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Drystone Rally 2002
Sponsored by Derby Auto Accessories & Tuning
Mid-Derbyshire Motor Club
20th-21st July 2002
Clerk of the Course: Mark Slatcher
Route: 130 Miles
Map: 119
Starters: 48
Winners: Stuart Newby/Paul Holmberg (Subaru Impreza)
Mid-Derbyshire MC's Drystone Rally has had a reputation as a rally that uses tough tracks however for 2002 a new organising team under the leadership of Mark Slatcher put on a route with fewer and smoother whites. The route was highly praised by competitors although the rally was not easy and crews were kept under pressure throughout the 130 miles of the rally.
Winners: Stuart Newby/Paul Holmberg (Subaru Impreza)
M&H Photography
Sponsorship for the event came from Derby Autoaccessories & Tuning, agents for Kent and Piper cams, K&N filters, Peco Exhaust Systems, EBC Performance Braking, Spax& Koni Suspension kits, Weber, SU, Bosch and Dellorto.
From early section times it seemed that the rally would be a battle between the Vauxhall Novas of top seeds Guy Robinson/Charlie Wheeldon and Carl Hawkins/Iain Tullie, however neither crew were destined to finish the rally. Robinson/Wheeldon had had to stop and repair a loose connection on the fuel pump before they were forced out at about the quarter distance mark when the rotor arm and central spindle on the distributor broke up and brought the Nova to a halt. Hawkins/Tullie went out when they rolled their Nova on a fast B-road, both crew members emerged unhurt.
These retirements allowed Stuart Newby/Paul Holmberg through to what seemed a comfortable win, their winning margin being over three minutes. However they'd lost a minute after having to drive two miles on a puncture. They'd lost a further two minutes when a broken down spectator car got in their way, however this section was cancelled after a seperate incident in which an objector blocked the route.
Steve Webster/Steve Porter came home in second place to make it a Subaru Impreza 1-2. Tim Tordoff/Ian Frazer upheld Nova honours by taking third, while Howard Price/Carl Williamson were fourth in their Toyota Corolla. Simon Cottrell/Marcus Watmough appeared in a Hillman Avenger as their regular Impreza was sidelined with damage sustained on the PK Memorial Rally two weeks previously. They finished fifth despite interior lighting problems which meant that they had no maplight during the plot 'n bash sections and no poti throughout the second half.
Third Placed: Tim Tordoff/Ian Frazer (Vauxhall Nova)
M&H Photography
The win put Holmberg in a strong position in the North Western Championship, however Price/Williamson and Cottrell/Watmough were still in contention after their top finishes on the Drystone.
Other leading retirements included Dave Jones/Gary Evans who planted their Peugeot 309 on top of a drystone wall. Jamie Turner/Graham Raeburn broke an engine mounting on their Metro on the infamous Bonsall White, the mounting then put a hole in the sump. Simon Randall/Paul Davenport had the clutch fail and the fan belt break on their Escort.
The Novice Class was dominated by the Vauxhall Nova of Richard Oxley/Jason Simms, who finished in a magnificent twelfth position overall, well clear of the rest of the class. A Millennium Rally for beginners ran alongside the main event and this was won by the Vauxhall Cavalier of Paul Wilson/Jon Broadbent.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Stuart Newby | Paul Holmberg | Subaru Impreza | 8m 45s | |
| 2 | Steve Webster | Steve Porter | Subaru Impreza | 11m 54s | |
| 3 | Tim Tordoff | Ian Frazer | Vauxhall Nova | 13m 38s | |
| 4 | Howard Price | Carl Williamson | Toyota Corolla | 14m 26s | |
| 5 | Simon Cottrell | Marcus Watmough | Hillman Avenger | 14m 34s | |
| 6 | John Haden | Steve Coupland | Subaru Impreza | 16m 00s | |
| 7 | Gary 'Shonkey' Jones | Dave Pitchford | Toyota Corolla | 17m 54s | |
| 8 | Iain Scott | Jez Harris | Toyota Corolla | 18m 11s | |
| 9 | Michael Pedley | David Pedley | Ford Escort | 25m 56s | |
| 10 | Jamie Gratton-Smith | Roger Hage | Peugeot 205 GTi | 28m 16s | |
| 11 | Jim Paterson | Adrian Smart | Subaru Legacy RX | 32m 39s | |
| 12 | Richard Oxley | Jason Simms | Vauxhall Nova | 33m 06s | |
| 13 | Alistair Hobday | Richard Dunham | Peugeot 205 GTi | 34m 17s | |
| 14 | Adrian Green | Paul Hudson | Ford Fiesta | 34m 27s | |
| 15 | Stew Dale | Jason Dolman | Ford Sierra XR4x4 | 35m 09s | |
| 16 | Owen Turner | Andrew Dadswell | Hillman Imp | 39m 14s | |
| 17 | Bob Wisniewski | Phil Kendall | Vauxhall Nova | 1F 61m 31s | |
| 18 | Mark Nicklin | Renny Morgan | Ford Sierra Sapphire | 1F 89m 05s | |
| 19 | Nick Topliss | Mick Fern | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 2F 30m 31s | |
| 20 | Adam Gardner | Andy Lewin | Austin Mini | 2F 40m 09s | |
| 21 | Graham Nunn | Paul Nelson | Peugeot 205 GTi | 3F 34m 14s | |
| 22 | Richard Bradbury | Andrew Mason | Peugeot 205 GTi | 3F 66m 05s | |
| 23 | Clive Baty | Phil Sant | Proton Compact | 4F 62m 28s | |
| 24 | Peter Reeson | Nathan Marriott | Peugeot 205 GTi | 5F 77m 04s | |
| 25 | John Bray | James Savage | Subaru Legacy | 6F 99m 11s | |
| 26 | Steven Price | Cyril Jones | Toyota Corolla | 7F 37m 31s | |
| 27 | Mark Gregory | Julian Evans | Vauxhall Nova | 7F 42m 45s | |
| 28 | Graham Child | Kevin Ablitt | Ford Escort | 7F 93m 56s | |
| 29 | Jason Birks | Chris White | Vauxhall Astra | 8F 76m 53s | |
| 30 | Chris Robinson | Alan Pemberton | Toyota Celica GT | 9F 81m 09s | |
| 31 | Martin 'Chin' Chinnery | Andy Coshan | Opel Manta | 9F 117m 32s | |
| 32 | Roy Massey | Duncan Marshall | Ford Escort | 9F 154m 03s | |
| 33 | Lee Hollinshead | Mark Feibel | Peugeot 205 GTi | 9F 216m 31s | |
| 34 | Shane Swindells | Aiden McHaffie | Peugeot 205 GTi | 11F 55m 19s | |
| 35 | Aidan Mangan | Lawrence Powell | Vauxhall Nova SR | 14F 117m 50s |