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: Byron Jones & Roger Holder
Route: 130 Miles
Maps: 161 170 & 171
Starters: 62
Winners: Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford (Toyota Corolla)
Gary Jones, partnered by Dave Pitchford, made it three wins in four years on his local event, Blackwood MC's Malky Rally, in the process beating off a strong challenge from 1999 winners Toby Adam/Pat Gadsby.
The 130 mile rally used an interesting route, being completely contained within the urban area of south-east Wales. The eleven sections for the most part were confined to the mountain sides overlooking the Gwent valleys.
The unfamiliar territory, with many tracks not on the maps, meant that local knowledge was a major advantage and this was reflected in the fact that the top four finishers were all from Blackwood.
It was always expected that the battle for victory would be between Jones/Pitchford and Adam/Gadsby, and so it proved. However Jones always had the upper hand, building up a twenty second lead by the petrol halt and extending this to over two minutes by the end.
In 1999 Jones had taken the runner up spot with Andrew Card as his partner, in 2000 Card swapped seats and with Mark Robinson on the maps finished third. The Blackwood whitewash was completed by Grant Parker/Gwyn Williams taking fourth.
Steve Rogers/Paul Jones finished fifth, a result which clinched the Under 1300cc Welsh Championship for Jones, however Jerry Jones, who finished seventh, was still challenging Rogers with one round remaining. Splitting these two Under 1300 crews were Paul Webb/Justin Brooks who took the Standard Production Award.
Torrential rain and gales were the traditional weather for the Malky and 2000 was no exception. Downpours made the going difficult for competitors. Dennis Quinn/Dave Evison lost time attempting to negotiate the muddy approach to PC6 - a control that was eventually scrubbed - and came home ninth..
Andy Sheppard/Mike Hart were also delayed after getting bogged down and this dropped them to eighth. An agressive drive by Gareth Jones/Patrick Walsh came to an abrupt end when they misjudged a left hander and put there Escort XR3 onto its roof
Despite his relatively lowly finish, Dennis Quinn still held the lead of the Welsh Championship, but had Toby Adam, Gary Jones and Steve Rogers just a few points behind.
Graham Evans/Ian Mills withdrew at Petrol, unhappy with the advantage being given to local competitors. This meant that Mills relinquished the lead of the Welsh Championship Navigators' table to Pat Gadsby, although Paul Jones and Dave Pitchford, as well as Mills, were still in with a chance of taking the title on the Peak Revs.
Steve Reed/Dave Williams won the Semi-Expert Award but retained their Class 2 status as they finished eleventh, just one place ahead of their class rivals Andrew Lewis/Nigel Gardener.
The Malky proved a tough test for the novices, of the 22 who started just three made it to the petrol halt, with only two completing the whole course. The class winners were Michael Nippers/Stuart Powell who were fifteenth, while the other finishers were Aly Wilcox/Michael Wilcox who were twenty-fifth and last.
OVERALL RESULTS
Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
1 | Gary Jones | Dave Pitchford | Toyota Corolla | 10m 09s | |
2 | Toby Adam | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 12m 20s | |
3 | Andrew Card | Mark Robinson | Toyota Corolla | 16m 43s | |
4 | Grant Parker | Gwyn Williams | Toyota Corolla | 26m 39s | |
5 | Steve Rogers | Paul Jones | VW Polo | 27m 45s | |
6 | Paul Webb | Justin Brooks | Vauxhall Astra | 29m 07s | |
7 | Jerry Jones | Mark Appleton | Mini Clubman | 30m 24s | |
8 | Andy Sheppard | Mike Hart | Toyota Corolla | 35m 35s | |
9 | Dennis Quinn | Dave Evison | Ford Escort | 38m 00s | |
10 | Mike Morgan | Chris Ware | Suzuki Swift | 41m 03s | |
11 | Steve Reed | Dave Williams | Ford Escort | 44m 00s | |
12 | Andrew Lewis | Nigel Gardener | Toyota Corolla | 44m 39s | |
13 | Andrew Stripp | Ceri Davies | Ford Escort | 45m 56s | |
14 | Russell Carson Brown | Dean George | Ford Escort | 47m 05s | |
15 | Michael Nippers | Stuart Powell | Peugeot 205 | 48m 21s | |
16 | Nick Yates | Simon Yates | Ford Escort | 53m 29s | |
17 | Hefin George | Daniel Thomas | Nissan Sunny GTi-R | 58m 04s | |
18 | David Wilmer | Mark Powell | Ford Escort | 1F 74m 23s | |
19 | Owain Beaman | Carl Williamson | Ford Sierra | 2F 65m 18s | |
20 | Christian Prynne | Clifford Jones | Peugeot 205 GTi | 3F 65m 47s | |
21 | Chris Wright | Erik West | Mini Cooper S | 7F 41m 36s | |
22 | Chris Smith Bowen | Nigel Nelson | Ford Escort RS | 7F 116m 52s | |
23 | Nick Broadway | Andy Oakes | Ford Escort | 7F 132m 36s | |
24 | Michaek Kimber | Paul Jenkins | Peugeot 205 GTi | 8F 163m 43s | |
25 | Aly Wilcox | Michael Wilcox | Citroen AX | 11F 195m 09s |