FIREFLY GOLD LEAF ROAD RALLY REPORT
As
the evening drew in on Saturday the 8th September 2007, 61 crews left Wrexham
and headed into the night for yet another classic Firefly Goldleaf Rally. Easy ?
it was never going to be easy .........
The rally got off to a flying start, no sooner had the crews got the rally route
plotted than they where testing their wits against one of North Wales classic
forest stages .The Llandegla forest complex provided a taster for what lay in
wait for the competitors. With patchy fog hanging between the trees, and a
slippery forest surface it was not a place for the faint hearted. First through
were front runners Stuart Kelso & Mike
Hughes who flung their newly acquired Peugeot 205 around the opening test.
But it was Richard Jerman &
Roger Evans in their ageing Ford Escort who set the early pace. With 160 miles
of testing tarmac in front of them there was plenty of opportunity for the
following crews to snatch the lead back. First retirements of the night saw the
spectacular crew of Dave Fuller & Dewi Williams put their Vauxhall Nova on
its lid only 400 yards into the event ! (get it fixed for next year boys !!) The
battle for the rally lead commenced with the hard charging crew of Mei
Jones & Iwan Jones throwing caution to the wind through the excellent farm
yard section above Llysfasi college in an attempt to displace the rally leaders.
The crews made their way around the Nercwys mountain section where the crews
picked their way through some tough terrain and then on to the Nant Mill ford.
Early leaders Jerman & Evans where clearly enjoying the challenging section
before disaster struck!! A wrong approach on a 3 metre control dropped them down
the leader board. The crews were now heading into some classic Firefly
territory. The usual fun and games in the fields around Rosset saw the
crews slip sliding into and around the hedgerows !. Rhyl and District Motor Club Members Baz Green & Rob
Jones in their Peugeot 205 arrived in petrol leading the rally, but
with only a slender margin of 2 seconds from the Welsh Border Club team of Mark
Roberts & Steve Price in the VW Golf. The remaining crews where no doubt
wondering what the second half of the rally route had in store for them. With
only 20 crews reaching petrol fail free, maximum concentration was the order of
the day. The winner’s trophy was still all to play for, with any one of the
top 5 crews all well placed to get their hands on it.
The pressure was on !
The 2nd leg of the rally took the crews into some familiar territory for the
WBCC boys, but this was to be no
advantage as most of the top crews cleaned the section. The lanes and tracks
above Llangollen would be the
battle ground for the Rally lead !! Many competitors had already waved the white
flag in submission, but there was no stopping Roberts & Price,
Green & Jones suffered some wrong slots which cost them valuable time
, Kelso and Hughes although setting some impressive times lacked the consistency
to push the leaders . Thomas Roberts and navigator Steve Herbert who lay 8th at
petrol must have found an extra gear in their Peugeot 205 as they pushed their
way up the leader board to 2nd overall. Esclusham mountain , the slate quarries
and one final lap of Llandegla forest would bring the curtain down on one of the
toughest events held in many a long year .
Mark Roberts & Steve Price had peddled their VW Golf into a 4 minute
lead over the second half of the Rally , also setting the fastest time through
Llandegla Forest.
Of the 61 starters only 16 crews were classified as finishers of which only 5
were fail free. Making it to the finish was an achievement in itself..
The top ten finishers were :
1st Mark ‘GT’ Roberts / Steve Price
2nd Thomas Roberts / Steve Herbert
3rd Baz Green / Rob Jones
4th Stuart Kelso / Mike Hughes
5th Jonty Bloxham / Nick Bloxham
6th Steven Davies / Lee Edwards
7th Paul Edwards / Huw Lewis
9th Sheila Reynolds Jones / Dave Barnes
10th Trefor Roberts / Andy Stewart
I must thank everyone who helped me with the organisation of the event, it was
one hell of an effort with such a small number of members giving up their
valuable time to put this event on .
On behalf of Broughton & Bretton Motor Club I would also like to thank the
61 entrants for their support. From the feedback I have received the majority of
you enjoyed the challenge.
Special thanks though has to go to our sponsor Chris Nixon who was out doing a
control when he heard our closing car had broke down. Chris took it upon himself
to take on the responsibility of closing car. Thanks Chris.
And last but not least, all of the land owners who let us cross their tracks and
fields, your help makes this rally
one of the toughest and fun events on the road rally calendar.
Thanks Again
Paul Dolby
Clerk of the Course