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26th Preston Rally
Sponsored by Preston Garage Ltd of Writtle, Chelmsford
Chelmsford Motor Club
4th/5th December 2004
Clerk of the Course: Adrian Gladwin
Route: 197 Miles
Map: 143, 144, 154 & 155
Starters: 60
Winners: Simon Harrison/Paul Holmberg (Ford Escort RS2000)
Simon Harrison/Paul Holmberg snatched a last minute victory on Chelmsford MC's Preston Rally. They thus maintained their 100% record, with four starts together and four wins.
Winners: Simon Harrison/Paul Holmberg (Ford Escort RS2000)
Photograph: M&H Photography
After two sections Harrison/Holmberg languished in 33th place having had difficulty finding the correct route on a private track. However a late surge, as others faltered on the 190 mile event, saw them take the win by two minutes.
Revival Rally winner Matt Fowle, partnered by Mark Appleton, had led with one section to run, but a broken front strut saw them crawl to the finish in the runner up spot.
Andy Baker/Lee Burgess, Steve Monk/Pip Cloude, Mark Banham/Paul Haylock, Roger Hage/Peter Reeson and Ian Freestone/John Pickavance all took turns in the lead of the rally but all hit problems which either demoted them or caused their retirement.
A bent sub-frame and ball joint accounted for Baker/Burges, while Monk/Cloude were halted by a combination of a failed driveshaft, blown diff and broken exhaust.
Justin Chapman/Mark Slatcher finished fifth and won the Semi-Expert class, while Keith Pitcher/Kenneth Howlett were the leading novices.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Simon Harrison | Paul Holmberg | Ford Escort RS2000 | 43m 39s | |
| 2 | Matthew Fowle | Mark Appleton | Peugeot 106 Rallye | 45m 50s | |
| 3 | Murray McDonald | Graham Dance | VW Golf GTi | 50m 17s | |
| 4 | Richard Bradbury | Phil Prosser | Peugeot 205 GTi | 53m 22s | |
| 5 | Justin Chapman | Mark Slatcher | Peugeot 205 GTi | 55m 40s | |
| 6 | Jeremy Rodgers | Mark Fearon | MG Maestro | 55m 43s | |
| 7 | Neil Palser | Phil Kendall | Toyota Corolla GT | 58m 36s | |
| 8 | Tim Daltry | Rob Grainger | Peugeot 205 GTi | 59m 52s | |
| 9 | Mike Biss | Cath Woodman | Holden Barina | 59m 56s | |
| 10 | Richard Atherton | Chris Bowden | MG Maestro | 66m 00s | |
| 11 | Dave Broadley | Michael McKenna | Lada Riva | 68m 01s | |
| 12 | John Parsons | Brian Jaggs | VW Golf GTi | 87m 54s | |
| 13 | Graham Child | Kevin Ablitt | Ford Escort Mexico | 88m 55s | |
| 14 | David Wilkinson | Mick Smith | Lada Riva | 89m 02s | |
| 15 | Kevin Fisher | Glyn Heighton | Ford Sierra 4x4 | 100m 56s | |
| 16 | Ian Perry | Clive Chapman | Citroen AX | 105m 28s | |
| 17 | Paul Swindells | Dick Howatt | Ford Sierra | 107m 39s | |
| 18 | Clive Baty | Steve Parnwell | Proton Compact | 2F 49m 47s | |
| 19 | Neal Allsop | Andy Parsons | Ford Fiesta | 2F 82m 12s | |
| 20 | Keith Pitcher | Kenneth Howlett | BMW | 2F 96m 18s | |
| 21 | Roger Ray | Paul Ray | Ford Escort Mexico | 3F 61m 03s | |
| 22 | Chris Parmenter | Andy Merchant | MG Maestro | 3F 117m 23s | |
| 23 | Lee Robinson | Daniel Robinson | Ford Escort | 4F 50m 23s | |
| 24 | Ian Newton | Christian Parker | Ford Escort | 4F 57m 05s | |
| 25 | Richard McLachlan | Eddie Clough | Peugeot 205 GTi | 8F 56m 58s | |
| 26 | Ian Freestone | John Pickavance | Peugeot 205 | 10F 43m 13s | |
| 27 | Richard Milbank | Jon Taylor | Peugeot 205 GTi | 10F 98m 38s | |
| 28 | Mark Banham | Paul Haycock | Subaru Legacy | 13F 30m 02s | |
| 29 | Tony Vanderheide | Steven Vanderheide | Peugeot 205 GTi | 13F 104m 46s | |
| 30 | Ed Pead | John Pead | Audi 90 | 16F 94m 25s | |
| 31 | Matt Endean | Tom Ward | Fiat Uno | 16F 105m 22s | |
| 32 | Owen Turner | Andrew Dadswell | Rover Metro | 18F 47m 16s | |
| 33 | Adam Gardner | Gary Orton | Volvo Veloce | 27F 65m 56s | |
| 34 | Rob Walter | Dave Jones | Vauxhall Nova | 28F 77m 29s |