Report from Motoring News of 25th October 1995-

Report: Rob Aherne

Mellors’ Bulldog spirit

Victory and back-to-back titles fall to reigning champion

" MIDLAND MASTERY: Mellors and Brian Goff(left) were never headed after Gierson’s demise, easing their way to the champagne and a second title "

You’ve got to hand it to Chris Mellors. 1995 has often been far from a bed of roses: niggling problems, a couple of unforced errors and sheer bad luck has seen elation counterbalanced by frustration. The defending champion needed to win the final two rounds of this year’s Mintex Series to stand any chance of holding onto his crown.

As he showed on last month’s Trackrod Forest Stages, however, the big Chesterfield man thrives under pressure. With Brian Goff alongside, the brilliant form he displayed on the penultimate round in his native Yorkshire was carried through to mid-Wales, where a conclusive victory on last Saturday’s Bulldog Security Products Midland Rally made him the first man since Malcolm Wilson in 1979 to secure two consecutive National Championship.

And if it all sounds very straightforward, think again. Mellors was comprehensively upstaged by Murray Grierson early on before a transmission failure pitched the Scotsman’s Subaru Legacy off the road and into the Dyfi undergrowth, while newly-crowned Scottish Champion David Gillanders never gave the defending champion a moment's peace until his gearbox began to shed cogs during the final few stages and consigned him to the runners-up spot for the second year in succession. A three-horse race it may have been, but not one you would have fancied putting a wager on.

Right from the start, the championship contenders were locked in a rally of their own. Mellors drew first blood, blasting through a slippery Pantperthog six seconds quicker than Grierson - “and I thought we’d made a steady start!” he chuckled - and a further two up on Gillanders. But Murray was quick to reply, and how: a scorching effort in Gartheiniog saw him extract 18s from Mellors in 12 miles, leaving him with a handy 12s lead. At the following Dolgellau service, Grierson was beaming. Extensively repaired following its Trackrod inversion, various detail adjustments to his ICI Melinex Legacy had made it a more competitive proposition than ever, and hewas adamant that it wasn’t having to stretch its legs unduly. Not that Stewart Merry saw it that way. “Murray says he’s cruising: I’m not so sure!” he said.

The demoted Mellors had every cause for concern, because Gillanders was only nine seconds behind and in ebullient form. With Howard Davies conscripted into the passenger seat of the Shell Escort for the first time since 1993, on the grounds of his unrivalled local expertise, David readily accepted blame for the two brief excursions which interrupted his progress on the stocky Welshman’s home stage, Pantperthog. He was confident that he could reel the leading duo in.

Dyfi Main, however, was always going to be the test upon which this rally hinged - and it swung firmly towards Mellors. At 17-plus miles, this was a real Grierson stage - long, fast and winding, placing a premium on commitment and technique. But, even though he'd lost his rhythm early on with a messy half-spin, there was little the Dalbeattie man could do when, heading down a straight at full tilt, the front end of the Subaru suddenly locked up without warning. Something had broken in the transmission - Grierson suspecting that the gearbox had selected two cogs at once - and he and Merry were passengers as the Legacy speared off the edge of the road and flipped over, coming to rest on its side. Though body damage was confined to a dented front wing, there was no way the ex-Alister McRae machine was going anywhere without a trailer.

Predictably, Murray was disconsolate. “The last round [the Track- rod] was my fault: I messed up,” he said later, “but it’s so frustrating when it’s taken out of your hands like this.”

Mellors, unaware of his rival’s misfortune, thought he had blown it when the Escort suffered a rear puncture with two miles to go, costing him around 20s as he limped out on the rim. But he had wrung the very utmost from the Chester Exhaust Supplies-backed machine: Gillanders fell a full 16s short of his benchmark, and was now languishing 25s adrift of the leader.

Never one to mince words, the Aberdonian willingly gave credit where it was due. "This man in front got a real goer on in there,” he said, shaking his head. But he wasn’t giving up, making the most of Davies’ expertise on the second run through Pantperthog to snatch four seconds back. It was far from over.

"It's so frustrating when it's taken out of your hands like this."

"LATE gearbox problems prevented Gillanders from pushing the victor all the way to another nail-biting finish. Photos: Gavin Lodge"

Before the start, several seasoned observers tried in vain to work out the championship permutations if another registered contender managed to steal a march onthe top three. As it turned out, they needn’t have worried. Such was the pace at the front that, by second service in Machynlleth, Gillanders was the best part of two minutes clear of his nearest rival, Steve Smith, who had plenty of other things to worry about. Despite indulging in a 360-degree spin on Pantperthog 1 and getting caught up in “the biggest moment of the year” second time through, the Yorkshireman’s gorgeous ex- Cerrato Delta Integrale just had the edge in a titanic battle for third, a scant two seconds clear of BTRDA contender Mark Perrott.

The promising Leominster driver was flying in his self- prepared Escort Cosworth, justifiably proud to be leading Brian Lyall’s ex-Malcolm Wilson car. “I’m not on it today - it’s like being on holiday or something,” offered the latter by way of explanation, not helped by getting a log stuck between a steering arm in Garthei- niog which left him with little in the way of lock. After Pantperthog 2 he was dead level with Steve Hill, struggling manfully with the unwieldy ex-Shinozuka Galant on the nore twisty stages. A puncture towards the end of Dyfi didn’t help.

Elsewhere, the long, slippery stages had taken a more serious toll on machinery. Local hero Iwan Roberts initially proved a cut above the squabbling pack, armed with the potent home-brewed Sierra Cosworth in which brother John vanquished allcomers on the Ker- ridge. However, a fighting third place went up in smoke with the Shawspeed machine’s head gasket on Pantperthog 2, just as another fancied Welshman, Jon Bennett- Evans, bade farewell to any chance of success. The Llangurig farmer and Chris Jones were stopped for four minutes in Dyfi changing a rear puncture on their Zond- sponsored Escort Cosworth; thereafter, not even a string of startling stage times could drag them any further than the fringes of the top 15.

Although a wide-awake Warren Philliskirk ran as high as fifth early on, a broken gear linkage in Pantperthog left his Metro 6R4 on the sidelines along with Roger Duckworth, whose Sierra XR4x4 blew its engine and transmission to pieces in the middle of Dyfi. Andrew Burton didn’t even get this far, the Alfa-Ferrari’s diff crying enough a few miles into Pantperthog 1 and curtailing his Welsh Championship bid.

"AN AGRESSIVE drive from Steve Smith was rewarded with a career-best third"

Four stages totalling around 25 miles remained, with a grandstand finish to rival 1994’s last-stage showdown seemingly waiting in the wings. Mellors, however, obviously hadn’t read the script. After changing a leaking front brake caliper at service, the Chesterfield man squeezed out four more seconds in Taliesin and a further five in Tare- nig, leaving him with a handsome 30s advantage to take into the final two tests, Myherin and Llanafan. As he grinningly acknowledged, they would be the longest 11 miles of his life.

Unbeknown to Chris, though, Gillanders had run into a rare bout of mechanical trouble. Usually a model of reliability, his Quaife sequential gearbox began to play up in Talesin, leaving him without fifth gear: not the end of the world, but enough to severely disrupt his concentration on occasion when pressing on in the Malcolm Wilson-prepared machine. “Some of these corners are pretty interesting in sixth, I can tell you,” he promised.

Sadly, the problem was destined to cramp his style all the way to the finish. Mellors extracted a further 1 Is in Myherin with his fifth quickest time of the day and, with just over six miles of Llanafan remaining, he was allowed the luxury of a cruise through the final test. Gillanders, firmly prepared for a final onslaught, was powerless to respond - particularly when fourth gear disappeared on the final test, obliging him to limp home with an even greater time loss. The final margin of victory, 48s, didn’t reflect how hard Mellors had been made to work, and although Gillanders was soon his usual boisterous self again at the finish - blaming Davies’ weight for dislodging the gearbox! - there was no disguising the disappointment that his dream of a Mintex and Scottish double would remain as just that for another year.

The charging Smith still had plenty to fight for, but his task was made easier when Perrott punctured in Tarenig and was forced to ease off by a blowing head gasket. Besides, Lyall and Hill were rapidly becoming embroiled in their own personal tussle, swapping seconds on the first three afternoon stages to arrive at Llanafan with the Scot nursing a narrow two-second advantage.

"AFTER threatening for most of the season, Geoff Smith finally scored a Mintex Gp N win."

This was all the incentive Hill needed. Determined to safeguard his third in the series, he flung the Galant through the six-miler to its first fastest time of the rally - only to find that Lyall had slipped off the road not far from the start, dropping around 15s. It also hauled Steve to within nine seconds of the delighted Smith, who achieved his aim of moving up two places in the final standings with his best-ever Mintex result. Lyall's misery was compounded by Perrott, who had changed the Escort’s head gasket and promptly demoted the Scot to sixth with a blistering last-stage run.

With a larger-than-usual turn-out of unregistered drivers, there were some unlikely faces in the lower reaches of the top 10. Swiftly coming to terms with his newly-acquired Tecroc Galant VR-4, Vince Wetton demonstrated much of his old flair throughout the day, running a strong eighth despite a panel-bashing excursion up a Dyfi firebreak. However, the spectre of his oft-retired Golf Synchro continued to haunt the 1985 BTRDA champion, as a late power steering DESPITE losing gears at an alarming rate all morning, Thompson was dominant in failure forced him OTL after the International seclion of the rally.

Myherin. Another former champion, multiple Scottish titlist Drew Gallacher, also showed impressively in a one-off outing at the wheel of Neale Dougan's rather battered Escort Cosworth, shrugging off a few niggling problems to take his best Mintex finish for at least 10 years.

In the absence of category victor Jeremy Easson, it was up to Geoff Smith and Steve Petch to supply the Gp N entertainment. The pair duly obliged, never separated by more than a handful of seconds on any stage, but the former had the edge right from the start. Avoiding the last-minute pitfalls which have dogged him so often this year, the Ashford younster eased his Team Priority Escort Cosworth away to the Mintex “showroom class” victory he has promised since midseason. Although he shadowed Smith initially, water injection failure, coupled with his Twil/Perstorp Impreza’s distaste for travelling uphill, persuaded Petch to settle for second, although Wetton’s late demise just allowed him to scrape into the top 10.

Caught in the Gp N sandwich, Phil and Mick Squires hurled their venerable Mk2 Escort to ever more sideways trajectories as the day wore on, but ninth was more than enough to secure the Potteries twins their second Welsh Championship title and the mantle of leading two-wheel drive finishers.

By the time Mellors crossed the finish ramp on Aberystwyth promenade the day-long sunshine had given way to cloud, but nothing could dampen the victor’s spirits. It may have been an up-and-down season, but stage for stage there are few drivers who can live with the experienced Chesterfield man for speed and commitment. More’s the pity that his increasing business commitments in the months ahead (see RRU) mean he is unlikely to be back to seek a championship hat-trick next year.

N1

MINTEX class champions Dave Boden/Andy Parkhurst were unopposed in N1, coming home 42nd despite having to weld their Frome Garages Nova’s steering rack back in after a couple of stages.

N2

ONCE Russell Eden ditched his Nova in Gartheiniog, Pete Wood/Graham Hopewell claimed 34th and the class spoils in their White Cell Rallying Peugeot 205 GTI whilst raising money for cancer research.

N3

A MEASURED run from Paul Thomas/ Steve Chetwynd in the AMS Astra GTE saw them secure second in the class championship along with 30th overall. Peter Thornton/Sean Kelly dropped to third in their Proban Astra GSi after losing three minutes with a front puncture in Dyfi, relegating them to second here, while class champions Steven Quine/Richard Skinner (GTE) suffered gearbox failure and Roger Davies’ class-leading GSi broke a driveshaft.

Dennis Tate/Andrew Wilson were a jubilant third in their Agrochem GSi, ahead of Charles Armstrong/Richard Bevan (GTE) and Neil Beardsley/ Adrian Carnhill (205 GTI).

N4

ALTHOUGH they led the Welsh National Championship going into the event, John Lay/Shaune Clorley were powerless to prevent their two-wheel drive rivals stealing a march on their Wem Motors Escort Cosworth here. They finished 17th, two places ahead of the puncture-troubled Mark Pollard/ Graham Mockridge (Escort) and a further four clear of Jerseymen Mike Russell/Dave McKenlay, also the victims of a deflation in Taliesin.

Paul Snell/Martin Saunders were 27th, having put their Escort on its roof for six minutes on the first stage.

A5

THERE were no finishers in this class following the SS1 demise of Trevor Godwin/David Wyer (Mini)

A6

THE lone A6 finishers, Clive Taylor/Jim Ward, acquired their Exeway Nova GSi two days before the event, and promptly scooped the honours in 35th place after an untroubled debut.

Early leader Andy Gwynne (205) and Grahame Coleman (Nova) both succumbed to engine failure in Dyfi.

A7

NIGEL WAKEFIELD/Roger Allan finally notched up their first Formula Two success, taking 18th overall despite finding their TRL Technology 205 GTI a bit of handful as the stages cut up.

Hefin Harries, partnered by local expert Huw Lewis, was a useful second in his LTS-backed Peugeot, half a minute clear of Richard Roberts/Paul Price in their Total Office Products- backed car.

Charles Gordon/Piers Cave headed them both despite bending their 205’s subframe on the first stage, but dropped to fourth with a puncture in the closing stages. Phil Long/Cyril Morris (Astra GSi) were fifth, with Dave Hull/ Pamella Ludgate the final finishers, their 309’s clutch on its last legs.

Expected frontrunner Steve Wedgbury retired his similar car on the opening stage with driveshaft failure.

A8

HAVING retired his ex-Russell Brookes Sierra Cosworth on the first stage in both its previous outings, Paul Griffiths was relieved to finally see a finish ramp. With Mark Lewis, he wound up 11th — pretty good considering the turbo stopped functioning after Gartheiniog.

Malcolm Conibear/lan Bevan were the only other finishers in the ex-Shell Scholarship Audi S2, Peter Stephenson having rolled his Escort Cosworth into retirement on SS4.

B9

MICRA Challenger Mark Fisher was an excellent 24th and first in class with his McRae Motorsport Nissan, coming home second front-wheel drive exponent into the bargain. Partnered by Chris Wood, the youthful Ulsterman wanted to “marry Dyfi” after his troublefree run!

Michael Plant/Marina Francks soldiered on with their Viking Tyres Mini Cooper to wind up as final finishers.

B10

AFTER securing the Motoring News Two-Wheel Drive Challenge by rolling over the start ramp - it was their fifth start of the season - Dave Elder/Dave Robson enjoyed themselves for the day, stitching up class success with 20th place in the little Toyota Starlet.

Michelle Taunt/Kevin Ikin limbered up for the RAC with second in class in their Corolla GT.

B11

UNABLE to match the pace of the in-form Squires’ brothers (see main report), Theo Bengry/Les Forsbrook were happy enough with 12th in their Escort RS - particularly after winning a close dice with two-wheel drive rivals Robin Bradbury/Charlie Husband (Escort G4). The latter pair scooped the MN Two-wheel Drive Challenge honours on the day, however.

Having lost fourth gear on the first corner of the first stage, Alistair Tough/ Alan Bland gritted their teeth and hung on for 16th in their Mk1 Escort. Fellow Escort men Phil Morgan/John Surridge and Robert Coates/Graham Andrews were the only other survivors, in 36th and 39th respectively, after Nigel Griffiths retired his unique Peugeot 205 Diesel on the first stage.

B12

ASIDE from the finishers mentioned in the main report, Derek McGinnigle/ Rupert Astbury managed a creditable 14th in their single-carb Sierra XR4x4, surviving a misfire two stages from home.

Guy Robinson/Pete Forrester were sixth in their Escort G3, puncturing on both Pantperthog stages - “it was puncture city!” - but finishing exactly a minute clear of the unique Rover 216 Vitesse of David Warner/Martin Pettitt, stepping up from BTRDA level for the first time. Meanwhile, an excursion restricted Russell Spry/Alan Frame (Escort Mk1) to 38th.

Giving his new Tuthill-prepared Poische 911 its debut, Brian Bell, with Paul Spooner co-driving, called it a day at second service after overly-low settings bent the silver machine’s rear suspension.

Other casualties included Graham Evans, whose Escort Cosworth broke its steering in Gartheiniog.

Thompson vocal

"DESPITE losing gears at an alarming rate all morning, Thompson was dominant in the International section of the rally."

Debuting a brand new Malcolm Wilson-prepared Escort Cosworth, David “Piggy” Thompson/John Davenport reigned supreme in the International section of the rally, which ran before the national field and visited the Gartheiniog stage twice.

Steadily coming to terms with the lurid yellow and green machine, Thompson lost fifth, sixth and seventh gears early on before Malcolm Wilson’s men changed the unit; “although, to be quite honest, it’s fast enough with four!" he admitted. Despite this, his times would have been quick enough to put in the thick of the National Rally top 10, as he romped home to victory.

Kevin Curran/Simon Warner were six minutes behind, having put their immaculate Ringways Escort Cosworth into a deep Gartheiniog ditch and subsequently suffered a driveshaft failure in Dyfi.

Only Tomas Abrahamsson/Bruno Berglund chose the occasion to test for the RAC, trying out transmission and suspension settings on their RED Escort Cosworth. After a nightmarish morning, Team Manager Hakan Bjur was fervently hoping some of their bad luck was out of the way: the brakes deposited all their water coolant on the floor of the car in Dyfnant, causing it to a) mist up and b) not stop, while driveshaft failure in Dyfi left Abrahamsson with rear-wheel drive only. Running down among the National field by the end, he might still have won without nearly 8m road penalties, but finally wound up just two seconds adrift of Curran.

The only other starters were David and Shelley Nutt, shaking down their Gp A Astra GTE. Driveshaft failure, broken rear springs and a time-consuming off in Gartheiniog left them 15m behind the four-wheel drive cars, but they survived for a finish.