[W]igton Motor Club ran the opening round of the Gates/Protyre Historic Rally Awards over twenty tests at Kirkbride airfield last Saturday. A full entry of historic and targa cars was received and the event ran very smoothly despite the weather being very damp which made for some interesting driving conditions.
The excellent facilities at the White Heather Hotel provided refreshments and warmth through out the day. The hotel has been the base for many WMC events for some fifty years. Following documentation, coffee and a briefing from new Clerk of the Course, John Sloan, the cars split into five groups to start the tests with a defined order being in place.
The event ran very smoothly thanks to excellent work by the marshals in difficult conditions and lunch was able to be taken early. A different permutation of tests was used for the afternoon set of ten tests with two new ones being added and two being dropped. The two new tests were longer and were great fun for both crew members.
The usual superb White Heather roast dinner was served, and the results were speedily produced. The overall winners were Chris Hunter and Fiona Tyson in a Mazda MX5 who won the Tara section as well while in second place and winners of the Historic section were Graeme Cornthwaite and Craig Welsh in a Mini Cooper S. Rob Iveson and Jacqui Raine were third overall and second in the Targa in a Ford Ka.
David Martin and Brian Hodgson won class H1 in their Hillman Imp, H2 fell to David Agnew and Alan Jackson in a Porsche 911. P1 was won by Terry Dixon/Duncan Curwen in a Mini Cooper S. Class P2 saw David Marsden and Mike Garstang win on and Escort RS and the merged class c & D was won by Brian Bradley and Michael Marsden in a VW Golf.
In the Targa classes, T1 was taken by Peter and Karen Wright in a Mini this being Karen’s first event as a navigator while Phil Hodgson and Ian Giles won T2 in an MX5 with Graeme Mactavish/Jim O’Neill second in another MX5.
With the awards presented and dinner completed the crews could head home at 4.30 after a very enjoyable day.
Wigton MC’s next event is the Spring Autotest at the Maryport Business Centre on March 25th.
The next round of the Gates/Protyres series is the Berwick Classic on May 5/6th
