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Rallycrews on full song in the valleys today
publication date: Jul 16, 2011
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author/source: Roger Gale
Neath and Afan valleys will rumble with the sounds of rally cars today as the Pro-Art Designs Swansea Bay National Rally takes place. Port Talbot MC has run the event for 30 years and this year it is once again based in the Maritime Quarter of Swansea with the official start taking place at the Liberty Stadium from 9.00 am, before competitors head up into the forests of Rheola and Rhondda , and the tracks through the Walters Arena above Glyn-Neath. Being a National status rally in Swansea, the event has become a round of several other championships, including the Water End Properties BHRC Forest Championship Cup, the Hankook Tyres WAMC National Championship, and Hankook Tyres Ice Drive Sweden BMW series. As well as both the ANWCC and ASWMC series, the Pro-Art Signs Swansea Bay Rally 2011 also forms part of the new Micra K11 Challenge 2011 Championship sponsored by Rallyschool.co.uk, Humphris Oxford - Micra Rally Specialists, RallyingUK, Questmead (Mintex), Morris Lubricants, Corbeau Seats and TRS. The Swansea Bay Historic Rally will be televised on Saturday 6 August at 9pm. The Welsh National Forest Rally Championship has been taking place in it present format for over twenty years, comprising seven round run entirely on gravel forest roads in Wales and the Borders. Ford Escorts are dominant in the Historic entries, though variety is provided by the Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite and the snarling Porsche 911 of Rikki Proffitt, and a few leading Welsh co-drivers will be making an appearance - West Walian expert Ryland James partners Frank Cunningham in the Galway MC Escort RS1600 and Swansea co-driver Ken Bowman joins Jeremy Wells in his 2 litre Escort. The Clubman section of the event includes rising young star Tom Cave getting some mileage in with his Subaru Impreza, Richard and Sarah Ceen wheeling out their Ford Focus WRC machine. Dan O'Brien and Andy Marchbank will away the field in their Focus WRC 02, and Alex Allingham at two, the Subaru Impreza driver - and defending Champion - going for the Hankook Welsh National Championship lead, current top man Dave Howell not doing the rally. Local crews include Tony McWhirter and Steve Green in the Mitsubishi Evo, Trevor Baynham and Anthony Bailey in their PTMC Ford Escort, Thomas Lloyd / Craig Maggs and Damian Thomas / Anthony Litchfield , and Ian Hoffman / Lee Saunders, these three crews driving Peugeot 205's. Spectators are welcome on the rally, admission £10.00 per car and all occupants, including a programme. Stages 1 and 3 in Rheola Forest are from 9.30 and 11.00, via the B4242 beyond Pentreclwyd, Stages 2 and 4 are in Walters Arena above GlynNeath from 10.00 and 11.30, and Stages 5 & 6 in Rhondda (above Hirwaun) from 12.30 and 1.30. Follow spectator arrows at all locations. |
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