After an action-packed opening round, crews in the 2017 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will head to Radnor forest in Wales next weekend for the second round of the season.
2016 champion Martin Gould heads the leaderboard on 86 points following his Pikes Peak win. Gould has been busy working on his Buxton 4x4 Rivet-BMW to get it ready for Radnor.
“With one week to go the car is in a thousand pieces,” said Gould. “We’ve fully rebuilt the gearbox after an issue at round one caused damage to the main shaft – very expensive!”
“We’re hoping to get it all put back together by Sunday night. I’m looking forward to Radnor, it’s been a few years since I raced there so roll on next weekend.”
In second place, with 81 points, is Justin Birchall who overcame electrical problems on his Lofthouse Freelander last time out. Adrian Marfell is in third on 75 points after a successful first BCCC event in his Fouquet-Nissan, a car which, like Gould’s Rivet, has won the French offroad championship.
Andy Degiulio is hoping for a better event after fuel issues with his Milner R5 at Pikes Peak.
“The fuel was getting too hot and losing pressure,” said Degiulio. “We lost a lot of time as we had to keeping slowing and stopping to let it cool. We’ve fitted a bulkhead and heat shield around the fuel tank, the fuel system has been re-piped and we’ve also fitted blower fans and a shroud. I’ve tested the car on the road and it seemed ok but we’ll have to wait until run one at Radnor to see if the problems are fully fixed.”
Yamaha YXZ1000R driver Darren Johnson finished 8th in round one and he’s had new suspension fitted to his car ahead of round two.
Simon Adams leads the way in the National B BCC Trophy championship after an opening round win. The Can-Am Maverick driver has 86 points, 6 ahead of Paul Rowlands who survived a roll to finish second in his Yamaha YXZ1000R. Fellow Yamaha driver Joe Quirk is in third on 74 points. After missing round one Steve Anning is planning to be out in his Peugeot M3.
Pat Masters made a successful start to the defence of his Freelander Challenge title, his round one victory giving him 61 points. Mike Smith is in second with 55 points and Graham White is third with 49. After missing the opening round 2014/2015 champion Ian Linford will return in his Team Sheepie car which will feature a number of modifications from last season. Michael Wilson will also be back for round two and he’s focusing on having a fun event rather than worrying about the championship.
In the Clubman class Justin Brooks will be looking to repeat his success at round one in his Yamaha. Toby Jefferson will be out again in his GSR 206 after finishing third at Pikes Peak. Jefferson has fitted new tyres, a new wheel bearing and new brake calipers ahead of the event. Sian Rogers has entered in her Mitsubishi Pinin while Jason Rowlands, son of BCC Trophy driver Paul, will compete in a Yamaha. Returning for the first time since Ceri last season is Phil Ibbotson who'll be in his Metro 6R4 Evo. Former BCCC driver Karl Gudgeon will be navigating for him.
Unfortunately spectators are not permitted at the venue, access points will be manned to enforce this.
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