Barry and
Seyyan John put on a show for the spectators at Pembrey
Picture - Claire Williams
CLUB ROUNDUP - by Darren Morris
- a monthly roundup of what's been happening in the Club
This was our "CHAIRMAN'S CHAT" page, but has been renamed because the author is no longer our Club's Chairman.
SUMMER 2011
It has been a busy summer with the usual mix of gravel, tarmac and road rallies
to keep the club members occupied. The weather too, has given us the usual
'British Summer' treatment.
The Coracle Stages enjoyed fine but very cold weather, meaning it was quite
dusty for the competitors and marshals alike (See picture below). The Neath
Valley Stages endured wet conditions which made the Walters Arena complex quite
muddy, but was well enjoyed by those who took part.
The Eventsigns Mewla Rally (28th August) suffered a cold, wet start, but dried
up niely in the afternoon. Club member Mark Powell was co-driving for Llyr Jones
in his Ford escort. They unfortunately suffered a puncture on stage 2, which
cost them any chance of a good result. Peter lloyd was on good form to take yet
another rally victory. He and co-driver Carl Sorensen won by more than 40
seconds. Congratulations to them.
Pembrokeshire Motor Club organised the first Brawdy Rally Time Trial on 11th
September, which gave competitors 2 practice runs and 5 timed runs around a
short 'Special Stage' at the airfield. It proved an enjoyable and cheap (£80
entry fee) day for the competitors, and the absence of co-drivers gave the
drivers a valuable insight into the world of timekeeping!
There have been a good number of road rallies taking place, with strong entries
as usual. The recent Piston Broke Novice road rally made good use of our local
lanes - Ideal for our local novices! Club regulars Thomas Slack and Thomas
Henderson (no relation - I think!) had a good night and finished third in class
in the Toyota Corolla.
MARCH 2011
The Gremlin Road
Rally attracted 80+ entries, and was once again based in Brecon. Club Chairman
Dai John with Paul Bevan navigating were our highest seeded crew at car no 24,
whilst James Rees and Marcus Mullens started car no 69. It would prove an
unsuccessful night for both crews, with John/Bevan finishing 18th overall/15th
in class, and Rees/Mullens retiring after damaging the car - best wishes to
them. Thanks to those who marshalled on the night.
The PTMC Tour of Epynt took place on Sunday 13th March. We were treated to a
nice sunny day up on the ranges. Mark Powell was co-driving for David Green in a
Ford Escort, but unfortunately retired. Thanks to those who marshalled on the
day.
The Tour of Caerwent was the last rally in March, Entered once again by Mark
Powell, sitting with Paul Culverwell in a Peugeot 205. They were lucky to finish
the rally, going into the last stage with 'a box half full of neutrals!'. The
last stage was blocked, and then cancelled by an accident, allowing the crew to
limp to the finish and score a 3rd in class. Barry and Seyyan John gave their
Subaru it's first visit to Caerwent, and finished 36th overall and 6th in class.
Well done to both crews.
FEBRUARY 2011
Our annual presentation dinner took place on Saturday 5th February, and was well supported with 70+ members attending. Our guest speaker was Nicky Grist, who gave a good after dinner speech and presented awards. Thanks to Nicky for his support. It was good to see so many of our younger members attend, and we know they had a good night judging by the 'facebook feedback'. Thanks to John Oliver for organising the dinner, no easy task! We are already looking at next year. If anyone has any ideas, let us know.
The Rali Bro Caron took place on 19th/20th, and enjoyed a full entry + reserves. Club chairman Dai John and Dylan Jenkins missed out on a good result when they 'missed a slot' and got stuck in a field. Our second club crew suffered a similar fate, Mark Rayner and Matthew Wood-Griffiths needed towing out by a 4x4, but made it to the finish without any other problems. Better luck next time guys!
The Rali Cwm Gwendraeth enjoyed a fine, but cold day at Pembrey. Lots of crews got caught out by the slippery conditions, including club member Mark Powell, who was co-driving for Leighton Smith. They lost control and hit a tyre barrier (right in front of us!) and broke a driveshaft. They managed to get it fixed and restarted the trophy rally - only for the replacement shaft to fail after a few miles! Better luck next time! Barry 'Vatanen' John was getting some hairy moments in the Subaru, but managed to stay away from the scenery, much to the relief of wife Seyyan who was in the co-driver seat. Thanks to those who marshalled on the day.
Barry and
Seyyan John put on a show for the spectators at Pembrey
Picture - Claire Williams
JANUARY 2011
It's been a busy few months in the club with lots going on to take our time and attention. October saw the running of the 50th Cilwendeg road rally, and newly appointed club chairman Dai John was out with Thomas Henderson on the maps, but failed to finish with a (very) broken engine. Dai and Paul Bevan fared better finishing 45th overall.
November saw the running of the Malvern Stages and the Talbenny Stages on the same weekend, giving some of our members a chance to do a 'double header'. See the front page for more details.
December's bad weather caused the postponement of the much anticipated Mel Harries Memorial Rally, but cleared in time for the Christmas Stages at Pembrey on the 28th. The unluckiest man of the day must surely have been club member Cerith 'Daffy' Davies. he retired early on with what turned out to be a broken rotor arm. this was fixed easily at service so he and co-driver Matthew Wood-Griffiths entered the afternoon stages 'Trophy Rally', but ended badly when they collided with 'an immovable object' on beach road. Cerith suffered disorientation so was attended to by paramedics (which traumatised him more than the accident itself!). Thankfully, both crew members were ok but the car looks worse for wear (see below).
January saw the Mel Harries Memorial Rally kick off the 2011 rallying year. We had a number of members competing, and the start venue was bustling with lots of club members old and new. it was to be a good night for our members with six club crews finishing the rally. Well done to them.
The 2011 Red Kite Stages took place on the 23rd January. The recent bad weather had caused delays in the organisation process but our dedicated team got the job done and the event ran smoothly. The icy conditions gave the drivers something to think about on the early stages, but the rally was well enjoyed.
Thanks to everyone that has supported this event, we couldn't do it without you.
A day to forget at Pembrey
Picture - Darren Morris.
Note: the monthly Chairman's Chat reports for 2010 have been moved to the Archive - see side panel.
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