West Midlands Motorsport Mid Wales Rally Report

West Midlands Motorsport Junior Team took every one of the fastest stage times on the Mid Wales Rally. But the talk of the event was how Tom Curtis showed just what a prodigious talent he is, fighting off a strong challenge from reigning champion Simon Moore to win the fourth round of the Quaife Peugeot 205 1.9 Scholarship at the Mid-Wales Stages Rally. Curtis and co-driver David Roberts drove, at times, completely blind through a thick curtain of dust on the twisty stages in Hafren and Ceri forests to take their first win of the season by just 22 seconds, after 45 miles of typically close one-make rallying.

Right from the start, the Welsh pairing seemed determined to prove they were the best of all the contenders in this very competitive championship. Powering their way through the two opening stages, Hafren North and Nant Melen, they set fastest time in the Peugeot Scholarship category on both runs and took a narrow three-second lead from Moore. Curtis increased the lead through the long 13-mile stage in Esgair-y-Maesnant, despite dazing himself momentarily: "We went so fast over a big jump that my crash helmet jarred the side of my head, even though the strap was done up properly. I didn't know where I was for a few seconds" he said.

Realising that Moore had lost time after getting stuck behind a slower car, Curtis immediately capitalised by pushing hard and setting another fastest time through the penultimate stage, Cymysgawen. This effectively sealed victory, and Curtis backed off slightly on the final stage to ensure that he and Roberts got home safely. Speaking after the rally, Curtis said: "The car ran absolutely faultlessly today, thanks largely to the preparation that West Midlands Motorsport put into it. It's tremendous to have the backing of a good team, which young drivers need if they want to progress in the sport."

There was more success for West Midlands Motorsport, as a customer car, crewed by Jody Bowcott / Mike Hart, came third in the Peugeot Scholarship class. Bowcott is undoubtedly the find of the season, as the young Warwickshire driver combines speed with the ability to finish strongly. On the Mid-Wales Stages, he set consistent times inside the top five, and drove sensibly, well within his abilities, to take his first podium finish.

Junior Team mentor, Matt Barker, partnered by Richard Walker, had an up-and-down day, a mysterious overheating problem preventing a better result than ninth in the Scholarship class. The Birmingham driver had to stop in Esgair-y-Maesnant to let the car cool down, thereby losing four minutes. But he fought back doggedly to set fastest time on the last stage. "I was really annoyed because of the earlier problems, so I just went for it through Ceri. We flew - literally - down the steep drop known as the 'ski slope' - it's really good that West Midlands Motorsport cars set fastest time on every stage today".

After a promising start to the season, Junior Team member Alex Evans and co-driver Janice Hooley had their first retirement of the year, coasting to a halt on stage two with electrical problems. "We had a storming run through Hafren North, but then the car just died about half a mile into Nant Melen" said Evans.

The other customer car of Austin McKinlay / Dominic Brown finished in 11^th place. Minor damage to the rear beam failed to halt their progress and they picked up more valuable championship points.