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.