Lancaster and Morecambe crews tackle Pirelli Rally at Kielder Forest

Local rally competitors achieved success on this past weekend's Pirelli International Rally - competitive mileage taking place in the infamous '˜Killer' Kielder Forest in Northumberland.
Phil Burton and Mal Capstick in action on the Pirelli Rally. Picture: Paul LawrencePhil Burton and Mal Capstick in action on the Pirelli Rally. Picture: Paul Lawrence
Phil Burton and Mal Capstick in action on the Pirelli Rally. Picture: Paul Lawrence

Class and overall honours were awarded to Phil Burton and Mal Capstick, Tom Woodburn, Mike Wolff and Mark Twiname and Katy Mashiter.

The rally, part of the British National Championship series saw more than 140 crews competing from as far afield as Norway and Ireland.

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Bare’s Burton along with his regular co-driver Capstick were in Phil’s 1Media/Westgate Tyres/BDS Fuels & Biomass/SBG Construction/KL Brewery/Royal Barn/Jon Wright & Sons/Jones Plumbing and Bleasdale Signs supported Millington-engine Escort Mk2.

The duo have increasingly become the crew to beat with their skills and results now seeing them challenge for top honours whenever they compete

This time around, they battled a sticking throttle cable on SS1 and SS2 but their service crew soon changed the offending items.

Burton and Capstick had just two further stages to reduce their time deficit and that they did to the delight of the spectators, powering through the field to finish a tenth of a second behind third place in fourth overall and first in class.

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Heysham’s Wolff and Twiname’s MRF Tyres/CC Fabrications/Travis Perkins/BAYMIX Concrete/H&G Vehicle Services supported BMW thrilled the crowded forests with its distinctive sound.

A small electrical issue with the cooling fan was fixed before the final stage which allowed the crew to push on to 17th overall and fourth in the Open Category.

Another trophy was also forthcoming with their third in class award.

Morecambe’s Katy Mashiter was co-driving for Tim Metcalfe in Tim’s Escort RS1800 and seeded at 73, they lost a lot of time behind a slower car but still managed to finish a very creditable 35th overall.

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Tom Woodburn, from Bare, was competing in the International section of the rally, co-driving for Steve Rokland in a Peugeot 208R2, entered in BRCJR Class.

The crew set fastest times on seven of the eight stages and took a convincing class win and 11th overall.

Incidents were-a-plenty, 30 crews retiring from the rally due to a myriad of reasons.

REPORT: GMS