Sykes breaks Swift Sport Cup victory drought
The MSA
British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup contested the Toddsleap.com Ulster
International Rally this weekend, Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor relieved to
take their first win of the 2009 season.
The pair set
six fastest times over the thirteen stages, stage ten being cancelled due to an
earlier accident, leading from start to finish on the 127 mile event. But
crucially the Stourbridge driver’s early pace was sufficient to build over a
minute cushion, which allowed him to cruise the final stages when niggling gear
selection problems worsened.
His relief
came after a season of fast times interspersed with frustrating transmission
related retirements and an off on the Jim Clark, but he was nonetheless pleased
with the result on such a demanding event.
“The gear
cables had become slack as the event went on,” he explained, “and I was praying
that the final stage would be cancelled after the earlier accident. So we had to
keep everything crossed as we drove through it; we'd lost second and fourth
gears by the end even with a dozen cable ties holding it all together. I'm
delighted but it was a definite relief to get to the finish.”
Manx
youngster David Harrison and his Welsh co-driver Glyn Thomas hung on to the
leader throughout the event. The closing darkness of Friday’s final two stages
had proved difficult though, the support bracket breaking on the jumps on stage
five, leaving the lights bouncing around in the darkness of the day’s final
stage.
The previous
event’s winners Like Pinder and Peter Scott had a dreadful event after clipping
a bank on the very first stage. A tight muddy corner caught out the 25 year-old
Yorkshireman and the resultant damage forced them to stop at the roadside with
bent suspension and a broken driveshaft.
Despite
being able to re-start on Saturday, the massive sixty minute penalty for missing
all of Friday’s stages meant they pottered round for points, Scott stating that
his 60th birthday on the Sunday would bring a bus pass that would
enable him to travel faster!
Gordon
Nichol and Emma Morrison needed a good finish to maintain their twelve point
lead in the series after Rally Isle of Man. This they achieved, taking a useful
third place with four fastest stage times on the event. Their first stage was
marred, however, when they lost around forty seconds when they came across
Pinder’s stricken car, slowed to a standstill by Scott on the preceding corner,
before realising that the stage was not blocked. Saturday was eventful too, the
crew careering through a gate which had been knocked down by an earlier car,
fortunate only to clip a pallet and lose around 45 seconds turning round in the
wet field.
Australian
Molly Taylor continued her first full season competing in the UK, learning all
the time on unfamiliar tarmac. She and co-driver Jemma Bellingham drove a
deliberately cautious Ulster, choosing wet pattern Pirellis over slicks in the
changeable weather, after a big off in the Isle of Man on slippery damp asphalt.
Aside from an odd overshoot, the pair drove a sensible and controlled event, now
lying second overall and leading Junior driver, the winner of this category
assured a place in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout at the end of the
season.
Her result
was also sufficient to secure the 2009 MSA British Ladies Rally Championship
title, a prestigious award which is presented alongside the overall British
Rally Championship, Junior and Teams’ trophies at the Royal Automobile Club in
London.
Not having
such a good event was Nick Everard, the 21 year-old suffering with an upset
stomach from the outset. The gruelling and bumpy nature of the stages caused he
and co-driver Chris Davies to stop on the third test, Torr Head, losing over a
minute while he overcame a bout of sickness. This, coupled with gear selection
problems early on and an overshoot on Saturday, left them fifth, but credit was
certainly due for the youngster’s perseverance as he still looked decidedly grey
by Saturday’s finish.
The six
finishers split over £1300 in prize money on the tough event, Sykes taking £500
for his win, £300 for Harrison and £200 for Nichol, with cash for every finisher
paid out at the end of season awards ceremony. To date the Swift Sport Cup will
pay out nearly £6000 in prize money at the awards, but the main goal is the end
of season title, still attainable by the top four on the final event,
International Rally Yorkshire on September 26th.
Date published : 26 Aug 2009 - 15:13:17
