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.
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)
