelley who has fitted new seats in his 3M Land Rover to make landing from his many "big air" moments more comfortable. Ian Bartlett will return to the championship with an extensively modified Bartletts 3M 206, the car having had new suspension and improved cooling as well as a new paint job since it was last out.

In the Trophy championship Paul Harris will be competing again in his GSR Maxilight and he will be looking to defend the title he won in 2012. Adam Bridgman will also be contesting the Trophy in his Dudley Bug which will have diesel power for the new season. The Land Rover Special of Mark Jacques will also be out in the Trophy class again.

New Zealander Nick Lines will be defending the Freelander Challenge title and he will face competition from Chris Ratter who will also be contesting the Challenge after recently driving in the Dakar Rally with the Race2Recovery team.

The championship kicks off on the weekend of 20/21 April at the popular Pikes Peak venue in mid-Wales. For more information please visit www.marches4x4.com.

New page added!

A new page has been added to the site which has details of the some of the crews that are planning to enter the 2013 Britpart British Cross Country Championship.

The page can be accessed at
http://britishcrosscountrychampionship.blogspot.co.uk/p/2013-crews.html



Make a date for 2013!

The dates and venues for the 2013 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship have been announced. The season will kick off at Pikes Peak in April before heading to a new venue, Penllyn forest, for round 2.

The championship returns to Forrest Lodge in South West Scotland for round 3 which will be followed by the popular Radnor venue for round 4.

Another new venue, Ceri forest in Mid-Wales, will be used for round 5 before the season finishes in South Wales in October at Walters Arena.

2013 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship calendar

R1 April 20/21 Pikes Peak
R2 May 11/12 Penllyn
R3 June 08/09 Forrest Lodge
R4 July 27/28 Radnor
R5 Sept 14/15 Ceri
R6 Oct 19/20 Walters