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Classic Lanes Rally 1997
Sponsored by Cambrian Autoparts
Welsh Border Car Club
23rd/24th August 1997
Clerk of the Course: Kev Nunns
Route: 110 Miles
Maps: 125 126 & 136
Starters: 47
Winners: Phil Turner/Owen Dodd (Toyota Corolla)
Welsh Border CC ran their second road rally of the year and the result was the same as that of the first, that is a win for Phil Turner and Owen Dodd in their Toyota Corolla. The event was a counter for the club's well supported championship and attracted a near full entry of 56 starters. They faced a 110 mile route with a pre-plot format. The rally started near Oswestry and then ran west to the petrol halt at Dinas Mawddwy before moving back to Oswestry by a slightly more northern route.
There were problems only a few miles into the event as the top seeds and 1996 winners, John Jones/Chris Rowlands, got their Renault 11 Turbo stuck on a white. The rest of the field then had difficulty passing them. Many lost time as they queued up to take their turn at getting around the obstruction. Kevin Ikin/Rob Jones and Cyril Crook/Chris Ware were fancied runners who were badly affected here. The latter crew dropped further time on the second section when they again got stuck on a track.
Peter Zjalic/Richard Preece continued their bad run of results when they withdrew from the rally after going off and losing almost a quarter of an hour on the third section.
At the petrol halt Huw James/Patrick Walsh were the clear leaders by over three minutes and looked set for victory when their Escort's gearbox failed on the first section of the second half. Andy Sheppard/Mike Hart were second at Petrol with Turner/Dodd only a few seconds behind, the latter pair having lost three minutes with a wrong slot. However they made ammends for this in the second half by being the quickest crew in the race back to Oswestry and secured their second victory of the year. Sheppard/Hart were two minutes behind to make it a Toyota Corolla 1-2.
Third was taken by the Escort 1.3 of Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton, while the Semi-Expert Class and an excellent seventh overall went to Adrian Higman/Cyril Jones. The first novice home was the Peugeot 309 of Karl Francis/John Madoc-Jones. Cyril Crook/Chris Ware salvaged some respect by taking the Welsh Border CC Crew Award and increased their lead in the Welsh Border Championship.
TOP TEN RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Phil Turner | Owen Dodd | Toyota Corolla | 8m 39s | |
| 2 | Andy Sheppard | Mike Hart | Toyota Corolla | 10m 27s | |
| 3 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 13m 05s | |
| 4 | Kevin Parry | Gareth Price | Toyota Corolla | 13m 26s | |
| 5 | Kevin Ikin | Rob Jones | Ford Escort | 14m 32s | |
| 6 | Cyril Crook | Chris Ware | Talbot Sunbeam | 15m 01s | |
| 7 | Adrian Higman | Cyril Jones | Talbot Sunbeam | 17m 17s | |
| 8 | Arwel Griffiths | Carwyn Evans | Peugeot 205 | 19m 10s | |
| 9 | Mal Acott | Paul Green | Toyota Corolla | 20m 23s | |
| 10 | Barrie Smith | Adrian Smith | Toyota Corolla | 20m 59s |