Another season done... now on to 2017

So, another season of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship is over but that doesn't mean the organisers can have a few months off! Preparations are well underway for the 2017 championship which, once again, will feature six two-day events using some of the premier off-road courses in the UK. The dates and provisional venue list is below - some of the forestry venues require confirmation of the forestry allocation before a final calendar can be published.

It is expected that regulations will be available early in 2017 with the entry fee published at the Autosport Show in January. If you would like to be added to the regs mailing list please send a message via the Facebook page or email lilianturley@btinternet.com.

Walters - static cam action

Some video action taken while also doing the still photography - not an AJK TV production! 

Images from BCCC Walters

Please click here to see the images.

Walters win for Cooke and title triumph for Gould

Ryan Cooke took victory at a dramatic final round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship with Martin Gould wrapping up the title win.

With four wins already this season Gould required one more finish in his Buxton 4x4 Rivet to take the championship crown. His weekend got off to a bad start when his car stopped on the recce lap after an alternator problem and he suffered further problems on run one with a faulty clutch master cylinder. Meanwhile Justin Birchall, who was in line to win the championship if Gould failed to finish, was forced out of the event with a damaged engine.

Colin Gould, in his Clio V8, led the BCCC crews throughout day one with Cooke taking his Milner LRM-1 to second ahead of Richard Coleby’s Polaris. A broken balljoint ended Colin’s hopes of victory on day two and Cooke continued to show consistent pace to take the win.

“I’m really really chuffed with the victory,” said Cooke. “It’s been a long time coming and it’s taken a lot of hard work by everyone involved in the team. It was a great event and, other than a driveshaft problem, the car has been trouble-free. Consistency has paid off and, for once, lady luck was on our side.”

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in putting the events on and all of my team. I’d also like to thanks Fuchs, Land Rover and Paintstore of Leamington who have supported me through thick and thin.”

Coleby took his best result of the season in second: “I’m very pleased with the result, we’ve worked hard to improve reliability so it’s great to end the championship with a good finish. The course was fantastic, it really suited the UTV-style cars. Thanks to my sponsors, I’d not be able to race without their support. Hopefully we will be back next year to build on this weekend’s result.”

Despite his initial problems Martin Gould came through to finish in third and, in doing so, claimed the championship win. Gould commented: “The car had a lot of work done to it after Bovington and with the problems we had early on we decided to drive for a finish although we didn’t want to reduce our pace too much and risk losing concentration. We got the result we needed and it’s great to finally win the title after many years of trying.”

Paul Harris finished fourth in his GSR Maxilight, a puncture on day two was his only real problem. Mark Jacques took his Lofthouse Freelander to fifth ahead of two Yamaha crews, John Thorne and Neil Davey. Andy Powell overcame a day one driveshaft problem to finish eighth in his Simmbugghini with Alan Thomas and Jonny Koonja rounding off the top ten.

Ben Clay won the BCC Trophy class after a troublesome event for his rivals. Trophy champion Phill Bayliss retired following numerous issues including a broken alternator, fuelling problems and a broken halfshaft while Nick Pritchard’s car suffered a fire which put him out of the event. Jon Damrel survived an off on day two to finish second behind Clay.

Alex Howard won the Freelander Challenge class ahead of Michael Wilson and Ian Morson. Although he finished seventh at Walters it was Pat Masters who took the Freelander Challenge championship title.

In the Clubman category Chris Bird won in his Milner R5 with a time that would’ve won the event overall had he been registered for the championship. Darren Johnson took his Yamaha YXZ 1000R to second and Sian Rogers was third in her Mitsubishi Pinin.

BCCC results:

1. Ryan Cooke/Darren Cooke (Milner LRM-1) 02:42:46
2. Richard Coleby/ (Polaris RZR XP Turbo) 02:43:47
3. Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 02:46:40
4. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight) 02:49:06
5. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:49:29
6. John Thorne/ (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 02:53:32
7. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 02:55:07
8. Andy Powell/Evalda Kazla (Simmbugghini) 02:59:04
9. Alan Thomas/Robert Moulding (Warrior Indy) 03:15:19
10. Jonny Koonja/Matt Lowe (Simmbugghini) 03:24:00

BCCC title to be decided in South Wales

The final round of the 2016 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will take place at Walters in South Wales next weekend with several crews still in with a chance of taking the title.

Richard Wynne-Williams presently heads the championship table on 347 points, two ahead of Martin Gould and three ahead of Andy Powell. However, the title is decided on the best five scores out of six so, with four wins and a retirement so far this season, the championship will be Goulds if he gets a finish at Walters.

Taking into account dropped scores it is Justin Birchall who is in the best position to take the title should Gould not finish. Like Gould, Birchall has already had a retirement this season so while he's currently only in fifth place he can count all the points from the final round whereas Wynne-Williams, Powell and fourth placed driver Mark Jacques will all have to drop some points. Sixth place Ryan Cooke is in a similar position to Birchall having retired on round three. 

In the BCC Trophy Phill Bayliss holds an unassailable lead on 425 points ahead of Insanity Racing’s Jon Damrel who has 367. 2015 Trophy champion Nick Pritchard is third with 313 points.

Pat Masters leads the Freelander Challenge crews with 261 points. Alex Howard is second on 221 in his debut season and Michael Wilson is third on 217. Louisa Felice is fourth with 197 points and she'll be at Walters after successfully finishing Wales Rally GB in her Freelander.

Four crews have entered as Clubman, Toby Jefferson will bring his GSR 206, Andy Degiulio has entered his Milner R5, James King will race his 3M 206 and Darren Johnson will be in his Yamaha YXZ 1000R. 

The event takes place over two days at Walters near Glynneath. The action starts at 9am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two will start at 8am and the final runs are expected at around 2pm. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.

Gould win sets up final round title decider

Martin Gould made it four Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship wins in a row with victory in round five at Bovington in Dorset.

The course was made up of the usual mixture of surfaces at the MoD's tank training facility. Several hours of rain before the event made the tracks extremely slippery, with large areas of standing water which caused problems for several crews on the opening runs.

Ryan Cooke had no such issues though as he powered his Milner LRM-1 into the lead on the opening run. Cooke, Gould and championship leader Richard Wynne-Williams fought over the top three positions through most of day one although Wynne-Williams’ hopes of a good result were dashed when he had to take a maximum on his final run due to starter motor problems. It was Gould who led overnight, 40 seconds ahead of Cooke with Mark Jacques in third.

Cooke's chances of taking a win were ended when he broke a shaft on the second run of day two, Gould eventually winning by almost three minutes.

“What an event, it’s been so rough on both the car and crew,” said Gould. “We wanted to get the win and we’ve achieved that – it sets up a great climax for the final round now. We’re in a good position for the title but we’ve got to get a decent finish at Walters. We did Des Cimes last weekend so between that and this weekend the car has taken a pounding - we've got lots of work to do on it before the final round."

Cooke was happy with second, a result which strengthens his chances of a good overall finish in the championship: "I'm pleased with the result although it's disappointing we couldn't challenge for the win on the second day. We were plagued with problems all weekend with a bust caliper, a power steering issue which seemed to cure itself and then blowing the shaft. It's been a brilliant weekend though, I love the venue and the course. Thanks to everyone who helps me get to the races."

Jacques maintained third place in his Lofthouse Evo: "The rain and water yesterday were really bad but we ploughed on, sometimes quite literally! We tried to keep it consistent and the car was 100%, I'm starting to get the feel of it now. We've been nursing the gearbox for the last two events as second gear is chipped but all that will be sorted for Walters - it promises to be a right old bun fight there!"

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard led for most of the event but his car ended up in the trees towards the end which gave the win to Phill Bayliss. Bayliss had already done a full event's mileage just getting to Bovington - his tow car broke down so he had to drive his race car the rest of the way. The Insanity Racing team had a dramatic event, rolling their Tornado in a forest section before eventually retiring with distributor problems. 

Pat Masters took another win in the Freelander Challenge with Alex Howard in second and Michael Wilson third.

Tim Dilworth won the Clubman event in his Peugeot 206 STi. His times were such that he would've been leading the event overall after day one had he been BCCC-registered. A few issues on day two cost him a lot of time but he still took the Clubman win. 

BCCC results:

1. Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 02:11:34 
2. Ryan Cooke/Darren Cooke (Milner LRM-1) 02:14:26
3. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:18:55
4. Andy Powell/Evalda Kazla (Simmbugghini) 02:24:11
5. Justin Birchall/Louise Birchall (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:29:47
6. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 02:32:34
7. Richard Wynne-Williams/Ian Jones (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:35:25
8. Jonny Koonja/Matt Lowe (Simmbugghini) 02:35:38
9. Alan Thomas/Aaron Burch (Warrior Indy) 02:38:48
10. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio V8) 02:42:01

Images from BCCC Bovington South

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Title race wide-open as BCCC set for penultimate round

With just two rounds to go the race for the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship is wide-open with several crews still in with a chance of taking the title as the series returns to Bovington in Dorset for round five.

Richard Wynne-Williams heads the championship after four rounds on 280 points with Andy Powell enjoying another good season in second place, five points behind. Mark Jacques is in third in his Lofthouse Freelander and he has used the break in BCCC action to compete in an event at Sweet Lamb.

After a disappointing start to the season Martin Gould has won the last three rounds and he lies in fourth place currently with 259 points, just ahead of John Thorne who has taken his Yamaha YXZ1000R to fifth. Round 1 winner Justin Birchall is in sixth on 236.

Phill Bayliss continues to lead the BCC Trophy with three wins from four events. Jon Damrel is in second place in his Insanity Racing Tornado and Ben Clay is third. Nick Pritchard, who is in fourth after winning the last round, has had the engine out of his Goka Buggy and should have a few more horses to play with next weekend.

Pat Masters has 32 point lead in the Freelander Challenge but behind him there is a very close battle with Michael Wilson, Alex Howard, Graham White, Louisa Felice and Brian Chase all separated by just 15 points. Ahead of round five Louisa and fellow Team Sheepie Freelander competitor Ian Linford announced that they’d be taking part in the Wales Rally GB National rally at the end of the season, so they'll be racing along the same tracks as Ogier and Latvala. 

The event will be held at the MoD’s tank training facility at Bovington with a full day of action starting at 10am on Saturday. Day two will start at 9am with the finish due around 3pm. Unfortunately there will be no access to the venue for spectators due to it being a live MoD site. Pictures from the event will be available on Sunday night on facebook.com/msabccc.

Missed the BCCC TV show? Watch it here!

Ceri static cam vid

A few bits of video I did while also taking the photographs...

Images from BCCC Ceri

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Seconds in it as Gould wins at Ceri

Martin Gould emerged victorious after an event-long battle with Justin Birchall at round four of the Britpart MSA British Cross County Championship which was held at Ceri forest in Wales.

It was Birchall who led early on in his Lofthouse Freelander, his car benefiting from extra power after extensive work on the engine. Gould took the lead on run three and at the end of day one he was two seconds in front.

In third place overnight was Ryan Cooke who, along with his team, had got his Milner LRM-1 back to full health after his problems at the last round.

Crews not faring so well on the opening day included Richard Coleby who snapped a belt on his Polaris and Richard Green who rolled his Tomcat out of the event.

The competition between Gould and Birchall was just as intense on day two and, going into the final run there was only six seconds in it. A slight mistake at a hairpin on the last run lost some time for Birchall and Gould took the win by 13 seconds.

“It’s been a really good race,” said Gould. “I was on edge all weekend, wanting to keep the pace up but not wanting to push too hard and go off the road. Justin and myself were split by seconds all weekend so it was a great battle, I just managed to pip him at the end.”

Birchall commented: “It was very close and a great weekend’s competition. I’m impressed with the new engine, it’s given us some extra pace. The course was fantastic, a good mix of fast stuff and more technical sections. The rain on day two made the course very slippery and we had a few moments, we also blew a pipe on the power steering pump but we made it to the finish.”

Cooke maintained his third position with Andy Powell overcoming a couple of punctures to take fourth. In fifth place was Mike Moran who was debuting his Lofthouse Evo. Electrical problems and a high-speed spin hampered his day one runs but the car went well on day two as Moran got used to the extra power of the Evo 9 engine.

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard took his first win of the season in his Goka buggy following the retirement of day one leader Steve Anning. Phill Bayliss consolidated his championship lead with second and the Tomcat of Ben Clay was third.

Graham White won the Freelander Challenge, his second win of the season. Alex Howard was second and Brian Chase was third.

The Clubman class saw a good entry with former BCCC champion Ian Rochelle driving his Rivet on the opening day and fellow-former BCCC drivers Phil Ibbotson and Gordon Monaghan also entered. It was Justin Brookes who led the Clubman in his Polaris at the end of day one but he didn’t run on the second day. Ibbotson who took the win in his Metro 6R4 Evo with Sian Rogers in second. In third was Dutch driver Maurice Ubachs who enjoyed his first BCCC event in his Toyota Hilux.

The next round of the BCCC takes place at Bovington in Dorset on September 10/11.

BCCC results:

1. Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 01:09:57

2. Justin Birchall/Louise Birchall (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:10:10
3. Ryan Cooke/Darren Cooke (Milner LRM-1) 01:17:13

4. Andy Powell/Evalda Bob Kazla (Simmbugghini) 01:20:10

5. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (Lofthouse Evo) 01:20:30

6. Jonny Koonja/Matt Lowe (Simmbugghini) 01:20:32

7. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio V8) 01:22:00

8. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 01:22:38

9. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (Yamaha YXZ 1000R) 01:23:41
10. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:23:50

BCCC champion to debut new car at Ceri

2014 and 2015 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship title winner Mike Moran will contest his first round of 2016 next weekend when he brings his new Lofthouse Evo to round four in Ceri forest.

The car has been built by Lofthouse Motorsport who have prepared Moran’s cars for several years and, in contrast to most other cars in the BCCC, it features a relatively small capacity turbocharged engine.

“Lofthouse Motorsport have built a lightweight version of their popular offroad racer and it’s powered by a 2.0 litre AMS Mitsubishi Evo 9 engine which we had mapped last week. The weight reduction should help us brake later and take more speed through the corners.”

“At my age you become more impatient so it’s been agony having to sit out the first three rounds of the season while the car was being built. The BCCC is very competitive this year and my long-term navigator Tony Coid and I are itching to get back in the hot seats.”

As well as his BCCC campaign Moran is planning on using his new car on the Des Cimes event in France.

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.

BCCC TV: 2016 Round 3 - Forrest Estate

Static cam footage from Forrest Estate

Images from BCCC Forrest Estate

Please click here to see the images.

Gould makes it a BCCC double at Forrest Estate

Martin Gould continued his run of Britpart MSA BCCC success with his second win of the season at round three of the championship which was held at Forrest Estate in South West Scotland. Richard Wynne-Williams was second in his Lofthouse Freelander.

The notoriously tough venue took some scalps early on as champion leader Justin Birchall had an input shaft break on his Lofthouse Freelander’s gearbox on the opening run which put him out of the event. Neil Davey was another run one casualty as he put his Yamaha YXZ1000R off the road. It was Gould who topped the timesheets on run one with Ryan Cooke his nearest challenger. Cooke’s day would get steadily worse from there though with some runs hampered by cooling issues and then a wishbone bolt coming off the car resulting in jammed steering and a high-speed roll.

Gould continued to set the pace and at the end of day one’s seven runs he held a lead of over four minutes from Richard Wynne-Williams with Steve Smith in third.

A further six runs of the 8.2 mile course took place on day two and Gould maintained his position to take the win.

“It’s been an interesting and difficult weekend,” said Gould. “With our nearest challengers retiring from the event it was hard to judge the pace – we didn’t want to back off too much and lose concentration. I’m really pleased with the result, it’s good for our championship hopes. Hopefully Justin and Ryan will be back out at round four and we should also see Mike Moran’s car so it should be a great event.”

Wynne-Williams had his best result of the season in second and, with Smith’s Clio suffering a double diff failure late on, it was Paul Myers who completed the top three. Mark Jacques took this Lofthouse Freelander to fourth and Andy Powell had his third consecutive fifth place finish after exhaust issues on day one and an unwell driver on day two.

Phill Bayliss won the Trophy category despite completing one run on three wheels. Jon Damrel overcame several punctures to finish second in the Trophy.

In the Freelander Challenge it was Alex Howard who took the win ahead of Ian Linford and Michael Wilson.

BCCC results:
1. Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 02:16:17
2. Richard Wynne-Williams/Ian Jones (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:22:45
3. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 02:24:34
4. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (Lofthouse Freelander) 02:24:41
5. Andy Powell/Evalda Kazla (Simmbugghini) 02:25:04
6. Colin Gould/Aaron Birch (Polaris RZR) 02:26:48
7. Richard Coleby/ (Polaris) 02:34:55
8. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Clio V8) 02:40:48
9. Alan Thomas/Bob Moulding (Warrior Indy) 02:45:12
10. John Thorne/ (Yamaha YZR1000R) 02:50:17

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.

BCCC TV: 2016 Round 2 - Bovington North

BCCC TV: 2016 Round 2 - Bovington North

BCCCTV: 2016 Round 1 - Pikes Peak

Images from BCCC Bovington North

Please click here to see the images.

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.

Images from BCCC Pikes Peak



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Birchall battles the elements to take BCCC win

 

Justin Birchall returned to the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship in style as he took a win in the opening round at Pikes Peak.

Blue skies and sun greeted the crews as they got their cars ready on Saturday morning but by the time run one started snow was falling around the course. It was Birchall who set the fastest BCCC time on the opening run in his Lofthouse Freelander, three seconds ahead of the Milner LRM-1 of Ryan Cooke. In third was Ben Duckworth who was using a Milner R5 as his usual LRM-1 was not ready.

Birchall continued to set the pace throughout day one and he held a lead of over two minutes overnight.

Other BCCC crews didn’t fare so well on day one. Steve Smith, who had flown in from Dubai the day before the event, didn’t even make the start on run one after problems with his Clio. Richard Coleby rolled his Polaris out of the event mid-way through the day after setting some quick times. Martin Gould, whose Buxton 4x4 Rivet was not ready in time, broke a shaft on his Polaris.

Cooke’s hopes of challenging for the win on day two were dashed when he was forced to stop his car on the third run. With a good lead Birchall backed off slightly but in doing so he broke a propshaft on the penultimate run. The shaft was replaced and Birchall completed the final run of the event to win by over three minutes from Duckworth.

“I’m very happy with the result,” said Birchall. “It was a fantastic course and the very changeable weather made it extremely challenging. I think we broke the propshaft by going slower in one of the rutted offroad sections so we went back up to normal pace on the last run.”

In third place was Colin Gould on his first event in his Clio V8. Gould commented “I’m extremely pleased with third, I’m still learning the car and we’ll get quicker – the car has the pace, the driver needs to improve a bit! It looks like it will be a good championship, there are some very talented drivers and quick cars out this season.”

Mark Jacques’ Chevy-powered Lofthouse Freelander was fourth with Andy Powell, who had a new engine in his Simmbugghini, was fifth despite suffering brake problems on day one.

In the BCC Trophy Phill Bayliss enjoyed a successful first event as he took the win in his Land Rover 90 ahead of the Tomcat 100 of Ben Clay. Steve Anning was third.

2014/15 Freelander Challenge champion Ian Linford had suspected head gasket problems on the recce lap so decided not to start. Brian Chase was leading the Freelanders after day one but electrical problems dropped him to third behind Graham White and Pat Masters.

Chris Bird led the Clubman category after day one and he was setting times which would’ve seen him leading the event overall. He didn’t contest the second day so it was Toby Jefferson who was the first Clubman home. In second was Phil Ibbotson who was using his Metro 6R4 for the first time since 2013. Jonny Koonja was third, driving on his first event for around ten years after spending recent years in the navigator’s seat.

BCCC Top 10

1. Justin Birchall/Louise Birchall (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:39:39

2. Ben Duckworth/Mathew Cook (Milner R5) 01:43:07
3. Colin Gould/Aaron Burch (Clio V8) 01:48:24
4. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:50:48
5. Andy Powell/Evalda Kazla (Simmbugghini) 01:51:18
6. Richard Wynne-Williams/Ian Jones (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:54:56
7. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 01:57:55
8. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100) 02:00:25
9. John Thorne/ (Yamaha YXZ1000R) 02:01:41
10. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight) 02:08:53

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"