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.

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R5 Bovington

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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.