By Paul Evans
Tom Cave secured his first maximum British Rally Championship points scoring result in a four-wheel drive car when the Aberdyfi driver finished third overall on the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork Rally in a Hyundai i20 R5.
Partnered by Hirwaun co-driver James Morgan, Cave finished 4.8 seconds ahead of defending British champions Matt Edwards/Patrick Walsh in their M-Sport Swift Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5.
Nothing could separate the two Welsh crews, as the event played out over two days, 15 stages and 135 stage miles on some of Ireland’s most classic fast and bumpy rally roads – with atrociously wet weather on Saturday and drying Tarmac on Sunday to add to the already significant challenge.
Edwards held a slender lead at the overnight halt, but the Llandudno ace couldn’t hold onto it as an inspired Cave was immediately eight seconds faster on Sunday morning to leap-frog into the top BRC spot. The tussle for victory was to be a seesaw affair as the duo traded times and positions all afternoon, with only 4.9 seconds separating them going into the final stage. Despite Edwards’ best effort, Cave was too strong and won the BRC section of the event by 4.8 seconds.
“The feeling of finally winning in the BRC again is brilliant to be honest,” said Cave. “It was a difficult first day against the elements, but we pushed on hard on the second day to get past Matt. We gave it everything and we have been rewarded with first place BRC, so James and I are both very, very happy.
“After the pace on day one I felt there was more to come and we had a good feeling on the first stage on the second day and we took a lot of time out of Matt. Once that happened, I thought let’s keep pushing and we have been rewarded. I would like to thank everyone behind me for making this happen.”
Edwards still leads the BRC drivers’ standing on 43 points, while Cave (after retiring on the opening Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally) has jumped to fourth with 25 points.
Lampeter’s Meirion Evans spun his Hyundai i20 R5 on the opening stage and then stopped when the car suffered a fuel pump problem. He and co-driver Jonathan Jackson returned on Sunday under the Rally2 rules and set a string of top stage times, including third fastest on the final stage, to show what might have been.
Newcastle Emlyn’s James Williams also spun his Vauxhall Adam R2 on SS1, but without any previous experience of the stages he and co-driver Tom Woodburn fought back brilliantly. He eventually finished second in the Junior British Rally Championship category, eighth registered BRC driver and 16th overall – a truly fantastic result for the talented 21-year old.
FIA World Rally Championship regulars Craig Breen/Paul Nagle took a comfortable overall win in a Ford Fiesta R5, beating Alister Fisher/Gordon Noble in a similar car by 22.2 seconds.
In the National section, Gareth Lloyd/David Byrne (BMW M3 E30), Tony Rees/Ian Taylor (Darrian GTR) and Rhidian Daniels/Tomas Whittle (Citroen C1 Max) all scored top 30 finishes. John Dalton/Gwynfor Jones fell victims of the wet conditions, and were one of several crews to be caught out by a particularly treacherous junction on the opening stage, sliding into a bank and ripping a wheel off their Darrian T90 GTR+.
West Cork Rally – top 10 finishers
1. Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:51:18.6
2. Alister Fisher/Gordon Noble (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:51:40.8
3. Tom Cave/James Morgan (Hyundai I20 R5)….1:51:55.9
4. Matt Edwards/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:52:00.7
5. Sam Moffett/James Fulton (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:52:52.9
6. Calum Devine/Brian Hoy (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:53:00.0
7. Josh Moffett/Keith Moriarty (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:53:40.5
8. Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Skoda Fabia R5)….1:54:05.9
9. Marty McCormack/Barney Mitchell (Skoda Fabia R5)….1:54:13.7
10. Jonny Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Ford Fiesta R5)….1:55:18.0