We are the champions - 2015 edition

BCCC - Mike Moran

 

BCC Trophy  - Nick Pritchard

 

Freelander Challenge - Ian Linford

 

BCCC Awards Do

The awards do will take place on 15th January 2016 at the Windmill Village Hotel which is near the NEC if you're going to the Autosport Show. Menu, booking form and bank details for direct payment are linked below:

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Please contact Lilian if you have any questions. Contact details over there >>>>>

Provisional dates for 2016

The provisional dates for the 2016 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, British Cross Country Trophy and Freelander Challenge are as follows:

Round 1 9th/10th April
Round 2 7th/8th May
Round 3 4th/5th June
Round 4 23rd/24th July
Round 5 10th/11th September
Round 6 29th/30th October **

** Round 6 date awaiting confirmation from the landowner.

Venues are likely to be mostly similar to 2015 although they cannot be confirmed until the NRW forestry allocation meeting which takes place in December.

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R6 Walters

Please click here to see the photographs.

Walters win for Duckworth

Ben Duckworth took his third Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship win of the season at the final round of the season at Walters Arena in South Wales. Andy Powell finished second to wrap up the runner's up spot in the championship, which has technical support from Ravenol.

Heavy rain made the already slippery course treacherous as the crews made their first runs. An early victim was Richard Green who rolled his Bowler and, after suffering neck pains, decided not to continue. Duckworth set the pace from the first run in his Milner LRM-1 and he built up a lead of over three minutes at the end of the day. Ryan Cooke was second in his Milner with Powell third.

Day two got off to a bad start for Duckworth as he suffered a puncture on the first run but he continued to head the leaderboard until the end of the event.

"I'm very pleased with the result," said Duckworth. "It was a very wet and extremely slippery course on day one and it was difficult to push hard. We had a couple of moments and struggled with the radiator getting bunged up with mud. As the course dried our times improved and, despite a puncture on the first run of day two, we managed to take the win."

With Cooke retiring after clutch problems Powell took second place despite a weekend that had gone anything but smoothly, with a broken propshaft and flat battery amongst his many issues. Powell commented: "It was a tough event and a very testing course but those are the courses I like. The weekend wasn't without incident but we overcame the problems. Thanks to Phil Ibbotson for navigating and to all the organisers and marshals, it's been a great season all in all."

Mark Jacques finished third in his 3M Challenger after tying with Britpart's Paul Myers. Neil Davey was fifth in his GSR 206 after driving all of day two with no power steering. Steve Smith was sixth despite an ailing engine in his Clio and Jason Sharpe was the final BCCC finisher in the Isuzu D-Max.

Steve Anning took his Peugeot 206 M3 to victory in the BCC Trophy ahead of the Insanity Racing Tornado of Jon Damrel. Nick Pritchard was third in his Goka Buggy despite several issues including having to change the clutch on day one. The result was good enough for Pritchard to take the Trophy championship.

In the Freelander Challenge the Race2Recovery team of Grant White and Yanto Evans headed the leaderboard ahead of Alastair Moore-Myers and Ian Linford. Linford wrapped up his second Freelander Challenge title in his Team Sheepie machine.

Justin Birchall won the Clubman class in his Lofthouse Freelander in a time that would've placed him first overall had he been registered for the championship. Birchall's win came despite a trip to hospital after suffering a back injury early on day two.

Planning is already well underway for the 2016 championships with round 1 scheduled for 9th/10th April.

BCCC Results
1. Ben Duckworth/Mathew Cook (Milner LRM-1)    02:05:46
2. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)    02:14:26
3. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger )   02:17:03
4. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado)   02:17:03
5. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)   02:17:57
6. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   02:19:20
7. Jason Shape/Richard Lester   (Isuzu D-Max)   02:20:49

BCCC finale to be held at Walters Arena

The final round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, with support from Ravenol, takes place next weekend at Walters Arena in South Wales.

Warrington's Mike Moran wrapped up his second BCCC title at the previous round and, having sold his car, he will not be driving at Walters. Moran's car has been bought by Rob Bool who has entered the Walters event ahead of a possible championship campaign next year. Both Moran and his co-driver Tony Coid will be on hand at Walters to sit with Bool as he learns his new machine.

"It was quite sad seeing the car go to a new owner," said Moran. "We've used it in the BCCC for five years and it has served us very well. We finished third in  2012 when the car had a diesel engine, the best ever BCCC finish for a diesel racer. We had to drive it hard to keep the engine on boost and that meant we spent a lot of time narrowly missing big accidents!"

"After a huge party at the awards do a plan was hatched to swap to a 440bhp petrol Jaguar engine for 2013. We nearly finished second that year but cutting a corner too much at the final round broke both the steering rack and my finger."

"The car has been faultless in 2014 and 2015 and that has meant we have been able to take back to back title wins. I'm in my late 50s now but I've still got the competitive spirit so I'll be back next year in a new lighter car which will once again be prepared by Lofthouse Motorsport."

Walters should see a close battle for the remaining championship podium positions. Andy Powell is currently second on 347 points, just 10 ahead of Mark Jacques with Richard Green in fourth with 332 points. In fifth and sixth place are Ryan Cooke and Neil Davey respectively but with both those crews already having a retirement this season they will be able to count all the points they score at the weekend unlike the other drivers who have scored points in all the events so far.

Powell commented: "I'm looking to have a good last round, the car is almost ready, it just needs the diff rebuilt and fitted. I was not on the ball at Bovington and I didn't get a decent result. I like Walters, there's a good selection of routes. Once dropped scores are taken into account it is very close for second place so there should be a great battle."

Another driver looking to round of his season in style is Paul Harris in his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight. Harris is currently in 11th place in the championship standings after a few mechanical issues with his car.

"We're having the shockers rebuilt ahead of the final round," said Harris. "I'm looking forward to renewing the class battle I've been having with Richard Green and Steve Smith all season, it should be a great end to the season."

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard leads the way on 332 points with Steve Anning in seconds on 247 and Sian Rogers in third on 231.

Ian Linford heads the Freelander Challenge battle with 299 points, 50 ahead of Andy Price. Louisa Felice in in third with 233. The Freelander crews will be joined by new entrant Richard Roberts for the final round.

Spectators are welcome at the event, the action will start at 11am on Saturday with Sunday scheduled to start at 9am. Further spectator information is available at www.marches4x4.com/spectators.

The organisers are already hard at work planning the 2016 championships with a provisional calendar set to be announced shortly. Any crews interested in competing next year can register to receive regulations by contacting Lilian Turley at lilianturley@btinternet.com.

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R5 Bovington

Please click here to see the images. Flickr have altered the default album view so if they display as huge images please click the icon at the top right.

Duckworth wins battle of the Milners

Ben Duckworth took his second Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship win of the season in his Milner LRM-1 after a weekend-long battle with the similar car of Ryan Cooke at round 5 of the series, which has technical support from Ravenol.

Mike Moran was quickest on the first run but by run three Cooke had taken the lead.

At end of the 10 runs of day one Cooke held a 19 second lead over Duckworth with Moran in third.

Cooke’s lead was lost on the opening run of day two as he hit a rock which punctured the car’s floor. The Milner duo swapped fastest times throughout the day but it was Duckworth who claimed the win.

“It was a great fight with Ryan, the two of us were very close all event,” said Duckworth. “I’m very happy with first place, the team have been working hard to develop the car and they were even tweaking it at the event with some suspension changes to help it ride the bumps better so thanks to them for all their efforts.”

Cooke was very satisfied with second place after a season of mixed fortunes. “I’m really pleased with the result although it’s obviously disappointing not to win but all credit to Ben, he turned the screw on day two to get ahead of us.”

“It was a tough course on the car but we finished so I think we’ve turned the corner with the reliability. I’ll keep trying and pushing hard and we’ll see if we can get a win at the next round. Thanks to all my team and sponsors, without them I’d not be here racing.”

With Cooke in second it was Moran who brought his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger home in third, a result which was good enough for him to retain his BCCC title.

Moran commented: “It’s been a great weekend. Congratulations to Ben and Ryan, their pace was incredible and they must’ve been taking some big risks to set the times they were doing! With the championship up for grabs we played it safe to make sure we got the car to the end.”

“The course was hard on both car and crew, we had a few issues over the weekend including two broken alternators. Third place means we cannot be caught in the title race now, it’s good to have wrapped it up with one event to go. Thanks to Lofthouse Motorsport for preparing the car.”

Paul Myers finished fourth in his Land Rover Tornado ahead of Steve Smith’s JRG Clio and Mark Jacques’ 3M Challenger.

In 7^th was Neil Davey who had fuel tank problems on day one while John Thorne returned to the championship with 8^th in his Arctic Cat Wildcat.

Jason Sharpe was 9^th in the Isuzu D-Max after front differential problems forced him to run in 2WD for most of day two and Paul Harris rounded off the top 10 despite a run one maximum when the electrical cut off switch snapped while trying to reset the car after it went into limp mode.

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard won in his Goka Buggy ahead of Steve Anning. Jon Damrel was third in the Insanity Racing Tornado even though his event was hampered with fuel starvation and electrical problems.

Ian Linford drove to another win in the Freelander Challenge with Andy Price in second and the Race2Recovery car of Grant White in third.

Ian Bartlett took his Bowler Tomcat to victory in the Clubman class.

BCCC Results:

1. Ben Duckworth/Matt Cook (Milner LRM-1) 02:24:03

2. Ryan Cooke/Chris Cooke (Milner LRM-1)    02:24:58
3. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)    02:31:01
4. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado)  02:35:19
5. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   02:36:43
6. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger)     02:37:29
7. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)  02:44:49
8. John Thorne/ (Arctic Cat Wildcat)  02:48:04
9. Jason Sharpe/Richard Lester (Isuzu D-Max)  02:58:29
10. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight)  03:14:17

Title up for grabs as BCCC heads to Bovington

After a summer break crews in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will head to Bovington in Dorset next weekend for round five of the series, which this year has technical support from Ravenol.

With three wins in four events so far this season Warrington's Mike Moran could complete a successful defence of his BCCC title with another good result in his Lofthouse Motorsport-prepared AT 4x4 Indy Challenger. Moran presently leads the title battle on 338 points with Andy Powell in second on 290 and Mark Jacques in third on 272.

Despite his lead Moran is feeling quite nervous ahead of the event. "We're in a great position with three wins and a second place but Bovington is a very tough course and, as we saw last year with several of the top drivers having major issues with their cars, it's a difficult event to finish."

"The testing course has every surface known to mankind and even though we were trying to look after the car last year we still managed to destroy four wheel bearings, the alternator, starter motor and power steering pump as well as wearing out a set of brake pads and eight tyres."

"Most of the competitors will have their fingers crossed that the ground stays dry. Some of the surfaces could turn into a deep mud pit if it rains heavily which will give an advantage to the lighter cars."

In the BCC Trophy Nick Pritchard heads the field on 246 points and, with second place driver Steve Anning on 167 points, Pritchard is in a strong position to take the Trophy title in his Goka Buggy. In third place is Sian Rogers who is just behind Anning on 162 points in her first season in her Mitsubishi Pajero.

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford leads the way after winning three events so far this year. He could wrap up the championship with another strong performance at Bovington. Andy Price is in second place, 44 points behind Linford with Louisa Felice in third place a further ten points back.

Price is hoping for a clear run after issues at the previous two events. He rolled his car at round three and then suffered various dramas at round four in Hafren before ending up in second place.

"After the third run at Hafren we discovered the car had a hole in the gearbox," said Price. "With the help of Ian Linford's team and my own service crew we managed to fill the hole. However, with the dirt that was getting in, the clutch plate got destroyed and I also had an electrical problem which kept killing the power completely."

"I managed to get the car to the finish and got a good result. I've replaced the clutch and the gearbox and the electrical issue has been cured so I'm looking forward to Bovington and having another fun weekend with the rest of the Freelander teams."

Joining the Freelanders for the first time this season will be the Race2Recovery team. The team is now headed up by Grant White, who will be driving at Bovington. White, a former Royal Marine and right leg below knee amputee, will be joined in the car by co-driver Yanto Evans, former Parachute Regt. and also a right leg below knee amputee. They are being sponsored to enter the event by Westover Landrover of Christchurch and BLESMA (British Limbless Ex Service Mens Association).

White commented: "The team is looking forward to re-connecting with the BCCC and Freelander Challenge teams and we're hoping to show everyone how far we've progressed since we last competed alongside the other Freelanders."

The event will take place at the Bovington Camp MoD tank training facility, the same venue as was used for the first time last year. The action will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two starts at 9am with the event expected to finish early on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, as the event is on MoD land, there will be no spectators allowed inside the venue. 

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R4 Hafren

Please click here to see the pictures.

Moran masters the conditions in Hafren

Mike Moran took his third win of the season at round four of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship, which was held in Hafren forest.

It was Moran who set the pace early on, building up a lead of 35 seconds in his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger over Ryan Cooke. Two of Moran’s main rivals were already out of contention with Neil Davey suffering a broken wishbone on his GSR and Ben Duckworth putting his Milner off the road.

Moran continued his good form throughout the nine runs of day one to build up a lead of almost three minutes with Cooke’s efforts hampered by broken power steering and brake issues.  Andy Powell lay in third in his Simmbugghini.

After sunshine and a drying course on day one the crews were greeted with heavy rain for day two’s eight runs. With the course getting increasingly slippery several drivers were caught out including Jason Sharpe who rolled his Isuzu into retirement. Moran had a couple of moments but kept it all together to take the win.

“I’d seen the weather forecast so I pushed very hard on day one when it was dry to try and build up a good lead,” said Moran. “The rain on day two made the course very difficult, it was like driving on ice in some places and we had a couple of big moments but fortunately the car stayed on the track.”

“It’s been a great weekend and the result has put us in a very strong position in the championship, I’m looking forward to the next round at Bovington now.”

Despite a last run puncture Cooke held on to second place.

“It was nice to have a good race for a change, we’ve had our fair share of problems this year. It was a very good course, very challenging. We had a few issues with the car and a puncture on the last run which almost cost us second place but we managed to hold on to the result.”

Powell continued his good run of BCCC results with third. He commented:  “I’m very happy with third although it’s a bit disappointing to be only 7 seconds off second at the end. It was a fantastic course and the conditions were very challenging. Other than throwing a belt on one run we didn’t have any issues with the car.”

Steve Smith was fouth in his Clio with Paul Harris having a good run in his GSR Maxilight to take fifth.

Nick Pritchard won the Trophy class in his Goka Buggy ahead of Steve Anning with Sian Rogers in third. The Insanity Racing Tornado of Jon Damrel made its first appearance of the season but retired at the end of day one with wheel bearing problems.

The Clubman class saw the return to the BCCC of Martin and Colin Gould, Toby Jefferson and Justin Birchall. Birchall was debuting his Lofthouse Freelander and he set some times that would’ve been quickest overall had he been entered in the championship. Problems with the fuel pressure regulator meant he could finish no higher than third Clubman. In second place was former BCCC champion Colin Gould, who survived a near roll in his new Polaris. It was Jefferson who took the Clubman win in his GSR.

In the Freelander Challenger Ian Linford took another win with Andy Price finishing second in his newly rebuilt car. Louisa Felice finished third Freelander.

The next round of the BCCC, which has technical support from Ravenol, takes place on September 12/13 at the Bovington tank training course in Dorset.

BCCC Results

1. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)    01:51:56
2. Ryan Cooke/Chris Cooke (Milner LRM-1)    01:55:37
3. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)    01:55:44
4. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   01:59:14
5. Paul Harris/Karina James (GSR Maxilight)   02:01:22
6. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger)     02:01:24
7. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100)   02:07:25
8. Ben Duckworth/Kevin Bates (Milner LRM-1)   02:08:15
9. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)   02:15:51

Moran looks to maintain position at BCCC Hafren

The second half of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country championship starts next weekend with round 4 taking place in Hafren forest near Llanidloes in Wales. The championship, which has technical support from Ravenol, has not used the Hafren venue before so it will be a new challenge to the crews.

Warrington driver Mike Moran heads the leaderboard on 252 points in his Lofthouse Motorsport-prepared AT 4x4 Indy Challenger and, with two wins and a second place so far, he’s in a good position to defend the title he won last year.

“My strategy for Hafren is to aim for a podium finish and try and be ahead of our main championship rivals,” said Moran. “The car survived the last gruelling round at Forrest Estate in Scotland although we’ve sent the gearbox back to the manufacturer to be checked over following a few abnormalities that were likely caused by heat or water. We had a great first half of the season, hopefully the second half will be just as successful.”

In second place, on 216 points, is Andy Powell who finished runner-up to Moran at the last round in his bright green Simmbugghini.

“We’re in a great position in the championship at the moment and I’m looking to maintain that at round four,” commented Powell. “I’ve had a bit of work to do on the car since the previous round  but we’re all set for the event. It'll be great to race at a new venue and hopefully we can have a good battle with the leaders again.”

Jason Sharpe in the Jewson D-Max Rally Team Isuzu is third in the championship standings on 208 points but he has Mark Jacques and Richard Green just behind him on 206 and 204 points respectively.

Nick Pritchard heads the BCC Trophy competitors in his Goka Buggy with Sian Rogers in second and Steve Anning in third.

Team Sheepie’s Ian Linford has built up a good lead in the Freelander Challenge, heading the way by 38 points over Andy Price, while the second Team Sheepie car, driven by Louisa Felice, is in third place.

“Louisa’s car is away having a new clutch fitted but mine is ready to rock,” said Linford. “We’re looking forward to racing in Hafren. We’re also making plans for both cars to contest Wales Rally GB if funds allow.”

Price rolled his car at the last round but he has managed to repair it in time for Hafren.

Price commented: “My car has a couple of new doors, bonnet, bumper and rear subframe as well as a new radiator and suspension leg so it should be fully sorted after the roll. Bring on Hafren!”

At the time of writing there was one entry for the Clubman class with Jeff Fletcher looking to build on his win at round two. However, there is a possibility of some former BCCC crews putting a late entry in if their cars are ready.

The action will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two starts at 9am with the event finishing early on Sunday afternoon. The venue will be accessed from the Dolydd entrance, please follow the orange arrows. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.

Goodwood FOS Offroad Action

The Goodwood Festival of Speed had an "activity field" this year for offroad vehicles which included some current and former BCCC drivers.

Please click here to see the images.

Crew Profile - Andy Price

 

Andy Price made his debut in the Freelander Challenge at the Bovington round in 2014 where he took a class win, a result that was even more impressive as it was his first experience of any competition driving.

Price is a mechanic from Market Drayton and before his driving debut he had been involved in the Freelander Challenge as a service crew member. 

“I spent two season servicing Freelanders in the BCCC and I really wanted to drive in an event,” said Price. “I was able to get my standard Freelander ready for Bovington in just two weeks and the event was amazing. To top it off I got a class win!”

Like all the cars in the Freelander Challenge Price's machine is largely standard except for the required safety equipment. Price has registered to contest the full Freelander Challenge championship in 2015. 

“I did a lot of work to the car over the winter including strengthening the front end and upgrading the suspension. I know I’m a rookie and the competition will be tough but hopefully we can push for some trophies as the season progresses."

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R3 Forrest Estate

Please click here to see the images.

Back to back BCCC wins for Moran

Mike Moran repeated his round two win with victory at round three of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship at Forrest Estate in South West Scotland.

Moran took the lead on run one amidst horrendous weather conditions , setting a time four seconds quicker than Ryan Cooke. Cooke’s hopes of a good result were dashed when the radiator on his Milner LRM-1 was damaged after run three. Neil Davey was putting his run one retirement on the previous event behind him and, despite several issues with his GSR, he was second behind Moran at the end of day one. In third place was Andy Powell who had a narrow escape after going off the road and almost hitting two large tree stumps.

In contrast to day one the sun shone on day two and, as the course dried out, the top three maintained their pace to hold position. Davey was lucky to finish though after a major problem with the exhaust but he managed to get it fixed to allow him to complete his runs. It was Moran who headed the leaderboard, leading the pack by over three minutes.

“I’m very pleased with the win,” said Moran. “The course was very tough and challenging but I think it put a smile on everyone’s face! Other than one puncture we had no issues all weekend. It’s a shame our rivals had problems but we still had some fun trying to see who’d set the fastest lap of the weekend.”

Davey commented: “I’m really chuffed to get second, especially with the problems we had over the weekend – it was a case of damage limitation. We had issues with the clutch on day one and then the centre of the exhaust blew off on day two. Fortunately we were able to sort it out so we got to the finish. It was a belter of a course.”

Third place gave Andy Powell his second podium position of the season, a result he was happy with: “It’s been a cracking event and I’m very pleased with third. We had a few problems on day one including the fan belt coming off and a couple of near misses with ditches and tree stumps but we battled on and made it to the podium.”

Rounding off the top five were Jason Sharpe in the Isuzu D-Max and Mark Jacques in his 3M Challenger. Jacques was fourth overnight but two stoppages on day two caused by a belt coming off and broken windscreen wipers dropped him to fifth. Steve Smith was sixth in his Clio with Richard Green in seventh after a difficult weekend in his Tomcat which included having to replace both diffs.

In the Trophy category Sian Rogers took the win in her Mitsubishi Pinin ahead of Nick Pritchard’s Goka Buggy.

Ian Linford overcame a few problems, including a broken alternator, to win the Freelander Challenge. Alastair Moore-Myers, with Ravenol’s Brian Chase navigating, finished second despite a day one excursion. Louisa Felice continued her 100% finishing record in third, her first Freelander podium.

BCCC Results:

1. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)   02:16:14
2. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)   02:19:23
3. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)   02:22:39
4. Jason Sharpe/Richard Lester (Isuzu D-Max)   02:26:27
5. Mark Jacques/Dan Lofthouse (3M Challenger)   02:29:18
6. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8)   02:32:46
7. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100)   02:33:46

All to play for as BCCC title race heads to Scotland

Forrest Estate in South West Scotland will be the setting for round three of the 2015 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship next weekend. 

After two rounds it is 2014 champion Mike Moran who heads the leaderboard on 166 points, 24 points ahead of Andy Powell. There’s a very close battle for third presently with four crews separated by just five points. Mark Jacques is third going into round three on 139 points with Richard Green and Jason Sharpe on 137 and Ryan Cooke on 134.

Several crews will be hoping for better luck at Forrest Estate after suffering retirement at the previous round in Radnor forest. Paul Harris was forced out after a major gearbox oil leak but his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight has been repaired and is ready for Scotland. Ben Duckworth and Neil Davey, who finished first and third respectively at round one, both retired after the opening run at Radnor so they’ll be aiming to get their season back on track next weekend. 

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford leads the way on 116 points. After a tough course in Radnor Linford has had a lot of work to do on both his own car and that of fellow Team Sheepie driver Louisa Felice who has finished both rounds so far to lie in fourth place.

“I’ve had to put a new bumper on Louisa’s car and fix the one on mine as well as repairing the exhaust and fitting a new engine,” said Linford. “Since round two we’ve also taken both cars to a local Beavers and Cubs evening and apparently the kids haven’t stopped talking about it since. Maybe one day some of them will be competing.”

Craig Bounds is in second place in the Freelanders on 98 points with Andy Price just behind in third on 96. Price is another driver who has been busy since round two.

“I was losing a lot of power at Radnor and the engine was boiling at the end of every run,” said Price. “I thought it would be the head gasket but I took the engine apart and it was fine but I only had compression on two cylinders. I’ve changed and reseated the valves and did the head gasket as a precaution so hopefully there won’t be a repeat of our Radnor issues.”

Alastair Moore-Myers and Brian Chase from championship technical partner Ravenol will be aiming for a finish after retiring their Freelander at Radnor.

The action at Forrest Estate will start at 10am on Saturday with a full day of competition. Day two will start at 9am with the event finishing early on Sunday afternoon. The venue will be arrowed from the A713 north of St John’s Town of Dalry. A public car park is available for spectators near the event service area. Please visit www.marches4x4.com for further spectator information.  

Regs out for Forrest Estate

The regs are out for BCCC round 3 which will be held at Forrest Estate in SW Scotland. Entries are welcome from non-championship crews either for one day or the full weekend. Download the regs here:http://www.marches4x4.com/bcccregsrd32015.pdf

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R2 Radnor

Please click here to see the images.

Victory for Moran after tough Radnor event

After a gruelling two days of competition Mike Moran was victorious in round 2 of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship.

It was Ryan Cooke who was the fastest driver early on, building up a lead of 39 seconds in his Milner LRM-1 after three runs. Early casualties included the crews who finished first and third at round one with Ben Duckworth damaging a propshaft on his Milner and Neil Davey suffering a burst power steering pipe on his GSR.

Moran took the lead after the fourth run as Cooke had a drivebelt problem on his car which gave him a maximum time and dropped him down the leaderboard. With Cooke out of contention it was Andy Powell who lay in second place at the conclusion of day one’s six runs with Mark Jacques in third.

A further eight runs took place on day two and, despite the very difficult course conditions, the top three had a relatively troublefree day to maintain their positions at the finish.

“It was a tough old weekend,” said Moran. “The course was extremely challenging and it was very tough on both the cars and the crews. It was a shame that Ben and Neil retired early on but Ryan and Andy were putting in some great times so it wasn’t an easy win. All credit to everyone who finished, especially the guys in the standard Freelanders.”

“My car also won the Baja event last weekend in the hands of Dan Lofthouse so it’s been a great two weeks for the Lofthouse Motorsport team.”

By finishing second Powell equalled his best ever BCCC result in his Simmbugghini.

“The event was brilliant, a proper offroad course! Congratulations to Mike on the win, I’m very pleased with second. The car performed really well, other than a slight steering issue that we resolved overnight we had no problems which was a relief after the electrical troubles we had at round one.”

Behind Jacques in fourth place was Paul Myers with Cooke putting in some very quick times to battle back to fifth, despite an off on one of his later runs. Richard Green fought back from a power steering belt problem on his first run to take sixth in his Tomcat 100 with Steve Smith in seventh after having several issues with his Clio over the weekend. Jason Sharpe was the final classified BCCC finisher in eighth. Sharpe was another driver who overcame car issues to get to the finish, including a broken suspension on his opening run.

In the Freelander Challenge Pat Masters took the win ahead of Ian Linford and Craig Bounds with Louisa Felice in fourth. Brian Chase from the BCCC’s technical partner Ravenol co-drove Alistair Moore-Myers in his Freelander but they sadly retired.

Steve Anning won the Trophy category in his GSR despite breaking a steering arm early on day one. After rally co-driver Justin Brooks set some very quick times on day one in his Polaris it was Jeff Fletcher who won the Clubman class in his Bowler Tomcat.

BCCC Results:

1. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger) 02:05:58

2. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini) 02:11:08
3. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger) 02:17:20
4. Paul Myers/Martin Myers (Land Rover Tornado) 02:20:54
5. Ryan Cooke/Lee Channing (Milner LRM-1) 02:24:43
6. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100) 02:31:19
7. Steve Smith/John Griffiths (JRG Indy Clio V8) 02:51:10
8. Jason Sharpe/Ian Bevan (Isuzu D-Max) 03:09:03

BCCC crews ready for Radnor challenge

The Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship continues next weekend with round two being held in Radnor forest near Monaughty in Wales.

The opening event in the championship, which has attracted support from Ravenol this season, saw a very close battle between 2014 champion Mike Moran and BCCC debutant Ben Duckworth. Duckworth eventually took the win by just two seconds to lead the championship on 86 points, 6 ahead of Moran. In third place, on 74 points, is Neil Davey who had a successful comeback to the championship at round one after a break of five years.

Crews hoping for better luck at Radnor include Paul Harris who had gearbox issues on his Bristol Street Motors-supported GSR Maxilight at the opening round.

“Round one didn’t go well for us at all,” said Harris. “We had to take maximum times on the first two runs and only managed to complete four runs before calling it a day. The gearbox has been changed and we’ve also worked on improving the gearbox cooling so hopefully we will have a better event at Radnor.”

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford leads the title battle on 61 points after continuing his 2014 form with a win at round one. Andy Price is in second on with 55 points with Craig Bounds, who is driving the ex-championship winning Nick Lines Freelander, in third on 49 points.

The championship has used Radnor forest several times in recent years with the large amount of tracks permitting various course layouts. The venue is also popular in rallying and has been a stage in the World Rally Championship. As usual a mix of fast gravel tracks and technical offroad sections will be used to fully test the BCCC crews and their machines.

The action starts at 10am on Saturday 9^th May and there will be competition until around 5pm. Day two starts at 9am with the event expected to finish at around 2pm. Spectators are welcome at the venue and the site will be arrowed from the A488, just south of Monaughty. A map showing the route in is available on www.marches4x4.com as is further spectator information.

Jump action from Myherin!

Photographs from BCCC 2015 R1 Myherin

Please click here to see the photographs.

Duckworth wins on BCCC debut

Ben Duckworth won the opening round of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship after a weekend-long battle with Mike Moran to kick off what looks like it will be a close season of competition in the offroad series, which has attracted additional support this year from new technical partner Ravenol. 

Moran set the pace on early on day one, opening up a lead of 21 seconds after three runs in his AT 4x4 Challenger. Duckworth was in second place on both his first BCCC event and his first event in his Milner LRM-1.  The pair were evenly matched over the remainder of day one with Moran leading by 24 seconds going in to day two. 

Third overnight was Ryan Cooke in another Milner LRM-1. Crews suffering problems on day one included Steve Smith who had an engine failure on his Clio and Paul Myers who had propshaft and trackrod end issues as well as an offroad excursion.

The lead was to change after the first run of day two, Duckworth completing the course 30 seconds faster than Moran. The pairing exchanged fastest times over the day and with one run to go Duckworth was 10 seconds up. In a tense finish Moran made up 8 seconds on the final run but victory went to Duckworth.

“I’m really pleased with the result,” said Duckworth. “We had a few teething problems with the car before the event so, although we knew it was quick, we weren’t sure how reliable it would be.”

“It was a brilliant course, we kept it consistent in the quick bits and tried not to lose much time in the offroad sections.”

2014 champion Moran was happy with second place on the first event for his newly lightened car.

“It was a perfect weekend really, we had no problems at all with the car, the course was great and there was tough competition. It’s good to see some new competitors joining the BCCC.”

Neil Davey finished third in his GSR 206 on his first BCCC event for several years with Cooke in fourth. 

“I’m happy to get a good finish,” commented Cooke. “We had a huge accident last time we were here so I was dreading coming back but we enjoyed the weekend. Fair play to the guys at the front, we gave it our all but they were quicker.”

Rounding off the top five was Jason Sharpe in the Isuzu DMax, Sharpe also winning the production class.

Mark Jacques was sixth in his 3M Challenger with Richard Green in seventh. After electrical problems resulted in two maximums on the first two runs Andy Powell battled back to finish eighth in his Simmbugghini. Championship newcomer Dean Gibbs was classified ninth although he had to take maximums for his final runs after his Milner left the road near the start. John Thorne, another championship debutant, completed the top ten in his Arctic Cat Wildcat. 

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford continued his 2014 form with another win. He faced tough competition from Andy Price who had been leading until a puncture and broken exhaust brought him to a halt on a steep uphill offroad section. Price was able to continue and finished second ahead of Craig Bounds. All female crew Louisa Felice and Jessica Reynolds finished fourth on their debut.

Gordon Monaghan won the Clubman category in his Monaghan RS.

BCCC Results

1. Ben Duckworth/Matthew Cook (Milner LRM-1)  01:46:54
2. Mike Moran/Tony Coid (AT 4x4 Challenger)  01:46:56
3. Neil Davey/Tony Barley (GSR 206 Evo 8)  01:49:04
4. Ryan Cooke/Lee Channing (Milner LRM-1)  01:50:26
5. Jason Sharpe/Richard Lester (Isuzu DMax)  01:56:32
6. Mark Jacques/Simon Last (3M Challenger)  01:58:18
7. Richard Green/Richard Griffiths (Tomcat 100)   01:59:47
8. Andy Powell/Phil Ibbotson (Simmbugghini)  02:08:57
9. Dean Gibbs/  (Milner R5)  02:11:23
10. John Thorne/  (Arctic Cat Wildcat)  02:12:31

BCCC crews set for season opener

Competitors in the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will head to Myherin next weekend for the opening event in this year’s series.

2014 champion Mike Moran will return to defend his title and will be first car on the road at round 1. He will use the same Lofthouse Motorsport-prepared AT 4x4 Challenger as last season but the car has undergone an extensive rebuild over the winter and is now lighter and more powerful than before.

“The car has had its frame blasted and painted after some weight reduction work and the Jaguar engine has been completely rebuilt with a few modifications,” said Moran. “After problems with misting in the rain of Walters last year we've had a new heated screen fitted too. Tony Coid is returning as my navigator and has had a full course of exercise at a local gym! We'll be pushing hard to try and retain our title.”

Paul Myers, from championship sponsor Britpart, will start at car 2 in his Land Rover Tornado after a successful 2014 season. Andy Powell will be next on the road in his Simmbugghini. Powell will have former BCCC driver Phil Ibbotson in the navigator’s seat again.

The Jewson D-Max Rally Team have again entered the championship after a class-winning debut season last year in their Isuzu D-Max. The car will be driven by Jason Sharpe.

After mixed fortunes last year Paul Harris is hoping for better luck this season in his GSR Maxilight. Harris won the BCC Trophy title in 2012 and 2013 before stepping up to the main championship last year in his GSR Maxilight.

“After our success in the Trophy last year was pretty disappointing for us,” said Harris. “We had a lot of niggles with the car and eventually a head gasket failure which meant we didn’t complete the season.”

“Hopefully we’ll have better luck this year and get some good results. I’m looking forward to the racing, especially Bovington, which was great last year, and the new site at Hafren.”

Returning to the BCCC after several years absence is Neil Davey. Davey was an event winner in the 2008 championship so should be one to watch this year. He will use a GSR 206 Evo 8.

In the Freelander Challenge an all-female crew will take part for the first time this year. 2014 Freelander champion Ian Linford has been busy building a second ‘Team Sheepie’ car which will be driven by Louisa Felice and navigated by Jess Reynolds. The crew are new to comp safaris but both have experience of 4x4 trials. Linford will also be returning to the Challenge himself.

Another driver who will join the Freelander fun this season is Andy Kimble. Kimble, who previously competed in rallying, will return to motorsport after a break of 14 years. After making his debut at Bovington Andy Price is planning on contesting a full Freelander season this year. Before Bovington Price had not done any competition driving and he had not even driven offroad but he took his Freelander to a class win.

“I spent two season servicing Freelanders in the BCCC and I really wanted to drive in an event,” said Price. “I was able to get my standard Freelander ready for Bovington in just two weeks and the event was amazing. To top it off I got a class win!”

“I’ve done a lot of work to the car over the winter including strengthening the front end and upgrading the suspension. My aim for the season is to finish every event and hopefully push for a few trophies once we’ve got the car set-up sorted. I know I’m a rookie and the competition will be tough, a lad has got to dream though! I can’t wait for the season to start.”

The event will take place in Myherin forest with access to the site gained via “The Arch” picnic area. The action will start at 10am on Saturday and will go on to around 5pm with Sunday’s runs starting at 9am. The event is expected to finish early on Sunday afternoon. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.

Sponsorship deal for Felice's Freelander challenge

Freelander Challenge newcomer Louisa Felice has gained support for her debut season from Bury St Edmonds business Mansfield 4x4.

Felice will drive a second 'Team Sheepie' car this year, joining 2014 Freelander Challenge champion Ian Linford. She will be navigated by Jess Reynolds.

The regs are out, get your entries in!

Regulations for the Britpart MSA BCCC and Britpart Freelander Challenge can now be downloaded from www.marches4x4.com. 

The BCCC will cost £1,800 to enter for the full season of six rounds. This can be paid in three installments. 

A slight change has been made to the calendar with the venues for rounds 2 and 4 swapping dates so round 2 will now be in Radnor forest and round 4 will be in Hafren. 

Championship photographs and event reports will once again be provided by Songasport and there will be television coverage by AJK TV.

There has been a high level of interest in both the BCCC and Freelander Challenge in recent weeks with several potential new crews planning to enter alongside some names from the past. Reigning BCCC champion Mike Moran will return to defend his title. 

The full calendar of events is:

April 11/12 - Round 1 Pikes Peak
May 9/10 - Round 2 Radnor
June 6/7 - Round 3 Forrest Lodge
July 25/26 - Round 4 Hafren
September 12/13 - Round 5 Bovington
October 24/25 - Round 6 Walters

BCCC organisers unveil 2015 calendar

Organisers of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship have announced details of the events which will make up the 2015 series.

Round 1 will take place in April at Pikes Peak in Wales, a venue that has been a popular round of the BCCC for several years with a course that mixes some of the fast gravel tracks used by Wales Rally GB and offroad sections where you wouldn’t want to take a WRC car!

Crews will head to a new venue for round 2 in May, Hafren forest. Hafren is a well-known rally venue and was also used on the Baja GB event but it will be the first time the BCCC has visited it.

Forrest Estate in South West Scotland is the setting for round 3 and it is expected that the course will provide the same tough challenge for the drivers as it has in previous championships.

Round 4 will be in Radnor forest with the organisers making good use of the extensive network of forest tracks at the venue. This is another venue which features roads more commonly used in rallying interspersed with technical sections to fully test the cars and their crews.

After making a debut appearance in the BCCC in 2014 Bovington returns as a venue for round 5 of the 2015 championship. The MoD tank training facility in Dorset proved to be a great hit with the crews with a course including several surface changes, big jumps and a large watersplash.

The season will be rounded off with a visit to the Walters Arena course in October. The venue always provides a testing end to the year with wet weather usually making the course very slippery.

Interest in the championship has already been high with BCCC regulars such as Paul Harris, Richard Green, Steve Smith and Ian Bartlett planning on competing again. Several crews are either planning on their first BCCC season or making a comeback after a break. One such crew is Andi Skelley who is returning after spending most of 2014 rebuilding his Milner. Skelley will be navigated by Laura Shepherd. 

In the Freelander Challenge Ian Linford, who won the title at the first attempt last year, will be part of a two-car team. In the other car will be championship newcomer Louisa Felice. 

To register for championship regulations please contact the BCCC Entries Secretary, contact details are on www.marches4x4.com. The entry fee for the season will be £1,800.

Update as the season approaches will be posted on the championship Facebook page, www.facebook.com/msabccc.

BCCC 2015 Dates:

April 11/12 - Round 1 Pikes Peak
May 9/10 - Round 2 Hafren
June 6/7 - Round 3 Forrest Lodge
July 25/26 - Round 4 Radnor
September 12/13 - Round 5 Bovington
October 24/25 - Round 6 Walters