Beverley & District Motor Club
	Armstrong Massey Rally 2001 Report

Tony Jannetta and Lee Carter won a close fought battle with Tom Morris and Neil Chambers in matching Metro 6R4's during which they were never more than 5 seconds apart. Jannetta relinquished the lead after stage 4, but clawed his way back to the front on stage 6, a lead he would maintain through the final two stages.

Another well organised event by Beverley & district Motor Club gave competitors some much needed rally mileage in these days of foot & mouth restrictions and a chance to notch up more championship points. The popular airfield at Leconfield hosting a single venue event which some competitors may remember from past years.

Ian Joel/Graeme Wood struggled all day to match the times of the leading pair, but 2 litre Cosworth power is no match for the 6R4's and they had to settle for 3rd after swapping times with Barry Renwick/Andy Fenwick all day. So they had the delight of at least beating one 6R4 on the day! Local crew Richard Watts/Dave Playforth rounded off the top 5 with an excellent result in their Escort Cosworth.

Class A was comprehensibly taken by Steven Crowther/Steven Clarke in their Peugeot 205 just managing to stay ahead of Selby's Mike Smith/Richard Glew in their Mini. Graham Green/Stewart Lund came from well down the order earlier in the day to clinch third in class on the very last stage.

Car 60, the Proton of Tristan Pye/Roger Herron, put in a very strong showing to easily take Class B from Adrian Wilson/Kevin Bardon's Vauxhall Corsa. Beverley crew Dave Twilton/Richard Vincent, who are used to being at the very front of tarmac rallies, suffered a few engine maladies with their recently rebuilt super quick Mini. They did, however, just managed to hang on to third in front of fellow club members Andy Rowe/Neil Holland in their Peugeot 205.

YSCC's Chris Platt/Colin Thompson had another ding-dong battle with Stuart Wood/Ken White from Wakefield, but the former's Vauxhall Corsa proved to be the quicker at the end of the day to secure Class C. Ilkley crew Peter Dickson/Graham Hepworth picked up their pace later on, but ultimately had to settle for third just ahead of John and Chris Haygarth in their Opel Kadett GTE.

Tagged on the end, but no less entertaining, were the six entries from the Lex Army Rally Team in their Land Rovers. Standard issue, however, were diesel engines which made for some interesting driving techniques not to mention the odd mobile chicane for following drivers! Winner of this Class was Alan Paramore/James Sunderland very closely followed by Jim Clark/Mark Burton and Anton Mitchell/Thomas Hardie.

Beverley crew Andy Carter/Tim Rodgers had a mixed day, but brought their Escort home 5th in Class B, 34th overall. North Humberside Motor Club had six entries, with good performances from Ken Sturdy/Andy Townend and Tony Dickinson/Gavin Heseltine.

Other local crews competing were Gav Smith/Ben Lawrenson who unfortunately blew up their diff on stage 2 and went OTL, but carried on just to enjoy the driving experience once the unit had been replaced. Prize for the most spectacular retirement though must go to David Turnbull/Mark Sissons when their Group A Escort Cosworth threw its engine oil onto a glowing exhaust at the end of a long straight. The resultant flames lit up the whole underside of the car for some 75 yards while they brought it to a halt. An illuminating and potentially expensive experience to say the least!

Slick results followed an equally slick event which everyone enjoyed. However, some competitors are still hankering for the forests.

Words by Howard Everingham. Pictures by AML Photography