BCCC crews to convene at Ceri as season continues

Round four of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship takes place next weekend at a new venue, Ceri forest in Mid-Wales.

Presently leading the title race on 219 points is Richard Wynne-Williams in his M3-powered Lofthouse Freelander. Wynne-Williams debuted the car at round one and has had three good results to date. A test session at Sweet Lamb ahead of round four should help him to keep challenging for the title.

Andy Powell lies second going into round four on 205 points, the Ciderbug Simmbugghini performing well with its new LS3 engine. Two drivers share third place, with both Colin Gould and Mark Jacques having 202 points. Rounding off the top five is John Thorne in his Yamaha YXZ 1000R. 

In sixth place is Martin Gould and, after back to back wins in the last two rounds, he'll be aiming for another win in his Buxton 4x4 Rivet. 

Double-BCCC champion Mike Moran will give a debut to his new Lofthouse Evo at Ceri. Moran has been forced to sit out the first three rounds while his car was completed as he had already sold his previous machine. The new car is a development of the successful Lofthouse Freelander and it features a lighter frame and an Evo 9 engine.

In the BCC Trophy Phill Bayliss has dominated the season so far, taking victory at all three rounds. The Insanity Racing Tornado of Jon Damrel is in second place and, after destroying several tyres at the previous round, the team have invested in some stronger rubber for Ceri.

The Freelander Challenge has seen three different winners so far this season and competition has been very close. Pat Masters leads the way on 157 points with Michael Wilson in second on 129 in his Gibson’s of Kendal-supported car. Wilson has received support from Mintex and will have some uprated brakes for round 4. Louisa Felice in in third, 10 points behind Wilson. Felice has used the time between BCCC rounds to obtain a licence for stage rallying and she is planning to content some rallies later in the year, including Wales Rally GB. 

Joining the championship regulars will be some Clubman entries including Phil Ibbotson in his Metro 6R4 Evo and Oisin Riley in his TMC. Both of these drivers will be contesting their second BCCC event of the season.

The event starts at 10am on Saturday 23^rd July with a full day of competition. Day two will start at 9am with the final run expected at around 2pm. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.

Tight at the top as the BCCC heads to Scotland

The Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship reaches its midpoint next weekend when round three takes place at Forrest Estate in South West Scotland.

Despite rolling his car at the last round at Bovington it is Justin Birchall who leads the championship after two events. Birchall has 154 points and he is 13 ahead of Ryan Cooke who finished second at Bovington in his Milner LRM-1.

There is a very tight battle for third place with seven crews separated by just 10 points. Andy Powell has used the new engine in his Simmbugghini to good effect to hold joint third place on 137 points with Richard Wynne-Williams. One point behind is Neil Davey, who survived a somersault in his Yamaha YXZ 1000R last time out.

Colin Gould is in sixth on 133 points after using his Clio V8 at round one and his Polaris at round two. Continued engine problems with the Clio mean that the Polaris will be in action at round three too. Mark Jacques lies in seventh on 132 in his Lofthouse Freelander with John Thorne two points behind him in his Yamada YXZ 1000R. Completing the current battle for third is Paul Harris in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight.

Round two winner Martin Gould is presently in tenth place after retiring from the first round but he’ll be looking to move up the leaderboard in his Buxton 4x4 Rivet.

In the Trophy championship Phill Bayliss leads the way with two wins from two events. In between BCCC events Bayliss competed on the Welsh Hill Rally and managed to get a finish despite an off.

Ben Clay is in second place in the Trophy, 12 points behind Bayliss and Jon Damrel, in the Insanity Racing Tornado, is a further 17 points back in third.

After a second place at round one and a win at round two it is Pat Masters who leads the Freelander Challenge crews with 116 points. Brian Chase is in second on 104 with round one winner Graham White in third on 102.

Team Sheepie’s Louisa Felice is in fourth in her Mansfield 4x4-backed car while teammate Ian Linford is hoping for better luck after problems, including a fire at round two, have limited his points scoring opportunities so far.

In fifth in the Freelander Challenge his Michael Wilson in his Gibsons of Kendal-supported machine.

“We’ve had some work to do on the car after Bovington” said Wilson. “We had a very heavy landing on the first run of the event so we’ve had to re-jig the radiator cross member but we should be all ready for Scotland.”

The event takes place at Forrest Estate near St John’s Town of Dalry. Saturday’s action will start at 10am with day two starting at 9pm. Spectator information is available at www.marches4x4.com/spectator.html. Photographs from the event will be on display at www.facebook.com/msabccc.

Gould wins on Rivet debut

Martin Gould took his Buxton 4x4 Rivet to a Britpart MSA BCCC win on his first event with the car after a tough battle with Justin Birchall and Ryan Cooke.

Birchall led early on but such was the level of competition that after four runs he was only one second in front with Cooke and Gould tied for second.

Run five saw Gould move into the lead for the first time, a position he would maintain to the end of the event as Birchall rolled his Lofthouse Freelander and dropped to sixth.

"The event has been a lot of fun," said Gould. "We had a great battle and it's a shame Justin rolled his car. The course was very hard on both car and driver, it was a real challenge so I'm delighted with the win."

With Birchall out of contention it was Cooke who took second I his Milner LRM-1.

"I'm chuffed with second, I'm very happy to get to the end of the event with no problems," commented Cooke. "The nerves were building up waiting for the last run of the day, especially as we got held on the start line due to an incident on the course, but we made it through. Hopefully we can put in another good performance at the next round."

Steve Smith moved up to third, with the new engine in his Clio performing well. Smith was tied on time with Richard Wynne-Williams in his Lofthouse Freelander.

Andy Powell took his Simmbugghini to fifth, a repeat of his round one result. After somersaulting his Yamaha on the first run of day one and clipping a concrete bollard on day two Neil Davey was fortunate to come away with seventh. In eighth was Alan Thomas who had Mike Moran in the passenger seat as Moran's own car was not ready for the event.

John Thorne was ninth in his Yamaha and Paul Harris rounded off the top ten. Harris was set for a great result but brake problems and a puncture on the final run dropped his GSR Maxilight down the leaderboard.

In the Trophy category Phill Bayliss took another win in his Land Rover 90 with Ben Clay in second and Jon Damrel in third. Both Steve Anning and Nick Pritchard retired on the second day.

Pat Masters won the Freelander Challenge ahead of Brian Chase and Alex Howard. Alastair Moore-Myers was fourth and Graham White survived a very heavy landing after a jump to take fifth.

BCCC Top 10:
1. Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 01:16:00
2. Ryan Cooke/Darren Cooke (Milner LRM-1) 01:17:48
3. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio V8) 01:23:48
4. Richard Wynne-Williams/Ian Jones (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:23:48
5. Andy Powell/Evalda Kazla (Simmbugghini) 01:25:27
6. Justin Birchall/Louise Birchall (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:28:11
7. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 01:28:37
8. Alan Thomas/Mike Moran (Warrior Indy) 01:28:53
9. John Thorne/ (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 01:31:19
10. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight) 01:34:30

BCCC crews set for Bovington battle

Crews in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will head to Bovington in Dorset next weekend for round two of the 2016 series.

Justin Birchall leads the title race after the first round at Pikes Peak. He has 86 points, 5 ahead of Ben Duckworth. Colin Gould is in third on 75 points. Mark Jacques is in fourth after debuting his Chevy-powered Lofthouse at round one with Andy Powell in fifth.

Bovington will see the UK debut of Martin Gould’s Buxton 4x4 Rivet. The car, which was very successful in the French Tout-Terrain championship, was scheduled to compete at round one but various issues with it meant that Gould had to use a Polaris instead.

“We are really looking forward to debuting the new car at Bovington,” said Gould. “I’m excited to be finally getting behind the wheel and mixing it up with the rest of the field. We’ve rectified the issues that prevented us from using the car at Pikes Peak so we’re hoping for a strong season and a push for the top spot.”

After crashing out at Pike Peak Richard Coleby has had his Polaris rebuilt ready for Bovington.

“Jac Mackinnon and the Agricar team have been hard at work,” said Coleby. “All four front arms, a drive shaft and both rear trailing arms were bent beyond repair. However, the chassis and cage held up incredibly well considering we rolled three times. The car is looking even better than before and we’re ready for round two.”

Joining the BCCC after a successful Clubman event at Pikes Peak is Jonny Koonja. He’ll be in his Simmbugghini as he continues his return to driving after several years co-driving.

2014/2015 BCCC champion Mike Moran sat out round one as his new Lofthouse car was not ready. The frame has now been finished so if all the parts can be bolted to it in time then the car could debut next weekend.

In the BCC Trophy Phill Bayliss has a 6 point lead over Ben Clay with Steve Anning in third, a further 4 points behind. Bayliss has fitted in competing in a club event in Lincolnshire between BCCC rounds.

In the Freelander Challenge Graham White leads the pack on 61 points with Pat Masters in second on 55 and Brian Chase in third on 49. After engine problems prevented him from starting round one current champion Ian Linford has fitted a new engine to his Freelander and should be appearing at Bovington. Ian Morson has now registered for the Challenge and he has put an entry in for round two.

At the time of writing four Clubman entries had been received. Jeremy Callow will be first away in his Polaris, followed by Steve Llewellyn in a Tornado 90. Rob Bool has entered his ex-Mike Moran AT 4x4 Challenger and Oisin Riley completes the Clubman entries in his TMC M3.

The event will be held at the Bovington army training venue and it will start at 10am on Saturday with day two starting at 9am. Unfortunately, as the site is on MoD land, there will be no access for spectators.

Pictures and news from the event will be available on www.facebook.com/msabccc.

High quality entry set to start BCCC season

 

Myherin forest in Mid-Wales will echo to the sound of racing engines next weekend when the 2016 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship season gets underway, together with the accompanying BCC Trophy and Freelander Challenge championships.

After winning their second BCCC title last year Warrington duo Mike Moran and Tony Coid will once again run at car 1 this season. They’ll be in a new Lofthouse Evo which should be debuting at round two of the championship.

Andy Powell will be at car 2 in his Simmbugghini and he will have a new navigator with Efka Kazla joining him. Ryan Cooke will be next off the start line in his Milner LRM-1, looking to build on the third place he achieved in 2015.

At car 4 will be Mark Jacques, with Steve Smith rounding off the top five in his JRG Indy Clio V8. Smith will resume the class battle he had last year with Richard Green (Car 7 - Tomcat 100) and Paul Harris (Car 10 - GSR Maxilight).

Neil Davey runs at car 6 and, having sold his GSR 206, he'll be debuting a Yamaha YXZ1000R UTV. Joining the UTV battle will be ex-BTCC driver John Thorne (car 11) in a similar machine to Davey's and Richard Coleby (car 18) who will race a Polaris RZR XP Turbo.

Britpart's Paul Myers returns in his Land Rover Tornado at car 8, one ahead of Ben Duckworth who will use the Milner LRM-1 he took to three victories last year.

Alan Thomas will contest his second BCCC season in his Warrior Indy and he'll be hoping for better luck after having to miss two events last year waiting for engine parts. At car 14 will be Martin Gould in his Buxton 4x4 Rivet, a car that was previously used in the French Tout Terrain championship by Manu Castan.

Contesting his first full championship season since 2012 will be Justin Birchall who will run at car 15. Birchall debuted his Lofthouse Freelander at round four last year and was immediately on the pace.

“We did two BCCC rounds last year and they went really well,” said Birchall. “I expect there will be a great battle for the championship this year as there are several drivers who could potentially take the title, it’s the best quality entry list for many seasons. What makes it especially interesting is that quite a few drivers will be in new cars, it’s very hard to predict who will win.”

Another Lofthouse Freelander will be next off the start line with Richard Wynne-Williams returning to the championship and he'll be followed by former-BCCC champion Colin Gould who has bought brother Martin's Clio V8 and also has a Polaris available to use.

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard and Steve Anning, who finished first and second in 2015, will both return to the championship as will Jon Damrel in his Insanity Racing Tornado. They’ll be joined by two drivers making their Trophy debuts, Phill Bayliss in a Land Rover 90 and Ben Clay in a Tomcat 100.

At the time of writing the Freelander Challenge had received 10 registrations, a record for the opening round. Running at one and two in the Challenge will be the Team Sheepie cars of Ian Linford and Louisa Felice. Linford has been busy upgrading his car over the winter, including fitting a V6 engine. He’ll also have a new navigator with Wil Hoole joining the team. Felice will once again be partnered by Jess Reynolds as she embarks on her second season of competition.

Pat Masters will be third Freelander away ahead of Alastair Moore-Myers and Paul Cumpstone. They'll be followed by Richard Roberts before four new crews - Alex Howard, Michael Wilson, Brian Chase and Graham White.

Six drivers have entered the event as non-championship "Clubman" entries. Martin Cox and Toby Jefferson will both bring their GSR 206s. The Metro 6R4 Evo of Phil Ibbotson will be seen at a BCCC event for the first time since 2013 while Sian Rogers will compete in her Mitsubishi Pajero after contesting the Trophy championship last year. James King will compete in his 3M 206 and an entry has also been received from Warren Roper.

John Pickering will bring his Discovery for the "Sunday Cup" competition.

The event starts at 10am on Saturday and there will be action up to around 5pm. Day 2 starts at 9am with the final run expected at around 2pm. Spectator information is available at www.marches4x4.com/spectator.html. Pictures from the event will be available on Sunday evening at www.facebook.com/msabccc.

Moran to debut new car for 2016 season

2014 and 2015 Britpart MSA BCCC champion Mike Moran will be debuting a new Lofthouse Motorsport-built car this season having sold his title-winning  AT 4x4 Indy Challenger.

The new car will use the same basic spaceframe as the Lofthouse Freelander which won the BCCC in 2013 in the hands of Dan Lofthouse. However, the frame will be substantially lighter.

Continuing the weight saving theme, the large capacity engine usually used in "prototype" offroaders has been replaced with a 450bhp Mitsubishi Evo 9 unit built by AMS, driving through a Drenth gearbox, Milner reverse transfer box and Nissan Skyline differentials.

"We are going against the grain by using a 2.0 litre engine in a lighter-framed car," said Moran. "We should get much better braking performance and a faster corner exit speed though."

"The bodywork will be different from the Lofthouse Freelander, it'll be more in the style of an American Trophy truck with an open pick-up style rear. Again, this is to keep the weight down. All cooling elements will be supplied by Allisport and cab seats and belts by Motordrive."

"The UK offroad scene is rapidly changing with more European-spec cars and UTV buggies coming into the sport. The new car is designed to let us try and compete with these machines."

The car is expected to debut at round 2 of the championship in May.

Entries levels already higher than 2015



With one month to go until the start of the season organisers of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship have released information on the drivers who have entered the BCCC, BCC Trophy and Freelander Challenge so far. Entry levels are already higher than 2015, with 31 cars spread across the three championships.

In the BCCC Mike Moran will be returning to try and make it three titles in a row. With his championship-winning car sold Moran is having a new machine built by Lofthouse Motorsport which will hopefully be ready for round 1. Joining Moran will be several championship regulars such as Paul Harris, Richard Green and Steve Smith together with some drivers who are either new to the championship or are returning after a break. Amongst these is Martin Gould in his new Rivet-BMW and brother Colin who'll be driving the Audi-engine Clio previously raced by Martin. Richard Coleby will make his BCCC debut in his factory Polaris and Justin Birchall will make a full return to the championship in his Lofthouse Freelander.

2015 BCC Trophy winner Nick Pritchard will defend his title and he'll be joined by the likes of Jon Damrel in his Insanity Racing Tornado and Phill Bayliss who'll be out in his Land Rover.

Ten cars have so far registered for the Freelander Challenge including 2014/15 champion Ian Linford who has fitted a V6 engine in his car for this season. Ravenol's Brian Chase will be joining in the Freelander fun along with several other new crews.

All three championships start in April at Myherin forest, entries are still available - regulations can be downloaded from www.marches4x4.com.

In addition to the championships a Clubman event will also run at each round. Interest has already been strong in the round 1 Clubman event with Phil Ibbotson, Toby Jefferson, Sian Rogers and Martin Cox planning on entering.

Entries as at 11th March:

BCCC
Martin Gould
Colin Gould...
Paul Myers
Mike Moran
Richard Wynne Williams
Justin Birchall
Paul Harris
Richard Green
Steve Smith
John Thorne
Alan Thomas
Richard Coleby
Ben Duckworth
Mark Jacques
Neil Davey
Andy Powell

BCC Trophy
Jon Damrel
Nick Pritchard
Steve Anning
Phill Bayliss
Ben Clay

Freelander Challenge
Ian Linford
Louisa Felice
Pat Masters
Brian Chase
Alastair Myers
Michael Wilson
Paul Cumpstone
Alex Howard
Richard Roberts
Graham White

Regs now available for download

Regulations for the Britpart MSA BCCC, BCC Trophy and Freelander Challenge can now be downloaded:

Britpart MSA BCCC/BCC Trophy

Britpart Freelander Challenge

All championships will have the following calendar:

R1 - 9/10 April - Myherin
R2 - 7/8 May - Bovington North
R3 - 4/5 June - Forrest Estate
R4 - 23/24 July - Ceri or Hafren
R5 - 10/11 Sept - Bovington South
R6 - 5/6 Nov - Walters

Exciting season planned for Team Sheepie

Offroad racing outfit Team Sheepie have announced that they will once again contest the Britpart Freelander Challenge.

A very successful 2015 for the team saw one of their cars, driven by Ian Linford, win the Challenge title for a second time while the other car finished third in what was driver Louisa Felice’s first season of competition.

Linford is undertaking major revisions to his Freelander including fitting a new engine and gearbox. As well as the car changes Linford will also have a change in the passenger seat as 2014/2015 navigator Demelza Scholes is unable to compete this year.

Felice’s car will be running in the same specification as last season and she’ll again have Jess Reynolds navigating.

“Other than the usual preparation work there hasn’t been much done on the Louisa’s car, it's ready to go,” said Linford. “In contrast mine is in bits as I work on fitting the new engine and gearbox. We’ve still got a lot to do but we’ll be ready to start the season!”

“It’s a shame that Demelza cannot join us again this year, we had a great two seasons together. I’ll have a new navigator in place soon.”

“As well as the Challenge we’ve also got a plan to run both cars on Wales Rally GB at the end of the season and we're looking at doing some BTRDA rally rounds too so it’s looking like it will be a great year.”

The Freelander Challenge season starts in April at Myherin in Wales. There will be a further five events spread between the south coast of England and South West Scotland.

Harris to make BCCC return with Bristol Street Motors-backed GSR

 

Upton upon Severn-based driver Paul Harris will return to the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship this year to resume the G1 class battle he fought throughout 2015.

Harris, who won the BCC Trophy championship in 2012 and 2013, will once again use his GSR Maxilight which will be supported by Bristol Street Motors.

"I am very pleased to be returning to the championship with the backing of Bristol Street Motors," said Harris. "We had a great battle in the G1 class last year and I'm looking forward to resuming the competition with Steve Smith, Richard Green and any other crews who join us. It should be a very interesting season."

"I'm also looking forward to seeing the new cars that are entering the BCCC this season and I think the championship is back on the up and the future looks very good."

The BCCC title will be fought for over six rounds throughout the UK with round one taking place on 9/10th April.

Polaris team step up to the BCCC

 

As the countdown to the 2016 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship continues, Polaris Industries have announced plans to compete in this year's series with their Polaris RZR.

The factory-backed team debuted their car last year and they contested several events in regional championships in preparation for their BCCC challenge.

"Polaris Industries are pleased to announce that they will contest the BCCC in 2016," said driver Richard Coleby. "After a successful development season in 2015 the original factory-backed UTV team are looking forward to a competitive season this year. The entry coincides well with the introduction of the new Polaris RZR Turbo, the most powerful manufacturer produced UTV on the market. With 144 bhp straight from the box the Polaris RZR is certainly going to be an exciting spectacle in the BCCC this year."

"The RZR Turbo is currently being race prepared by our team engineer Jac Mackinnon. Jac has extensive experience running Bowlers and Milners for top level drivers along with Scottish Rally Championship winning cars. Jac has the car at our Agricar-based workshop and is well underway with the prep."

"The factory car is supported by a number of notable specialist partners whose knowledge and products are central to the effort - Prolinx suspension, Super ATV, ITP, Evans Coolants, Racepak Data Systems, Tireballs, Powerflex and Eibach all contribute to the team. After a steep learning curve in 2015 we feel ready to take the step up to the British championship this year. We can't wait for the season to start."

The BCCC season will get underway on 9/10th April.

BCCC announces early entry incentive

Organisers of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship have announced a £200 entry fee reduction for anyone who enters by 1st February 2016.

The entry fee for the full championship season of six two-day events will be £2,000 but if entries are received by 1st February crews will be able to pay £1,000 on entry and two post-dated cheques of £400. This will mean a total entry fee of £1,800, the same as 2015. Payment can also be made in full at the time of entry and by BACS if required.

Please contact Entries Secretary Lilian Turley (lilianturley@btinternet.com) for further information.

Yamaha factory race team set for BCCC

Working with recognised UTV racing operation Thorney Motorsport, Yamaha have launched the UK's first dedicated, factory backed UTV race team competing in selected UK and international races for 2016.

Central to the racing plans are a pair of Yamaha YXZ1000R UTV's competing the MSA Britpart British Cross Country Championship, one car to be driven by Thorney Motorsport owner and team principal John Thorne.

Thorne has extensive race experience in the UK UTV racing scene having successfully competed at a National level in both a Polaris RZR and Arctic Cat Wildcat as well as developing successful competition upgrades for both UTVs with Thorney Motorsport.

Yamaha started the UTV market with the Rhino but the YXZ1000R is the first dedicated sports UTV designed from the ground up with an industry first of a manual, sequential transmission and 3 cylinder, 1000cc engine – it is designed to compete and win.

Speaking for Yamaha, Matt Bryant says “UTV racing is still in its infancy in the UK but you only have to look across to the USA or mainland Europe and you can see just how big a market UTV racing is becoming and it is hugely exciting for Yamaha to be a part of that"

Thorne adds "We've raced and won in the RZR, we've raced and won in the Arctic Cat Wildcat but both of these other cars felt like we were just treading water in preparation for the YXZ1000R, the manual transmission utterly transforms the whole experience so that we can use all the power all of the time, I think it will shock a few people"

As well as competing in the British Cross Country Championship the team will compete in selected All Wheel Drive Championship events and other off road events both in the UK and abroad and develop cars and competition upgrades for customer teams for the UK and Europe.

In an expansive move Yamaha will also support all teams competing in the YXZ1000R with a Yamaha Driver of the Year competition where teams competing in selected events in a YXZ1000R will win points to establish the most successful YXZ1000R team in the UK.

Bryant continues "Our plans are very much long term and encompass all elements of off road racing - a factory team, development of customer cars, upgrades and a Driver of the Year award, together with a YXZ1000R Experience event operation based near Silverstone in the UK where the public will get the chance to race these cars round our own custom designed UTV race track. The YXZ1000R is so good we want the whole market to see it!"

Ahead of the first race in April the team will be undertaking an extensive series of tests for several versions of the YXZ1000R including a Dakar specification car ready for the World famous event in 2017.

Thorne concludes "Its a busy program, the race team, development of competition cars and parts, events and the YXZ1000R Experience Events, so we are in for an exciting first year of what is a multi-year program, we cant wait"

BCCC Awards Do

The awards do will take place on 15th January 2016 at the Windmill Village Hotel which is near the NEC if you're going to the Autosport Show. Menu, booking form and bank details for direct payment are linked below:

Menu

Booking form

Bank details

Please contact Lilian if you have any questions. Contact details over there >>>>>

Provisional dates for 2016

The provisional dates for the 2016 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, British Cross Country Trophy and Freelander Challenge are as follows:

Round 1 9th/10th April
Round 2 7th/8th May
Round 3 4th/5th June
Round 4 23rd/24th July
Round 5 10th/11th September
Round 6 29th/30th October **

** Round 6 date awaiting confirmation from the landowner.

Venues are likely to be mostly similar to 2015 although they cannot be confirmed until the NRW forestry allocation meeting which takes place in December.

Walters win for Duckworth

Ben Duckworth took his third Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship win of the season at the final round of the season at Walters Arena in South Wales. Andy Powell finished second to wrap up the runner's up spot in the championship, which has technical support from Ravenol.

Heavy rain made the already slippery course treacherous as the crews made their first runs. An early victim was Richard Green who rolled his Bowler and, after suffering neck pains, decided not to continue. Duckworth set the pace from the first run in his Milner LRM-1 and he built up a lead of over three minutes at the end of the day. Ryan Cooke was second in his Milner with Powell third.

Day two got off to a bad start for Duckworth as he suffered a puncture on the first run but he continued to head the leaderboard until the end of the event.

"I'm very pleased with the result," said Duckworth. "It was a very wet and extremely slippery course on day one and it was difficult to push hard. We had a couple of moments and struggled with the radiator getting bunged up with mud. As the course dried our times improved and, despite a puncture on the first run of day two, we managed to take the win."

With Cooke retiring after clutch problems Powell took second place despite a weekend that had gone anything but smoothly, with a broken propshaft and flat battery amongst his many issues. Powell commented: "It was a tough event and a very testing course but those are the courses I like. The weekend wasn't without incident but we overcame the problems. Thanks to Phil Ibbotson for navigating and to all the organisers and marshals, it's been a great season all in all."

Mark Jacques finished third in his 3M Challenger after tying with Britpart's Paul Myers. Neil Davey was fifth in his GSR 206 after driving all of day two with no power steering. Steve Smith was sixth despite an ailing engine in his Clio and Jason Sharpe was the final BCCC finisher in the Isuzu D-Max.

Steve Anning took his Peugeot 206 M3 to victory in the BCC Trophy ahead of the Insanity Racing Tornado of Jon Damrel. Nick Pritchard was third in his Goka Buggy despite several issues including having to change the clutch on day one. The result was good enough for Pritchard to take the Trophy championship.

In the Freelander Challenge the Race2Recovery team of Grant White and Yanto Evans headed the leaderboard ahead of Alastair Moore-Myers and Ian Linford. Linford wrapped up his second Freelander Challenge title in his Team Sheepie machine.

Justin Birchall won the Clubman class in his Lofthouse Freelander in a time that would've placed him first overall had he been registered for the championship. Birchall's win came despite a trip to hospital after suffering a back injury early on day two.

Planning is already well underway for the 2016 championships with round 1 scheduled for 9th/10th April.

BCCC Results
1. Ben Duckworth/Mathew Cook (Milner LRM-1)    02:05:46
2. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)    02:14:26
3. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger )   02:17:03
4. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado)   02:17:03
5. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)   02:17:57
6. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   02:19:20
7. Jason Shape/Richard Lester   (Isuzu D-Max)   02:20:49

BCCC finale to be held at Walters Arena

The final round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, with support from Ravenol, takes place next weekend at Walters Arena in South Wales.

Warrington's Mike Moran wrapped up his second BCCC title at the previous round and, having sold his car, he will not be driving at Walters. Moran's car has been bought by Rob Bool who has entered the Walters event ahead of a possible championship campaign next year. Both Moran and his co-driver Tony Coid will be on hand at Walters to sit with Bool as he learns his new machine.

"It was quite sad seeing the car go to a new owner," said Moran. "We've used it in the BCCC for five years and it has served us very well. We finished third in  2012 when the car had a diesel engine, the best ever BCCC finish for a diesel racer. We had to drive it hard to keep the engine on boost and that meant we spent a lot of time narrowly missing big accidents!"

"After a huge party at the awards do a plan was hatched to swap to a 440bhp petrol Jaguar engine for 2013. We nearly finished second that year but cutting a corner too much at the final round broke both the steering rack and my finger."

"The car has been faultless in 2014 and 2015 and that has meant we have been able to take back to back title wins. I'm in my late 50s now but I've still got the competitive spirit so I'll be back next year in a new lighter car which will once again be prepared by Lofthouse Motorsport."

Walters should see a close battle for the remaining championship podium positions. Andy Powell is currently second on 347 points, just 10 ahead of Mark Jacques with Richard Green in fourth with 332 points. In fifth and sixth place are Ryan Cooke and Neil Davey respectively but with both those crews already having a retirement this season they will be able to count all the points they score at the weekend unlike the other drivers who have scored points in all the events so far.

Powell commented: "I'm looking to have a good last round, the car is almost ready, it just needs the diff rebuilt and fitted. I was not on the ball at Bovington and I didn't get a decent result. I like Walters, there's a good selection of routes. Once dropped scores are taken into account it is very close for second place so there should be a great battle."

Another driver looking to round of his season in style is Paul Harris in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight. Harris is currently in 11th place in the championship standings after a few mechanical issues with his car.

"We're having the shockers rebuilt ahead of the final round," said Harris. "I'm looking forward to renewing the class battle I've been having with Richard Green and Steve Smith all season, it should be a great end to the season."

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard leads the way on 332 points with Steve Anning in seconds on 247 and Sian Rogers in third on 231.

Ian Linford heads the Freelander Challenge battle with 299 points, 50 ahead of Andy Price. Louisa Felice in in third with 233. The Freelander crews will be joined by new entrant Richard Roberts for the final round.

Spectators are welcome at the event, the action will start at 11am on Saturday with Sunday scheduled to start at 9am. Further spectator information is available at www.marches4x4.com/spectators.

The organisers are already hard at work planning the 2016 championships with a provisional calendar set to be announced shortly. Any crews interested in competing next year can register to receive regulations by contacting Lilian Turley at lilianturley@btinternet.com.

Duckworth wins battle of the Milners

Ben Duckworth took his second Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship win of the season in his Milner LRM-1 after a weekend-long battle with the similar car of Ryan Cooke at round 5 of the series, which has technical support from Ravenol.

Mike Moran was quickest on the first run but by run three Cooke had taken the lead.

At end of the 10 runs of day one Cooke held a 19 second lead over Duckworth with Moran in third.

Cooke’s lead was lost on the opening run of day two as he hit a rock which punctured the car’s floor. The Milner duo swapped fastest times throughout the day but it was Duckworth who claimed the win.

“It was a great fight with Ryan, the two of us were very close all event,” said Duckworth. “I’m very happy with first place, the team have been working hard to develop the car and they were even tweaking it at the event with some suspension changes to help it ride the bumps better so thanks to them for all their efforts.”

Cooke was very satisfied with second place after a season of mixed fortunes. “I’m really pleased with the result although it’s obviously disappointing not to win but all credit to Ben, he turned the screw on day two to get ahead of us.”

“It was a tough course on the car but we finished so I think we’ve turned the corner with the reliability. I’ll keep trying and pushing hard and we’ll see if we can get a win at the next round. Thanks to all my team and sponsors, without them I’d not be here racing.”

With Cooke in second it was Moran who brought his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger home in third, a result which was good enough for him to retain his BCCC title.

Moran commented: “It’s been a great weekend. Congratulations to Ben and Ryan, their pace was incredible and they must’ve been taking some big risks to set the times they were doing! With the championship up for grabs we played it safe to make sure we got the car to the end.”

“The course was hard on both car and crew, we had a few issues over the weekend including two broken alternators. Third place means we cannot be caught in the title race now, it’s good to have wrapped it up with one event to go. Thanks to Lofthouse Motorsport for preparing the car.”

Paul Myers finished fourth in his Land Rover Tornado ahead of Steve Smith’s JRG Clio and Mark Jacques’ 3M Challenger.

In 7^th was Neil Davey who had fuel tank problems on day one while John Thorne returned to the championship with 8^th in his Arctic Cat Wildcat.

Jason Sharpe was 9^th in the Isuzu D-Max after front differential problems forced him to run in 2WD for most of day two and Paul Harris rounded off the top 10 despite a run one maximum when the electrical cut off switch snapped while trying to reset the car after it went into limp mode.

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard won in his Goka Buggy ahead of Steve Anning. Jon Damrel was third in the Insanity Racing Tornado even though his event was hampered with fuel starvation and electrical problems.

Ian Linford drove to another win in the Freelander Challenge with Andy Price in second and the Race2Recovery car of Grant White in third.

Ian Bartlett took his Bowler Tomcat to victory in the Clubman class.

BCCC Results:

1. Ben Duckworth/Matt Cook (Milner LRM-1) 02:24:03

2. Ryan Cooke/Chris Cooke (Milner LRM-1)    02:24:58
3. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)    02:31:01
4. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado)  02:35:19
5. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   02:36:43
6. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger)     02:37:29
7. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)  02:44:49
8. John Thorne/ (Arctic Cat Wildcat)  02:48:04
9. Jason Sharpe/Richard Lester (Isuzu D-Max)  02:58:29
10. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight)  03:14:17

Title up for grabs as BCCC heads to Bovington

After a summer break crews in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will head to Bovington in Dorset next weekend for round five of the series, which this year has technical support from Ravenol.

With three wins in four events so far this season Warrington's Mike Moran could complete a successful defence of his BCCC title with another good result in his Lofthouse Motorsport-prepared AT 4x4 Indy Challenger. Moran presently leads the title battle on 338 points with Andy Powell in second on 290 and Mark Jacques in third on 272.

Despite his lead Moran is feeling quite nervous ahead of the event. "We're in a great position with three wins and a second place but Bovington is a very tough course and, as we saw last year with several of the top drivers having major issues with their cars, it's a difficult event to finish."

"The testing course has every surface known to mankind and even though we were trying to look after the car last year we still managed to destroy four wheel bearings, the alternator, starter motor and power steering pump as well as wearing out a set of brake pads and eight tyres."

"Most of the competitors will have their fingers crossed that the ground stays dry. Some of the surfaces could turn into a deep mud pit if it rains heavily which will give an advantage to the lighter cars."

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard heads the field on 246 points and, with second place driver Steve Anning on 167 points, Pritchard is in a strong position to take the Trophy title in his Goka Buggy. In third place is Sian Rogers who is just behind Anning on 162 points in her first season in her Mitsubishi Pajero.

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford leads the way after winning three events so far this year. He could wrap up the championship with another strong performance at Bovington. Andy Price is in second place, 44 points behind Linford with Louisa Felice in third place a further ten points back.

Price is hoping for a clear run after issues at the previous two events. He rolled his car at round three and then suffered various dramas at round four in Hafren before ending up in second place.

"After the third run at Hafren we discovered the car had a hole in the gearbox," said Price. "With the help of Ian Linford's team and my own service crew we managed to fill the hole. However, with the dirt that was getting in, the clutch plate got destroyed and I also had an electrical problem which kept killing the power completely."

"I managed to get the car to the finish and got a good result. I've replaced the clutch and the gearbox and the electrical issue has been cured so I'm looking forward to Bovington and having another fun weekend with the rest of the Freelander teams."

Joining the Freelanders for the first time this season will be the Race2Recovery team. The team is now headed up by Grant White, who will be driving at Bovington. White, a former Royal Marine and right leg below knee amputee, will be joined in the car by co-driver Yanto Evans, former Parachute Regt. and also a right leg below knee amputee. They are being sponsored to enter the event by Westover Landrover of Christchurch and BLESMA (British Limbless Ex Service Mens Association).

White commented: "The team is looking forward to re-connecting with the BCCC and Freelander Challenge teams and we're hoping to show everyone how far we've progressed since we last competed alongside the other Freelanders."

The event will take place at the Bovington Camp MoD tank training facility, the same venue as was used for the first time last year. The action will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two starts at 9am with the event expected to finish early on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, as the event is on MoD land, there will be no spectators allowed inside the venue. 

Moran masters the conditions in Hafren

Mike Moran took his third win of the season at round four of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, which was held in Hafren forest.

It was Moran who set the pace early on, building up a lead of 35 seconds in his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger over Ryan Cooke. Two of Moran’s main rivals were already out of contention with Neil Davey suffering a broken wishbone on his GSR and Ben Duckworth putting his Milner off the road.

Moran continued his good form throughout the nine runs of day one to build up a lead of almost three minutes with Cooke’s efforts hampered by broken power steering and brake issues.  Andy Powell lay in third in his Simmbugghini.

After sunshine and a drying course on day one the crews were greeted with heavy rain for day two’s eight runs. With the course getting increasingly slippery several drivers were caught out including Jason Sharpe who rolled his Isuzu into retirement. Moran had a couple of moments but kept it all together to take the win.

“I’d seen the weather forecast so I pushed very hard on day one when it was dry to try and build up a good lead,” said Moran. “The rain on day two made the course very difficult, it was like driving on ice in some places and we had a couple of big moments but fortunately the car stayed on the track.”

“It’s been a great weekend and the result has put us in a very strong position in the championship, I’m looking forward to the next round at Bovington now.”

Despite a last run puncture Cooke held on to second place.

“It was nice to have a good race for a change, we’ve had our fair share of problems this year. It was a very good course, very challenging. We had a few issues with the car and a puncture on the last run which almost cost us second place but we managed to hold on to the result.”

Powell continued his good run of BCCC results with third. He commented:  “I’m very happy with third although it’s a bit disappointing to be only 7 seconds off second at the end. It was a fantastic course and the conditions were very challenging. Other than throwing a belt on one run we didn’t have any issues with the car.”

Steve Smith was fouth in his Clio with Paul Harris having a good run in his GSR Maxilight to take fifth.

Nick Pritchard won the Trophy class in his Goka Buggy ahead of Steve Anning with Sian Rogers in third. The Insanity Racing Tornado of Jon Damrel made its first appearance of the season but retired at the end of day one with wheel bearing problems.

The Clubman class saw the return to the BCCC of Martin and Colin Gould, Toby Jefferson and Justin Birchall. Birchall was debuting his Lofthouse Freelander and he set some times that would’ve been quickest overall had he been entered in the championship. Problems with the fuel pressure regulator meant he could finish no higher than third Clubman. In second place was former BCCC champion Colin Gould, who survived a near roll in his new Polaris. It was Jefferson who took the Clubman win in his GSR.

In the Freelander Challenger Ian Linford took another win with Andy Price finishing second in his newly rebuilt car. Louisa Felice finished third Freelander.

The next round of the BCCC, which has technical support from Ravenol, takes place on September 12/13 at the Bovington tank training course in Dorset.

BCCC Results

1. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)    01:51:56
2. Ryan Cooke/Chris Cooke (Milner LRM-1)    01:55:37
3. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)    01:55:44
4. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   01:59:14
5. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight)   02:01:22
6. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger)     02:01:24
7. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100)   02:07:25
8. Ben Duckworth/Kevin Bates (Milner LRM-1)   02:08:15
9. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)   02:15:51