Pre-event favorite Peter Lloyd won this Bexley Light CC-organised event in
his familiar Metro 6R4, claiming fastest time on each of the eight stages.
Having made the long journey from Wales, he was pushed hard during the
morning by venue regular Mark Straker (Darrian T9) and had established a
lead of just two seconds after the first pair of stages. He managed to take
a further ten seconds over the next couple of stages before Straker retired
after leaving the road on stage five.
Tim Wilson inherited second place from Straker, having trailed Tom Morris
early on, and he spent the remainder of the event strengthening his
position. The top three set a blistering pace and were well ahead of the
field at the finish. Fourth was Dick Mauger who had fought hard with Donald
Fowler but the latter let it slip on the sixth stage, losing sixteen
seconds to his rival.
Ian Godney suffered a day of inconsistent times. He was ahead of Mauger
after the first stage but poor times on the second and fifth saw him drop
down to sixth place. Mark Gomm put in a very strong drive from a seeding of
58, overtaking countless cars on his way to a fine seventh overall and a
deserved Class three win.
Behind Gomm, a three-way battle was only resolved on the final stage.
Peter Rayner held the advantage for the first seven stages but a minor
indiscretion on the last saw him drop nine seconds to Les Skeet, giving
them identical penalties at the finish. Rayner took the place by dint of a
quicker time on the opening stage, leaving Skeet to rue his error on stage
three which had cost him 12 seconds. A couple of slower times relegated
Tony Rees to third in this group, but by a mere second. He dropped ten
seconds on both the first and fifth stages to eventually finish tenth
overall.
Brian Lee (Vauxhall Nova) claimed Class Two as his main rival Steve
Colville (Honda Civic V-Tec) encountered difficulties on three separate
stages. Tom Powis (Vauxhall Nova) dominated the small engine class on his
first event as a driver, finishing a very respectable 25th overall.
With 30 novices in the field, Ian Rix claimed the top prize by finishing
23rd overall.
The Longcross Rally is now over the following are the top 10 finishers: - |
