For the fourth time this season Phillip Morrow recorded victory in the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge when he won Saturday’s round five, the Swansea Bay Rally. Together with his co-driver Daniel Barritt, he finished one-minute 48-seconds ahead of second-placed Nik Elsmore/Vicky Allen, with David Bogie/Robert Fagg in third.
The event also hosted round five of the Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship, the 15 Evolution Challenge entries representing 25% of the 60-car field.
With the recent severe weather creating havoc with the UK’s road network, many crews were experiencing problems - even before the start – three of them Mitsubishi competitors: Bradley Magnus, co-driver for Jonathan Sparks, spent all night on the M5 and started the event having had no sleep whatsoever. Wayne Radford’s team were also held up because of the conditions and his Lancer arrived in Swansea with just minutes to spare on Saturday morning. More unfortunate was Miles Johnston, who was also held up on the M5 overnight and, when traffic started moving again, he found was too far away to get to the start in time. Ironically, both Radford and Johnston are the two leading crews for the Evo Cup, the class for closer-to-standard Mitsubishi Lancers.
The officials of the event were also affected in similar ways and, with some marshals and rescue crews unable to get to Swansea, organisers had no choice but to cancel the shortest stage of the rally and re-deploy the manpower where it was needed. This meant that the day now comprised five stages instead of six, all of which took place in the Neath and Rhondda valley forests, the gravel roads reported to be extremely slippery because of the wet conditions.
Having won the previous round, Morrow carried on from where he left off and was the fastest of the Evo crews on SS1, a 12.5 mile run through Margam Park - albeit with a slow puncture. Julian Reynolds, who won this event outright in 2005 and was therefore expected to go well, was 11 seconds behind, having lost time after sliding wide on a corner - the consequent bumps causing the master ignition switch to cut his car’s electrics and he lost around 20 seconds before getting going again.
Another driver tipped to be a contender for victory was Seb Ling – but it was not to be. On a very slippery section nine-miles into the first stage he too slid wide, but a wheel clipped a bank and flipped the car over. Although resulting in very little damage and landing on its wheels, his Evo was going nowhere as it was stuck the other side of the bank frustratingly, just a few feet from the road.
Others to suffer problems in the opening stage were Neil McCance, who’s car had developed a power-sapping misfire, David Bogie and Stepehen Petch both collected punctures and Alex Sabater, who was having to adjust his pace after his co-driver, the experienced Miquel Amblas, was feeling ill for the first time in 150 events.
Stage three claimed the second Evo Challenge retirement of the day – Daniel Barry, who slid off the road at a down-hill hairpin beaching his car on its belly and, with no spectators around, could not push his stranded Evo back onto the track.
At the first service halt, after crews had completed three stages, Morrow’s lead had now decreased to eight seconds from Reynolds, with Bogie a further 50 seconds behind in third.
Stage four was the longest of the rally at 17 miles and where Morrow stamped his authority on proceedings by setting a time 20 seconds quicker than any other Evo Challenge competitor. His advantage was increased when a transmission shaft broke in Reynolds’ car, who took over two minutes longer than the young Ulsterman to complete the stage.
Wayne Sisson’s good run was ruined when he had to stop and change a puncture four miles into the stage, the five-minute delay destroying his chances of a much hoped-for podium finish. No such problems for Elsmore however, who had now moved into third, with Reynolds relegated to fourth,
With the second service halt providing teams with an hour to fix any problems, Reynolds’ car was repaired. However, the same could not be said for McCance, who’s engine wouldn’t start when it was time to leave the service area.
The final stage was another run through Margam Park, by which time Morrow had amassed an 80-second lead and therefore opted for a steady run to ensure he made it to the finish.
Bogie was second and now 24 seconds ahead of Elsmore, but a spin in the last stage cost the Scottish youngster half-a-minute and he crossed the line third, six seconds behind a delighted Elsmore.
With his car retuned to 100% Reynolds proved a point by setting fastest time on the final stage and claimed fourth place. Petch survived a selection of spins and overshoots to finish fifth, with Thomas Naughton sixth having enjoyed the demanding nature of the rally, whilst Sabater was pleased to have made his trip from Spain to finish seventh - despite the conditions.
Sisson was disappointed to finish eighth after such a promising start, whilst in contrast Alan Carmichael was happy to be in the points in ninth. Radford claimed the top Evo Cup placing and was 10th of the Challenge runners too, whilst Sparks was relieved to get to the end of an event with his engine still functioning correctly – his co-driver’s efforts and the team’s determination to continue, rewarding them with the Tesco 99 Octane Spirit Award.
But it was Morrow’s day, as his performance also saw him win the event’s Production Class, claim an overall position of fifth, score maximum points towards the PIAA Junior Award – and, most importantly, places him in a commanding position in the race for the Evo Challenge title and the first prize of a Mitsubishi works drive. At the finish he said:
“This result has certainly made things easier for the rest of the season. I didn’t expect to win by such a big margin on this event, but when others were having problems I was fortunate to be able to keep out of trouble, which took some doing in the tricky conditions.”
For the sixth round of the Evolution Challenge the series moves away from the Hankook Championship and into the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, with the all-asphalt, Armagh-based Ulster Rally on 31st August and 1st September.
The Evolution Challenge offers drivers what is widely regarded as the best prize in British rallying – the chance to become a Mitsubishi works driver in the 2008 British Rally Championship.
Also included in this year’s Mitsubishi championship are the Pirelli and Performance Friction Brakes Cups.
The series is backed by Mitsubishi Motors UK Ralliart, with support from its associate sponsors: Pirelli, PIAA, Speedline Corse, Sparco, Performance Friction Brakes, Shell Helix and Tesco 99 Octane - suppliers of the controlled fuel for the championship.
1 Wayne Radford (Dinnington)/Paul Drew (Stroud) - 1:13:33.3
Retirements
SS1 Sebastian Ling (Llandysul)/Aled Rees (Crymych) – Accident
SS3 Daniel Barry (Enniskerry)/Mark Bowens (Cork) – Accident
SS5 Neil McCance (Coomber)/Ian Windress (Northallerton) – Engine
Drivers
1 Phillip Morrow 53
2 Seb Ling 37
3 Julian Reynolds 31
4 Stephen Petch 31
5 Nik Elsmore 26
6 Wayne Sisson 20
7 David Bogie 17
8 Neil McCance 15
9 Daniel Barry 13
10 Jonny Milner 10
Co-drivers
1 Aled Rees 37
2 Simon Morrow 36
3 Patrick Walsh 31
4 Michael Wilkinson 29
5 Vicky Allen 27
6 Ian Windress 22
7 Daniel Stone 21
8 Robert Fagg 17
9 Daniel Barritt 17
8 Mark Bowens 14
Drivers
1 Wayne Radford 42
2 Miles Johnston 36
3 Mark I’Anson 18
4 Ferran Font 10
Co-drivers
1 Ian Bevan 36
2 Paul Drew 32
3 Graeme Walker 18
4 Nick Cadwallader 10
5 Miquel Amblas 10
PIAA Junior Award
1 Phillip Morrow 23
2 Stephen Petch 18
3 David Bogie 10
4 Danny Barry 9
5 Connor McCloskey 4
6 Errol Clarke 2
Performance Friction Brakes Cup
1 Stephen Petch 21
2 Nik Elsmore 17
3 Daniel Barry 11
4 Julian Reynolds 9
5 Connor McCloskey 5
6 Alan Carmichael 4
7 Mark I’Anson 3
Pirelli Cup
1 Phillip Morrow 10
2 Jonny Milner 9
3 Connor McCloskey 5
3 Daniel Barry 4
5 Mark I’Anson 3
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