TEGIWA DUKERIES RALLY – Sunday 16th March 2025.
John Griffiths and Emma Morrison (above) were never headed at Donington Park, as their Skoda Fabia R5 repeated their victory at the Leicestershire race circuit back in December, to take the spoils again in round seven of the Protyre Circuit Rally Championship.
Griffiths took a four second lead out of defending Champions Michael Igoe / Will Atkins’ Citroen C3 Rally 2 on the opening stage, with Chris West / Keith Hounslow’s Peugeot 306 Maxi a further three seconds back in third. It was bright, dry but a bit chilly, as John and Alex Stone’s VW PoloR5 Gti came in fourth quickest, before an 11 second gap to Philip Hopkins / Sammy Allen Mitsubishi E6 in fifth, while Mark Jasper / Don Whyatt’s Mk2 Ford Escort completed the initial top six.
Griffiths and Igoe both consolidated their places on Stage 2, with Griffiths adding a further two seconds to his lead. West and Stone matched each others times, as both eased well clear of the fight for fifth. Hopkins still held the place, but sixth placed Jasper had Chris Woodhouse & Lucy Wilding’s Fiesta Rally2 closing in after a spin on stage one. “I changed to left foot breaking on stage two, it was so much better,” said Woodhouse. Tony Robinson / Paul Spooner’s Skoda Fabia R5 was still just a second behind Woodhouse too, while Phil & Katy Burton’s Impreza and Chris White / Jason Harris’ Mk 2 Escort filled the rest of the top 10.
There was another seven seconds added to Griffiths’ lead on Stage 3. “I just went for it from stage one and then every stage. I had to give Michael something to chase for, or the Championship
would have been over,” said Griffiths. “John was really on it, but he needed this one. I am trying though,” Igoe replied, despite being beaten into third place on stage three by West. “I made a mistake too, stalling at the Hairpin and was still second quickest,” West added. He was only seven seconds off Igoe too and increased his cushion over Stone to 13 seconds., after the former Championship leader spun.
Chris West / Keith Hounslow >>>>
Jasper retired with a broken cambelt, moving Woodhouse into sixth, as he edged a further second closer to fifth placed Hopkins too. Robinson and Burton had both moved up too, while Tom Stockdale / Neil Chambers’ BMW Compact 3V6 was now ninth, despite running out of brakes on the first two stages and having steering rack issues. Mark Gellatly & Harriet Worth were into 10th too, on their debut in the ex Mark Kelly Ford Fiesta R5.
Igoe managed to claw back two seconds on Stage 4, but the rest of the top eight held station. The only change in the top 10 was Gellatly’s climb which took him ahead of Stockdale, but the BMW driver had lost his power steering too.
It was a tie on stage times between the two leaders on Stage 5, so with just two stages left Griffiths still had an 11 seconds gap. West ran wide at the Old Hairpin and back on through the gravel trap. “It was a bit wide, but I decided to lift rather than hit the wall,” he admitted.
Igoe was quickest again by five seconds on the penultimate test (Stage 6), leaving him a six second deficit and spots of rain in the air.
Griffiths came through the final Stage 7 unscathed, with his lead back up to 10 seconds, as Igoe had been delayed by another car at a chicane. West consolidated third too, but Stone slipped back after a final stage indiscretion. “I lost concentration and did an extra lap, we were gutted,” he said. So Hopkins troublefree run brought him into a late fourth, with Robinson and Gellatly completing the top six, after Woodhouse spun a stage from home. “Better than we could have ever have thought, it was great,” said Gellatly. Stockdale was seventh, with Woodhouse slipping to eighth. Stone was down to ninth, with Burton rounding off the top 10.
CLASSES
Jonathan Hudson / Chris Worrall’s Nissan Micra was unbeatable in Class F. They turned their 12 seconds lead from stage one, into victory by almost two minutes at the end. Adam Bickley
/ Richard Mills’ MG ZR retained a daylong second too, despite collecting a 30 seconds chicane penalty. Brian Marquis / Stuart Delf’s Peugeot 106 lost an early third to Jon Bray / Darren Styles’ MG ZR. Marcus Tinsley / David Batley’s 205 Rallye then split the pair, before consolidating third from SS4. Bray retained fourth in Class from Marquis and Chris & Rob Johnson’s 205. Jonathan Hudson / Chris Worrall >>>>
It was a dominant win for Bob Vardy and Matt Bown’s Fiesta R2, leading Class E all day to win by over a minute. “We had brake problems all day though, boiling the fluid, so we had a few overshoots,” Vardy explained. The duel for second went down to the wire though, before Allen Russell / Matt Faulkner’s 106 Rallye finally got the verdict on a tie break over Harry Pinchin / Colin Jenkins’ Citroen C2. Stephen & Melissa Hall’s Fiesta was fourth.
Chris White /Jason Harris’ Mk 2 Escort was never headed in Class D and was in the top 10 overall on the first two stages. They lost their early rivals when Joseph & Daniel Duffy’s Lotus Elise broke a driveshaft off the start of SS3. Mike Webb / Steve Noble’s Fiesta ST150 became the new second place men, but that turned sour on stage five too. “It would have been our best finish, but we had broken a gearbox mount, and then when we turned left the driveshaft came out,” said Webb.
Mick and Ben Jowers (pictured left) finally claimed the spot after a duel with Alfie Threlfall / Patrick Cross’s Honda Civic. But Threlfall went out too, unable to get gears a stage from home. Peter and Cat Taylor’s Mazda MX-5 therefore inherited third, from Andy Wright / Nigel Powell’s Civic and Dean Davies / Cameron Wheatley’s Escort.
No one got near West’s Peugeot in Class C. With Jasper’s early retirement, followed by Alasdair Stables / Neil Jones’ Chevette HSR suffering alternator failure, Stockdale was a clear second from SS3, despite starting stage six just one second up on John Yates / Alex Lee’s spectaculer Porsche. But Yates broke a driveshaft out of the start and so James Garner / Callum Young’s Darrian and Ben Smith Senior/Junior’s Escort moved up to complete the top four.
Hopkins was another to retain his Class lead all day. He took the Class B spoils, from Burton and Billy Grew / Steve Brown’s Evo 6, all three holding station throughout, with Ian & Cameron Barclay’s Evo 9 fourth and Luke Sedzikowski / Andrew Ford in the Tegiwa Mitsubishi Evo 10 in fifth.
PETER SCHERER
