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Severn Sisters Novice Road Rally
Sponsored by Swallow Distribution
Severn Valley Motor Club
14th/15th June 1997
Clerk of the Course: Chris Ware
Route: 125 Miles
Maps: 126 & 137
Starters: 35
Winners: Gavin Lewis/Jon Simcox-Bird (Vauxhall Cavalier SRi)
Cyril Crook/Neil Spiers were the fastest crew over the 125 mile route of Severn Valley MC's Novice Road Rally on Saturday night. However as Experts they weren't eligible for overall awards. Instead the official event winners were the leading Semi-Expert crew of Gavin Lewis/Jon Simcox-Bird, they brought their Cavalier home two minutes ahead of Richard Howells/Ben Innes' Escort.
The whole route bar for the time to the second tie decider had been issued at the start control with crews being given almost an hour and a half to plot it before the start of the competitive section.
These two were well clear of the Novice class winner's, Martin Cresswell/Andrew Rumble, who were third. The Beginner's class award and sixth overall was taken by the Fiesta of Richard Robinson/Richard Smalley. There were 35 starters of whom 25 finished.
The Ford Anglia of Chris Bolver/Denny Harris could have been third overall but they picked up two fails along the route which dropped them to seventh.
Crook/Spiers, along with four other Expert crews, were clear of penalty until the last section of the rally, this was the tie breaker timed to the second. Crook/Spiers were 25 seconds faster than their nearest rivals Wayne Morris/Steve Price in their Escort 1.3. Top seeds Pete Cotton/Dave Pitchford only dropped 2m 19s on the tie breaker but they'd lost three minutes early in the second half when they had a puncture on their Escort.
TOP NINE RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Gavin Lewis | Jon Simcox-Bird | Vauxhall Cavalier SRi | 4m 42s | |
| 2 | Richard Howells | Ben Innes | Ford Escort | 6m 22s | |
| 3 | Martin Cresswell | Andrew Rumble | Ford Escort | 14m 43s | |
| 4 | Martin Bradley | Martin Harrison | Ford Escort | 27m 47s | |
| 5 | Bob Ward | Paul Biddle | Ford Sierra | 31m 22s | |
| 6 | Richard Robinson | Richard Smalley | Ford Fiesta | 1F 26m 25s | |
| 7 | Gary Hoggins | Jonathan Ross | Ford EScort | 1F 31m 55s | |
| 8 | Chris Bolver | Denny Harris | Ford Anglia | 2F 13m 01s | |
| 9 | Joseph Haugh | Clive Townsend | Ford Fiesta | 2F 24m 56s |
CLASS A (EXPERTS) RESULTS - Not eligible for overall positions
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Cyril Crook | Neil Spiers | Talbot Sunbeam | 1m 30s | |
| 2 | Wayne Morris | Steve Price | Ford Escort | 1m 55s |