There was an international feel to this year’s Lake District Classic and Targa Rallies this year. The Wigton Motor Club run event was taking place for the thirty first time and was paced in the Penrith area with the new base for the event being the Penrith Rugby Club. Entries came from Ireland and Scotland as well as all over the UK.
The Classic Rally was for historic cars built prior to 1989 and the Targa event for standard specification cars built at any time. The event featured fourteen special tests on private land along with a road navigational section.
The Classic was won by David Marsden and Mike Garstang in an Escort RS who has been runners up on the event on many occasions and were understandably overjoyed by their first win. The very experienced Peter Tyson and Neil Harrison were second in their Mini Cooper S with Andrew Johnson and Malcolm Silbeck third in their Lancia Fulvia.
The pre-Historic Classic was taken by Jim Hendry and Graham Couser in Triumph TR2 with Graeme Cornthwaite/Craig Welsh winning the Historic section with their Mini Cooper S and the Post Historic class falling to John and Marian Sloan in an MG Midget.
The Classics class saw a win for David Garstang and Matthew Alexander and the post classics saw a win for Brian Bradley and Michael Marsland.
The Targa rally for modern standard cars was a battle between the Short brothers in their Protons with Stephen, navigated by James Greehaugh beating brother Robert who was guided by Kirsty Thompson. Teo very experienced navigators, Bob Hargreaves and Andrew Fist paired up to take third place in a BMW. Rob Iveson and Jacqui Raine were fourth in a Ford Ka.
The new start/lunch/finish venue at the Rugby club worked well and the event will in all probability return there in 2020.
The Lake District Classic was the second round of the Gates/Protyre Historic Rally Awards with the next round being the North Dales Rally run by Hexham DMC in three weeks’ time.
