DRAMATIC FINAL ROUND OF 1999 DAIHATSU RALLY CHALLENGE

The final event of the 1999 Daihatsu Rally Challenge got off to a dramatic start on Saturday's Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, with four of the 11 Daihatsu Cuore Avanzatos entered going off on the second stage, including the outside contender for the title, 24-year old Scott Vogl from Rayleigh in Essex. The two championship leaders made it to the finish, however, with Farnborough driver Roger Binyon, partnered by Maidenhead co-driver Christine Daniels, winning the event after a fine drive. Eynon Price and co-driver Joanne Lockwood finished in a comfortable third place, but with enough points in hand to become the 1999 Daihatsu Rally Challenge champions. This is the second year running that Joanne has been champion co-driver - a record that will be hard to beat.

At the finish in Lanark, Eynon had this to say; "I drove carefully today, but still managed to pick up two punctures.

"It's amazing to have won the Challenge. I've had a season-long battle with Roger, and the final result could have gone either way. I've also been impressed with the speed of Scott Vogl and Mark Thomas. They've both got a bright future in rallying.

"Joanne's been a brilliant co-driver and the Daihatsu continues to be remarkably reliable. I've never come across a rally car that can take such a pounding, and it's an ideal machine for anyone starting off in the sport.

"I owe a great deal of thanks to Aled Jones at Davies Daihatsu for his support; all the members of my support team; Harry Hockly for producing such a reliable car; and Daihatsu for the excellent organisation of the Challenge."

Roger Binyon's entrant, Speedwell Daihatsu of Whitton, Middlesex, run by Charles Ivey, has won the 1999 Daihatsu dealer championship, with Eynon's main sponsor, Davies Daihatsu of Llanybydder, second. In an excellent second place on the event were Witham-based Neil Wood and Justin Imber, a result that moved them up into fifth position in the championship. It wasn't a straightforward run, however: "We went off into a ditch on the Ae stage," explained Neil, "but were pushed out by spectators, losing about 20 seconds. A short while later I caught up with Ian O'Connor, but spun while trying to get past. We had another go later in the stage, and unfortunately Ian ended up in the ditch."

This ended the rally for the St.Albans driver and his co-driver John Cotton, but both Ian and Neil agreed that it was just a 'rallying incident' as they met up in the bar later. Starting and finishing in Lanark, and organised by the Coltness Car Club, the Colin McRae Forest Stages was run over 60 miles of the Scottish Borders gravel stages of Windy Hill, Ae, Twiglees, Craik, Elibank and Cardrona. It was the second stage, a difficult 20-miler in Ae forest, that shaped the outcome of the event.

Scott Vogl and his navigator Danny Batchford had had a good start to the rally, finishing five seconds behind Binyon on the first stage. They were determined to put themselves in a strong position in case Eynon and Roger ran into trouble, but it all went wrong with just six miles to go to the finish. "We clipped a log on the inside of a corner," said Scott, "and this pushed us wide onto the loose surface.

"We ended up in a deep ditch and got stuck in soft mud. There was absolutely nothing we could do to get out and we remained there for two and a half hours until the stage was closed. The frustrating thing is that the tow truck only took about 20 seconds to get us out. However, it's been a great season and I've finished third in the championship in my first year of rallying. I shall be back next year to have a shot at the title."

Equally unfortunate were Hornsea crew Ian Jarvis and Paul Train. They only had half a mile to go when they also visited a deep, muddy ditch. With no spectators in sight, Paul set off for the finish on foot, but couldn't find any help, so they were forced to sit and wait for the tow truck. John Matthews was another to find the Ae ditches irresistible, but managed to keep his foot down and eventually found a way back to the main track after about half a mile of off-road driving. He was rewarded with his best result of the season - an excellent fifth.

The 'Spirit of the Challenge' award went to 19-year old Mark Thomas and co-driver Robert Richardson after a remarkable performance. Mark had been quickest on the first stage in spite of picking up a puncture near the finish. He changed the wheel for his only spare before the start of the Ae stage, but punctured a front wheel after about five miles. Without another spare, and with no option but to continue, the damaged wheel dug into the track round a fast downhill bend, and the rear of the Avanzato hit the bank. The car was launched into a series of rolls, but ended up on its wheels. Although the car was decidedly second-hand by this time, Mark decided to drive to the finish, but on the way he and Rob stopped to try to assist Scott Vogl out of his ditch. Unable to help, they set off for the finish, only for Rob to realise that he had dropped his mobile 'phone by Scott's car. He ran back to retrieve it, and contacted Mark's father, Ray, for advice.

Ray Thomas advised them to continue in order to collect valuable championship points, and the Daihatsu was patched up at the service halt in Lockerbie. Mark then proceeded to show why he's recognised as an extremely talented young driver, pushing the damaged car to the limit and setting the second fastest time on the fourth and fifth stages, and fastest time on the final one. His award was well justified.

Other finishers were Simon Thomas and co-driver Paul Wakely, up to fourth after another good drive, and newcomers Nick Cook and Stewart Chambers in sixth. Although ineligible for championship points, Nick and Stewart had borrowed a Daihatsu for this event with a view to registering for the Rally Challenge next year. Simon won the Novice Award, and Nick proved that he's certainly capable of doing well.

A highlight of the McRae Stages is the participation of Colin McRae in the course car. This year he was in his Ford Focus World Rally Car, which he drove in his usual spectacular and numbingly fast style. Not to be outdone, Daihatsu (UK) provided one of its 'works' Avanzatos as the second course car, driven by well-known national rally driver Geoff Jones, and "crewed" by Daihatsu (UK) managing director David Green.

Green thoroughly enjoyed his first experience of rallying from the co-driver's seat: "Any apprehension was quickly eased by Geoff's obvious driving skills, and I was amazed at how quickly the Avanzato goes on loose surfaces in the right hands.

"My visit to Lanark has given me the opportunity to study the organisation of the Daihatsu Rally Challenge and to meet the participating crews, and I've been impressed with what I've seen. The Challenge has been a great success in its first two years, and next year we will be exploiting its marketing potential even harder."

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