Images from Britpart MSA BCCC Ceri 2017

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Gould returns to winning ways in Ceri

Martin Gould returned to winning ways at round 4 of the BCCC despite only finishing repairing his car the day before the event.

Gould’s Buxton 4x4 Rivet suffered major engine damage at the last round, he got the car back on Thursday but then had several jobs to do on it as well as running the engine in. Fastest time on the opening run proved that the car was in good health. 

Gould continued to head the leaderboard throughout the opening day's five runs. building up a lead of 47 seconds over Adrian Marfell in his Fouquet-Nissan. 

Six further runs took place on day two and Gould extended his lead, finishing 1m 12s ahead of Marfell.

“We couldn’t have made a better start,” said Gould. “After the first run it was a case of keeping the momentum up and building a lead. The course was great, the best in the championship I think. We were fortunate to be able to race the Rivet, the timescale for building the engine was very challenging but it was achieved. I'm very pleased with the result, it means our championship is right back on track after the disappointment at round three."

Marfell took second place, equalling his best ever BCCC result: "We're starting to gel with the car now and I'm getting used to the tyres. I'm happy with second, we had a nice battle with Justin and our fastest time of the event was only one second off Martin's so that's pretty good."

Justin Birchall completed the top three in his Lofthouse Freelander ahead of Ben Duckworth and Andy Degiulio.

In the BCC Trophy it was Joe Quirk who took the win in his Yamaha YXZ1000R ahead of Jon Damrel's Land Rover Tornado. Ashley Jones' event ended on run one after a collision with a log whilst round three winner Paul Rowlands put his Can AM DS off the road and was fortunate not to roll down the hillside.

Graham White won the Freelander Challenge for the second time this season, 2016 champion Pat Masters was second and Michael Smith was third.

The Clubman category was won by Phil Ibbotson in his Metro 6R4 Evo ahead of Toby Jefferson and Greg Clement.

BCCC Top Ten:

1 Martin Gould/Simon Kerfoot (Buxton 4x4 Rivet) 01:11:13
2 Adrian Marfell/Paul Bartleman (Fouquet Nissan) 01:12:25
3 Justin Birchall/Jonny Koonja (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:13:20
4 Ben Duckworth/Matt Cook (Milner LRM-1) 01:14:25
5 Andy Degiulio/Paul Jones (Milner R5) 01:16:29
6 Steve Smith/John Griffith (JRG Clio V8) 01:18:56
7 Ryan Cooke/Darren Cooke (Milner LRM-1) 01:19:42
8 Mark Jacques/Adam Nicholson (Lofthouse Freelander) 01:20:18
9 Richard Coleby (Polaris RZR XP Turbo) 01:21:36
10 Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 01:23:45

BCCC crews countdown to Ceri

After a seven week break the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will resume next weekend when round four takes place in Ceri forest near Newtown in Wales.

Justin Birchall goes into the event leading the title race on 248 points after a win at the previous round in Scotland. Along with several other BCCC drivers, Birchall used the mid-season break to demonstrate his car to the thousands of people who attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

In second place, 24 points behind Birchall on 224 points is Adrian Marfell. It is Marfell's first season in the BCCC but he has scored good points on all three rounds so far in his Fouquet-Nissan.

Third place is held by Ryan Cooke who has had a consistent season, taking his Milner LRM-1 to fourth place on each of the three rounds.

Competing in the BCCC for the first time in several years is Lee Mansfield in his Xylo Racing Milner R5 and he lies in fourth place. The last round took its toll on the car though and he faces a race against time to be ready for Ceri.

"We've replaced three suspension arms and the rest have been rebushed," said Mansfield. "One of the dampers was damaged and is being rebuilt and we've also had the gearbox out, rebuilt the steering rack, fitted new steering arms and new front brake discs. After our brush with the scenery we've had to repair the bonnet, door, cab and windscreen too. We still have a lot to sort so there will be a few late nights. We're booked in to Staffordshire Signs for new graphics on Thursday so that's our deadline!"

Another driver who has been busy with his car is Martin Gould. The 2016 champion retired from the last round with engine problems on his Buxton 4x4 Rivet and delays getting parts have meant that it's not certain what car he'll be in at Ceri.

"It's touch and go whether the Rivet will be ready," commented Gould. We had issues getting race engine parts at short notice, the rebuild is on the go but if it's not complete will bring our Mattserati. This won't be ideal as it's not as quick as the Rivet. Hopefully we can join the party again and get back to winning ways."

In the National B BCC Trophy championship  Paul Rowlands won at Forrest Estate to make it three different winners in the first three rounds. Rowlands heads the leaderboard on 246 points and, after scoring good points on all three event, Jon Damrel is in second on 225.

Freelander Challenge champion Pat Masters has made a good start this season with two wins in the three events. Masters has 166 points, 33 ahead of second placed Ian Morson. Graham White, who has one victory this season, is in third on 110.

The Clubman category has attracted a strong entry including Rick Mann, Toby Jefferson, Greg Clement, Paul Harris and Phil Ibbotson.

The event starts at 10am on Saturday with action continuing until around 5pm. Sunday’s runs will commence at 9am and the event is expected to finish around 3pm. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com. Pictures from the event will be online at facebook.com/msabccc on Sunday evening.