Suspension damage leads to early retirement for Carnforth pair

Mike Wolff (Heysham) and Mark Twiname in their BMW, competing on Saturday's Woodpecker Stages Rally - based in Ludlow.

Saturday saw the annual EventSigns Woodpecker Rally (a round of the BTRDA Series), which saw Carnforth’s Ian Joel/Graeme Wood in their MRF Tyres/Fuchs Lubricants/710 Oils Escort Cosworth - seeded at number 14.

Heysham’s Mike Wolff/Mark Twiname were in Mike’s BMW – supported by MRF Tyres/BayMix Concrete/CC Fabrication/Builders Supply West Coast/H&G Vehicle Services.

Also competing were Morecambe Car Club’s Ian Newton/Ian Jones, using Ian’s Escort Mk1 he was seeded at number 86.

The Joel/Wood Escort Cosworth was going well until the crew encountered a dense cloud of dust on SS3, the Cosworth sliding wide on a corner and making contact with something solid in the undergrowth which caused damage to the suspension, resulting in an uncustomary retirement.

In their BMW, Wolff and Twiname started cautiously but rapidly gained confidence and the final stage saw them post a time which elevated them 10 places higher than their starting place, narrowly missing a podium place however, getting third BTRDA classification – along with more points in the championship.

Ian Newton/Ian Jones took their Escort to a very creditable 68th overall, avoiding any incidents in the dust.

Local saloon car racing driver Andy Larton spent his weekend between Aintree Race Circuit and the 3-Sisters Circuit (Wigan), competing in two rounds of the Longton Northern Speed Championship.

His busy weekend was worthwhile - a third in class from Aintree, and a class win (and fifth overall) at 3-Sisters saw more trophies to his cabinet, along with more points in the championship.

Family honours were at stake on the Vale of York Stages Rally. After 10 years away from competing, Stuart Newby (CEO/owner of TEG-Sport, Warton) was encouraged to compete in one of his own Pirelli-supported, Subaru Impreza’s.

However, he would be competing against his eldest son, Arron, in another Subaru.

Arron piled on the pressure to lead the rally by 30seconds but an issue with a turbo boost pipe saw that lead reduced to three seconds going into the final two stages.

Arron managed to hold on to his slim lead, while Stuart finished eighth overall.

Report: GMS