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: Sarah Gluyas
Route: 120 Miles
Maps: 137 & 149
Starters: 80
Winners: Baron Glaze/Dave Pitchford (Ford Escort)
After returning to road rallying after a break of several years Andy Sheppard/Mike Hart had put in some impressive performances in the previous few months, these were now crowned by victory on Ludlow Castle MC's Peak Revs Rally. Baron Glaze/Pete Davies were second, a result that was enough to clinch for them the 1997 Welsh Championship.
The 120 mile route used the lanes to the south of the rally's base at Ludlow, basically forming an anti-clockwise loop centred on Leominster. There were seven sections, three being plot and bash, while the instructions for the other four were issued at the Start. The expected wet and windy weather never materialised, although competitors had to contended with very slippery conditions. As a result many crews, including the winners, reported minor offs.
At the start of the event the Welsh Championship looked to be wide open with four crews still with a chance of the main titles. However by the end Glaze/Davies were clear, taking maximum championship points while their rivals hit problems. Pete Cotton/Dave Pitchford and Dennis Quinn/Andrew Thomson both wrong slotted on the very first section and dropped three minutes each in the process. Cotton/Pitchford completed the event in 11th place, but Quinn/Thomson went on to pick up a fail for an incorrect code board and came home in 31st place.
The fourth crew in the championship race, Graham Evans/Ian Mills, only made it two miles into the event before being excluded for a give way infringement. Cyril Crook/Chris Ware, along with another 11 crews, were also reported for not stopping by the same DSO; they continued to the Finish and instead of exclusion, they were awarded a fail. Without the fail Crook/Ware would have been second.
The exclusion of Evans/Mills meant that the WAMC Standard Production class wouldn't be decided until the final round the series. The Corolla crew's main challenger's, Peter Zjalic/Richard Preece, finished fifth and therefore still had an outside chance of the title.
The results also had a significant effect on the West Midlands championship. In the drivers title race Baron Glaze took the lead; he was five points ahead of Dennis Quinn, while in the navigator's table, Andrew Thomson was seven points in front of Pete Davies. The last round of both the Welsh and West Midlands series would be the Holrus Rally at the end of November.
So it was that Sheppard/Hart's rapid Toyota Corolla took the victory, but Glaze/Davies were only 43 seconds behind. While in an impressive third place were the top Semi-Expert crew of Richard Howells/Ben Innes, they were just 11 seconds further back. The Standard Production Award went to Gareth Jones/Ietyn ap Dafydd, who continued their excellent run of results with seventh overall. The novice class was won by Tim Daltrey/Paul Fellis, who were 39th.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Andy Sheppard | Mike Hart | Toyota Corolla | 4m 11s | |
2 | Baron Glaze | Pete Davies | Ford Escort | 4m 54s | |
3 | Richard Howells | Ben Innes | Ford Escort | 5m 05s | |
4 | Des Phasey | Steve Price | Ford Escort | 5m 44s | |
5 | Peter Zjalic | Richard Preece | Toyota Corolla | 5m 46s | |
6 | Alyson Acreman | Byron Jones | Vauxhall Nova | 6m 34s | |
7 | Gareth Jones | Iestyn ap Dafydd | Toyota Corolla | 6m 34s | |
8 | Jon Ross | Dave Stocking | Ford Escort | 6m 41s | |
9 | Chris Painter | Steve Quine | Vauxhall Nova | 7m 44s | |
10 | Kevin Hesketh | Andy Moss | Ford Escort | 7m 54s | |
11 | Pete Cotton | Dave Pitchford | Ford Escort | 7m 56s | |
12 | Simon Mellings | Carl Ellis | Peugeot 205 GTi | 8m 27s | |
13 | Steven Bishop | Tim Kear | Ford Escort | 8m 34s | |
14 | Kevin Ikin | Ian Vale | Ford Escort | 8m 42s | |
15 | Neil Griffiths | Carl Williamson | Ford Escort | 9m 07s | |
16 | Paul Pritchard | Brian Jenkins | Ford Escort | 10m 47s | |
17 | Trevor Pritchard | Paul Hughes | MG Maestro | 11m 22s | |
18 | Adrian Higman | Cyril Jones | Talbot Sunbeam | 13m 04s | |
19 | Andy Conway | Pete Evans | Ford Escort | 16m 50s | |
20 | Jayne Hill | Andrew Hughes | Vauxhall Nova GSi | 18m 07s | |
21 | Tony Watkin | Medwyn Evans | Mini 1275 GT | 21m 10s | |
22 | Toby Adam | Steve Durbin | Ford Escort | 22m 26s | |
23 | Richard Roberts | Steven Roberts | Ford Escort | 24m 35s | |
24 | Alan Thompson | Dave Painter | Toyota Corolla | 25m 19s | |
25 | Oliver Davies | Chris Jones | Peugeot 205 | 27m 11s | |
26 | Cyril Crook | Chris Ware | Talbot Sunbeam | 1F 4m 46s | |
27 | Adrian Hodgson | Sean Caddick | Renault Fuego | 1F 5m 18s | |
28 | Steven Edwards | Paul Jones | Ford Escort | 1F 5m 29s | |
29 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 1F 6m 48s | |
30 | Richard 'Tyson' Morris | Owen Dodd | Talbot Samba | 1F 7m 37s | |
31 | Dennis Quinn | Andrew Thomson | Ford Escort | 1F 7m 43s | |
32 | John Jones | Chris Rowlands | Renault 11 Turbo | 1F 8m 20s | |
33 | Jamie Burton | Dave Dewson | Ford Escort | 1F 9m 11s | |
34 | Dave Evison | Brian Jones | Ford Sierra | 1F 15m 21s | |
35 | Martin Cresswell | Martin Penny | Ford Escort | 1F 16m 50s | |
36 | Dean Williams | Nigel Nelson | Ford Escort | 1F 19m 37s | |
37 | Andrew Rumble | Michael Harrison | Ford Escort | 1F 21m 47s | |
38 | Peter Crighton | John Thornton | Opel Ascona | 1F 24m 24s | |
39 | Tom Daltry | Paul Fillis | Ford Escort | 1F 28m 06s | |
40 | Ben Corbett | Marcus Watmough | Talbot Sunbeam | 1F 32m 47s | |
41 | Brian Harrison | Cliff Washbrook | Ford Escort | 2F 13m 31s | |
42 | Kevin Hutchins | Garry Thomas | Talbot Samba | 2F 14m 46s | |
43 | Neal Arden | Giles Corbett | Ford Escort | 2F 16m 14s | |
44 | Glyn Price | Craig Parry | Ford Escort | 2F 24m 36s | |
45 | Alan Ridge | Simon Ridge | Ford Escort | 2F 24m 58s | |
46 | Nigel Jones | Nathan Parry | Ford Escort | 2F 32m 12s | |
47 | Kev Andrew | Nigel Hall | Ford Escort | 2F 38m 26s | |
48 | Graeme Mason | Iain Holt | Peugeot 205 | 4F 32m 22s | |
49 | D Ludlow | P Payne | Peugeot 205 | 4F 35m 26s | |
50 | Duncan Edwards | Matthew Preece | Ford Escort | 7F 35m 06s | |
51 | Neil Matthews | Kate Withers | Vauxhall Nova | 7F 36m 19s | |
52 | Gareth Davies | Tony Hutchings | Vauxhall Chevette | 9F 34m 17s |