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Moonbeam Rally 2000
Sponsored by Telford Motor Auctions
Telford Auto Club
11th/12th March 2000
Clerk of the Course: Chris Wilson
Route: 146 Miles
Maps: 126 127 & 137
Starters: 67
Winners: Kevin Hesketh/Steve Price (Ford Escort)
Kevin Hesketh/Steve Price (Ford Escort) took a clear cut victory on the Moonbeam Rally; at the Finish they were over two minutes clear of their nearest rival.
Telford AC had stuck to their traditional format, giving crews a testing 140 mile route in the lanes and farm tracks of south Shropshire. Route definition was by six figure map references, with all competitive motoring being on Maps 126 and 137. The event was a round of both the West Midlands and North Western Road Rally Championships.
There were two notable non-starters; Alan Gaunt/Nick Darkin and Eilier Morris/Phil Clarke had problems with their cars which couldn't be fixed in time to make the start.
Hesketh/Price had built up a minutes lead by the petrol halt at Bishops Castle and extended this as the second half took them back towards Telford.
Gary Jones/Dave Pitchford continued their successful West Midlands series campaign by taking second place and pushing further ahead in the championship table. Paul Webb/Justin Brooks had one of their best ever result by bringing their Astra into third.
It was a good night for Knighton Motor Club, not only did they supply the winners, but Des Phasey/Martin Phasey took fourth and Delwyn Price/Steve Herbert won the Semi-Expert class. Kevin Ikin/Martin Saunders finished fifth, they had held second at Petrol but then lost time after missing the exit road off a disused railway line and were also slowed by an intermittent loss of lights. Ikin/Saunders were not alone in missing the exit road, the same error was made by Toby Adam/Pat Gadsby, Michael Pedley/David Pedley and John Harmer/Sarah Harmer among others.
Fifth Placed: Kevin Ikin/Martin Saunders (Ford Escort)
Dave Jones/Paul Holmberg had briefly led after the first short section, but then were another crew who lost time trying to find the exit to the railway line. However they still managed to come home sixth, which was enough for Holmberg to maintain his lead in the North Western series. Due to a lack of brakes fellow ANWCC contenders Michael Monaghan/Iain Tullie had a steady run in a borrowed Peugeot 205 and finished ninth.
Graham Sturrock/Richard Overton (Peugeot 309 GTi) finished 27th and won the Novice Class.
There were a number of significant retirements: Adrain Hodgson/Sean Caddick (contact), Clive Wakely/Carl Williamson (wheel bearing), Tudor Morris/Gerallt Davies (broken shock absorber/clutch), Wayne Morris/Paul Middleton (stuck in mud after a wrong slot), Alyson Acreman/Byron Jones (broken fuel pipe) and Polly/Duncan Pinnegar (exhaust). Despite this list, of the 67 starters, 44 made it to the Finish.
OVERALL RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Kevin Hesketh | Steve Price | Ford Escort | 13m 58s | |
| 2 | Gary Jones | Dave Pitchford | Toyota Corolla | 16m 26s | |
| 3 | Paul Webb | Justin Brooks | Vauxhall Astra | 17m 33s | |
| 4 | Des Phasey | Martin Phasey | Ford Escort | 17m 35s | |
| 5 | Kevin Ikin | Martin Saunders | Ford Escort | 17m 48s | |
| 6 | Dave Jones | Paul Holmberg | Ford Sierra | 18m 58s | |
| 7 | Toby Adam | Pat Gadsby | Ford Escort | 19m 05s | |
| 8 | Adrian Higman | Gareth Price | MG Maestro | 20m 48s | |
| 9 | Michael Monaghan | Iain Tullie | Peugeot 205 | 20m 56s | |
| 10 | Gerallt Davies | Michael Evans | Ford Escort | 21m 17s | |
| 11 | Stephen Edwards | Ian Vale | Ford Sierra | 22m 12s | |
| 12 | Michael Harrison | Corin Redman | Ford Escort | 23m 01s | |
| 13 | Mal Acott | Paul Green | Toyota Corolla | 26m 00s | |
| 14 | Iain Scott | Jez Harris | Toyota Corolla | 28m 57s | |
| 15 | Nick Broadway | Andy Oakes | Ford Sierra | 30m 09s | |
| 16 | John Harmer | Sarah Harmer | MG Maestro | 30m 40s | |
| 17 | Delwyn Price | Steve Herbert | Ford Escort | 32m 29s | |
| 18 | Alan Ridge | Simon Ridge | Ford Escort RS2000 | 34m 06s | |
| 19 | Jim Clarke | Brian Spurr | Talbot Sunbeam | 35m 33s | |
| 20 | Richard Roe | Chris Ware | Talbot Sunbeam | 38m 16s | |
| 21 | Michael Bradley | Dean George | Peugeot 309 GTi | 39m 09s | |
| 22 | Haydn Davies | Elfyn Richards | Toyota Corolla | 39m 28s | |
| 23 | Anthony Ellis | Ian Jarman | Ford EScort | 40m 34s | |
| 24 | Brian Harrison | Leon Jones | Ford Escort | 40m 51s | |
| 25 | Paul Ross | Chris Crocker | Toyota Corolla | 44m 31s | |
| 26 | Chris Rowlands | Nigel Roberts | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 45m 47s | |
| 27 | Graham Sturrock | Richard Overton | Peugeot 309 GTi | 46m 05s | |
| 28 | Stephen Bishop | Roger Titley | Ford Escort | 47m 01s | |
| 29 | John Morris | Neil Rich | Ford Escort | 55m 48s | |
| 30 | Derek Tracey | Chris Hughes | Ford Escort | 1F 40m 47s | |
| 31 | Rick Cipolat | Neil Payne | Vauxhall Astra | 1F 51m 22s | |
| 32 | Grant Parker | Paul Edwards | Toyota Corolla | 1F 51m 59s | |
| 33 | Andrew Roberts | Stuart Frost | Ford Escort | 1F 64m 35s | |
| 34 | Dave Rennocks | Erik West | Vauxhall Nova GTE | 2F 37m 07s | |
| 35 | Ian Jones | Peter Tomlinson | VW Golf GTi | 3F 49m 58s | |
| 36 | Colin Cresswell | Julian Broadhurst | Peugeot 205 GTi | 4F 37m 20s | |
| 37 | Roy Lane | Jon Steed | Ford Sierra | 6F 61m 59s | |
| 38 | Tony Watkins | Medwyn Evans | Vauxhall Nova | 7F 83m 53s | |
| 39 | Justin Sharples | Brian Stubbs | Toyota Corolla | 8F 40m 37s | |
| 40 | Michael Pedley | David Pedley | Ford Escoprt G4 | 9F 31m 57s | |
| 41 | Chris Ramsey | Andrew Davies | Ford Escort RS2000 | 10F 32m 42s | |
| 42 | Paul Beresford | Mark Skellern | Ford Escort RS2000 | 14F 45m 20s | |
| 43 | Nick Bloxham | Martyn Allen | Peugeot 205 GTi | 19F 29m 54s | |
| 44 | Malc Jones | Mark Edwards | Peugeot 205 GTi | 26F 59m 02s |