2008 Roskirk Report
by Phil James
The first of Blackpool South Shore Motor Club’s two annual rallies, the Roskirk Stages, took place on Sunday 9th March at the Three Sisters Race Circuit near Wigan and was voted a resounding success by all concerned.
The event attracted a maximum sixty car entry with competitors coming from all parts of England, Scotland and Wales to take part but South Shore members upheld local pride taking a clutch of prizes.
The rally was won by Cumbrian Keith Taylor and his Wigan based co-driver Stephen Rogers in the Border Caravans Impreza but they were chased all the way by the Lawbyte Impreza of South Shore’s Richard Banks and Phil Peak who eventually finished third. The Blackpool crew had to contend with a limited tyre choice and this proved a huge disadvantage on a day when the weather was so changeable.
Wesham’s Andy Wilkinson and Sandie Taylor came up with a novel way of preserving tyre wear by driving parts of almost every stage on just two wheels! They got off to a cracking start finishing the opening stage second fastest in their MED 205 before completing the rally eighth overall and collecting the runners-up award for class 4.
Had there been a prize for best finish from lowest start number then without doubt it would have gone to Inskip’s Quentin James and co-driver Chris Johnson in the HomeownersAdviceCentre.com 205 who were seeded as car sixty and finished thirtieth. They did get an award though for finishing third in class 2 for up to 1400cc cars.
Student newcomers Barney Bream and Craig Butchart finished 27th in the Fiesta whilst Kirkham’s Kevin Rumsam and Ian Wroe ended the day in 49th place in their 205.
It wasn’t a particularly good day though for Andy Leech and John Simkiss in the Autobahnn Coachworks BMW M3. They took a stage maximum time on the opening test after missing a split but there was worse to come. Leech, from Cleveleys, forgot to re-fix the bonnet pins before starting stage six and as a result the bonnet flew open shortly after the stage start. The crew completed the test without stopping or dropping too much time but unfortunately the incident had cracked the windscreen and with the officials deeming the car unsafe to continue they were forced to retire.
Taylor’s win came as a result of a late charge beating the Ford Escort Mk2 of Brian Hardman and Paul Jackson who had headed the field for the first nine stages. Another Mk2 crew Tim Whiting and Neil MacDonald had been on target for the final podium place before Banks snatched it from them on the final stage. At least they collected the Class 5 awards.
Fifth placed David Burns and Steve Hallmark dominated class 3 in their Vauxhall Corsa whilst the class 4 honours went to sixth placed Peter Tattersall and Stephen Riley in their Escort Mk2.
A spin on the opening stage left Nigel Worswick and Amy Cadman needing help from the marshals to regain the track and their Escort Mk2 languishing in 52nd place. Steady progress thereafter saw them finish seventh ahead of Wilkinson.
A giant killing performance from Alistair and David Oram saw the Vauxhall Nova crew finish ninth overall. They had earlier fought for class 2 honours with Ben Wilkinson and Chris Davidson but the Nova crew had gained the upper hand before the Citroen Saxo retired.
James Howard and Charlie Woodward completed the top ten after an off on SS11 demoted the Impreza crew from seventh.
The Nissan Micra of Stephen Brown and Paul Stringer took F1000 honours after overhauling the similar car of early leaders Stephen Johnson and David Barratt. Keith Markham and Simon Rogers were a close third throughout the day in the Daihatsu Charade.
Top 10 Results
1 Keith Taylor/Stephen Rogers (Subaru Impreza) 25m 35s; 2 Brian Hardman/Paul Jackson (Ford Escort Mk2) 25m 45s; 3 Richard Banks /Phil Peak (Subaru Impreza) 26m 17s; 4 Tim Whiting/Neil MacDonald (Ford Escort Mk2) 26m 20s; 5 David Burns/ Steve Hallmark (Vauxhall Corsa) 26m 40s; 6 Peter Tattersall/Stephen Riley (Ford Escort Mk2) 26m 50s; 7 Nigel Worswick/Amy Cadman (Ford Escort Mk2) 27m 08s; 8 Andy Wilkinson/Sandie Taylor (Peugeot 205) 27m 18s; 9 Alistair Oram/David Oram Davidson (Vauxhall Nova) 27m 22s; 10 James Howard/Charlie Woodward (Subaru Impreza) 27m 31s.
Class Award Winners: 1: Stephen Brown/Paul Stringer (Nissan Micra); 2: Oram/Oram; 3: Burns/Hallmark; 4: Tattersall/Riley; 5: Whiting/MacDonald.
Photos by: www.pro-rally.co.uk
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