There was double delight for the Yorkshire contingent in this weekend's Trackrod Rally which finished in Filey.
Doncaster driver Matthew Hirst stormed to an emphatic victory in the Trackrod Forest Stages Rally at the weekend but it was not enough to prevent Yorkshire rival Elliot Payne from becoming the first man in the British Trials and Rally Drivers Championship’s 71-year history to win the national title three times in succession.
Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear’s Skoda Fabia Rally2 was fastest through each of Saturday’s five stages, to win the 45-timed to the fraction of a second miles of competition, forming half of the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, in a total of 41 minutes, 7.5 seconds.
Fiesta Rally2 pilot Payne , still only 21 from Pateley Bridge near Harrogate, shadowed Hirst throughout, second fastest everywhere, while ensuring Slaidburn’s Russ Thompson - the only driver who could mathematically still out-point him - remained in his rear-view mirror and thus slipped out of contention.
“WE had a steady run with the championship in mind,” declared Payne, who defied the handicap of three fractured bones in his wrist to complete his season-long achievement with a around to spare.
38.9 seconds separated the two main championship competitors at the finish, with Iceland’s Daniel Siguroarson third in a similarly powered 300hp Volkswagon Polo.
The Trackrod Historic Cup came to thrilling climax with the Ford Escort of Malton’s Dan Mennell being overhauled on the final stage in Langdale by the similarly ageing Escort driven by East Anglian Ben Friend, who turned a 2.1-second deficit into a 6.1-second advantage. Four different drivers had won the opening quartet of stages while British Historic Championship leader Perez, in a gleaming Porsche 911, recovered from time-consuming engine problems in the morning with an eye-catching afternoon’s display which netted him runner-up spot and strengthened his claim to the title which will now be decided in the Scottish Borders in November.
Heavy pre-event rain caused minor re-route problems on the eve of the two-day event but the forest stages, while slippery, held up well with even the tail end of the almost 170 starters reporting no serious cutting up.
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