Unless otherwise clearly indicated, results on this site have been declared final and are therefore not subject to query or protest
Clerk of the Course: Eryl Rees & John Whitehurst
Route: 130 Miles
Maps: 135 & 146
Starters: 75
Winners: Aled Evans/Eryl Evans (Ford Sierra XR4x4)
After a number of near misses in early part of the 2000 season, Aled and Eryl Evans finally achieved an outright win by coming home at the front of the field on the Night Owl Rally.
The Aberyswyth MC organised event was Round Five of the Welsh Road Rally Championship and attracted a maximum 75 car entry. It proved a challenging event as the club moved the route further south than it had ventured in recent years and the tight lanes in the Aberaeron/Tregaron area kept crews on their toes.
The Evans' press on style in their Ford Sierra 4x4 was well suited to the rally that used a large number of farm tracks and, by the time crews reached the petrol halt, they had pulled out a three and a half minute lead. This was despite have to run on dipped beam only for most of the rally. The lighting having been damaged by hitting a rock on one of the early whites. They increased this lead after Petrol to give a victory margin of six minutes at the Finish.
Welsh Championship leaders Dennis Quinn/Andrew Thomson had another problematic night but still managed a top ten finish. They lost 13 minutes in the first half after putting their Escort into a ditch. They then charged through the second half dropping two minutes less than any other crew and thus salvaged seventh place.
This result was enough for Quinn/Thomson to maintain their Welsh series lead. However their advantage at the top had been cut as Toby Adam/Pat Gadsby finished the Night Owl in second place, while Graham Evans/Ian Mills were third. Steve Rogers/Paul Jones also maintained their challenge by taking fourth place.
Other contenders did not have such a happy event. Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford and Hefin George/Dilwyn John both missed the same route check at Trawscoed and lost out on top places as a result. Alun Evans/Carl Williamson retired with overheating problems on their Escort. Gareth 'Gog' Jones/Owen Dodd holed the exhaust manifold on their Escort XR3 and collected just enough controls to be classified as a finisher.
Huw Evans/Marc Jones had hoped for a good result on their local event but they were another crew to miss the board at RC39. Martyn O'Connor/Peter Collins also threw away a good result when they booked in a minute early at MC2.
Kevin Price/Jane Harris were the clear winners in the Semi-Expert class, finishing twelve minutes ahead of Hefin Evans/Paul Dark and grabbing tenth overall in the process.
Given the tough nature of the event, it wasn't surprising that the Novice class awards were decided on fails, with Andrew Phillips/Roger Harris taking the top position in front of Simon Chandler/David Manning and Chris Wright/Erik West.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Aled 'Cacen' Evans | Eryl Evans | Ford Sierra XR4x4 | 7m 13s | |
2 | Toby Adam | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 12m 59s | |
3 | Graham Evans | Ian Mills | Toyota Corolla | 14m 14s | |
4 | Steve Rogers | Paul Jones | Mini Cooper S | 15m 25s | |
5 | Grant Parker | Gwyn Williams | Toyota Corolla | 17m 06s | |
6 | Gareth 'Factory' Evans | Dylan Evans | Ford Escort | 19m 23s | |
7 | Dennis Quinn | Andrew Thomson | Ford Escort | 19m 57s | |
8 | Arwyn Davies | Alan Hands | Ford Escort | 20m 29s | |
9 | Nicky Yates | Simon Yates | Ford Escort | 21m 43s | |
10 | Kevin Price | Jane Powell | Toyota Corolla | 23m 32s | |
11 | Andrew Lewis | Justin Davies | Ford Escort | 25m 28s | |
12 | Jerry Jones | Ian Cooke | Austin Mini | 26m 50s | |
13 | Keith Daniels | Aneurin James | Vauxhall Nova | 27m 07s | |
14 | Haydn Williams | Iestyn Leyshon | Vauxhall Astra | 28m 26s | |
15 | Nick Broadway | Andy Oakes | Ford Sierra | 28m 47s | |
16 | Nick Bloxham | Martyn Allen | Peugeot 205 GTi | 31m 46s | |
17 | Alan Jones | Mark Andrew | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 33m 08s | |
18 | Hefin Evans | Paul Dark | Ford Fiesta XR2 | 35m 43s | |
19 | D Evans | John Hands | Peugeot 309 GTi | 36m 51s | |
20 | Mark Owen | Bob Shaw | Ford Escort | 37m 04s | |
21 | D Harris | Aled Richards | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 37m 30s | |
22 | Owain Edwards | Dorian Davies | Vauxhall Astra | 37m 55s | |
23 | Robert Rees | Ann Rees | Ford Escort | 39m 20s | |
24 | Claire Evans | Allen Hart | Vauxhall Nova | 39m 37s | |
25 | Derwyn Price | Martin Phasey | Ford Escort | 41m 52s | |
26 | Andrew Williams | Wyn Davies | Vauxhall Astra | 44m 40s | |
27 | Barry Davies | David Evans | Ford Escort XR3 | 50m 27s | |
28 | Huw Evans | Marc Jones | Ford Escort | 1F 9m 34s | |
29 | Martyn O'Connor | Peter Collins | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 1F 10m 32s | |
30 | Gary Jones | Dave Pitchford | Toyota Corolla | 1F 11m 54s | |
31 | Hefin George | Dilwyn John | Nissan Sunny | 1F 12m 59s | |
32 | Mark Thomas | Rob Richardson | Vauxhall Nova | 1F 18m 17s | |
33 | Richard Suff | Denny Harris | Peugeot 205 GTi | 1F 30m 04s | |
34 | Elir Morris | Craig Morris | Ford Escort | 1F 36m 35s | |
35 | Aled Garner | Dylan Garner | Toyota Corolla | 1F 37m 33s | |
36 | Andrew Phillips | Roger Harris | Ford Sierra | 2F 41m 16s | |
37 | Simon Chandler | David Manning | Ford Escort | 2F 48m 54s | |
38 | Chris Wright | Erik West | Rover Mini | 3F 48m 27s | |
39 | Geraint Tilley | Arno Oswaga | Peugeot 205 | 3F 51m 27s | |
40 | Paul Rooks | Myrddin Jones | VW Polo | 3F 55m 47s | |
41 | Alan Lewis | Huw Davies | Nissan Micra | 3F 3m 10s | |
42 | Mark Harris | Neil Bevan | Ford Escort | 7F 25m 01s | |
43 | Mikey Davies | Alan Lloyd | Ford Escort | 8F 44m 31s | |
44 | Gavin Parry | Peter Cockle | Volvo 360 GLT | 8F 2m 23s | |
45 | Gareth 'Gog' Jones | Owen Dodd | Ford Escort XR3i | 16F 09m 04s | |
46 | Jeffrey Jenkins | Ki Bevan | VW Golf | 65F 59m 10s |